Apistogramma sp. 'Miua'

[Wackytpt]

Bene,

Count me in man!

PS: How can forget me

[Simon]

you everything also want. as long got apistogramma infront, got caudal, ventral, dorsal

[illumnae]

eh, my caveat is i got tank space! which won't happen in the immediate future =\ need half a year to a year buffer time haha

[hanz0my]

Hahaha.. Just the fish that I am looking for!! The last in my wish list...kekekeke

[benetay]

So lets say out of so many apisto keepers here, only 5 pairs are needed. Meaning 10 pieces.

Sad . I'm sure wondering if there is a shipment from SA 300 wild miua. None will reach Singapore considering the market.

Lets say we step out of the circle and place yourself as an exporter. Will you even bother to ship a few to Singapore? Just a thought.

[illumnae]

i guess that's why those looking for the non-common species have to fork out slightly more in shipping/airfare to get the fish

[benetay]

Agree. If there are more choices locally, with a uprising market in apisto, the cost of bringing it in shall be kept minimal. The problem is there isn't any uprising market yet at this point of time !

[illumnae]

must also remember that Singapore is itself a small country, so numbers are against us. if 0.001% of China buy apistos, every supplier will rush to send there..but if 0.1% of Singapore buys apistos? not worth sending to us, even though it's 100x more percentage-wise

[benetay]

Good point. Singapore population 4.5mil~ , HK population 6.9mil. The aquatic scene looks like we're so behind time.

I'm not sure what cause the difference. Taking CRS for Eg; it has been a decade before it started the 'craze' maybe someone can clarify what causes it.

Do we only look at economic benefits thus losing the 'open-minded' concept of fish keeping?

Have the culture here taught us to play safe? but not play smart? Advancement is slow here, why?

Sorry for so many un-related question to the topic. just want to know some answers.

Thanks!

[illumnae]

i think we have the culture of not being too passionate about things. look at hongkong and the way the people there chase idols, then look at Singapore and see how tame we are comparatively. i think it's just the less passionate nature of Singaporeans, and thus since we're less passionate about things, we're less willing to pay a premium for it. even for CRS, there is still no "craze" here per se as compared to Japan or Hong Kong even though it's more popular than apistos at the moment.

[Simon]

I supposed it is how we singaporeans are brought up, coming from a culture where fishes are cheap, easily available. Where heading down to the 'longkang' in the past, you can find rasbora, bettas. Compare that to the other places where fishes like the neon tetra cost $6 each, this leisure in the past may be still imprinted in most Singaporeans. Then you have the louhan craze, where people is willing to fork out thousands of dollars for a hybrid and when you ask them to do the same to apistogramma, the most common reply is the fish too small, not worth the money.

[winterflame]

Hahaa... keep nodding my head while reading your views...

[genes]

Hahaa... keep nodding my head while reading your views...

So whats your view?

HK also have people from the Republic of China to serve their market, not only their own population, hence their audience is damn wide no matter what they sell. We have non. So cannot compare.

[Simon]

Eugene, not only is that a factor, but the reason why we ain't getting quality fishes also depends mainly on us, the buyers. No demand = No supply. If you are a business man, you will move to a wider audience, not someplace like Singapore :P

Ask yourself one question, how much have you spend in this hobby? does it justified your leisure? Why are people else where prepared to pay more for quality goods but not here? Is it the oversupply of china made products? or the cost for quality doesn't not justified the spending or perhaps the standard of living is too high that we can't afford better for our hobbies? keke.. Someone mentioned that in Vietnam, 7-8 out of 10 planted tanks hobbyist are willing to pay for ADA stuff, even when their salary is so much lower than here, their market doesn't lack the supplies of china made products but then why are their mindset any different from us?

apart from serious apisto keepers, who else will spree on a tiny fish that cost $300 - $500 or even more? Frankly, the most I will pay for a pair of apisto will be in the region of $300, maybe even more if I get a fatter bonus

Should we spilt this discussion up?

[doppelbanddwarf]

I think Singaporeans are more into big fishes like arowanas and siamese tigers, and are far more willing to spend big on them. Most Singaporeans would go "WA so expensive for such a small ikan bilis, not worth it!" when they see Apistogrammas.

[leeruisheng]

Arowanas are always beautiful and visible. Most Apistogrammas will only be truely beautiful when it flares and if spook by a little will disappear into the foliage.

[Simon]

Maybe being chinese/asian we prefer fishes dress in red for sign of prosperity/luck/good fortune and we like them big? or else the cacatuoides will be a big hit. Alas dwarf cichlids ain't too friendly in a big group

[doppelbanddwarf]

Yup I guess there's also the prosperity aspect to it. I think Singaporeans aren't afraid to spend big on fishes.
An arowana can easily cost a thousand dollars or more. Plus the feeding of feeder fishes and live food which is so common among the arowana keepers here.
Rather I think that people here feel that bigger sized fish is more value for money.