Possibly VERY exciting news

Hi fellow fishkeepers

For the past few weeks I have been in discussion with a contact of mine in Eastern-Europe about the possible supply of certain fish species.
I previously received the Rio Xingu discus from this gentleman - him being the original breeder of the wild Xingu line in Europe.

We have always stayed in touch and he has now been able to put me in contact with other breeders and distributors, so hopefully we can pull off an absolute stunning import of rare and hard to find freshwater beauties.

At present the prices for most of the fish look amazing - but we need to still factor in freight, customs and Vat - and other costs which will of course arise from this. That said I can comfortably say that the fish will be available at prices way lower than what we are used to in SA, and apart from that there will be fish available that has not been available in SA for many years!

I here list a few fish which could be available - no prices yet but your feedback to show interest in this will be much appreciated.

This will be a once off thing, similar to my Xingu import - and I am aiming at end of January to end of February for arrival.

We are aiming and HOPING to combine a batch of tankbred Altum Angels with this order - if Prof Dirk Bellstedt can manage to arrange it with the breeder of the Altums with whom he has become acquainted.
Its all dependant on availability and logistics - but lets hope for the best.

Heres the list -

A few types of Wild discus
Wild Pt. Scalare Angels
Wild Ramirezi

Tank bred Altum Angels

Tank bred Apistogramma -

Agassizi Red
Agassizi fire red
Agassizi Tefé
Athaualpa
Bitaeniata
Borelli
Cacautoides dbl red
Elizabethae
Eremnopyge
Sp. Barbarossa
Hongsloi
Hongsloi gold
Hongsloi Red
Hongsloi super red
Nanay
Sp. Kelleri
Sp. Pebas morado
Trifasciata
Uaupesi
Vielflech
Veijita
Wilhelmi
Baenschi inka


L-cats
-333
-162
-169
-168
-201
-202
-046
Lda-16

Scleromystax barbatus*

I do not have all the answers as far as prices yet. Apistos will be in pairs of course - and with the Altums it will be very much dependant on the quantity that will be available I guess.
It would also be pointless to let Altums go to people who would not be able to keep em alive and at least attempt breeding them. I think its vital that these oppurtunities we get should be used to the best of ability - and we should try and keep these fish going in SA indefinitly after imports such as these.

Wild Discus are not cheap - but at the same time I can assure you that the prices are probably better than what we are used to - especially considering that it will effectively be young adult fish ( 5" ) that will be available - and for instance Nhamunda Royal blues will probably land at roughly R1800 each - not bad for a rare beauty such as that, at that size. We tend to have to pay close to that for low quality tank bred fish from the east....

I will do updates on this thread as and when info becomes available - and IF its a definite go ahead - I will list the available fish, prices and quantities so we can all discuss it and find solutions for us all.

Please share your thoughts guys

Regards

Marco

 

Any guesstimate on pricing?

 

Would the tank bred altums be easier to keep than their wild counterparts? That is, will they be happy in 26-28C water with a ph of 7,6?

EDIT: Would they take frozen and flake food?

 

Would the fish be shipped out immediately upon landing in SA, or would they have to settle and be re-packed?

 

Hi @ DewaldC

Its reall hard to say as freight is not factored in-but at present I would venture at estimating the most expensive Apistogramma on the list to be in the region of about R600 a pair, and the cheapest at about R200 a pair - with the average price per pair probabbly about R300 per pair.
So to answer your question is a bit difficult. Alao at the moment no Tefé Agassizi are available. I have asked for various type Agassizi though and was told they should be ready by the target date - and then Id get given a price closer to date also.
Sorry that that is the best I have for now.

Broder - nope - under no circumstances will it be possible to keep the Altums in those water parameters.
Youd need extremely soft water and an "old" system with well settled filtration. Even then it will be a challenge. Altums do not travel well so you need to be on the ball.
As to your next question. Thus far the plan is for the Altums to go to Prof Dirk who will house them until stable and then send them to buyers.
The Apistos will land packed 30 pairs to a box - and depending on where you are- you can fetch immediately or they will need to be sent a few days later.
Ideally it would be best to take em as they land - its what we did with the Xingus and we had no problems.

Apistos going to CT will be managed that side upon arrival by Dirk and for Gauteng I will handle it as they land.

One thing which is important to realise is that this is not a "profit making excercise"
Increased volumes means lower freight which means everyone saves. So it really boils down to us arranging the entire order but we all accept shared responsibility. If I have to land, qt the fish, feed and treat them for 3 weeks then the cost would just go up to cover my expenses and risk.

Hope you understand

Regards

Marco

 

Thanks very much for your effort Marco. It's great that you are introducing these stunning and healthy fish to us. I'll definitely be ordering a few apistos.... Come on East London guys, lets share on shipping down here if this comes about!

 

Sho... A group of 8 x L046 would be pretty nice.... I'm just saying!

 

@Sean J
Is that an official order....?

 

Bad timing Marco, as i am moving beginning next year. By then someone will be breeding them. Awesome though @Marco

 

Thanks.

 

Oh dear... I've just read up on care and breeding of apistos and I see that they require soft acidic water too. This order is definitely not for beginners like me.

 

@Marco - I wish... Maybe next time.

 

I would to like a pair of uncommon fish for my low tech planted tank. Im a beginner tho and i dont really know the different species. Any suggestions from the list that will be arriving? I love the L046 but beleive its not easy to keep.

 

@shakier those L046 is not that hard to keep but you rarely see them under R2500 a pop so that will make it extremely hard to keep

 

Wow that is hard to keep. Especially for a beginner

 

Hey Marco. I'd be interested in the L169s and L201s. Could you let me know what they going for when you have prices. As others have said, thanks for putting something like this together.

 

@Marco, I will take some L46's at 3cm thank you. Oh yes, and 2 x L333's at 5-6cm, prefer them to be male seeing that I have 2 x breeding ready females, also interested in 2 x L168 females 5cm plus, otherwise also 3cm's. Also interested in a pair of Altum Angels. This is all dependent on price.

I know for a fact that breeders does not let go of their cash cows unless they are old and no longer breeding or not breeding enough or clutch sizes are to small. That's why I would rather take 3cm specimens and wait for them to grow sexually mature. For Hypancistrus like L46, that takes 4 years for those who do not know.

 

@Charles I think the altums will be sub adult so taking a pair gives you a 50% of ending up with the same sex.

 

Even thoughb I won't be able to afford any of these fish I am still very very excited!!

 

great new great effort love seeing people get access to there dream fish a realistic price and true quality fish
just wish we where on the same page in terms of fish we kept