Good last two posts, and glad that findawg gave clarification on how breed hybridization and species hybridization are different.
I wanted to point out the situation with FW Malawi & other rift cichlids is different from that of reef fish. This is what evolutionary biologists use as a prime example of adaptive radiation over a short period of time. Therefore, the species that have been separated are considered relatively young and "soft", still in that genetically malleable stage, so to speak, where many of the biological mechanisms that keep hybrids sterile don't exist (for anyone who is into this stuff, this is the difference between a pre-zygotic and post-zygotic mechanism). The unique geologic history which created and reshaped the rift lakes are responsible for this (There are other examples in ring species such as some seagulls of the north pole, which can interbreed with neighboring species in the continuum at the middle of their range, but can't interbreed where the populations meet on the other side of the world).
This is why species hybridization is common in African cichlids kept in captivity. Purists who breed cichlids still will debate hybrids, for various reasons... one of them is that they become increasingly difficult to identify, make their way back into the hobbyist market as an unidentified hybrid, or worse, misidentified altogether, and no one knows proper care for them anymore.. eventually diluting pure stock.
Because the reef environment is quite different, and species hybrids are much harder to breed, I don't think it will ever get to this point. But I do agree with Adida's post about working on cative breeding of pure species first. I guess it is human nature to look for novelty.
