Apisto in LFS

[Jitticus]

I was visiting 328 a couple of weeks ago and i wonder if you guys noticed the same thing
- their supplier is putting a large male and a smaller male and passing them off as pairs.

All the apistos there were 2 males - the borelli opal, the candidi, and another one which i forgot (agassizii or cacatuoides, can't really recall). This makes it pointless to buy apistos unless you only want them as ornaments in planted tanks.
It's quite sad because newbies will always be wondering why their females keep getting killed by the male and they'll never pick up the apistogramma bug the way us old timers did when the scene was younger.

[SirBest]

That is how the ornamental fish economy is being propelled. It is depressing.

[Aquanoob]

Jit, what you mentioned is correct. I notice the same pattern in some other apisto selling LFS like Y618. Although they are labelled as Male and Female on the bag but a closer look at it will reveal that they are actually majority males. Same case for the German Ram, I talked to the Hong Yang owner before and he said that the suppliers don't want to release the females, that is why his tank got all the males.

[doppelbanddwarf]

Yes noticed a few times. I don't know whether its intentional or the supplier's packers don't know how to differentiate and just pack a larger fish with a smaller one. There have been times when the females are correctly labelled too.
Sometimes stressed fish can be hard to differentiate as they show their stress bars and are mostly grayish. However if it is intentional then it is really too overboard. Most of the LFS owners are also not very clear as to how to differentiate males and females which makes it very hard for beginners.

[apisto31]

Same goes for Inka at jzx last time which i told the boss that they infact Males. Some posses female traits but obviously sneakers. Their Adoketas are different issues altogether as its a bit tough to see especially for the last batch which are pretty small sub adults. Though most apisto batches from prev years were indeed correctly labelled as males and females.


---
I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?iwgsji

[mobile2007]

First of all, difficult to identify sex even at relatively large size adult. Second, usually male to female ratio skewed. Thirdly, where got so much time to pair them up.

For apisto keeper, we have to accept that apisto not much different from other type of fishes, discus, pleco. we have to buy them and pair them ourself.

[chuakboon]

yea i got 2 male caca too....

[Jitticus]

First of all, difficult to identify sex even at relatively large size adult. Second, usually male to female ratio skewed. Thirdly, where got so much time to pair them up.

For apisto keeper, we have to accept that apisto not much different from other type of fishes, discus, pleco. we have to buy them and pair them ourself.

It would be fine if it was a wild shipment, where we're expected to find our own pairs of fish. However, these are supplied to the lfs in pairs, not in single pieces.

[mobile2007]

Well, i guess they should change the way they are selling.

It would be fine if it was a wild shipment, where we're expected to find our own pairs of fish. However, these are supplied to the lfs in pairs, not in single pieces.

[SirBest]

Well, i guess they should change the way they are selling.

I am pretty confident that the shop owners at C328 are aware of such practices but then again, I guess it is pretty much beyond their control. I can only foresee the most drastic measure is to drop the supplier off but then again, it is the demand from consumers that is stopping them from dropping. So where is the compromise?

[FT David]

Personally, I think that some LFS do not have the time or experience to differentiate males and females (can't blame the LFS owners). As such, they just sell as whatever the suppliers claimed to be...At the end of the day, the consumers (especially newbies) will be at the losing end. It'll always be advisable to observe the fishes properly before buying to avoid disappointment.

[SirBest]

Well if you guys think pairing a pair of males and claimed them to be a male and female pair is wrong, then what justice is left by bagging a dragonfly nymph or a hydra in a bag of shrimps and let the buyer think as if they have strike lottery by having a limited edition shrimp in their possession. I can only conclude that these are just some of the very shady tactics that sellers do to try to improve their sales and churn out profits. Like the saying goes, if the dying continues, so does the buying. Thats how it works for now.

[doppelbanddwarf]

I do not think they will intentionally bag a dragonfly nymph into a bag of shrimps. It probably came attached with the plants etc. They simply do not have the time or resources to check every single bag.

[SirBest]

I do not think they will intentionally bag a dragonfly nymph into a bag of shrimps. It probably came attached with the plants etc. They simply do not have the time or resources to check every single bag.

Do a thorough check on the pre bagged shrimps and if you have a couple of bags like that, I guess it is right that we, as consumers, let it slip. However, if out of so many bags, only a couple, not a handful, is "clean", what conclusion can we derive from it?

[alfredliow316]

That's why they say...... 'Always Quarantine'!!

[huhengyi1986]

regarding the suppliers from c328..My personal opinion of C328's supplier is dishonest(Not 328 hor, im saying the supplier). reason? i saw the end of the dorsal of the smaller "female" snipped off to make it look femalelish.

[genes]

Sometimes its difficult to sex them. So the supplier may have packed them wrongly. Or course, they may have done it deliberately too. So, the best advance I give is, when in doubt, don't buy. I miss those Biotope days where each pairs are properly housed in a decent clean tank and they take the effort to sex each pairs before selling.

328 just came in new batch of apistos. All still in bags. Looks fresh and healthy! Saw Aga "Tefe" and Panduro.