Fwd: Re: Apistogramma borellii, ETC.

["Ed Pon" <edpon@hotmail.com>]

>Question?
>Many on the list I'm sure have experience or
>are currently breeding some kind of dwarf cichlid.
>Does anyone have a problem selling there fry?
>Either at at store or local hobbiest?
>Right now I'm working with 7 different Apistos
>and 3 West Africans. I would like to see these 
>fish more in stores but I just don't see it happening.
I belong to a cichlid club in San Jose, Ca. and have found it pretty 
dismal trying to sell any kind of fish because the people are not 
willing to pay what I think the fish are worth.  There are probably 
about a half dozen of club members who are really into dwarf cichlids, 
and we probably just end up selling back and forth to each other.  I 
have been thinking about writing an article for our club publication to 
try to drum up some interest in dwarf cichlids and increase the ranks of 
apisto-fanatics in the club.  I have tried to figure out why there are 
some of us who are so in love with dwarf cichlids, and see if there was 
a way to express the passion for these little fish to see if I can lure 
others down this path.  I still haven't got a sane and logical 
explanation for the nuttiness of apisto fans.

We are getting better apistos than ever in the past because the store 
price of apistos have gone from $1.99 ten years ago to from five to 
fifteen bucks apiece.  To keep apistos coming in, the retailers have to 
be able to sell the fish for a reasonable profit in a fairly short 
amount of time.  Most of the people who bring in apistos for retail sale 
are probably more hobbyist than businessmen.  If we want to continue 
getting good apistos, our ranks needs to increase. One of main sources 
for apistos is always complaining about the difficulty in moving these 
fish when he gets them in.

I would love to hear how most of you people on this forum got hooked on 
apistos and what is it that you love about them to maybe get an idea on 
how to promote apistos or dwarf cichlids to other fish nuts.

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