Flowerhorn keepers?

[GreenTea]

Can anyone explain to me why these fish are so expensive? And am I correct in that they are a "designed" fish and hence the controversy of keeping them? I'd really like to hear from keepers or people who have done research or know the history of these fish, so please no guesses in responses. I can't believe how much they go for! They are quite odd looking to me, but I also think they are pretty.

[Olympia]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/cichlid/flowerhorn.php
here's a good article- I'm guessing it's because as a hybrid it may be difficult to produce flowerhorns- there's a lot of variance in colours, and probably rarer colours tend to be the real expensive ones. They are also quite new, having only been first produced in the 1990's.
I've never seen these fish besides online, never really found them that attractive. :p
http://flowerhornfishcraze.blogspot....h-history.html
this page has a lot of colours for them.