Stocking
Who Needs Another Hybrid?
Written by Tuesday, 08 July 2003 01:00
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We all know the Red Blood Parrot "cichlid" a hybrid which has been around for some time and found its way in many tanks for many reasons (ignorance or the famous "who cares?" concept). However, it seems that all that has been written and the great controversy this hybrid created was not enough to stop breeders in pursuing easy money in this field.
Red Blood Parrot "cichlid" - a classic hybrid which has been around for over a decade. As if this was not enough, breeders decided to "design" another freak.
Recently, we came across an announcement for a new "cichlid", a man made hybrid called "Flowerhorn". For people like us (African Cichlid lovers), who go to great extents to ensure that the fish they keep, donate or sell are pure breeds this is something unacceptable. For people like most of you, driven by the philosophy of true fish keeping and an inherited love for nature this whole idea is (or should be) disgusting. Using nature's precious jewels to produce aquatic monsters ("Franken-fish" according to Dr. Ron Coleman) is something we should protest against and make sure that at least some people hear this voice. This is the reason behind this article. We will do our best to ensure that more and more people hear about this, get educated and finally understand that there is no reason to buy this "kind" of fish for their tanks. Breeders producing this kind of fish try to make a fish which has a special appearance, shows a specific behaviour, give it an exotic name (like "Flowerhorn") and then sell it for many $$$$ to people that are tempted by the appearance of those "creatures" and supported by their ignorance. Those fish are not meant for the serious fish keeper - this is the simple truth. This is the philosophy of the people behind MCH (and not only, as you can see here) and we will always fight against those who think they can play God - always for the worse.
Francesco Zezza, an author of MCH expresses his feelings in his own way:
"In the context of this article I'd like to add my personal point of view. Let's begin with this: I'm not a scientist or a researcher. I'm simply a hobbyist (may I dare to add an advanced hobbyist) lucky enough to have visited (twice) Lake Malawi and the Amazon basin. Hence, I do not have the scientific background to discuss genetics, hybridization, chemistry and so on but I have been keeping fishes (and cichlids) for over twenty years. I'll try to focus on the issue which is called "well being of the fish". This always meant to me that I had to study, at least, the very basics of the fishes I'm planning to keep. Well, let's focus on what is suggested by the breeder himself for raising (and training!) this latest result of human madness ... I quote from their suggestions (by the way they call them "instructions" as if they're referring to a toy and not a living creature !!) and then I'll add my remarks - step by step - listed and numbered [] :
"The value of the Flower Horn is from the "nuchal hump" on its head [1], the pearl dots on its body, the redness of its fins and body and the roundness of the body on the whole [2]. In order to get the hump on the head to a reasonable size, one can place a mirror near the aquarium in order to get the fish excited. Looking at the mirror is like it is facing another fish and since this species is territorial in nature it will try to chase the mirror image away. Through this method the "nuchal hump" on the head can get bigger and the colour of the fish itself will brighten up [3]. It is also advisable to put in small stones preferably coloured stones in the aquarium. Playing with the stones is another kind of stimulation which can enhance the "hump" on its head [4]."
[1] There is nothing new or spectacular here. The cephalic hump is a distinctive sexual characteristic of many cichlids. There are many species around with this characteristic - no reason to choose a hybrid for that.
[2] Same here. Well shaped and coloured fishes are highly regarded everywhere. Moreover, every well kept cichlid will fit this bill.
[3] What a marvelous suggestion! Just imagine spending your whole life always (and I mean always) being frightened, upset, excited and worried. Have these breeders ever heard of fish stress??
[4] Here comes another great moment of the human superior brain! Those fishes (New World cichlids) come from a pale environment with shades and subdued colors. I really wonder whose idea was it to keep those poor "creatures" in a tank with a gravel painted like a disco!
To finish my thoughts: stay away from this ugliness, respect fishes (and even more Mother Nature) and you won't regret it! If this fish hasn't appeared in the wild there must be a very good reason for that. Who are we bring this "monster" into life? "
While discussing this matter with Dr. Ronald Coleman he gave us a briefing on what he thinks, which is definitely worth reading:
"As I see it, there are certain cultures on this planet that regard animals (or plants) as being here solely for the benefit of humans. They then look at wild animals and deem them as not quite perfect for their uses (which may be practical or aesthetic) and then regard it as a true achievement to convert the wild organism (in their minds "perfecting it") to how it more ideally suits their vision. This is very clearly the goal of the breeders of the Kiran cichlid and seems to be the same case here. For example, red is "desirable" as is "a blockhead", etc.
It is difficult or impossible to make these people understand what is wrong with doing this because you would in effect be trying to change their entire religious/cultural/moral view of the world. In fact, some people would regard it as "wrong" to tell them not to do what they are doing, arguing that their view of the world is equally valid to one that respects the diversity of wild organisms. Personally, I disagree with this, but it makes one very vulnerable to being labeled a cultural bigot or cultural imperialist.
I try to explain that if this process continues the world will only be filled with blockheaded, red fish that can't swim well. Their response would be "And what is wrong with that?" in contrast to you or I who would regard that as an unacceptable consequence of human activity.
So what can be done? I think there is nothing that can be done directly about the source of these "fish". They will continue to be made as long as people will buy them. The buying end is where action can be taken because many of the buyers purchase these fish because they are "cute". Information on what these fish are and the fact that they are not "real" fish is the best course of action; however, the kind of person who goes to a pet store and buys a fish because it is "cute" is also very likely NOT the kind of person to research a fish before buying it. Hence, I suspect these things will continue to be sold.
The parrot cichlid doesn't worry me too much because it is so obviously a non-fish. I am more concerned about this new thing you showed it me. It looks more "real" and clearly has elements of various Central Americans, e.g. trimacs and who knows what else. These fishes are variable in the wild and difficult enough to distinguish normally; this will only muddy the waters. The saving grace may be that because these new things will be "exotic and imported" they will hopefully sell for a high price which will mean there will be strong pressure on stores to identify them as these hybrids and not the other way around, i.e. to pass them off as trimaculatus or some other thing. This will likely change with the next generation, i.e. the offspring produced from pairs bought by people. They will quickly discover nobody wants these things and will likely sell them off as "Cichlasoma spp."
A huge article could be written with our views on this matter. People who regularly visit MCH know what we believe in and definitely understand that we could only be against it. Dr. Ron Coleman, a specialist in fish breeding has already published an excellent article on this matter in his website (http://cichlidresearch.com/hybrids.html) and we asked for his permission to publish this article here, for your information. Please use this page as a reference whenever you meet somebody thinking of acquiring those "freaks".
Dr. Ron Coleman's article reads as follows:
The creation (deliberate or accidental) of hybrids is an important and controversial issue with cichlid aquarists. Here are my views:
Quite frequently, an aquarist will write me to describe how two of his or her cichlids have spawned, but the surprising thing is that the aquarist thought the fish were two different species. The question typically goes something like this: "My male species 1 just spawned with my female species 2. Have you ever heard of this, and what should I do to raise the kids?" Other variants include "Will I get rich selling these" and "What would be their proper name?"
These questions raise some interesting and deep philosophical and ethical questions. I will address these issues by trying to answer some of the specific questions.
First, some terms. "Hybrid" refers to the result of mating a male of one species with a female of another species. We often call this "crossing" two species.
1. Have I ever heard of this before?
This is easy to answer. Yes I have. Hybrids are quite common in the cichlid hobby. Almost any Central American cichlid will hybridize with any other. Many of the mbuna (rock dwelling cichlids from Lake Malawi) will hybridize with each other. I have even heard of a mouthbrooder hybridizing with a substrate-spawning cichlid. So, hybridization is not rare.
2. Does this occur in the wild?
This is difficult to support with data, but from my observations in the field in Central America, and from what I have read and heard from fellow cichlid researchers working elsewhere, hybrids are very rare in the wild. Surprisingly, two species of fishes which together in the wild will not hybridize, will do so in an aquarium quite readily.
3. Will I get rich producing hybrids?
No. In fact, you will find that most advanced cichlid hobbyists have an active dislike for hybrids (and to be honest, for the people that produce them).
Every now and then someone produces a new "wonder" fish by hybridizing two species and they may even sell some. In the end, however, this person usually finds themselves shunned by the rest of the cichlid aquarist community and worse yet, the person gets a bad reputation even if they stop producing hybrids: their future actions are always suspect. A bad reputation is an extremely difficult thing to change.
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