Crossbreed Cichlids??

[Exevious]

how common are cross breeds??
I have grown very curious about this....
At the petsmart, petco, and lfs store I always see a generic 'mixed cichlid tank' with cheaper pricing.... but I will see fish that I would assume should be sorted into species specific tanks.

I figured maybe they were cross breeds.. and have been nervious about purchasing them.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

They are very common. Especially in those "Mixed African" tanks. Thats what a lot of them are, mixed. Sometimes you find gems and pure-breeds in those tanks but be warned a lot are mixed.

At least in the mbuna i see nothing wrong with keeping those mixes, i started with the mixes and they lived just like any other.

The pricing may be either because they are easy to breed and they have a lot in stock at the wholsaler or because no one really wants them, no demand so not a huge pricetag.

Here is a pretty good article on them. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/mixed_africans.php

 

[wayne]

If they could sell them for more money they would. I have seen some gems in these tanks (notably a frontosa!), but not so often. Lots of 'videonasties' though
Bear in mind the original haplochromine ancestor was likely brown with a blue sheen. Keep crossing your fish and that's where you'll likely endup.