Breeding Salvinis with Firemouths?

[Carlitouus]

Hey I have this friend at work that has said her salvini and his firemouth are breeding!!!

It's a nice mix which makes me very impatient to see what they will look like!

Anyhow... has anyone done this before? I am trying to get a female now that he told me that . The ones I saw an hour ago at my local petstore were black(salvini) and not yellow... will they turn overtime?

Also, I know cichlids are aggressive when spawing and will know how to protect their eggs and everything... but is it possible to leave a crab, a snail and a pleco along with them?

Pleco because I want the tank to be as clean as possible for these little guys and well the crab I would just love it in the tank(it's for the bedroom I want it to show off with girls )
If it isn't it won't be a problem as I have mroe tanks... and the snail is beautiful, a zebra snail that really looks like a freshwater one.

What do you guys think about this whole thing?

Thank you and would appreciate feedback and a huge debate!!!

 

[HUKIT]

It's situations like this have wrecked a good number of genus, try to find a pure strain of Amphilophus Citrinellus almost everything now is disgusting mix of amphilophus labiatus/citrinellus or midevil now is a better term. Hybrids make trying to ID a fish extremely difficult, it's weakens the strain of fish causing behavioral issues, and potential health problems. The responsible hobbyist would cull the fry or eggs not risking the chance to reintroduce the fish back into the gene pool. I've heard the excuse that they will never leave my tank, but invariably most do, when your friends want the "franken" fish and continues the cycle so on and so on. I for one would never have a hybrid fish of that nature, and most that know me are aware that I'm a cichlid snob since most of my fish are F1 or wild caught species. Then you have the greedy breeders overseas making fish for the sheer purpose of profit such as the flowerhorn which in most true hobbyist view is a unethical monstrosity. With more than 1500+ species of documented cichlids I'm sure there is one would fit your idea of a perfect fish. I'm probably one of the most outspoken people on this forum when it comes to the ethics of hybrids but remember you asked for opinions.

 

[Carlitouus]

You may be right, I appreciate your comment... not that you got me thinking there is a lot of good in your comment. i might not do this anymore, I just thought that since they were both found in the same lakes or w.e, it'd be nice to breed them but I guess not.

I appreciate... any other people who want to share?

 

[5x5]

Other than the financial inentives for hybrids like Flowerhorns, It's hard to see the upside to this.

I've never actually heard someone present a good argument for creating fish hybrids (especially for an aquarium setting), so I couldn't even play devil's advocate for fun.

Hukit's points are very hard to argue with. As an aquarist, I am trying to obtain beautiful natural specimens and building them an environment in which they can thrive and potentially breed. Hybrids have no value to me personally and they're ugly.