Re: Cross Breeding In Apistos

[cfonda@sentientconsult.com]

OK, I find it necessary to indulge my ever-present urge to summarize and
add my own comments.  I have been watching and participating in this debate
with great interest for the past few days.  I even find myself believing it
to have been productive.

The arguments I have seen against cross breeding are:
1)  Preservation of Pure Populations -- If science ever has to reintroduce
these fish back into their native habitats, it is important to have pure
preserved strains.  This is an important goal and one we should all keep in
mind.  It is also important to attempt to avoid excessive inbreeding.

2)  Past Failures -- Hybridization has been tried in the past with only
limited success.  These past failures should provide vital information to
the prospective hybrid breeder and indicates that caution and sharing of
information are necessary.

3)  Reliability of Available Supplies -- There is a very valid concern that
irresponsible breeding of hybrids might result in the supply of apisto's on
the market becoming unreliable in terms of purity of strains.

All of these arguments indicate that if hybridization is to be attempted,
it should be undertaken cautiously and responsibly.  It is possible to
breed hybrids (or simply new color-morphs within a single species) without
sacrificing the goal of preserving pure populations of naturally occurring
strains and without damaging the reliability of the fish available on the
market -- but only if the endeavor is undertaken with a sufficient degree
of forethought.

The arguments I have seen for cross breeding are:
1)  Increasing the Popularity/Beauty of the Population -- Personally, I do
not care how popular apisto's become, so long as they remain available and
reliable.  As for beauty, if some beautiful strains can be generated and
documented as to their origin and multi-generational genetic reliability, I
would be interested.

2)  It Has Worked for Other Fish/Plants/Animals -- Some of the fish and
plants available today would not exist without cross-breeding (not always
hybridization - sometimes just cross breeding of color strains).  This
holds true for other animals -- most of our domesticated house pets would
not exist without cross breeding, and these are distinct species from their
forebears.  It is important, however, to insure that we do not "destroy"
those species that occur naturally.

3)  Pursuit of Greater Knowledge -- Some of the species of fish that are
identified (not just among apisto's) are classified based upon their
appearance/markings without first conducting research into whether they are
genetically distinct species.  There is a possibility that some of the
species identified might be fully genetically compatible with other
species.  If this were discovered to be the case, it might prompt a
rethinking of some of the classifications.  Biology has a long history of
home-grown researchers, so this is possible, however unlikely.

If cross breeding is to be done, it is important to make sure it is done
without polluting the naturally occurring strains.  I think this holds true
for cross breeding color-morphs within the same species as well as for
breeding true hybrids.  It is also important to make sure that the
reliability of the supply available on the market is not compromised.  So,
if it is to be undertaken, forethought, good record keeping and
documentation, and sharing of knowledge gained are vital.  Do not sell
cross-bred fish without making sure the buyer knows exactly what he/she is
getting.  For the time being, I think this goal implies avoiding sale of
such fish to most stores.  Also, let other apisto lovers know what your
results are... the knowledge does no good if we do not share it.  With
sufficient care, cross breeding experiments may be possible without
damaging the populations of apisto's which already exist.  I think the
bottom line is that ANY breeding should be undertaken responsibly.

Sorry about the long post, but I wanted to kill this horse and hopefully
let this debate die down for the time being.  We are not all going to agree
and we are certainly not going to be able to force others to share our
opinions.  For those of us who do not want to see cross breeding
undertaken, the concerns expressed are valid but it may not be possible to
prevent those breeders who want to from doing so... the best that can be
done in that case is to ask them to keep those concerns in mind and do so
responsibly.  For those of us who are in favor of cross breeding, there is
a responsibility to other apisto keepers to make sure the reliability and
preservation of these fish are not sacrificed.

Cliff Fonda