Fish you'd like to see less of...

[oakes]

I hate those deformed 'balloon' mollies and rams.
I just don't understand how people can be attracted to these freak mutants.

 

[lilfishie]

oh i saw ballon rams in my lfs the other day
and they had a tank full of ID sharks and its only a small local lfs

 

[ally86ozzy]

Bettas. not cuz i dont like em, but cuz they keep them in teeny weeny cups or bowls. thats fish cruelty, and i hate it.

 

[tyyrlym]

Argggggghhhhhhh. Why do people keep resurecting anceint threads? Ohh well, its already been resurected.

Blame the "Similar Topics" section at the bottom. Easy to miss that some of the threads are years old.

Balloon Mollies, poor things are just painful to look at.
Painted Glassfish, seriously... why?
Mickey Mouse Platys, I like platys but there is more than one variety.

 

[Jodiem]

id like to see less CAEs, i brought 3 for my 15g the shop didnt label them or say they should be kept on their own and the shop put them in the same bag as cardinal tetras!!! (which lasted for 3 hours)

one CAE died after the 1st day now im left with 2

but its partly my fault for buying them (well my dad for saying get a few of them) but the shops fault for not labelling them!!

Thanks Jodie

 

[Sparnon]

I hate those deformed 'balloon' mollies and rams.
I just don't understand how people can be attracted to these freak mutants.

I don't understand why people react to them so strongly to be honest. I've never seen any that have suffered from problems. In fact most people report that they're the most lively fish in their tank.

 

[oakes]

I hate those deformed 'balloon' mollies and rams.
I just don't understand how people can be attracted to these freak mutants.

I don't understand why people react to them so strongly to be honest. I've never seen any that have suffered from problems. In fact most people report that they're the most lively fish in their tank.

I don't doubt that they may be perfectly healthy and lively.
I simply don't understand why someone would be attracted to a mutant animal that has its body proportions all out of whack.
Would you buy a balloon labrador?

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I hate those deformed 'balloon' mollies and rams.
I just don't understand how people can be attracted to these freak mutants.

I don't understand why people react to them so strongly to be honest. I've never seen any that have suffered from problems. In fact most people report that they're the most lively fish in their tank.

I don't doubt that they may be perfectly healthy and lively.
I simply don't understand why someone would be attracted to a mutant animal that has its body proportions all out of whack.
Would you buy a balloon labrador?

Id buy a baloon labradoor and make a labradoor hot air baloon.....

Id like to see alot less Betta's in the trade, not so much the wild ones but the genetic defect ones with the long fins...

 

[Sparnon]

I hate those deformed 'balloon' mollies and rams.
I just don't understand how people can be attracted to these freak mutants.

I don't understand why people react to them so strongly to be honest. I've never seen any that have suffered from problems. In fact most people report that they're the most lively fish in their tank.

I don't doubt that they may be perfectly healthy and lively.
I simply don't understand why someone would be attracted to a mutant animal that has its body proportions all out of whack.
Would you buy a balloon labrador?

Would it surprise you to learn that probably a good 70 to 80% of the fish you see in your LFS are mutations and selective breedings of wild fish and only barely resemble their wild counterparts?

To take your rhetorical question literally, no I wouldn't, because I don't like labradors. But do you seriously think that "labradors" existed in the wild? Nearly all domesticated dogs are bred, inbred, selectively bred and in some cases genetically modified or enhanced to produce an animal that fits in with pedigree guidelines. "New breeds" come from unexpected mutations that have been kept by inbreeding. Look at rex animals for instance. This is not just limited to fish and dogs. Cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice, chinchillas, gerbils, degus, goats, ponys, horses, sheep, cows, chickens, geese, ducks, cage birds, reptiles, invertibrates, you name it they're all bred like this.

My rat is a rex rat and he's the most awesome rat ever. He *loves* people. But he's still a mutation, does that mean I should be "disgusted" by him? Sidelining one subspecies as unattractive simply because you know that it's not a natural mutation is patently rediculous when I would be willing to bet you fifty bucks that the majority of whats in your tank now are at the very least colour-mutations. In fact your albino catfish definately IS a mutant. Your sharks and barbs have most likely come from an intensive breeding program to select the brightest colours or to preserve certain desireable colourations and body shape.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

I would like to see inches and feet written out instead of 1' and 1'' Thats a lot of difference if you aren't paying close attention.

 

[shelaghfishface]

oscars!
for one i think too many people with no idea buy them ( once saw an old couple buy one with a pot of flakes about 2 inches)
secondley, if i didnt see them i wouldnt have to spend ages drooling over them

 

[oakes]

Would it surprise you to learn that probably a good 70 to 80% of the fish you see in your LFS are mutations and selective breedings of wild fish and only barely resemble their wild counterparts?

To take your rhetorical question literally, no I wouldn't, because I don't like labradors. But do you seriously think that "labradors" existed in the wild? Nearly all domesticated dogs are bred, inbred, selectively bred and in some cases genetically modified or enhanced to produce an animal that fits in with pedigree guidelines. "New breeds" come from unexpected mutations that have been kept by inbreeding. Look at rex animals for instance. This is not just limited to fish and dogs. Cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, mice, chinchillas, gerbils, degus, goats, ponys, horses, sheep, cows, chickens, geese, ducks, cage birds, reptiles, invertibrates, you name it they're all bred like this.

My rat is a rex rat and he's the most awesome rat ever. He *loves* people. But he's still a mutation, does that mean I should be "disgusted" by him? Sidelining one subspecies as unattractive simply because you know that it's not a natural mutation is patently rediculous when I would be willing to bet you fifty bucks that the majority of whats in your tank now are at the very least colour-mutations. In fact your albino catfish definately IS a mutant. Your sharks and barbs have most likely come from an intensive breeding program to select the brightest colours or to preserve certain desireable colourations and body shape.

Yep, i agree with most of that. Mutations occur in all species and a few are perceived as attractive or preferred traits that should be retained and promoted. Again, whilst albinos or other colour mutations are arguably attractive, i simply state that i don’t see how major body deformations such as in ‘balloons’ can be considered attractive. When a major physical deformation such as that occurs in any other domestic animal they are usually destroyed at birth.
But hey, each to their own, if you find them attractive that’s fine.

 

[Sparnon]

Actually major physical mutations, particularly dwarfism, is usually kept and aggressively inbred because they are such a novelty. I've only ever heard of disfigurements, growths and defects being euthanized, and they're all quite set apart from dwarf or albino type mutations. I reject your usage of the term "deformation" due to it's negative connotations in terms of the health of the fish, and technically it is dwarfism, which is a mutation that retains proportions but merely condenses size, resulting in a "squashed" appearance that some people find endearing. Deformation is entirely different. Calling a dwarf fish a deformed fish is no different to calling a dwarf human deformed.

I find fish dwarfism to be quite attractive, and in fact I advocate the increase in dwarf varietys because they reduce the number of problems with people buying juveniles at fish shops under the misguided assumption that they won't get much bigger. I appreciate that not everyone likes the same fish, it's all a matter of taste, and I respect you for respecting my preferences, but you need to understand that you can't favour one type of mutation over the other, or mislabel certain types of mutation in such a dubious fashion. There's no such thing as a "illigitimate" mutation, they're all pretty much the same. Dwarfism and albinism are both as desireable as eachother, it just so happens that you have a preference towards albinism.

 

[oakes]

Actually major physical mutations, particularly dwarfism, is usually kept and aggressively inbred because they are such a novelty. I've only ever heard of disfigurements, growths and defects being euthanized, and they're all quite set apart from dwarf or albino type mutations. I reject your usage of the term "deformation" due to it's negative connotations in terms of the health of the fish, and technically it is dwarfism, which is a mutation that retains proportions but merely condenses size, resulting in a "squashed" appearance that some people find endearing. Deformation is entirely different. Calling a dwarf fish a deformed fish is no different to calling a dwarf human deformed.

I find fish dwarfism to be quite attractive, and in fact I advocate the increase in dwarf varietys because they reduce the number of problems with people buying juveniles at fish shops under the misguided assumption that they won't get much bigger. I appreciate that not everyone likes the same fish, it's all a matter of taste, and I respect you for respecting my preferences, but you need to understand that you can't favour one type of mutation over the other, or mislabel certain types of mutation in such a dubious fashion. There's no such thing as a "illigitimate" mutation, they're all pretty much the same. Dwarfism and albinism are both as desireable as eachother, it just so happens that you have a preference towards albinism.

I don't agree that with the 'balloons' the body proportions are retained. If they were, and were they simply miniature versions of the normal variety i would see no difference, aesthetically, to the normal variety. Their bodies are bloated and larger in proportion to their heads than the normal variety. That's why they look 'deformed'. If they were true dwarfs surely they wouldn't look 'squashed' as you say, they would just look small.

 

[wendywc]

I have to say I would like to see less and less balloon mollies and parrot fish. Ugly, ugly disproportioned fish.