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West African Cichlid Maintenance Program

tjudy

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,822
Location
Stoughton, WI
Jim Cormier has started a program to network people who are keeping West African cichlids and keep track of what is being kept and bred. One of the problems with westies is that species that were once common in the hobby, or were once commonly imported, seem to disappear from the import lists. This is mostly due to a shortage of collectors who move to other places with new species rather than continue to collect the know areas. Great for getting new stuff, but not so great if you are looking for a male or female to complete a pair. For example, wild Pel. subocellatus 'Matadi' have not been imported in a long time, and P. s. 'Moanda' have all of a sudden fallen off the lists as well. Toyin asked Jeff and I if we had any for one of his customers!

One thing I like about Jim's program is that is elegant in its simplicity. All we are asking for is that aquarists keep track of where they get their stock, get it verified (not all that onerous) and try to keep it for as long as possible. The advantage to the hobbyist is that being in the program will get access to a list of others keeping the fish. Hopefully we will all be willing to trade fry for fry in order to provide outcorsses for our wild strains.

The program is being organized on Jim's website: http://www.jmtrops.com/wacmp.html

Jim is looking for people to step up to be a group coordinator. If you want to help out let him know. If you are keeping westies, please participate.

Ted
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
The program has been running for about six weeks now and we have 8 participating members with 62 species registered. I know there are more of you out there that are keeping West African Cichlids so lets get registered, even if you are only keeping one species please register. Also if you don't have any and want to try them, register for the raffle!

Jim
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
Just to clarify the program registation numbers. So far we have 8 members and the 8 members have registered 68 species. There are 44 different species that have at least 1 member keeping them.

jim
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
Here is another update. We are making progress, we still have only 8 members with another 5 that should be registering soon. The 8 of us have registered 118 species representing 80 different species and morphs.

Jim
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
WACMP logo

I want to come up with a logo for the program but I am not that creative when it comes to these things. If you are creative and would like to help us out and come up with a logo for us.

Thanks, Jim
 

JG

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
224
Location
Windsor, Ontario
I plan on moving to Ghana this year and hope to keep a few native species. I'll definitely register for your program once I'm back up and running with westies. :)
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
I plan on moving to Ghana this year and hope to keep a few native species. I'll definitely register for your program once I'm back up and running with westies. :)

Good, I will have the section for outside the us up in a couple of weeks.

Jim
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
WACMP update

The program is going strong. We are up to 16 members and they have registered 152 species. I did have a problem with my computer last week and did lose a lot of the info that was not posted on the web site. Daniel Moore can you email me I lost your info and anyone else if you submitted stuff and you don't see it on the web site then please resend it to me.

We did hold the raffle drawing this week end and I have contacted the 3 winners and I will post the results after they confirm with me.

A few of you from outside the USA had sent me your info to be posted in a new section but I lost that info also so I am ready to start posting you guys from out side the USA so send me what species you are working with.

Jim
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
As some of you are aware the WACMP is going strong and we are now updating everyone’s list of species. Also it is a good time to start expanding on what we are doing in the program. One of the things I wanted to do when we started is have the species maintenance part of it better organized for some of the species and have a true species maintenance. To start it off I have picked Nanochromis transvestitus. I will organize a group of hobbyist that will have a goal of maintaining them in the hobby for several years with the idea that we will spawn them and keep them available in the hobby all year for many years. We will be swapping fry within the group to maintain healthy breeding populations within the group. I have 4 or 5 people from my local club that are going to participate and anyone else that wants in is welcome. I also would like to see some of the other members, like Ted and Jeff, pick one of your favorite species and start a group for them and anyone in the program can start a group just coordinate it with me.

I also am looking for good photos for many of the species. If you have some photos for the species that don’t have one yet or a better one of one I do have then let me know.

If anyone has any ideas on what else we can do with the program let me know. Always looking to improve on what we do.

OK one thing I would like us all to do is when we are selling our fish to hobbyist that don’t know about the program talk to them about it or at least give them the web site address so they can check it out on their own. Especially when you are selling to club members, they are likely getting them to spawn them and should be in the program.

Jim
 

vancat

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
65
Location
CT
westies

Hi Jim,
I bought the pair of kribs from you a few months ago. Not sure how to register, but would like to. I also can't remember the species. They have spawned once already.
thanks
penny
 

joop

New Member
Messages
16
Location
Netherlands
Hello,
I keep the folowing fishes:
Hemichromis frempongi
Hemichromis fasciatus'
Hemichromis elongatus Cameroon (red)
Hemichromis cerasogaster
Hemichromis stellifer Gabun
Hemichromis cristatus
Hemichromis letourneauxi Maryut
Hemichromis Guinee II Simbala
Hemichromis Guinee I Kolente
Tilapia sp jewel
Tilapia brevimanus
Tilapia ruweti
Tilapia sparrmanii
Tilapia sp Mamfe
Thoracochromis brauschi
Pelmatochromis buettikoferi
Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus
Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi

soon Tilapia sp kisangani

regards

joop Clement
Netherlands
 

Joe Gatchell

Member
Messages
230
Location
Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Hey, first timer here in the forum. Interested in know a little more about your WACMP. I currently have 3 young pairs of pelvicachromis taeniatus "lokoundje" and a pair of pelvicachromis pulcher. I haven't had a spawn from the p. taeniatus yet, but they are still pretty young, they just recently paired off. They're F1 fry I got from Mike Hellweg the end of July. Thanks.

Joe
 

jmtrops

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
109
Jim: I couldn't agree more. I never acquire a species only to get rid of it after the first spawn.

The problem with the WACMP is that we all have good intentions, but very little time. Whatever entries you have for me, for example, is probably outdated. But there might be a better place to discuss this than in this thread, which was originally about New Year Resolutions and raising some operating funds for Ted,

You are right. Of the few of us that care about west african cichlids most dont have time to participate in the program.
 

Joe Gatchell

Member
Messages
230
Location
Fort Wayne, IN, USA
It looks like we lost a couple of posts. I wrote this in response to the missing ones. Sabinae is good. You can start with one pair if you want but I always start with at least 2 pairs. It would be nice if we all try to maintain them beyond the end of the contest. That seems to a problem, when we get some of these fish and only keep them for a year then they are not in the hobby for a while. This year with the WACMP I would like to see us do a true species maintenance. Each of us would pick our favorite westie and organize some other hobbyist (a group of 5 would be good) to commit to maintaining them. I’m going to start this with my local club for N. transvestites this year. The Killi clubs do this with some success.

I'd be interested in doing this. I have no local clubs in my area. Closest thing to me is Indianapolis. If I can get my hands on some N. transvestitus I would definitely be interested in maintaining a pair. I currently have three pairs of p. taeniatus "lokoundje", though I am trying to sell two pairs now that I've grown them out from 1/4 inch fry.
 

nvdberg

New Member
Messages
6
Hi I live in South Africa. P. taeniatus, P. Rollofi, P. Suboccelatus are not available in this country.....Does anybody do exports on those fish?? Our importers told me its not economical viable for them to import these species
 

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