Re: A. sp. Wangenflecken??

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

John Wubbolt wrote:

> Hello Mike
> I agree there are dangers to other people finding the bargains in any
> type of [misidentified] fish, reproducing it and trying to sell it [under the wrong name].   Well I would hope
> that anyone who was into apistos enough to want to spawn them, become
> members of either the ACA or ASG or both, would have enough ware with
> all to be knowledgable enough to know what they were selling.
>

John,

Soap box time! I only wish this was true. Compare
the number of people selling
cichlids at stores & auctions to the 1700
(maximum) members of the ACA & ASG
combined. We are certainly in the minority. I'm
sure there are more people out
there who are more interested in making a few
bucks than learning anything about
their fish. I find this more true of breeders of
other cichlid groups than with
dwarf cichlid keepers, thank Goodness. Still, as
dwarf cichlids become more
popular, the "fad" hobbyists will pop into this
section of the hobby. I feel this
is what has happened with Rift Lake cichlids. Just
compare the two ACA pubs
(Buntbarsche Bulletin & the Trading Post. The
profit part of the hobby (TP) is
80% Rift Lake cichlids while the study part (BB)
is only 30% Rift Lake articles
and many of these are reprints from non-U.S.
publications. I feel that the cause
is due to the high prices expected for Rift Lake
Cichlids by both the suppliers &
buyers. This is not all bad. At least you can find
a source of all but the newest
and rarest species most of the time. Still, too
many hobbyists now look at their
rift lakers as money machines rather than the
group of fascinating fish that they
are. Our local cichlid club is running into this
problem, too. They have 200
member but only 10-20 ever come to meetings other
than the 2 public auctions held
each year. Those that do come have come to the
conclusion that the reason for
this is strictly monetary. At auctions members of
the club receive 80% of the
auction split while non-members only receive 50%.
It seems that too many of their
"members" feel it is well worth the $15 to have a
membership to increase their
profits by 30%. This club is thinking of requiring
active attendance at normal
general meetings in order for members to receive
their 80% split. If they do
this,  I wonder how many members they will lose.

CRASH! Ouch! I just fell off my
soap box. It must be time to shut my mouth.

Mike Wise



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