Time to bring these babies back!
- Thread starter Mayja
- Start date
The subject of FW livebears really strikes a raw nerve with me, for several reasons.
On the article specifically. It's a typical [expletive deleted] TFH article. Long list of fish where most of them are almost impossible to obtain. First off, then fish listed are simply not available, unless you happen to know some specialist that is breeding for fun. There are very good reasons for this. The most important reason is that almost all of them are ugly fish, especially when compared to the other live bearing fish and otherwise you see in every LFS. Don't take my word for it, take a look for yourself. Here are links to some picts of them (all links OFFSITE) -
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/girardinus-metallicus/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/heterandria-formosa/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/limia-nigrofasciata/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/limia-melanogaster/
http://www.aquapage.eu/fish/poecilia-salvatoris.html
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/dermogenys-pusilla/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/ameca-splendens/
IMHO, none of these fish look like anything real special. Now it would be unfair to compare them to the reef fish we are use to seeing, but lets compare them to a few typical fish commonly available at your LFS. (all links OFFSITE)
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1102+2941&pcatid=2941
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1101+2089&pcatid=2089
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+882+974&pcatid=974
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+888+1172&pcatid=1172
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+890+901&pcatid=901
Notice that I've not picked any rare, exotic or expensive fish. As you can see the fish in the TFH article are never going to be popular, no matter how available they become.
It should also be pointed out that halfbeaks are aggressive predators and will tend to eat other fish. A couple of others are noted fin nippers.
Now I've been in the hobby about 45 years, and yes, I own a copy of Exotic Aquarium Fishes by William Innes. BTW it's still in print, but your much better off if you can find a vintage copy from the 1950's or before. In all that time I've only seen Dwarf Mosquitofish, Humpbacked Limia and Wrestling Halfbeak offered a few times. I've never even seen the other species listed.
The bottom line is why does the author of the article think these fish should be brought back into the hobby, when they have very little to offer compared to other available fish?
End of rant, and sorry to sound so negative.
On the article specifically. It's a typical [expletive deleted] TFH article. Long list of fish where most of them are almost impossible to obtain. First off, then fish listed are simply not available, unless you happen to know some specialist that is breeding for fun. There are very good reasons for this. The most important reason is that almost all of them are ugly fish, especially when compared to the other live bearing fish and otherwise you see in every LFS. Don't take my word for it, take a look for yourself. Here are links to some picts of them (all links OFFSITE) -
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/girardinus-metallicus/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/heterandria-formosa/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/limia-nigrofasciata/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/limia-melanogaster/
http://www.aquapage.eu/fish/poecilia-salvatoris.html
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/dermogenys-pusilla/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/ameca-splendens/
IMHO, none of these fish look like anything real special. Now it would be unfair to compare them to the reef fish we are use to seeing, but lets compare them to a few typical fish commonly available at your LFS. (all links OFFSITE)
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1102+2941&pcatid=2941
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1101+2089&pcatid=2089
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+882+974&pcatid=974
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+888+1172&pcatid=1172
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+890+901&pcatid=901
Notice that I've not picked any rare, exotic or expensive fish. As you can see the fish in the TFH article are never going to be popular, no matter how available they become.
It should also be pointed out that halfbeaks are aggressive predators and will tend to eat other fish. A couple of others are noted fin nippers.
Now I've been in the hobby about 45 years, and yes, I own a copy of Exotic Aquarium Fishes by William Innes. BTW it's still in print, but your much better off if you can find a vintage copy from the 1950's or before. In all that time I've only seen Dwarf Mosquitofish, Humpbacked Limia and Wrestling Halfbeak offered a few times. I've never even seen the other species listed.
The bottom line is why does the author of the article think these fish should be brought back into the hobby, when they have very little to offer compared to other available fish?
End of rant, and sorry to sound so negative.