What type of fishkeeper are you?

[Steve]

I posted about some coloration in some yellow labs I saw at the LFS yesterday and from reading a bit online plus some replies here it seems like some people like certain fish to be exactly as they are "supposed" to look, and others simply like fish that "look good to them". So that got me to wondering what the general feelings here are on that subject.

I may be in the minority here (?) but I like fish that just look good to me rather than following strict species rules. i.e- I have a group of y.labs in my mbuna tank and when I bought them I picked half that were all yellow, and half that were yellow with a bit of a white lower half body. Just because I like the different colors/variety in my tank. Same goes for some of my cherry red zebras, I have a mix of colors in my zebras, some are yellow, some are orange and some are pink.

So just wondered what everyone else looks for in there fish/tanks. Not to start any arguments or anything like that, just thought it would be interesting to see how others felt on this. Are you a purist in your tanks? or do you simply like fish that look good to your own eye and nothing else?

[danielratti]

I prefer how this fish is supposed to look in the wild. 90% of what I buy to breed is F1 or wild caught so I can pass on that pure strain on to someone else. If I do see anything out of the norm with fry I generally cull them.

Practices like that keep the hobby healthy and will keep pure stains in trade for others who will eventually get into the hobby. When I first started getting into Africans there were not dragons bloods or whatever you would like to call them or red frontosas. I am not saying these ruin the hobby but when people that are new to the hobby who think they can make a living off breeding fish or have fish spawn in there tank on accident and manage to save the fry from that mix of fish and sell them to a lfs. Those incidents are what throws off for others.

The poor breeding of fish has been something a lot of people talk about with very common fish. It is not that they are crossed they are just overly produced and will cause many different deformities in the fish from body shape to coloration. This is why many breeders will add new blood lines to there spawning groups to try to keep from constant inbreeding of the fish. For example guppies that are so inbreed they have crooked backs that is a big one I remember being told to avoid when I was a child.

That is my view on it I don't want to take it off on a rant to where there are people who think and try to make a living off selling fish the breed that can be a whole different subject called opening a store.

[Steve]

Good points. My own fault though for not clarifying, I should have stated, I'm just talking about fish in your own personal tanks for your own viewing enjoyment, not for breeding purposes. I can totally understand why you would want perfect specimens for breeding.

[danielratti]

Id say its about the same for the show tanks as well. I have customers who will look fish over for hours before they buy it to see if there is any flaws with it. The other big thing is hormoneing fish to look like males. My view is that it is a way for failing or struggling stores to sell off males at the 19 dollar ranges to make money fast. In todays market it is hard to tell what you are going to get.

[Regalblue]

Good points. My own fault though for not clarifying, I should have stated, I'm just talking about fish in your own personal tanks for your own viewing enjoyment, not for breeding purposes. I can totally understand why you would want perfect specimens for breeding.

since everything I keep I plan to breed..... I think you can guess which side I'd be on.

Also I would be the same if I had a show only tank. As I see a fish online /in a book & that is what I expect the fish to look like.

[linuxrulesusa]

I am not completely opposed to unnatural fish, e.g. flowerhorns.  Though I find them ugly.  And I don't want to see them getting out in the wild. 

That said, if I'm buying a convict, I want it to be a convict.  Or a yellow lab, to be a yellow lab.  Or a....the list goes on.  I won't buy from the 'mixed african' tanks at pet shops. 

I also try not to mix species that will cross.  Or at least minimize the risk - make sure I have matched pairs (for CA/SA cichlids) and/or a good male/female ratio of Africans. 

As far as buying fish that 'look good', I've personally leaned more toward fish with interesting patterns (various loaches, oddballs, etc) to satisfy that urge.

[four_by_ken]

I would like the fish I buy to be what I think they are.  The comment about looking like what is in the book... that's what I want.

If my fish cross breed, I don't really care as I don't keep the babies... they turn into fish food.

If I know something us a cross, or doesn't look like it is supposed to... I won't buy it.

[Ron]

I didn't mean to offend you and simply call it like I see it. I'm a purist and like to come from an angle that I'm bringing some part of nature into my house. Standards are set to define what is proper and I try to replicate that for anything I do breed.

I realize that not everyone cares about the science of it as much as I might. The problem I see with poor breeding is dilution of the lines if others eventually chose to use it for breeding stock. Also, some species of cichlids are endangered in the wild and it may eventually depend on captive breeding to persist the species.

I'm also anti-hybrid to some extent as shared in previous threads on here. I don't see a problem with someone keeping their own creation, but dislike the promotion or distribution of hybrids. I'm too tired to search, but I've shared some good reading on the topic on this forum in the past.

[African cichlid Keeper]

I didn't mean to offend you and simply call it like I see it. I'm a purist and like to come from an angle that I'm bringing some part of nature into my house. Standards are set to define what is proper and I try to replicate that for anything I do breed.

I realize that not everyone cares about the science of it as much as I might. The problem I see with poor breeding is dilution of the lines if others eventually chose to use it for breeding stock. Also, some species of cichlids are endangered in the wild and it may eventually depend on captive breeding to persist the species.

I'm also anti-hybrid to some extent as shared in previous threads on here. I don't see a problem with someone keeping their own creation, but dislike the promotion or distribution of hybrids. I'm too tired to search, but I've shared some good reading on the topic on this forum in the past.

I am the same.

[Helloitsme]

Since I acquire fish to look at them, I buy what is pleasing to my eye.

[jcunningham0295]

I am not a fan of hybrid fish.  Everything I keep whether in a show tank or for breeding has to be pure.  I don't want to pollute the hobby or keep impure quality fish.

[Steve]

I didn't mean to offend you

You talking to me Ron? if so you didn't offend me at all don't worry about that for a second. I just thought it was interesting the different things people look for in fish and thought it would be interesting to see what others actually look for. No worries at all I wasn't the least bit offended, it takes a lot more than that to offend me

[Ron]

You talking to me Ron? if so you didn't offend me at all don't worry about that for a second. I just thought it was interesting the different things people look for in fish and thought it would be interesting to see what others actually look for. No worries at all I wasn't the least bit offended, it takes a lot more than that to offend me

Good to hear.

[African cichlid Keeper]

I am not a fan of hybrid fish.  Everything I keep whether in a show tank or for breeding has to be pure.  I don't want to pollute the hobby or keep impure quality fish.

I am the same way. ^