Re: [Killietalk] Commercial imports; what to label them?

["Hladky, John" <John_Hladky at tdytsi.com>]

Wright, Rich, Bill,
Thank you very much for your replies to my questions.  I am beginning to
understand what is involved.  I especially liked the analogies Bill
provided.  Since Bill replied to me off line, I asked him if I could
post it here for the rest of you with these same questions.  He
graciously said "yes" so I am including it here:


>From Bill...
"Hi John;
I'm sure that there are bound to be some exceptions, but I have never
seen any killie I kept have that problem.  Sometimes it is there from
the start though.  Just like anything, there are some bad fish.  I can
tell you that sometimes a first generation from an acquired fish will
give good production and then the next very poor only to be followed by
the next back to good

again.  Part of the problem is that once you get a group of fry and
distribute some you do not continue to try to get more until you are
down to a pr or two.  Invariably, they won't do well and you either lose
the fish or get just enough to get them restarted.  When you are
desperately trying to get them going again, more attention is paid and
they start up again.
Most
people who keep or breed killies keep a lot of species, each (including
each batch of fry) requires another tank.  Once you have 4 tanks devoted
to one of maybe 10 to 40 species you are trying to keep, you avoid
starting more tanks of that species.  The easiest way to lose a species
is to do well with then!!!  Another thing I have found is that a male
and a female do not necessarily a pair make.  Sometimes the "pair" is a
productive pair and sometimes not.  They are more like cichlids than a
lot of people think.
You
can set up 5 pr in 5 tanks with the same lighting, water food and
temperature and one may be great producers and another not give you an
egg a month.  One pair may ignore fry and the others eat fro or eggs.
Same species, same generation same conditions-different fish!!
As Tony stated, order an elberti and see what you get. Order an elberte
Foumban and you know what you are getting.  Unfortunately in the killie
hobby it is up to the individual hobbyist to assure his strains are
correctly identified and maintained pure.  No AKC registration like with

dogs, only honor.  IF a cross were to get out and be identified by
appearance it may be the ruin of that fish collection it resembles,
destroying the gene pool and potentially producing sterile fish.
Similarly, an ogoense.  There are a tone of "locations" of each of these

species and every one of them likes different temperature, hardness etc.

Lord knows what a mix might want!  Besides if you call a petshop and
want a
"dog" (which is a species) don't they ask what kind of dog?   Both a
sheltie
and pit-bull are the same species.  Not the same animal though!  Same
with a given species of killie.  An Aphyosemion ogoense without location
is like a dog without identifying the breed of the dog.  An ogoense GHP
80-24 looks tons different from an ogoense GHP 80-23 and is a lot
tougher to find and to breed.  You can get 80-23 for about $12 but if
you find any you will pay

$20+ for 80-24.   A mutt is worth a lot less (to most people)  than a
AKA
registered dog of a given breed with a lineage.  A killie mutt is
basically worthless to any but a guy who wants a red one a green one and
one of those pretty yellow guys for his pink gravel, plastic plant tank
in the den.
Take
a peek at the ogoense strains on my site and you will get the idea. See
http://www.sheneskillies.com/Aphyosemion/page0003.html
Bill Shenefelt
http://sheneskillies.com";






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