Allchca:
I didn't intend for my post to come across as a personal attack on you. I apologize to you and the membership if it was interpreted as such. You have to remember that the general public visits this forum looking for answers, and I feel they deserve to hear the facts from both sides of a particular subject. The key word here being facts, not opinions, or unsupported guesswork. There are times when an honest guess is the best I have to offer. I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as a lot of folks on here. When that happens, I try to be sure and label my response as such: a guess, or opinion, not to be taken as an absolute fact. While I am a supporter of HBG when stocked in the appropriate environment, you may be surprised to learn that although I have 6 ponds, only 1 has HBG in it. The rest have northern strain BG and RES. I eat, sleep, and breathe trying to learn everything I can that has to do with BG, ALL variations of BG.
I am a relative newcomer to the PB forum, so I have had to spend countless hours delving into the archives reading about BG and HBG. I honestly think I have read everything here that pertains to these fish. Along the way I've figured out a few things.
Inquiries regarding HBG are one of the most common items posted here. They can also be one of the most likely to be, shall we say, tiptoed around? This is in no way meant as a criticism to anyone. I'm sure that the mods and the senior members of the forum all groan in unison over the same questions arising over and over. Perhaps a more user-friendly search function, or a commonly asked questions area that is species specific would help alleviate some of the repitiveness.
Then you have the personal aspect. unfortunately, it appears in years' past that there was some bad blood involving a variant of HBG. Suffice to say there were casualties on both sides. Understandably, this is not an area that most senior members wish to re-visit.
I would hazard a guess that most BG enthusiasts' begin their journey with HBG. Whether or not they look back on it as a neccessary evil that they forced themselves to endure, or merely a simple rite of passage, is a question that only they can answer.
If I am in my HBG "phase", then I welcome it. I haven't put the time in that others before me have, so I have yet to earn my answers. I am looking forward to the process.
This much I do know. A HBG is most certainly not the miracle sunfish that it is sometimes portrayed to be. It has issues that limit it's applications, and a wise pondmeister will pay heed to these shortcomings. However, it doesn't have to be some type of evil, finned genie, who when released from it's lamp will lay waste to your water.
I hope I haven't opened Pandora's box here today, I know I've typed a similar message many times before and always deleted it. If I have crossed the line, please take any action you deem appropriate, and accept my apology.
Tony
