<< The point I am driving at is just because many fish are able to
hybridize and we observe it in our aquariums, they never do in the wild
when the fish are found in proximities of one another>>
This the whole point about why in my opinion a cross-breeding program will
be a waste of time and effort.
<< This is based on
what I know about Lake Tanganyika fish and other cichlids. So I would
argue the fear of hybridization does seem a little unfounded>>
Exactly.
.<< I would
say the greatest danger would be the introduction of species not native to
that body of water as they may out compete the naturally occuring fish>>
So how do we get the "Rocket Scientists" to find out if this is a real
danger or just a "fear" ?If we don't pin them down as to what it will.take
to convince them then this whole discussion will have been for almost
nought. These are community fish for gosh sake . If 4 species co-exist
, or 3 or whatever then there doesn't seem to, be any reason why another
can't. Besides this is only a theoretical argument - after 20 years there
are no examples ( not with melanotaenids anyway).
<<The other important danger would be of disease of course as fish in the
wild may not be exposed to the many disease we have in our aquariums.>>
Don't kid yourself Ted, other countries do have horrible diseases in the
wild too ( they probably don't even have aquariums). The point is if there
is a disease risk then the proper way to get support from the
public/hobbyist is to define the problem and the necessary measures to
nullify the risk. Not just apply a blanket ban and hope the problem will go
away.
Bruce Hansen
ANGFA