Hi, I really like this subject because it is something i have thought about alot in the past.
This is what I think about p13.
Buying a ray
First thing to do is judge a fish by it's looks not by its fancy names. But the fancy name could be an indicator of the development in a later stage if used correctly, so this is why it can be of some importance. Some fish change alot when they get older.
Quality
BD, everything with edgespotting is called bd... I have leos that look better than alot of the bd's that were exported. So if you get pups from these exported fish and they are called 100% pure BD because thats what they are, but still look crap compared to higrade Leo x highgrade BD or even better highgrade BD x highgrade BD. So whats in a name then?
Taste
At the moment its all about more white for most, but to me this is not so important because i am in the luxury position that I already have all types. I have a really ugly almost full black leo, and have a BD that is completely covered in white spots, and pretty much everything inbetween. So I can look at all and decide what i like best. In the near future this choice will be available for all and then you can really develop your own taste without the "rare fish" pressure if you get what i mean. I will choose a big spot leo with no edgespotting over a BD with small spots, because that is my taste. I like big spots. One time I will choose a nice Eclipse over a superspotted TI, the next time I will choose the TI, but not because of what it is but depending if the fish "does it" for me.
Hybrids
Hybrids can be very cool but people selling hybrids as BD suck, see more and more of these, it can be a while before the hidden traits show, some will never turn black, or when you breed them ...... who knows what will come out.
Beautiful rays
I have had a batch of Henleis where one is the most beautiful Hen I have ever seen and his sis is ugly as hell, so bad that I was ashamed to sell her, so I didn't hahaha.
Who decides if a ray is nice? We all do together, but also individually. To each his own. Personally I think alot of rays are ugly, but rarely you will read this in a post. I understand why though, say a new guy goes out and buys a crap leo that is uneven with small yellow smudgy spots but is the proudest guy in the world because he has his first black ray and posts it up and asks for comments. Probably be devastated if people write the truth.
But to take the raykeeping to a higher level this has got to start someday.
Normal Leo
They will always be available as ther are loads and loads of them in the wild..., if not I have kept one nice male, poor guy, he never gets any because the bd males are hogging all the chicks!