Overseas Selling Of Catfish

[oscnz]

I was quite shocked that this is how the market is http://www.riverwonders.com/p-45-new-un ... pleco.aspx

Selling fish even before the are classified

[Rabbit]

I was quite shocked that this is how the market is http://www.riverwonders.com/p-45-new-un ... pleco.aspx

Selling fish even before the are classified

That fish was classified about a year ago :roll:

[Joshlikesfish]

That fish was classified about a year ago :roll:

I think you are one of few on the forum that are aware of that :roll:

[SamH]

That fish was classified about a year ago :roll:

If only all of us could be as knowledgeable as you Rabbit -.-

[Rabbit]

You'll give me a big head.

[David R]

I was quite shocked that this is how the market is http://www.riverwonders.com/p-45-new-un ... pleco.aspx

Selling fish even before the are classified

You know there's loads of "unclassified" fish on the market eh? Its not uncommon. Geophagus Sp. 'Red Head Tapajos', Heros Sp. 'Rotkeil', Countless suckermouth cats, African cichlids etc. When you see a genus followed by "Sp." it is an abbreviation for "species" and is used when the species is unknown, the other words (like "rotkeil") that follow are just a handle assigned to it until it is formally classified.

The classification of some fish that have been in the hobby for years is still not resolved, there is still a lot of confusion surrounding what exactly "green terrors" are, for example, and they have been imported and bred in captivity for over 30 years! There are all sorts of complicated issues, like when does variation between isolated populations constitute a new species, that confuse things. A taxonomist may write a description for a species based on one type locality, but the fish from the next river may have subtle differences and until someone gets around to doing some serious research it will remain unknown whether they are actually a new species or just a regional variant.

And [not wanting to sound like a broken record] that is why I feel its important for people to understand Latin, because if the average hobbyist doesn't know the difference between Andinoacara cf. rivulatus and Andinoacara rivulatus we end up with all sorts of confusion...