We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t cover any hybrids this year, and like the hardworking elves at Santa’s factory, we made sure we did it with glitter and bow ribbons. This year we had our fair share of hybrid fish, but here are our top five best and shiniest crosses we saw this year in 2013.
Who could forget Jimmy Ma’s amazing hybrid Genicanthus bellus from earlier this year. Genicanthus hybrids are rare but not impossible to find, however finding one of such calibre is like a needle in a haystack. It’s easy to tell that G. bellus had something to do with this hybrid, but guessing the other half of this love child is not going to be easy. Regardless, when we first saw this, it blew us away and even now when we’re taking a second look at the year close, it’s still just as breathtaking.
When it comes to hybrid angelfish, none can hold a candle to the legendary P. venustus x P. multifasciatus hybrid. This Paracentropyge hybrid is perhaps the most amazing natural hybrid of any angelfish that has ever come into existence, and when we found out that Namamugi had a new one this year, we were floored. Check out that labyrinth of squiggles on the body. Shell shocking.
Yet another hybrid angelfish this year that swept us away was this ultra scribbled lemonpeel from SRS Vanuatu. We did a Hong Kong travelogue on Digiman’s adventures down in goldfish street and when we discovered he found not one, not two, but three hybrid lemonpeels, we had to put at least one of them into the list. To find out what the other two hybrid lemonpeels look like, take a quick read at our Hong Kong magazine story.
Finally to break the monotony of angelfish hybrids, we saw our very first ever Cirrhilabrus hybrid to be featured on ReefBuilders. Fairy wrasses almost never form hybrids, and when they do, it’s between the pintail fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus), and the crescent tailed fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus lunatus). This hybrid is usually found in Japan but what we have here was one caught from the Philippines, where the lunatus parent was the Philippines variant. For more information on this amazing wrasse hybrid, this article should jolt your memory.
We end our top five hybrids of 2013 with this lovely bright lemon yellow raccoon x oriental butterflyfish hybrid. Like the lemonpeel hybrids, we found this guy overseas, in BangKok, Thailand. Butterflyfish hybrids are almost sure to make their yearly appearance, but this one caught us by surprise and what a beauty it was. For more juicy information on this fish, here’s the full article we published not too long ago.
So there we go, an end to 2013 and with a bag full of beautiful hybrids to boast. What will 2014 have installed for us? Pen your wish list down in the comment box below. I know what I want. A hybrid Pseudanthias please! I’ve never seen one, and I sure would like to.
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