Hybrid Fish Causing Controversy Among Aquarists

[PremiumAquatics]

Interesting read. I have heard of pigment injections in other species as well. Some say injections are not invasive, what are your thoughts?!

http://www.azula.com/hybrid-flowerhorn-cichlid-controversy/

[jestep]

I've always felt that artificial pigmentation is unethical at best, but really has no place. These are animals, we don't inject dye into dogs and cats that i know of, we shouldn't do it in fish, or any animal for that matter. Hybridization is fine so long as it's controlled that non-sterile hybrids are never allowed back into the wild. I think the current deliberate clown hybridization is really questionable because of the lack of control. Personally, I kept non-pigmented blood parrots a number of years beck and they're just great fish. Wonderful personalities, they recognize specific people even, and the aggression rarely carries over from their parent species, they have zero problem eating contrary to some reports based on the visual shape of their mouths. Flowerhorns on the other hand can be so aggressive they attack the glass when someone comes near the tank so it definitely goes both directions. But bottom line IMO is don't mechanically modify animals, period. And I'd hybrids aren't sterile, make sure there is some attemp at control over their offspring.