Domestic fish can be just as colorful, sometimes due to line breeding, even more so, than wild caught. I personally prefer F1 vs wild, as the F1's have already gone through one generation of captivity and have adapted to living in a glass cage.
Agree with this.
And if what you are looking for is a fish that might relate better as a "pet", then tank raised over generations may also be your cup of tea.
A wild caught individual may still retain that instinctual, and well earned fear of humans, and spend more time hiding than in your viewing area when you want it to be.
I have wild caught Andinoacara at the moment, that even after a year in the tank, hide when I approach, and only if I sit motionless for at least 10 minutes, do they inch cautiously out. Of course this may vary individual to individual, in the same tank, I have a wild caught goby that has learned over less time, to beg like a dog.
If breeding is your aim, adding wild caught genes to the pool could be a good thing if they are from a brightly colored variant.....
That said
There is a breeder in the U.S. midwest that chooses the most colorful individuals as his breeding stock so the festae he brings are always intensely colored, and at juvie of @ 3" are usually $3-$5.
A couple of females he brought that I ended up with below.
Another thing to consider (alluded to above) is that populations from different areas (rivers or lakes) may vary widely in coloration, due to terrain, vegetation, turbidity, or substrate influencing what works best to avoid predation, or find mates for that particular area, so just being wild does not assure it is from one of the most highly colored populations.
An example might be individuals living in turbid conditions, where in order to attract a mate, a male might need to be more intently colored.
Or if a group of individuals lives over sandy substrate, and clear water conditions, this might favor lighter colors to avoid predation by birds.
Take these Herichthys carpintus shot from above over sand.
