Re: [RML] bogus diet
Christopher Philip Benes (beneschr at pilot.msu.edu)
Mon, 17 Feb 1997 04:20:01 -0500 (EST)
> made along the way but at least in the hobby as opposed to the commercial
> side of things I can see a tendency for hobbyists to prefer to get their
> stock from other breeders and auctions because they feel that the fish they
> obtain will breed better, are of better quality an d will live longer. No
> wonder some of the commercial breeders of native aquarium fish are trying
> to shut us down with red tape :-)
>
>
> Bruce Hansen
> ANGFA
>
> email: bhansen at ozemail.com.au
> Don't miss the ANGFA web pages at -
> http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fisher/angfa.htm
>
>
Quite honestly, I used to think that it was better to get fish from auctions,
but now I'm not so sure. I have seen so many fish sold at auctions that should
have been culls that it disgusts me. Fish with missing gill plates, fish with
deformed jaws, the list goes on and on. I've also seen fish that are just
hybrid messes sold too (and incident involving 'C. campsi' comes to mind).
Heck, I've even seen M. splendida inornata sold as C. campsi at an auction. On
top of that, some fish that you see at an auction come to you this way: ten
years ago somebody gets a pair of fish, he spawns them, keeps a pair, spawns
them, keeps a pair, etc... As far as the quality of genetic makeup goes, who
knows what you're getting. I've come to believe that the only way to make sure
that you're getting 'good' fish is to either know the person you're getting the
fish from or to get wild fish. Now I know why auction rules always say 'buyer
beware'. I would say that it is a misconception (or a dream) that all the fish
that you see at an auction are quality fish. Granted, we usually think or hope
that all the people in our aquarium clubs are responsible aquarists, but the
basic fact is that a lot aren't, at least here. I once heard a story about
someone who is generally accepted by those who know this person to be quite
knowledgeble, a real 'professional' aquarist. Back when female praecox were
seemingly impossible to find in the U.S., this person was going to cross male
praceox with some other female rainbow fish because heck, hopefully the
'praceox' gene was dominant and you'd get some female praceox out of this mix.
Obviously, genetics doesn't work like this. So, things are not always as they
seem, and you can never be too sure...
Later...
If you didn't see it, you missed it.
Chris Benes
beneschr at pilot.msu.edu
http://www.msu.edu/user/beneschr/
Rainbowfish Study Group http://home.earthlink.net/~sbuckel/
Michigan Cichlid Association http://www.ole.net/mca/