tropical fish painting/dyeing.

I first heard of this practice from this group and I subsequently brought it
up on another group (a.f.u.) where it has been questioned as ever happening.
me response was this:

================[quote]=================
If it is a UL there are a lot of people and organizations that have bought
into it and a incredible amount of detailed information regarding it. Not
saying that makes it true but it certainly would make it the UL of the Year:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...gn_details.php
http://www.sydneycichlid.com/content/?page_id=10
http://www.firsttankguide.net/painted.php
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/be...aintedfish.htm

The photos of the fish are rather convincing, yet for all the hoopla over
this practice I can find no painted tropical fish for sale anywhere. I tend
to believe it may have been done but is not as widespread a practice as the
above sites (and others) would make one believe. Or maybe the practice was
much more prevalent and the uproar such as above helped curtail it.
===============[end-quote}===================

Any information on how this practice got started, how prevalent it is, and
who is still doing it would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Don Freeman
--
Ever had one of those days where you just felt like:
http://cosmoslair.com/BadDay.html ?
(Eating the elephant outside the box, one paradigm at a time)