surprise from petsmart

[DylanJkfish]

Well I have been needing a cull machine for a while but looks like I didnt get the kind i wanted.
Went to petsmart friday to get a new little jack dempsey but after some help from Melani (owl) we have come to the conclusion that what I have bought is actually a Flower horn! Time for another visit to petsmart!!
Although very pretty color, that giant lump and huge size is not what im looking for.

[BallAquatics]

Although very pretty color, that giant lump and huge size is not what im looking for.

You are aware that a Jack Dempsey will grow to be almost a foot long???

Dennis

[LizStreithorst]

Flower Horns are an abomination.

[DylanJkfish]

Yes im aware. But i figure a 10" fish is much better than a 14"+ fish. Tank size is also a problem between the two. While a jd only requires a 45gal (male) a fh requires atleast a 75gal (male) .

Dylan

[b125killer]

Flower Horns are an abomination.

I have to agree.  I'm not in favor of man made fish.

[BallAquatics]

I have to agree.

I would agree as well, and go on to extend it to other animals too!

Dennis

[DylanJkfish]

Flower Horns are an abomination.

I have to agree.  I'm not in favor of man made fish.

Man made??

Dylan

[BallAquatics]

I assume he meant some un-natural hybridization.

Dennis

[BillT]

I'm not so against hybrid fish as a lot of people are.

I like the colorful swordtails and platies. They are all hybrids to some degree.
Some of the longfin or lyretail swordtails can not breed by their selves but require artificial insemination due to their overly long fins and in particular their gonopodium.

Many of the Xiphophorus species are the result of hybridization in their evolutionary past.

Fish that have the equivalent of genetic diseases I don't like much, but not all of those are hybrids, like some of the weird-o goldfish.

Genetically made fluorescent fish like glo-fish, I don't want any but I don't hate them.
I do consider injected fish bad though.

I do think flowerhorns look mis-shapened and garish, but don't know much else about them.

I am annoyed when I find hybrid danios in fish stores because they are not labeled properly and contaminate the otherwise pure genetics of a species, but I also find them interesting for biological reasons.

As an aside, the are whole species of sunflowers that exist as the result of hybridization in the wild (so much for the biological species concept).
Any time the two parent species cross fertilize they create individuals of hybrid species. The hybrid species members do can't cross with the parent species and make fertile offspring and are therefore reproductively isolated.

A kind of fish hybrid: There are species of mollies that are all female, but require a male for a closely related species to fertilize their eggs to start the egg's development. The sperms chromosomes are then either ejected from the egg or inactivated some other way.

[b125killer]

I agree to some extent.  Alot of the angels have been breed for the specific genes to get the diffrent types of angels we see today. But the flower horns are a genetic splice between several different species. They aren't a fish that's found in the wild. I feel the same way with glo fish. But at lest the glo fish wasn't injected to get it's colors. It's just the man made hybrids that I don't care for.

[ilroost]

I have a big beautiful female flowerhorn and love her!!