Very good posts.
In my perspective, this controversy is somewhat akin to the controvery between realists (e.g. still life painters) and surrealists, impressionists, and others in the world of art. More than one art critic has called the work of Monet, Picasso, and other "famous" artists "vulgar," distasteful, and the first step towards the appocolypse...because the work - no matter its merit - doesn't accurately portray (or distorts) the natural world.
I think it all comes down to this: Some people are engergized by the natural (replicating nature and its sublime beauty in their fish tanks) and some by the super-natural (enhancing nature in their fish tanks). To me whole concept of keeping a slice of a lake in a glass box in my basement is a little super-natural
The PVC pipes and flower pots (not horns) probably don't help!
By super-natural, I'm not just referring to flower horns and other hybrids. I'm referring to other attempts to enhance the beauty of natural organisms: goldfish and koi, line bred peacocks, electric blue jack dempseys, long-finned varieties of fish, all of the fancy discus varieties, fancy guppies, bettas, mollies, etc....
Just as there is "bad" still life art (a portrait of Elvis that looks more like my uncle Mike), there is "bad" non-classical art (the blank white canvas or the urinal mounted on a wall comes to mind). Same is true in the aquarium hobby: jerks who mislabel and misrepresent fish, sell random hybrids as pure, breed and sell poor quality fish (ever seen poor quality fancy goldfish or bettas vs. top quality ones?), tattoo "I Love You" on Gouramis (Think your job sucks: imagine the poor guy in Thailand that spends 12 hours/ day, 7 days/week tattooing gouramis and painting glass fish).
I think that in time hobbyists (like art enthusiasts) will come to appreciate the merits of those who strive for quality fishkeeping, whether natural or super-natural. And hopefully more of those who have a passion for keeping wild-type fish can come to understand those who have a passion for flowerhorns (and vice-versa) My take is that the two groups people are closer that they think...and "cross pollentation" is something that should be encouraged.
Not sure why I'm so philosophical on a Thursday AM. Maybe too much coffee :wacko:
Matt
Personally, my take on the whole Hybrid thing is that so long as they are sold for what they are, which is HYBRIDS, or the accepted name for the hybrids, if I like the fish I will buy it. I have no compunctions (like many) against hybrids. I will not BREED hybrids though, unless you count my domestic Angels or Discus who are very much hybrids already. I think of them more along the lines of different breeds, like Labrador Retrievers or Boxers or Pugs. People don't get up in arms about breeding a horse to a donkey, which produces the valuable mule, who is sterile and very useful and shares many of the better qualities of the horse and the donkey. People don't get upset breeding a Thoroughbred horse to an Arabian, producing the Anglo Arab who has many of the nicer qualities of the Arab while adding the size of the Thoroughbred. Some great horses are produced by crossing the hot blooded but VERY athletic and competitive but generally crazy Thoroughbred (I own one, I've ridden plenty of them, I love them but they are generally speaking crazy in one way or another) to a heavy draft horse, or one of the more placid breeds. You can say that those are different breeds, not species. And except in the case of the mule, you are right.
Some people will only buy a pure bred dog or a pure bred horse, some will NOT buy a pure bred dog, or a pure bred horse, and some don't care so long as the dog or horse is what they are looking for. And some people will only buy a pure bred fish, and some people don't care. I know that some of you think that producing hybrids is wrong. The only argument that has any weight with me is that it might be bad for the hobby. I personally don't see how, so long as the fish are sold under the proper name. And all kinds of fish are sold under the wrong names! Other then that many people here don't like them, I have seen no real reason for them not to exist. If any of you want, feel free to tell me WHY those hybrids are so wrong to have in the hobby.
These are my opinions on the subject. But I will warn you: they are long held and examined a great deal. I am not likely to change them.[/b]
