Re: Endler's livebearer article

Posted by Chromedome on 2011/12/6 13:57:38

Nice article, but at least two history factual errors:

1. Rosen did classify the livebearers he received from Endler. He told him they were guppies, this is well known to those who were around at the time. Absence of further classification was not due to his passing, but because he had already determined that they were, in his opinion, Guppies. Kallman called them Endler's as a sort of joke, but the distinct appearance caused hobbyists to think it was a new species. So that debate has existed from the very beginning.

2. The Endler "classification system" was invented at Swamp River Aquatics, Endler had nothing to do with it. Adrian then tried to declare himself to be the sole arbiter of what classification a fish fell into. Credit is due for the fact that SRA was the largest and most prolific distributor of these fish, and they created many of the hybrid lines that are so colorful and popular. However, the classification system was an attempt to control the market.

I know both of these to be facts, as I was around when they happened. Jim Langhammer knew all parties involved in the original naming of "Endler's", and was my source for that info. I have also discussed Swamp River Aquatics with several oldtimers on Aquabid, where the classifications were first used as a selling point.