I am lucky to be living in the city where Mike, the great Apistogramma expert lives. I didn't know that until one day our local Colorado Aquarium Society's meeting email popped up which said our guest speaker was going to be Mike Wise.
I went to Peru to collect some annual killifish last year and also caught some Apisto luelingi. For some reasons I could not bring the trio back. I took a chance and sent Mike a PM here asking if he has or can arrange some of Apisto luelingi for me. To my greatest amazement, he said well, I have some Apisto luelingi cf. 'Cristal'. I insisted him to bring me a trio to the meeting.
So, at the meeting, we met for the first time. We took a picture together, he gave me the fish and then I took out my wallet asking him how much I owed him. He looked at me and said "You got friendship?" I was surprised and it took me a moment or two to understand what he meant. I said a huge YES and we shook hands
It was February 6th, 2015 that day.
I decided that day that if this pair will take off and start making babies, I will pay it forward. So, they took off and I am ready to pay it forward now.
The male is a good 3.5-4" with turquoise blue sheen on the body with bright orange outline to the fins. The female is bright yellow with some lyretail like features. First batch is about 3-4 months old and at about 1"+ size. I started with BBS and now have successfully switched them over to frozen bloodworms, artemia, white-worms, grindal worms etc.
They are in a mix of 50-50 RO and normal tap water. The final parameters come at about 7 pH and 70-80 ppm TDS.
Not to mention that they are not a beginner's fish and have very little room for error. Once they get going, they reward you with huge egg clutches every 3 weeks or so.
So, to enter the RAOK, you will have to tell me a story of your friend or friendship. A photo would be the icing on the cake. Don't try to make up stuff, I can smell lies.
The winner will pay the shipping. I will ship USPS express so it would be around $30-$45. I will ship in insulated box using breather bag. I will try my best to make the sex ratio 1M2F but I cannot guarantee it.
I will pick up a winner on Sunday Oct 18th night. I can ship according to the winner's convenience. I will not be responsible for USPS mishaps or delays. No DOA guarantee.
There has to be at least 10 entries for me to be able to pick a winner. If not, we will extend the draw date.
I would again request: Only experienced Apisto keepers should enter.
Here are some photos of the parents and the juveniles:
Dad: He is very shy and it is almost impossible to take his pictures. I managed to take these few:
Mom: Very outgoing. She eats from my hand sometimes. She loves bloodworms (and sometimes her own eggs too LOL)
Here are the juvenile:
I went to Peru to collect some annual killifish last year and also caught some Apisto luelingi. For some reasons I could not bring the trio back. I took a chance and sent Mike a PM here asking if he has or can arrange some of Apisto luelingi for me. To my greatest amazement, he said well, I have some Apisto luelingi cf. 'Cristal'. I insisted him to bring me a trio to the meeting.
So, at the meeting, we met for the first time. We took a picture together, he gave me the fish and then I took out my wallet asking him how much I owed him. He looked at me and said "You got friendship?" I was surprised and it took me a moment or two to understand what he meant. I said a huge YES and we shook hands
It was February 6th, 2015 that day.
I decided that day that if this pair will take off and start making babies, I will pay it forward. So, they took off and I am ready to pay it forward now.
The male is a good 3.5-4" with turquoise blue sheen on the body with bright orange outline to the fins. The female is bright yellow with some lyretail like features. First batch is about 3-4 months old and at about 1"+ size. I started with BBS and now have successfully switched them over to frozen bloodworms, artemia, white-worms, grindal worms etc.
They are in a mix of 50-50 RO and normal tap water. The final parameters come at about 7 pH and 70-80 ppm TDS.
Not to mention that they are not a beginner's fish and have very little room for error. Once they get going, they reward you with huge egg clutches every 3 weeks or so.
So, to enter the RAOK, you will have to tell me a story of your friend or friendship. A photo would be the icing on the cake. Don't try to make up stuff, I can smell lies.
The winner will pay the shipping. I will ship USPS express so it would be around $30-$45. I will ship in insulated box using breather bag. I will try my best to make the sex ratio 1M2F but I cannot guarantee it.
I will pick up a winner on Sunday Oct 18th night. I can ship according to the winner's convenience. I will not be responsible for USPS mishaps or delays. No DOA guarantee.
There has to be at least 10 entries for me to be able to pick a winner. If not, we will extend the draw date.
I would again request: Only experienced Apisto keepers should enter.
Here are some photos of the parents and the juveniles:
Dad: He is very shy and it is almost impossible to take his pictures. I managed to take these few:
Mom: Very outgoing. She eats from my hand sometimes. She loves bloodworms (and sometimes her own eggs too LOL)
Here are the juvenile:
