Apistogramma's in Sydney region

[kapp]

Hi all,

Not sure if I should put this in the marketplace section under WTB or not but am putting it here as my questions are more general.

Anyhoo, are there any Apistogramma fanatics left in Sydney? What's the Apistogramma scene like nowadays? 

I used to keep a lot of them a few years ago but since then it seems like a lot of enthusiasts have dropped them and LFS's are no longer importing or stocking, other than maybe cacatuoides and agassizi's.

I know a couple shops stock them from time to time but selection is thin and usually not the greatest specimens.

Would love to put a pair or two A. Hongsloi into my new discus tank, so keen to find any breeders / shops who stock could quality types of these.

 

[jc12]

@s1l3nt is a fan of apistos but he too lament on the lack of them in the hobby nowadays.

He should be pretty cluey where to get some in Sydney.

Edited January 24, 2017 by jc12

[jayc]

My LFS - Auburn Aquarium, still stocks a good number of apistos. They will take orders for specific types as well if they don't have them on display.

 

[kapp]

 

19 hours ago, jayc said:

My LFS - Auburn Aquarium, still stocks a good number of apistos. They will take orders for specific types as well if they don't have them on display.

 

Thanks. Yeah, they're one of the consistent places that stock apistos even if only one or two at a time. Didn't know they take orders for specific species, so good to know, thanks. I assume they'll get the from the usual wholesaler many of the LFS's source fish from.

Hmm, might give them a ring to see what they have in stock atm.

[jayc]

24 minutes ago, kapp said:

I assume they'll get the from the usual wholesaler many of the LFS's source fish from

Yes, I'm sure they would source from the usual wholesalers. 

I have sold them some of my killifish as well, so I know they purchase stock from private sellers.

In fact, I have a couple of dozen Fundulopanchax gardneri 'Nsukka' that I need to offload to them soon. My tank is overloaded with baby killifish.

[kapp]

@jayc thanks mate. Good to see private breeders and LFS's working together.

 

Still very strange apisto enthusiasm died out. They're an unusual species and really beautiful with a lot of personality. Not the easiest fish to look after, often needing very low pH and softwater but still, awesome fish. I guess the extremely high costs of importing new specimens and difficulty doing that when they can be fragile hence lots of dead loss, meant unless a strong breeder / hobbyist base took hold, it was always destined to die off.

[s1l3nt]

Sorry I am quite delayed here!! :) 

Apistogramma keepers in NSW have never been huge in numbers to be honest, not as long as i've been in the hobby anyway (going on 10 years now I think...). There has maybe been 2-3 big keepers at a time (if that), all of which have now moved on from the hobby as far as I am aware. Currently I don't know of any private breeders for apistos in NSW unfortunately. Since the new laws came in regarding imports and testing I have definitely noticed less species available through wholesale suppliers.

Currently the best source of Apistogramma is New Life Aquariums in Melbourne. Shipping is a little steep at ~$50 but they have a huge range of apistos that they breed and import from their own farm (I believe in Malaysia, but my memory is a little shonky....). I've had good experience with them and they have always shipped me fish in pairs/trios as requested. Usually they have 20+ species in stock at a time so it's quite nice to be able to have them all in one shipment. Prices are pretty decent too in my experience. 

Other then that there is a few private breeders in Qld but mostly they keep quiet, there is also one guy in Adelaide and one lady in Perth (Both of which don't frequent any forums that I know of, but are semi-active on Apistogramma and Aussie facebook groups).

Most LFS will order them in for you, cheapest IMO will most likely be Allfish2u or Nano Tanks Australia (NTA is not far from Auburn if that helps). Auburn is way to expensive IMO, though they do have some nice fish in store usually! They all order from Aquarium Industries, and (much less often ) Bayfish/Premier Pet. You can check both of these stock lists online via their respective websites (there is no prices attached)

Personally I have never had issues keeping apistogramma in any reasonable PH (have kept most species in ranges of 4pH to low 7pH). Optimal IMO for most is around 6pH, however breeding some is very difficult (if possible at all) unless you get much lower in the pH scale. Most apistos will happily live 4-5 years, but will mostly stop spawning around 2-3 years old.

They are by far my favourite fish and I am planning on sourcing a few species that I really like and keeping them on my breeding rack with hopes of growing out fry, etc. This is the plan in the near future :) Hope to see you with a few (or more) species soon! Hope this helps :)

[jayc]

2 hours ago, s1l3nt said:

Nano Tanks Australia (NTA is not far from Auburn if that helps). Auburn is way to expensive IMO, though they do have some nice fish in store usually!

Didn't know about NTA. Thanks for that @s1l3nt.

NTA's website is pretty bare, everything seems to be "no products available". So it looks like I'll have to visit in person. ?

Gotta agree with you Auburn Aquarium can be a bit expensive.

 

Say, do you have any apistos you'd like to trade for killies?

[s1l3nt]

Yeah I dont think they are using the website to be honest. He was a bloke I used to use for my fish in the past but he opened up a shop i think a little over a year ago? Has same access as Auburn but cheaper :) Check out the store i'd say. (Haven't been in a while but he usually brings in anything I ask for via aquarium industries, etc).

Currently I don't have many apistos (no pairs), I have a large male Baenschi Inka, a female Bitaeniata 'Tefe' and a female Cactuoides 'orange flash' if your keen on those? :) What killies are you keeping? I know a bloke who has a bunch of rare killis if your keen, shoot me a pm :) @jayc

A little more on topic - Second Nature Aquariums posted a facebook post yesterday (i only saw it now) that they have a bunch of apistos available. Of note (for me) and a little rarer then usual, they have Wilhelmi (Which is actually now Abacaxis I believe), and Mendezi.

For anyone interested in IDs and some info, one of the best sites ive seen is: apisto.sites.no
There is also a facebook group Apistogramma International or something along those lines and the apisto forum. All of the 3 are run by some of the biggest hobbyists/breeders/importers in the world of apistos IMO. Reserachers of apistos! :)

Edited February 4, 2017 by s1l3nt