A guy dropped off some mixed African cichlids at the store today, and after putting them in the tanks I noticed a holding yellow lab and made sure to separate her so she doesn't spit/eat the eggs due to aggression/stress. I was wondering what the odds are for labs to hybridize? Would it be with it to try to rear the fry, or should I strip her so she can eat?
Yellow Lab holding possible hybrids
- Thread starter CrazedAce
- Start date
A
Anonymous
Guest
Its your fish do as you please but dont sell it without letting the person know its a hybrid. Hybrids are beautiful like angels or discus.
hyp3rcrav3
Well-Known Member
Hybrids and crossbreeds are 2 different things.
Hybrids and crossbreeds are two different terms, not "things". In fact they are the same "thing" which is a cross between one fish and another. The difference is the acceptance of what is called crossbreeds, though there are a ton of people who would argue that they don't accept them as a species and it is an abomination etc etc. Hybrids are typically accidental and have no line breeding in them whatsoever, the "go with the flow" monster.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand; I won't be able to truly tell if they are hybrids or not until they start displaying colors and normal body shape. What I was wondering is how many different types of fish could a yellow lab find attractive to want to breed with it? What would be the odds of the fry being hybrids?
I love mouthbrooders, and yellow labs would go perfect in my African male tank. But I am turned off at the thought of them being mixed, so I came here for advice. Looks like I may just strip the premature fry and feed them to everyone. :|
Anyways, back to the topic at hand; I won't be able to truly tell if they are hybrids or not until they start displaying colors and normal body shape. What I was wondering is how many different types of fish could a yellow lab find attractive to want to breed with it? What would be the odds of the fry being hybrids?
I love mouthbrooders, and yellow labs would go perfect in my African male tank. But I am turned off at the thought of them being mixed, so I came here for advice. Looks like I may just strip the premature fry and feed them to everyone. :|
A
Anonymous
Guest
Save one just to see what it looks like. Then if its a male keep it in the all male tank for show. If its female well humanely put it out misery existence to prevent anymore abomination in the world. Lol. 
:
:hyp3rcrav3
Well-Known Member
Not neccesarily. A hybrid can be the same species being line bred for characteristics, For instance the Red Discus were line bred from the brown species and the Blue Discus were line bred from the green species (names aren't at the tp of my head). They are hybrid but not cross bred. Many of the other discus breeds are crosses. I suppose some hybrids are also crosses but the distinction is important. Fancy guppies are hybrid but not cross bred.
hyp3rcrav3
Well-Known Member
I looked it up. Crossbreeding produces hybrids as well but breeding charachteristics in one species is also creating hybrids. It has multiple definitions. My mistake. I still believe if a species is endangered, it should be maintained as a pure line.
The labs will breed with plenty of others. I've seen mine spawning or attempting to spawn with other species. In tanks that I keep more than one species, I let the females spit in the tank and there are rarely any survivors.
If your holding female came from a mixed tank and you didn't witness the spawn, I think it would be best not to keep the fry. If she's being harassed or isn't eating at all, then stripping is a good option.
If your holding female came from a mixed tank and you didn't witness the spawn, I think it would be best not to keep the fry. If she's being harassed or isn't eating at all, then stripping is a good option.