Re: Apistogramma borellii, ETC.

[huntley@ix.netcom.com (Wright Huntley )]

Ed Pon wrote: 
>
snip...

>...  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.

Well, Ed, welcome to the insane world of killies, wild Bettas, etc. ;-) Fish 
that need special water, are tricky to breed, have subtle beauty, etc. are 
prized so highly by the afficianado that it is hard for them to recognize that 
there is almost no market out there for them. They just don't sell like 
Orandas!

Europeans, particularly, often fall into this trap, for they have been 
conditioned for years to mistrust the subjective-choice process in free 
markets, anyway. I just had another bizarre example of this phenomenon happen 
to me recently.

One solution that shows some promise of working is the Killy Conservation 
Committee. The KCC selected a few "core" species that were unavailable or 
endangered in the wild. They should be not too difficult to breed, and 
sufficiently attractive to be appreciated, even by the less passionate 
fishkeeper.

A Coordinator is found for each species (by a Genus Coordinator), and he/she 
recruits volunteers who agree to keep and breed that species for a couple of 
years. The coordinator then arranges for breeding stock for each volunteer, 
and for periodic exchange of stock to keep the gene pool broad. Rules are 
loose (or unstated) on what the volunteers do with their surplus stock, but 
the hope is that they will keep them reasonably available for local club 
auctions so that the species does not die out. Strict labelling with location 
and collection code is promoted, and hybridization with other locations (often 
a different species) is discouraged.

I, for example, am coordinator of Fundulopanchax walkeri GH2 Kutunze. The 
Kutunze collection site has long been lost to industrialization. My root stock 
were estimated to be about F23 (!), and the species was getting a reputation 
for being "hard to breed," probably due to unrecorded hybridization with 
similar-looking fish. [The recent comments on agassizii come to mind -- that 
was happening to killies 15 years ago]

My stock is hard *not* to breed (probably pure) and I'm gradually building a 
network of enthusiasts who understand the problem and want to help. You can 
bet I don't charge them if they will commit to a couple of years of species 
maintenance!

As a peripheral cichlid breeder, perhaps the same thing *is* being done within 
ACA and I just don't know about it. Certainly, Roger Langton, who is a driving 
force behind KCC, is active in ACA, too. He knows the process and the pitfalls 
far better than I.

Summarizing, I suspect networking beats retailing if we want these special 
fish available.

Apologies for using off-topic examples. Flame shield now going up! :^)

Wright


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Wright Huntley (510) 494-8679 Fremont, CA USA huntley@ix.netcom.com