# Are there hybrid fish?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 26, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567 "2010-06-26T05:20:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567/1 "2010-06-26T05:20:47Z")

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Around here, nearly every unwanted puppy at the pound is half pit bull. Cats screw all the time too. Howcum you never see a fish that is say half shark and half guppy?

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567/2 "2010-06-26T05:27:44Z")

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How about an electric eel bred with a cod (for the oil)? That would be a hybrid, right?

Basically, different fishes are different species. Dogs are all _Canis lupus_ (as are wolves). So a wolf and a poodle can procreate, but a shark and a guppy can’t.

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**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567/3 "2010-06-26T05:29:49Z")

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[Cutbow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutbow)

[Splake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splake)

[Wiper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_striped_bass)

[Blood parrot cichlid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_parrot_cichlid)

Sharks and guppies are too distantly related, of course. All domestic dogs are the exact same species, so they can breed, given logistical difficulties between some breeds.

ETA: Some closely related species can breed. Usually the offspring is sterile, but not always.

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567/4 "2010-06-26T05:34:27Z")

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Lots. Here is the hybrid striped bass.

> **[Hybrid striped bass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_striped_bass)**
>
> A hybrid striped bass, also known as a wiper or whiterock bass, is a hybrid between the striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and the white bass (M. chrysops). Hybrid striped bass are considered better suited for culture in ponds than either parent species because they are more resilient to extremes of temperature and low dissolved oxygen, although they gravitate toward areas of moving water within impoundments.
> They became part of aquaculture in the United States in the late 1980s. Most producers p...

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**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-hybrid-fish/544567/5 "2010-06-26T05:39:45Z")

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How about shellfish?