Re: Germans

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

I think that the Germans weren't just the first in apistos, but in all
aquarium
fish (as opposed to pond fish).  Even the American hobby was started by
German
immigrants.  It's interesting that many of the German ichthyologists
were also avid
aquarists.

With regard to apistos, most of the people studying them were
ichthyologists only interested in taxonomy.  In the 1930s the first of
the German of the combination ichthyologists/hobbyists appeared on the
scene.  This was Ernst Ahl.  Then in the 1960s and early 70s there was
Hermann Meinken.  Both were well known aquarists as well as
ichthyologists.

Ahl described A. parva (1931), A. weisei  & A. ornatipinnis (1936), A.
aequipinnis (1938), and A. reitzigi (1939).  All of these have been
reduced to
junior synonyms, thus invalid species (I, however, wouldn't be surprised
if
either A. aequipinnis or A. reitzigi is eventually recognized as a valid
species.).  During this period in German history, relations were
strained between
it and many of the other countries with reference collections.  Perhaps
Ahl
couldn't get access to much of this material or even foreign journals. 
I don't
know.  I do know that Ahl based most of his species on specimens
collected for the aquarium trade and kept for a long time in captivity
before being preserved and examined.  Use of domestically raised fish
are not favored by most present day taxonomists because fish raised in
an aquarium tend to be larger with heavier bodies and more extended
finnage.

Meinken described the following species:  A. wickleri & A. trifasciata
haraldschultzi (1960), A. sweglesi (1961), A. klausewitzi (1962), A.
kleei
(1964), A. hoignei (1965), A. gibbiceps (1969), and A. geisleri (1971). 
The
first five species are now recognized as junior synonyms of previously
described
species, but he was accurate on his later descriptions. (I won't go into
his mess
with the rams here.)  Again he was dependent on the hobby trade for his
specimens.  This resulted in the same problems Ahl had.  His latter
species were
also from the aquarium hobby, but most came from hobbyist who collected
the fish
in the wild, not imported fish.

The late-70s saw an upsurge of German "professional" hobbyists.  These
were
people who specialized in writing books and articles on fish.  Many
actually went
to South America to collect their own fish.  Heiko Blehrer, Hans
Mayland, Dr.
Wolfgang Staeck, and Werner Schmettkamp were the best known in the dwarf
cichlid
area.  Many eventually formed partnerships with many of the German
importers,
either owning them or collecting for them.  These men encouraged many
more German
hobbyists to go on collecting expeditions in the later 80s and 90s.

The mid-80s and 90s brought back the German scientist/hobbyist again. 
While Dr.
Sven O. Kullander was doing traditional taxonomic work in Sweden,
biology
students/hobbyists like Ingo Koslowski and Uwe Römer were working with
importers,
collectors, and hobbyists.  They wrote for many of the German aquarium
magazines,
introducing many of the scientifically undescribed species presently in
the
hobby.
Unlike Ahl and Meinken, Koslowski and Römer were interested in more than
simple
taxonomic identifications.  They studied ecology, behavior, and
phylogeny in the
dwarf cichlids.

Why the Germans seem to have a lop-sided majority of dwarf cichlid
specialists, I
don't know.  The French have Dr. Jacque Géry (Characoids), the
Netherlands has
Dr. Hans Nijssen (Catfish), England has David Sands (Catfish), the US
has Dr.
Stanley Weitzman (Characoids), Don Conkel & Rusty Wessel (Central
American
Cichlids), Dr. Paul V. Loiselle (African/Madagascar Cichlids), and Dr.
Wayne
Leibel (South American Cichlids), so the wealth of serious
hobbyists/scientists
is pretty well distributed.  I get the feeling, though, that there is
something
in the German psyche that makes them more single-minded (fanatic) in
their search
for knowledge that they're interested in.  They also seem to put more
time and
money into their hobbies.  I also think that most Americans are to
provincial,
unwilling to go somewhere too different than their home unless
accompanied by a
guide.

Doug Brown wrote:

> While the list is kind of quiet maybe someone can tell me why there is such
> a Germanic history behind apisto studies. How did this come to be? Who
> started it? My Smaragds want to know!
>
> -Doug Brown
> debrown@kodak.com
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------