Re: Opal borellii... or false fish

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

George and Carol Richter wrote:

> And that is the rub Mike.  Some would say that what you call "improvements" are actually
> bastardizations - crimes against nature if you will.  Hell, some of these folks would
> actually like to make it illegal.

Personally I prefer wild populations of fish to man-made forms, but I must admit some
domestic forms are really spectacular (yes, even I keep A. cacatuoides [Orange]). But I will
be the last to say my preferences are better than anyone else's. Actually my wife & I joke
that if we find some product we really like, it will be discontinued tomorrow!

> I cannot remember the details and it was one of those crazy Killie guys that actually
> did it.  He created a far more colorful fish through selective breeding and realizing
> that he had lost the original strain, ditched his improved fish without passing it to
> someone who would appreciate it, and went back to breeding the original strain - sicko.
> I guess I have to admit that I am into experimentation.
>
> If I could produce a "better" fish through whatever means, I would.  Problem is that
> hybridization almost never does.  They usually do not look better and almost always are
> infertile.

I remember having a "mongrel" strain of Aphyosemeon gardneri that were very pretty, very
healthy, and extremely productive. A killi friend couldn't stand it and finally traded me
some A. striatum and A. walkeri as long as I gave him all my gardneri. He couldn't stand
seeing mixed populations of the same species. I personally tend to buy only fish from known
populations right now, but this is my preference. I don't want others feel they have to
follow my lead. There are many avenues to enjoying this hobby. Mine takes a more taxonomic
bent (That's why I have a lot or rare "ugly" apistos.).

> False fish?  come on, that is a ridiculous term.  What is it, a reptile.  Let's get real
> folks.  We like wild fish for many reasons - challenge, natural beauty, you name it.
> But almost all of us like really gorgeous fish.  Does how they got that way really
> matter?

You'll have to excuse Colin's use of the term  "False Fish". A better term might have been
"hybridized fish" or "bastardized fish". You might like to know that French is his native
tongue, and I must admit his English vocabulary is much superior to my German (to say
nothing of my nearly non-existent French). I think most of us knew what he meant to say. As
my English 101 professor used to say, "Any English that you can understand is good English.
It might not be proper English, but is good English".

> I think the one thing we can all agree on is we would REALLY like to know what we have.

Me too, and it's getting more difficult where apistos are concerned. Come to the ASG meeting
and see my slides. Not much talking, but you'll see more forms of apistos than you can
believe exist - and I don't have photos of all the forms that I know about! The more forms
we discover the more complicated the genus becomes!

Mike Wise

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