Aloha from Hawaii

[Ill Will]

Hello, I'm new here. Any other Hawaii members? I'm a soon-to-be Apisto breeder on the Big Island of Hawaii. If anyone knows a source in Hawaii or the west coast to buy dwarf Cichlids from any info would be appreciated.

Currently I have a group of Honduran Red Points (2 of which paired off), a Oscar, a group of Labidochromis Chisumulae (electric yellows cousin), an O'opu Nakea (indigenous Hawaiian stream Goby), a bushynose Pleco, 2 Featherfin Synodontis', a group of yellow convicts (Cryptoheros Nanoluteus), a pair of Nanacara Anomalas, regular convicts, an albino pelvicachromis in various tanks and some local Tilapia in the future Apisto tanks so I know the tanks are healthy for them when they arrive and of course the Tilapias will be removed.

So if anyone knows of a good source of south american dwarf Cichlids that won't require me to buy hundreds of fish it would be greatly appreciated. A Peruvian source that would sell 50 fish for $100-$200 usd or a west coast breeder would be ideal. Also looking for wild Oscars, the Columbian type.

 

[Mike Wise]

Aloha, Will and welcome to the apisto forum. There's a lot of good information and people here.

I doubt that you'll find many exporters who will ship small quantities of fish. At least I don't know of any. Add to that the cost of getting an import license and meeting U.S. and state regulations usually make private imports too expensive. There are some good retailers listed in "The Trading Place" section on this site who ship. Check with them. David Soares' (Soft Water Dwarf Cichlids) breeding operation is in Oregon. Most others are on the East Coast or Midwest. Still these people ship all over the U.S., too, and shouldn't keep you from ordering from them.

 

[Ill Will]

I see, well I'll definately check out David Soares and keep an eye out on "The Trading Place". I was just thinking of shipping directly from Peru since it's about the same distance from Hawaii as California, geographically, and that's where the natural habitat of the fish is. I'm sure our U.S. breeders avoid accidental hybridization and the original species are maintained so I should'nt have a problem ordering lines thru them. Thanks so much for all the info and the welcome.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I've corresponded a bit with another Hawaiian fish keeper (who is the moderator on another forum that I belong to). If you are interested PM me, and I'll try and put you in contact.

cheers Darrel

 

[tjudy]

Make Yamamoto is on Oahu and breeds apistos. At least he used to. He works for whatever Hawaii's government agency is that manages game and fish (I forget what it is called there). He published a book several years ago about freshwater fish on the islands, so he should be pretty easy to find.

 

[Ill Will]

Make Yamamoto is on Oahu and breeds apistos. At least he used to. He works for whatever Hawaii's government agency is that manages game and fish (I forget what it is called there). He published a book several years ago about freshwater fish on the islands, so he should be pretty easy to find.

I've heard of Mike Yamamoto being the Apisto guy here. I think the agency you're talking about is DLNR (Dept. of Land & Natural Resources). Anyway I don't know if he's even still into Apistos but if anyone knows his email address PM me. Thanks.