Apisto People
Contents:
- Bio
by Erik Olson (e-mail) (Mon, 5 Aug 1996)
- New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
by Tore Haaland <haaland/online.no> (Mon, 05 Aug 1996)
- RE: New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
by "Griffiths, Richard" <rgriffit/visa.com> (Mon, 11 Nov 1996)
- New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
by Michael_F._Jacobs/cat.pinellas.k12.fl.us (Michael F. Jacobs) (Thu, 5 Dec 96)
- My Apistography
by "Francis Brian O'Carroll" (Frank) <ocarroll/acm.org> (Wed, 11 Sep 1996)
- New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
by Donald Nute <dnute/aisun1.ai.uga.edu> (Fri, 20 Sep 1996)
- New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
by Elson/Frauley <fraulels/minet.ca> (Thu, 03 Oct 1996)
- New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.ne
by SanfordD/liberty.issaquah.wednet.edu (Sanford, Dave LHS-STAFF) (Mon, 18 Nov 1996)
- howdy
by Adrian Spidle <spidle/fish.washington.edu> (Mon, 25 Nov 1996)
- New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
by Kathryn Knudsen <kk691111/bcm.tmc.edu> (Sat, 18 Jan 1997)
- new subscriber to the apisto mailing list
by Randy / Deb Carey <carey/spacestar.net.REMOVE.to.SEND> (Sun, 16 Feb 1997)
- My Apistography
by Pete Johnson <petej/tlg.net> (Thu, 15 Aug 96)
- BAP 'N Dump -Reply
by William Vannerson <William_Vannerson/ama-assn.org> (Wed, 18 Feb 1998)
- BAP 'N Dump
by Donald Nute <dnute/ai.uga.edu> (Wed, 18 Feb 1998)
- RE: newbie needs help -Reply -Reply
by "Clayton, Erica" <EClayton/sheddaquarium.org> (Fri, 16 Oct 1998)
- New Mamber
by Bob Wiltshire <apistobob/yahoo.com> (Fri, 8 Jan 1999)
by Erik Olson (e-mail)
Date: Mon, 5 Aug 1996
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Well, Mr. Sexton says to introduce ones'self...
My name is Erik, I've been keeping aquaria obsessively since about 1991,
off & on before then. I've mostly been interested in aquatic plants, but
in the last year or so I've been bitten by the dwarf cichlid bug as well...
I've got one 75 gallon heavily-planted hi-tech(tm) tank in my living room,
currently housing a pair of Kribs, five _Dicrossus filamentosus_, and
other fish. There's a 60-gallon with some Tanganyikans you're no doubt
uninterested in. :) I've also got a 20 long with no plants (a first for
me), currently raising a couple broods of _A. cacautoides_. In my
bedroom, I have a low-tech planted 20 with some _Pelvicachromis taeniatus_
"Moliwe" fry I'm raising for a friend. Off in the kitchen, I have a
wooden rack set up with 6 10-gallon tanks & a 15. Let's see... uh, two of
the tanks have pairs of _A. nijsseni_ that look nice & have produced eggs,
but no survived hatchings. One tank has three _Nanacara anomala_ and four
kribs that I'm keeping quarantined because their original tankmates had
nematode infestations (anyone know how long I should keep them separate to
be sure they're not infected as well? It's been two months, and I see no
sign of swollen bellies, stuff sticking out their anus, etc). One tank's
completely full of plants and about 2 inches of water (Seattle joke: I
call it "Emerser Island"), and another is full of more Tanganyikans
(Julidichromis regani). And the 15 gallon tank is housing four random
Apistos that came in as contaminants at the local fish store & we just
"had to" buy. I call em "Apisto McMysterii". Two of them are
currently off in opposite corners of the tank raising spawns, so
presumably at least one of the others is a male. It does not help knowing
that they may be different species. Sigh.
One of my other hobbies is photography, so I have been spending a lot of
time & money taking fish pictures lately. I'm also in the process of
building a video library of people's tanks, talks, etc (most recently, my
girlfriend and I took a detour from our normal vacation to see David
Soares in Oregon). I'm also pretty active in aquarium societies (at least
our local one). And I've maintained a bunch of web pages for about 2 1/2
years (which are mostly down right now but will be back soon).
- Erik
---
Erik D. Olson (e-mail)
WRQ, Inc.
by Tore Haaland <haaland/online.no>
Date: Mon, 05 Aug 1996
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Hey everybody!
My name is Tore Haaland and come fra South-West of Norway.
I have 3 tanks (30 L, 63 L and 128 L), and got in to the hobby one year
ago after my children got tired off it (like children always do). I
intend to get a larger tank within the end of this year.
In my 128 L tank I have
a pair of Geophagus steindachneri (still only 3 inches)
a pair of Nannacara anomala
and a male Apistogramma cacatuoides with two females
A school of Tetras (serpa)
I have read that I should have some more females but the shop couldn't
offer me more then two.
My water:
PH = 7.0
GH = 3 - 4
KH = 3 - 4
I've had my apistos for only one week and I'm already realy fascinated by
them. The apistos and the geophagus seems to be rather compatible. The
male nannacara is not yet to happy with his new neighbour, and is for the
time being the bully of the tank. I hope he wil calm down. Otherwise I
do have to move the pair to another tank. Som experince from others
would be appreciated.
Please excuse me. English is not my main language.
apisto-at-aquaria.net wrote:
>
> You've been subscribed to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
>
> You may want to make an introductory mailing, introducing yourself.
>
> You can do that by simply replying to this message.
>
> Regards,
> postmaster-at-aquaria.net
by "Griffiths, Richard" <rgriffit/visa.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996
To: "apisto/aquaria.net" <apisto/aquaria.net>
I am a long time aquarist--1968--starting off with a 'pair of neons' and
immediately became interested in cichlids under the influence of Guy D.
'Mr. Cichlid' Jordan of ACA fame. I've always like the smaller cichlids
from 6 inches and under because of behavior, and am mostly a fan of the
New World or Riverine species.
I also have done much with livebearers, breeding 170 species, and enjoy
Cory's, anabantids, and many other types of fish as well--I like the
challenge of keeping them alive and breeding them, and that is probably
my main interest--satisifying the needs sufficiently to have fish breed.
I also like plants and fish organizations.
That's my intro for now.
----------
From: apisto-at-aquaria.net
To: Griffiths, Richard
Subject: New subscriber to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
Date: Sunday, November 10, 1996 3:58PM
You've been subscribed to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
You may want to make an introductory mailing, introducing yourself.
You can do that by simply replying to this message.
Regards,
postmaster-at-aquaria.net
by Michael_F._Jacobs/cat.pinellas.k12.fl.us (Michael F. Jacobs)
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 96
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Hello.............Boy am I glad to find you guys. Briefly......I've been in
"the hobby" for some 25+ years. I've done salt.......1968-1975. I've done
killies.......1968-1972 & 1995-1996. I've done angelfish ..........1986-1996.
I've done discus.........at present I have 3 pairs spawning. But just
lately..... oh say the last 1 1/2 years have I gotten the 'apisto' bug.
Managed to get some A. Cacatoides (watch my spelling on all of
these)....spawned them 8-10 times.... had a gazillion babies..
Managed to get some A. Agassizi "blue"...................problems....no
spawn....can't find any more.
" " " " A. Agassizi "Tefe"........2 spawns but none
survived....what a story those were. Still have the A.
....."Tefe".......working hard on those.
Found some A. Hongsoli..........spawned and didn't know it.....finally saw
12-15 babies swimming with the mother.....2 days later the female ate them,
and then she died. Now I need a female desperatly.
Found some A. Gefrya (spelling?)........to young to do anything but eat right
now.
Found some A. Sepi#%$#-at-, very rare, can't remember the spelling.....it's at
home. I have one pair that is now getting comfortable in their new tank.
Glad to find you folks exist.....!
Who can help me fill in my gaps.......1) A. Agassizi.....any variety 2) A.
Hongsloi female (desperate)
Mike Jacobs Michael_F._Jacobs-at-cat.pinellas.k12.fl.us
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by "Francis Brian O'Carroll" (Frank) <ocarroll/acm.org>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996
To: Apistogramma <apisto/aquaria.net>
I finally have time to write my apistobiography.
My name is Frank O'Carroll, I'm an Australian living in Tokyo, Japan.
I have been keeping Apistogramma species since July 1995, when I was
lucky enough to travel collect my own in Peru; I liked it so much I
went back to collect some more this July. As a matter of fact, Pete
Johnson was on the 1995 trip too, and some of his incredible enthusiasm
for Apistogramma rubbed off on me.
My fish room is my kitchen, with four 15 gallon tanks, and during
summer when tank heating is not necessary, a bunch of small plastic
tanks for new arrivals, spawning attempts, live food etc.
Tokyo water is very soft - I don't monitor it or pH (the apistos are
breeding in it after all). pH out of the tap is roughly neutral, my
tanks have driftwood and ceramic gravel (local gravel makes things go
alkaline) and it stays slightly acid. I use sponge filters and
overhead mechanical drip filters. And I have little ceramic caves too.
I currently have at least four species (numbers are collection year)
A. agassizii 95,96
A. cacatuoides 95, 96
A. eunotus 95,96
A. bitaeniata 96
A. sp 96
I have raised a whole bunch of A. cacatuoides - after bringing babies
home in July they were breeding by December 1995. The A. agassizii and
A. eunotus often spawn in a community tank of mixed Apistogramma and large
tetras, but I don't have enough time or space to raise them. I'm not sure
if I have a pair of A. bitaeniata or not - I seem to only have 2 specimens.
As for the "A. sp 96" above, I don't know what they are - they don't
look like males or females of anything else I have. They are still
only small (less than 2cm) with red eyes, yellow bodies, and a broken
black line down the center. Caudal is not spade or lyre shaped. They
have the usual arrow head marking of dark lines through the eye. Seem
rather stout (not so long for their depth). (I don't have any apisto
specialtly books, and I don't expect you to id them from the above
description). Anyway, I have 5 or 6 of them, unless they are all
just yellow females of some species, there ought to be a pair in
there.
And talking about apisto coloration: the above strange species, along
with some agassizii and eunotus, were all collected together either in
a lily swamp or mudflats covered with with water lettuce and water
hyacinth - they all have yellow in their fins. But another mix of apistos
from the Rio Orosa don't have this yellow cast to them.
On the last trip, downstream from Iquitos we tried to locate A. cruzi
which comes from a small area where one river (the Napo?) joins the
Amazon (sorry, no map at hand - check Kullander's Peru book). But
we didn't catch a single apisto at the location and had to move on.
Is A. cruzi in the hobby? What does it look like?
My other hobby is photograpy, I'm trying to become a good fish photographer,
but that is another story.
And yet another story might be to comment on the state of the apisto hobby
here in Tokyo, but that requires some (fun) investigation.
Frank O'Carroll
Tokyo
by Donald Nute <dnute/aisun1.ai.uga.edu>
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Hello.
I'm new to the list. I've been keeping cichlids on and off (mostly
on) for about 25 years, and I particularly love Neotropical dwarfs.
I've bred only a few - A. agassizi, A. cacatuoides, and P. ramirezi.
All I am keeping now are A. nijsseni, P. altispinosa, and one lonesome,
unidentified female Apisto. I have put part of my fish notebook on the
Web at http://ai.uga.edu/faculty/nute/fish.html - nothing on Apistos,
but a good bit on my experiences with other cichlids and with killies.
I've been on the killie list for some time and enjoyed it. I'm looking
forward to this list.
Don
------------------------------------------------------------------
Donald Nute
Professor and Head, Department of Philosophy (706) 542-2823
Director, Artificial Intelligence Center (706) 542-0358
The University of Georgia FAX (706) 543-2839
Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A http://ai.uga.edu/faculty/nute
by Elson/Frauley <fraulels/minet.ca>
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996
To: apisto/aquaria.net
apisto-at-aquaria.net wrote:
>
> You've been subscribed to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
>
> You may want to make an introductory mailing, introducing yourself.
>
> You can do that by simply replying to this message.
>
> Regards,
> postmaster-at-aquaria.netHello, whoever is out there. My name is Gary Elson, and I've been on the killie net for
a couple of weeks now. I thought I'd try the apisto net, as I keep some apistos. I have
bred apistos geisleri, sp 'rotpunck', veijita 1, borelli, cacatuoides, and agassizi. I'm
currently keeping njisseni, norberti, veijita one, borelli, agas and cacatuoides. I also
really like west african dwarf cichlids, and am keeping P. taenaitus Moliwe, 2 types of
humilis, subocellatus Matadi, N parilus and N transvestitus.
So, I introduced my fish...
I'm in Montreal, and I guess that'll do for now. Hi.
by SanfordD/liberty.issaquah.wednet.edu (Sanford, Dave LHS-STAFF)
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Hi, I'm Dave Sanford from the Seattle area. Currently i"m keeping
the following Apistos; cacatuoides, nijsseni, sp"pandurini".
The A.nijsseni just brought out a big cloud of fry. The pandurini
have spawned 2 times, only 5 fry both times, i don't know why they
are so limited.
I've been lowering the pH with a Mardel product called "Waters of
the World", SA formula. It works great and i recommend it to all.
Of course the cacs spawn all the time and produce lots of fry with
no tweeking of the water.
by Adrian Spidle <spidle/fish.washington.edu>
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Hello all;
I gather there's not much traffic on this listserv, I signed up
yesterday and have yet to see a message. Anyway, my name's Adrian
Spidle, I'm a grad student in fisheries; I have a web page detailing
some of my research (far far far away from the world of dwarf cichlids)
at http://www.fish.washington.edu/people/spidle in case anyone's
interested.
I'm interested in this mailing list because I have a pair of pairs of
dwarf cichlids, one pair of Nannacara anomala, and, as of yesterday, a
pair of ram cichlids, A. or M. or P. ramirezi in an aquarium. Would
love to hear from other folks who have experience maintaining these
species, especially anyone who's managed to encourage them to spawn.
Cheers,
Adrian
apisto-at-aquaria.net wrote:
>
> You've been subscribed to the apisto-at-aquaria.net mailing list.
>
> You may want to make an introductory mailing, introducing yourself.
>
> You can do that by simply replying to this message.
>
> Regards,
> postmaster-at-aquaria.net
by Kathryn Knudsen <kk691111/bcm.tmc.edu>
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997
To: apisto/aquaria.net
Hello everyone,
I've actually been hearing things from the list for awhile, and finally
got around to adding my name.
Well, my fish are sort of scattered between Texas and Seattle. In
Houston I am finishing up my fourth year of med. school and Seattle is
where I live with my husband. Confusing I know. Currently, I and all of
my fish are in Seattle, and I am all of the U.S interviewing for Internal
Medicine Residency.
Apisto's are my passion, but I love Pelivcachromis as well. (TX water is
just a little too hard on Apisto's w/o an ro unit)
Currently, we have A. cacatuoides and fry, A. "Puerto-Narino" and fry,
and A. nijsseni. I have been drooling over the A. pandurini but on my
student budget can't get them yet! And I am sure I will be adding more
Apisto's as tank space become available.
As for other Apisto hobbies, I am into photography as well and love
researching the literature with what spare time I have (too little).
Right now I've been trying to research the latest work done on
splitting Apisto's into groups and complexes and had a chance to drop by
and see Mike Wise while interviewing in Colorado. I've been trying to
locate some German Texts as well, if anyone has any suggestions or a
spare you want to part with let me know. Or if you see one pick it up
I'll happily reimburse you...one is Ingo Koslowski's book (Die
Buntbarsche der Neuen Welt Zwercichliden). I thought I could order
Schmettkamp's book but one publisher said it was now out of print..the
title there is "Die Zwergcichliden Sudamerikas".
Also got to drop in and see Pete Johnson's and Lisa Wrischnik's fish
while interviewing in Dec., there fish were great and I love Pete's
designs on his tanks.
The Pelvicachromis we keep are (I know boo...not apisto's) are P
suboccelatus, P taeniatus color forms moliwe, nigerian green, kienke and
bandewouri. Also P pulcher, and fry from the above species.
Toss in a few others like 3 species of julis, and some dicrossus
fimentosus and a few others, and that covers most of the fish we have.
In total we have way too many tanks for a one bedroom apartment, 14 in
the kitchen, 4 living room (really 3 1/2, the 1/2 is a bucket run off of a
75 g), 2 in the bedroom, and a 45 at my husbands work housing my
kienke's ( and yet I am always tempted to find room for one more
tank-that started at tank #11)
My partner in fish escapades is Erik, quite awesome with the plants, and
fish as well. Thank goodness he likes fish, esp Apisto's.
I look forward to hearing the latest on the Group!!
Kathy Knudsen Olson
by Randy / Deb Carey <carey/spacestar.net.REMOVE.to.SEND>
Date: Sun, 16 Feb 1997
To: apisto/aquaria.net
I'm Randy Carey, living in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. I've been
keeping fish for eight years and have been an active member of the
Minnesota Aquarium Society for six years.
While some fishkeepers center their interests on one group of fish (like
nothing-but-cichlids), I center mine on compatibility and similar water
requirements: smaller fishes in very soft and somewhat acidic water.
My fish room of 50 tanks is designed for keeping such fishes as
characins, barbs/rasboras, and Apistogrammas. For instance, most of my
20 longs contain about three schools of characins and one colony of
Apistogrammas. This scheme works great. When needed, the characins are
removed to spawning tanks. Meanwhile, the Apisto's rear their families
at the bottom of the tank.
I suppose I've successfully bred and reared 15 to 20 Apistogramma
species. Right now I'm "harvesting" F1 fry for A. nortberti and A. sp.
brietbinden, and F2 fry for A. sp. Puerto-Narino (see Aqualog). I'm
working on spawning a few species of wild-caughts: A. nijsseni, A
gephra, A. bitaeniata, A. gibbiceps, and three other species I've yet to
identify. I plan to bring what fry/juveniles I can to the ACA this
summer.
As you can see, I have been obtaining my Apisto's through wild-caught
imports. Recently I got to visit an out-of-town wholesaler who let me
buy through a friend. Because I have studied fin shapes and patterns of
the Apisto's, I was able to recognize such things as a tank marked
"bitaeniata" having an additional species mixed in. In that case I
bought the remaining 16 fish and the "additional" species (11 of the 16)
turned out to be the beautiful "gephra." What a catch!
My recent interest in Apistos has been in identifying them--needed when
you deal with wild caught stock. Too often, I've seen aquarists "pick
out a name" for thier Apisto because it looks mostly like one in a
picture--but they have never evaluated some of the key features which
are useful in identification. Shortly, I will begin work on writing an
article and on developing a master identification chart based on visual
characterisics.
Just in case some on this Apisto list do not belong to an aquarium
society, I must ecourage them to join and get involved. Only because I
have been involved and networked through mine have I been able to
advance and stay motivated in this hobby during the past several years.
We take trips to fish stores in nearby cities, order rare fish/plants
as a group, exchange success/failure stories, bring in great speakers,
etc. Like the ad says: "Just do it."
-- Randy Carey
============ Reminder: Kindly quote parsimoniously when replying =============
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by Pete Johnson <petej/tlg.net>
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96
To: <apisto/aquaria.net>
Just learned about this mailing list and am excited to find it. I keep a
number of Apistogramma species, including:
* A. agassizii (Peruvian blue, wild)
* A. bitaeniata (Peruvian, wild)
* A. cacatuoides (red & orange)
* A. eunotus
* A. gossei
* A. macmasteri
* A. nijsseni
* A. norberti
* A. resticulosa
* A. steindachneri
* A. trifasciata
* A. sp. rotpunkt
* A. sp. breitbinden
* A. viejita CF II
I have bred agassizii, bitaeniata, breitbinden, eunotus, juruensis,
nijsseni, resticulosa, rotpunkt and trifasciata. Maybe a couple of
others. I once found a lone steindachneri baby in a tank. The parents
trysted discretely, or else it was a case of spontaneous generation.
At the moment I have some unpaired Apistos -- survivors of former pairs
or groups. These include hippolytae (M), gibbiceps (F?), juruensis (2F)
and sp. tucurui (2M). I'd love to find companions for these lonely fish.
My other major fish enthusiasm is Laetacara species -- I keep dorsiger,
curviceps, sp. buckelkopf and expect some thayeri this weekend. I have
bred all but the thayeri. I'd *really* like to find Laetacara sp.
orangeflossen. Anyone got any? (I know, this is not the Laetacara mailing
list.)
Let's see. Many of my tanks are planted: vallisneria, crypts, swords,
hornwort and more. I also use lots of floating plants: duckweed (I HATE
duckweed, but once you have it you never lose it), frogbit, giant frogbit
(GREAT plant!) and salvinia. I give them lots of light (5,000 K
fluorescents) and fertilizer (when I remember).
The fish swim in R/O water mixed with a bit of our nasty San Jose water
(400+ ppm hardness, pH near 8, but the R/O water tempers that) changed
weekly, more or less, at least 25% per tank.
I feed baby brine shrimp, twice a day. Every fish loves it, even the
bigger guys. Sometimes I feed mosquito larvae and daphnia, both of which
grow in outside tubs. And ocasionally a pinch of flake food.
I'm fortunate to live in San Jose. Through the Pacific Coast Cichlid
Association, which meets here every month, I've met others who enjoy (and
sometimes hate) Apistos -- Hal Makin, Kurt Zadnick, Brian Wollinski (now
moved to Florida), Albert So, Ed Pon, Robert Shields, Lisa Wrischnik (who
told me about this list), David Soares and more.
I look forward to meeting the people here on the list -- let's talk
Apistos!
----------------------------------------------------
If wishes were fishes we'd all have ponds.
Pete Johnson San Jose, CA petej-at-tlg.net
----------------------------------------------------
by William Vannerson <William_Vannerson/ama-assn.org>
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
>>What is the number one reason for any of you for keeping the fish you
do?<<
Geez! I really didn't mean to stir up a hornet's nest with my comments.
There are two reasons I keep the cichlids I do, sentiment and opportunity.
The sentimental side is what drew me to the Kribs and Rams. Back
when I first kept community tanks as a teenager, these two species
caught my eye in the books I read. My LFS just started to carry Africans
when I left for school, so Zebras and M. auratus hold the same sway,
but I don't have the tank or the time to keep them right now.
As for opportunity, I have two species that I keep just because of
happenstance. My pair of Gold Angels were given to me by a friend,
Slim, when I visited his house one day, a very generous gift that enjoy
very much. The A. borelli I obtained from Mike Jacobs from
correspondence on the killies list. I had been lurking on the list for a
while but still had no Apistos. I was going to the AKA's national
convention in St. Louis. Mike is also into killies. Through email, we set up
an exchange where I picked up a pair of killies from his short list in
exchange for some of his fry. I still think I got the better half of the
bargain.
As an aside, it's folks like Slim and Mike that have made my return to the
hobby such a pleasure. And they're not the only ones. there are the
regulars on all of the lists and friends I've made at my local clubs. I'm not
much of a breeder (yet), but it's because of these folks and the example
they've set that I have given away the few fry I have raised to other
newbies to help encourage them.
Bill Vannerson
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/william_vannerson
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by Donald Nute <dnute/ai.uga.edu>
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Kaycy asked why we keep the fish we do. Interesting question. I've been
keeping - and breeding - fish for more than 25 years, with one hiatus of
3-4 years when I got completely out of fish for a while. (Too many other
things going on in my life at that time.) I've had community tanks with
all sorts of fish, and I might use most anything in combination with
cichlids I'm keeping, but so far I have worked primarily with cichlids and
killies. I usually concentrate on one group or the other. When I work with
cichlids, I usually concentrate on one subgroup like mbuna or apistos.
Don't know why I do that; maybe it just makes the mechanics simpler.
The only killie I am keeping now is a strain of Fundulopanchax gardneri.
What I'm really working with now is apistos. The gardneri just keep on
coming even in tanks with apistos, and they are a pretty fish that make
good tank mates for apistos. A couple of years ago, I was keeping almost
only killies and I have worked with as many as 20 or so species at a time.
I've concentrated on Malawi cichlids and I've concentrated on Tanganyikan
cichlids. I really love these fish, just as a do killies and apistos. I
just don't have the time and room to keep everything I like at once. Each
of my "phases" seems to last 4-5 years, then I find myself rotating around
to something else. I've been through two killie phases, two Malawi phases,
one Tanganyikan phase, and I'm in my second apisto phase. That adds up to
more than 25 years, I know: phases typically overlap by a year or more.
Right now I have a very nice room set up with custom cabinets for storage,
fish, and a kitchen pantry. It's about 14' long and 7' wide. On one side,
there are cabinets up to almost waist height with two shelves above for
tanks. (The top shelf is pretty high, but at 6'2" I can work it pretty
well.) I have four 30 gallon tanks on the lower shelf installed in
separate bays designed to hold a 30 gallon tank. I have three 10 gallon
tanks, two 20 gallon tanks, shrimp hatchers, air pumps, and other
paraphernalia on the top shelf. We also keep a planted 55 gallon community
tank in our family room. This probably doesn't sound like a typical killie
setup, and it isn't. But it works well for me for killies as well as
cichlids. I liked to fill a 30 gallon tank with java moss and a few
breeders from one species, add baby brine shrimp each day, and watch as
the population built to near 100 fish in a natural way. I kept some setups
like this going with the same species for 4-5 years. That's how I kept my
gardneri until I rotated back into apistos. Now the gardneri are dithers
in 3-4 apisto tanks, managing to maintain their numbers using the floating
plants in these tanks. Of course, I handled annual killies and some hard
to breed species using the usual assortment of jars, shoe boxes, and what
have you.
Now I have apistos in five of the tanks in my fish room. Two more tanks
are taken up by a favorite breeding pair of C. festivum and their
offspring and some odds and ends larger neotropical cichlids I haven't
found homes for. I am breeding A. caetei, A. borelli, A. macmasteri, and
A. cacatuoides at the moment. I want to clear some more tanks to handle
more species, and I'd like to include some small west African species as
well.
So basically, I am a cichlidiot and a killie nut. I love cichlids for
their behavior (and beauty in many cases,) and I love killies for their
beauty, the variety of reproduction schemes, and the challenge that many
species present. But why do I keep a particular species for 4-5 year and
another for a year or less? Success is certainly one reason. If I work
with a species for a considerable period of time and can't seem to get
them to breed, I eventually lose interest. I like a challenge, but I don't
like banging my head against a brick wall. A species that takes to my fish
room becomes a comfortable old friend. I like having grandchildren and
great-grandchildren around. Keeping a species going for a long time and
for several generations is another kind of challenge, although a different
challenge than trying to breed a species that despises the kind of water
that comes out of my tap. So one reason I keep a species is because I can.
I'll add another dimension to this notion of doing what you can. I don't
have that many tanks - 10 tanks with a total capacity of 245 gallons
really isn't a lot. I also don't have a lot of time. I'll admit that I'm
lucky enough not to have to worry too much about expense, but I don't want
to get into elaborate technology, either. I'll add salt to water for
Africans (or anything else that looks puny,) but otherwise I don't want to
play with water chemistry. So I keep fish that seem comfortable with the
kind of water we have in this area. I'm lucky again, though, because our
water is naturally quite soft. I also admire fish that can live 3-4 weeks
between water changes if they have to in a well-planted tank with good
filtration and intelligent feeding. It may surprise you that there are
lots of apistos that will do this and breed regularly - at least they do
in my fish room.
I do like to obtain and try new species every few months. But as often as
not, they replace species that refused to adapt to my tanks or species
that I have kept for a long time but finally stopped working with and let
my stock drop very low through distiribution or natural demise. (Ever give
a friend a batch of juveniles and then worry that you'd given away all
your males/females???)
Kaycy, probably neither you nor anyone else wanted to hear this much, but
I thought your question was interesting.
Don
------------------------------------------------------------------
Donald Nute
Professor and Head, Department of Philosophy (706) 542-2823
Director, Artificial Intelligence Center (706) 542-0358
The University of Georgia FAX (706) 542-2839
Athens, Georgia 30602, U.S.A http://ai.uga.edu/~dnute
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by "Clayton, Erica" <EClayton/sheddaquarium.org>
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998
To: "'apisto/majordomo.pobox.com'" <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
You are right that there is not much in the way of apistos at the Shedd
right now, only one A agazazi. That will change in the future. We are
opening a large amazon exhibit in 2000. At that time I hope that many
of our smaller tanks will contain apistos as well as other dwarf
cichlids. My interest in apistos is professional and personal. I
quarantine all the new fish so like to know as much as I can for that
reason, and hope to work in the new amazon exhibit. I am also one of
those obsessed people that takes there work home with them. There I
keep A gephyra, D filamentosus, and what is supposed to be A hoignei
(pretty sure it isn't though).
I just wanted to take the time to say that although I appreciate that
some people think it is cool to have a 'professional' among them, I am
here to learn from hobbyists. Hard core hobbyists usually know as much
as or more than professionals, and most professionals started like all
of you and decided making a decent living wasn't that important :). I
would really like to see more contact between professional organizations
and hobbyists.
Enough ranting,
Erica
> -----Original Message-----
> From: William Vannerson [SMTP:William_Vannerson@ama-assn.org]
> Sent: Friday, October 16, 1998 8:22 AM
> To: apisto@majordomo.pobox.com
> Subject: Re: newbie needs help -Reply -Reply
>
> >>Erica's header reads:
>
> > From: EClayton@sheddaquarium.org (Clayton, Erica)
> > Sender: owner-apisto@listbox.com
>
> >>Hey!! Check out the email address. Another professional among us.
> Wai Kewl !!<<
>
> I've had the pleasure of meeting Erika and some of the other wonderful
> folk at the Shedd this spring when Roger Klosec, Director of
> Conservation, gave a few of us ChiKA folks a tour. They also came to
> our annual show. (I think they were particularly interested in the
> Tanganyikan Pearl Killifish, Lamprichthys tanganicanus, that were
> there
> but didn't bid most likely because the fish were to young for their
> tanks)
>
> They keep several species of fish that we would consider "hobbyists"
> types, including Rainbowfish and cichlids. In fact, the Shedd is part
> of
> the group that's breeding endangered/extinct in the wild Lake
> Victorian
> cichlids.
>
> I don't recall seeing any apistos during the tour. Erika, are you
> interested
> in them for the Shedd or for your home (or both)?
>
> Bill Vannerson
> http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/william_vannerson
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
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> Archives"!
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by Bob Wiltshire <apistobob/yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Hello Mailing List,
I am new to the list and thought I'd give a little info.
I first began keeping Apistos in the late 60's. Few were available in
those days and of course no names. After several years college and
life got me out of the hobby until the early 80's. Have been keeping
Apistos since then. I run about 25 tanks - all dwarf's.
I have been privileged to keep a number of species over the past 15+
years and have had success with many. I am not out to see how many
species I can breed. Most species that I keep I maintain for 5 or more
years. In the past I have sold and shipped quite a few fish, but, I do
much less of that now.
I do not consider myself to be any sort of expert, however, I have
developed some very successful husbandry techniques that work for me.
To any beginners I would say - learn to know your fish. There is no
"right" way to keep Apistos find what works for you and stick with it.
I don't have time to be a very active member of the list. However, I
will read every post and will send a comment when I have the time.
If anyone is interested, this is the list of dwarfs I have kept.
A. agassizii - multiple forms
A. bitaeniata
A. borellii
A. cacatoides - multiple forms
A. commbrae
A. eunotus - multiple forms (orangeschwanz)
A. gephyra
A. gibbiceps*
A. iniridae
A. macmasteri - multiple forms
A. meinkeni
A. nijesseni
A. paucisquamis*
A. pertensis
A. resticulosa
A. steindachneri
A. trifasciata
A. sp. Brietbinden
A. sp. Four Stripe*
A. sp. Rio Mamore
A. sp. Rio Xingu "Red Lobe"
A. sp. Rotpunkt - multiple forms (Schwarsaum, Puerto Narnio)
A. sp. Smaragd / Emerald Alenquer
A. sp. Tucurui*
Dicrossus filamentosus
Microgeophagus altispinosus
M. ramirezi
Nannacara anaomala
Nanochromis parlius - multiple forms
N. transvestitus
Pelvicachromis pulcher - multiple forms
P. rolloffi
P. subocellatus
P. taeniatus - "Muyuka"*
Fish marked by * are fish that I have not successfully spawned.
I am currently keeping: A. agassizii - "Rio Madira", A. cacatoides -
"Red Flash" (?) , A. commbrae, A. pertensis, A. sp. Rio Xingu "red
lobe", A. sp. Smaragd / Emerald Alenquer, M. altispinosus, P.
subocellatus. All of these are breeding populations producing surplus
fish.
Bob Wiltshire
Livingston, MT
apistobob@yahoo.com
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The Krib
Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
The Krib