A little advice please

[Lcasanova]

Hello everyone. I have seen a lot of negative opinions on hybrids in the industry on these forums which I honestly have come to generally agree with however, my 2 Orange Zebras LOVE my yellow lab females. I have approximately 60 to 80 babies at this point ranging from an inch all the way down to "runt size" . Some are pure yellow, others pure orange and the rest are in between. I have to get rid of them somehow but I'm not 100% sure what to do with them. I have seen some online sites sell Yellow Lab/Orange Zebra hybrids for 14.99 a piece. I have seen "Yellow Zebra" at HOT for 4.99 a piece which I am thinking is the cross between orange zebras and yellow labs? I may contact a LFS and ask them if they'll do store credit for the whole bunch or something but I'm not sure they will even take them. Does anyone have any experience with this or can point me in the right direction? Specifically: Is there a legitimate name for this mix, will they actually sell, who might take them, what is reasonable to ask for 60-80 of these guys etc.. Thank you in advance.

 

[jonclark96]

Personally, I would not try to sell the fish to a LFS, even with the representation that they are hybrids. It just perpetuates mixed species fish, known or unknown, in the hobby. Some love hybrids, some hate them, but selling them around leads to who knows what fish people are actually keeping.

If the issue is just tank space/over crowding, there are several members who have large, predatory fish that could use the babies as feeders. Or get a predatory fish for yourself, and you'll have a supply of live fish to feed it.


I am not much in the mbuna scene, so have no idea if this they are a line-bred hybrid with a fancy trade name. I would suspect that any of the LFS that are still around won't have much interest in paying for hybrid mbuna.

 

[bossanova]

Hello everyone. I have seen a lot of negative opinions on hybrids in the industry on these forums which I honestly have come to generally agree with however, my 2 Orange Zebras LOVE my yellow lab females. I have approximately 60 to 80 babies at this point ranging from an inch all the way down to "runt size" . Some are pure yellow, others pure orange and the rest are in between. I have to get rid of them somehow but I'm not 100% sure what to do with them. I have seen some online sites sell Yellow Lab/Orange Zebra hybrids for 14.99 a piece. I have seen "Yellow Zebra" at HOT for 4.99 a piece which I am thinking is the cross between orange zebras and yellow labs? I may contact a LFS and ask them if they'll do store credit for the whole bunch or something but I'm not sure they will even take them. Does anyone have any experience with this or can point me in the right direction? Specifically: Is there a legitimate name for this mix, will they actually sell, who might take them, what is reasonable to ask for 60-80 of these guys etc.. Thank you in advance.

As a former Mbuna keeper, I can tell you that best practice is to not keep yellow Labs with red zebras for this reason.
If you do get hybrids, don’t let them leave your home. The hobby needs pure L. Caereleus and M. Estherae lines.

 

[Lcasanova]

I've gotten all of the females out of my main tank....I think.