# Flowerhorned to death!



## trimac (Mar 27, 2003)

I just have to get this off my chest. But, the other day I went to Pet-Smart and my wife alerted me that they had Trimac there-I was excited but when I saw the fish I really had a hard time deciding if they were Trimac or just an ugly Flowerhorn. I must of observed those fish for atleast an hour deciding on whether or not they were actually Trimac. Anyways, I decided not to buy them and I was really upset. Why? It seems that nowadays every cichlid in the universe is being used to create some different type of Flowerhorn-and I am sick of it-for example Lyosoni are rare and they too are being used to make hybrid fish-I mean when does the madness stop-I believe that ten years from now it will be next to impossible to find a pure strain cichlid and as far as Trimac I believe in 10 years that fish may not even exist! I mean you got your Flowerhorn, Red Texas, Red GT, Jag Hybrid, and a list of many others-I'm not putting down people who love hybrids-but don't you think that it has gone too far!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Preaching to the choir here ... I find it odd african cichlid keepers are so against hybrids but neotropical keepers seem to encourage them. This wasn't the case, back in the early 90's our pet store would take in hybrid fry but then feed them to the oscars and pikes so they didn't get out and we never sold blood parrots. How far things have changed becuase of money.


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Its the same thing as glowfish. Everytime I am in a LFS that sell them, some girl always goes "Look at the pretty fish!" referring to the glowfish and I just sigh. I am surprised a lot of things are not taboo in the fish world. I guess if you can't pet them, they don't get the same rights as other animals. I enjoy hybrids, but I understand the necessity for them to be destroyed early if you don't intend to raise them.


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## DirtyBlackSocks (Jan 24, 2008)

Pretty much what we see today with red devil/midas strains will be what happens with trimacs ect.

Even a lot of labs and peacock strains aren't pure anymore, and it can be near impossible to tell with africans if you aren't very well educated in their morphology!

Flower horns are definitely cool fish, and a lot of effort has gone into their breeding - which I can respect. It's not just a cross strain between two fish, and a lot of thought and effort has gone into what they've created.

It is still unfortunate that there is not an easier way of confining and properly labeling which fish come in from importers.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Breeders are going to breed what sellsâ€¦ although I donâ€™t agree with such a moral-less approach, itâ€™s the ugly reality of the society we live in todayâ€¦

We are destroying our bodies and our planet in pursuit of what feels goodâ€¦ why not wipe out a few fish species along the wayâ€¦

Individuals not realizing what it takes to make â€œquality hybridsâ€


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## trimac (Mar 27, 2003)

True why would I consider purchasing a fish at Pet-Smart-I guess I had the itch to buy a fish :lol:


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

lol, well that's a reason that has no arguing... and I can relate...


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## darthodo (Aug 27, 2005)

Actually the occurance of hybrids has made pure fish expensive too. If one wants a pure=bred species badly enough they will buy from Rapps or some other reputable retailer that specializes in pure-bred or wild-caught cichlids. So then you not only pay more for an individual fish, you also pay for shipping too. I am one that likes to know what I'm getting and most fish that I want aren't available at the lfs anyway. Also, if you talk to lfs employees enough (even the owners), you find out they know a great deal less than you do about the fish they have in stock. Diseases at the lfs are a problem too.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i for one love flowerhorns.my absolute favorite fish.


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