:wtf:
well i wrote a long post about this with various points but it wouldnt let me post and i lost it all and had to re-log in. so ill keep it short and via replies respond with what i was going to say in the first place.

So here's the short of it..i guess...say if you had a species of Mbuna like my afras & yellow labs together in the same tank as adults after they've already been breeding with their own true females....when after you were to combine them...i think they would still breed with their own kind. My point or theory if you will is that once a male has mated with its own species specific female so long that thats all he will look for unless they were to all die or were to be removed for some reason. I think most hybridization comes from the "pretty fish syndrome" at pet shops. They buy 1 kind and then at another time another pretty fish...well one turns out to be a female right?...right. well these fish dont know what to look for in a partner as they just want to mate with anything....*reminds me of the ex-wife....they have no choice. where as those who have bred true since they first started will keep on doing that.

what do you think?

In saying this i know you can have species like peacocks together as hybridization is most eminant as all females look basically the same as well as having Mbuna that look alike or from same genus.

Fair assumption, there is some hybridization in the wild, but I do not think it leads to long lines as cichlids can be picky when they are not as constrained in a tank. Some of it may be affected by how dominant the female is as well.

Yes i too believe that the females can be pretty picky in choosing males. As I read an article where they were studying pundamilia females as they are attracted to the brightest reds on the dominant male. The brighter it was ...the more that male got to mate. But as in Lake Victoria for example...the water is not as clear and many believe that this is going to lead to natural hybridization as the optical keys for the females to chose the appropiate male arent as clear. I suppose i shouldve called it the unnatural hybridization as man has caused most of the problems there anyways.

So back to the original case in point. What would be the odds of having say some victorians in the same tank as another victorian...say aeneocolors and the hap 44 redtails.....would they hybridize? the females of the 2 are different. But i suppose this situation should never be done as there is too much risk with vics being endangered and all and wanting to keep all vic lines as true as possible.

I just thought that if fish were familiar with what females they were supposed to be breeding with that the risk would go down dramatically. In saying that if there are plans for selling your fry, similar species shouldnt be in together, just to make 100% sure the fry you sell are true as we all know.

Another point:

So are the petshops we go to actually the culprit of all the rage against hybrids as so many people who buy fish separate and have them breed in their tank and then return the fry for some store credit...etc. Dont you think that more of the shops and stores should be more aware of the threat that selling hybridized fish can do to the hobby. I understand that not everyone has MTS like the rest of us...but if they were to try to get as good of species as possible from trusted customers and wholesalers...that would be a start in the right direction.

I have a couple books, where the discussion of the genetics behind the selectiveness gets rather interesting. It details a lot about the various OBs in nature and observation of rituals. I will have to dig out that portion and share it.

I am honestly not sure about Victorians, I would image the likelihood would be higher with fish of the same genus.

You third paragraph depends on the species involved. When my S. fryeri was still alive he was in a tank with J. dickfeldi and obviously I had no concerns.

Not all vics are endangered, many are taking advantage of the other's plight.

On the "rage" against hybrids, some people just prefer a natural order, I am one such person. I would be pissed if I purchased supposedly pure fish who turned out not to be. On the other hand I just choose to skip the mixed tanks as their origins can be dubious at times.