tankbuster Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 G'day there folks, I've been keeping my eye out in regards to the revised import laws that'll be dumped on us next year, it got me thinking about any positives that may arise, and one thing that could be a positive is more local/domestic grass root breeders. I'm just wondering if we have thought about a statewide breeding program for malawis, aulonocara in particular. One where we can build up healthy numbers and also maintain healthy lines in Aus for years to come. One that focuses on quality In both appearance and overall health. I know we have rare and quality fish thread we have for mbuna and tangs, but what about haps and aulonocara? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoody Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) there is a few people here and there breeding quality aulonocaras. will be good to have the next 11 months for people to import as much as they can and see if they can keep some nice lines breeding. unfortunately they amount of posts i see on facebook 'my sunshine X dragon blood just bred with my OB', out weighs the quality breeders i think. Edited April 3, 2015 by Hoody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitch-91 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 may i ask what the new import laws are? are they going to be more relaxed? as id love to get my hands on a nice baby rtc unlikely i know but i hope for a brigher future haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pk333 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 If I had some basic carpentry, electrical and plumbing knowledge (and some general diy skill/knowledge), and the cash, I'd so be looking at setting up my own commercial breeding set up. For me, it's basically wait and see what happens when the new laws come in to effect. We can hypothesise what the situation may be like when they do come in to effect, but the reality for most of us hobbyists is, we simply don't really know what the impact on the import & wholesale, or the retail part of the hobby will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ado_84 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'd be happy with the new laws. I just breed a select few quality lines. We have everything we need in the country already - cichlid wis e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pk333 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Oh no we don't [MENTION=7490]ado_84[/MENTION]. We need every species and location variant of Apistogramma, Discus and Laetacara to just to keep me happy. I'm sure many other people could add to the list of what we "need". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ado_84 Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Need and want too different things... I think we have all we need. Of course we want more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Aulonocara Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) G'day there folks, I've been keeping my eye out in regards to the revised import laws that'll be dumped on us next year, it got me thinking about any positives that may arise, and one thing that could be a positive is more local/domestic grass root breeders. I'm just wondering if we have thought about a statewide breeding program for malawis, aulonocara in particular. One where we can build up healthy numbers and also maintain healthy lines in Aus for years to come. One that focuses on quality In both appearance and overall health. I know we have rare and quality fish thread we have for mbuna and tangs, but what about haps and aulonocara? I breed.... Aulonocara stuartgranti koningsi mbenji island Aulonocara stuartgranti ngara red Aulonocara stuartgranti - steveni undu reef Aulonocara stuartgranti maleri chidunga rocks Aulonocara spec turkis Aulonocara jacobfreibergi cape maclear Aulonocara spec ruben red rotor kaiser Aulonocara baenschi nkhomo reef Aulonocara ethelywnnae Aulonocara sp. lwanda Aulonocara chitande nkhata bay Aulonocara stuartgranti maleri maleri island Aulonocara ruben red Aulonocara jacobfreibergi boadzulu island Aulonocara jacobfreibergi hongi island 5 more species to go! First stage of commercial set up is underway! Edited April 3, 2015 by Wild Aulonocara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankbuster Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'm trying to get a few colonies of both aulonocara steveni usisya and aulonocara kandeensis going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none Posted April 4, 2015 Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) Aulonocara have been importable for years and years. German shipments come in - wholesalers find they sell very slowly so less and less come in. There are German imports currently on at least one wholesale list yet they don't move well. Meanwhile virtually all Asian import "Aulonocara" are hybrids / cross bred fish. As far as Malawi's go the new laws will have very little to no effect other than increasing the price marginally on these cross-breds. Very few true strains are imported any more - demand simply is not there. Dolphins and Auratus are imported in reasonable numbers - there are enough bred here to cover that market - they will remain very cheap fish. The effect is going to be most noticed with Tropicals - Gouramis etc. Here is where the price rises will occur. Malawi market will see no real change. People wanting these Aulonocara could have bought them for years - if you are prepared to pay the money. I know of many top quality German strain Aulonocara in Australia but people don't breed them - the demand simply isn't there. Edited April 4, 2015 by none Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiem01 Posted April 4, 2015 Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 I have 27 Aulonocara species/locals and bred them for over 25 years.They are a bit of a specialist fish as none said the demand is not great but they are a great fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Aulonocara Posted April 4, 2015 Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) I sell my aulonocara quite well. customers spend anywhere from $150-$500 per order. They buy 2 of every species. from my research people a hesitant as to what they are buying due to the lack of knowledge about them. If people where where helpful and less envious over other breeders then people would know where to get their pure species. I am openly honest with all my customers and my gene ranges from F1 F2 F3 line bred, aggressive line bred, man made & rare color morphs. My intentions are to establish a Australian wide supply of aulonocara species to local pet shops and a few bigger chains to see the proper labels on them.... This includes my business providing booklets and spec sheets on every species I sell. I hope to see the end of the "as sorted peacock" label before my time is over. I have spent close to $12,000 in the last year on my colonies to see this through, i grow as many females out to grow the colonies bigger so that I can supply and meet the prices all people can afford. Edited April 4, 2015 by Wild Aulonocara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cod Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 I sell my aulonocara quite well. customers spend anywhere from $150-$500 per order. They buy 2 of every species.from my research people a hesitant as to what they are buying due to the lack of knowledge about them. If people where where helpful and less envious over other breeders then people would know where to get their pure species. I am openly honest with all my customers and my gene ranges from F1 F2 F3 line bred, aggressive line bred, man made & rare color morphs. My intentions are to establish a Australian wide supply of aulonocara species to local pet shops and a few bigger chains to see the proper labels on them.... This includes my business providing booklets and spec sheets on every species I sell. I hope to see the end of the "as sorted peacock" label before my time is over. I have spent close to $12,000 in the last year on my colonies to see this through, i grow as many females out to grow the colonies bigger so that I can supply and meet the prices all people can afford. Extremely doubt you'll ever see the end of "assorted peacock" at pet shops and chain stores, simply because instead of 1-2 tanks of mixed they would need 10-20 tanks to separate them. Most people I see in pet shops getting fish want the 'babies', 5cm aulonocara are hard for lot people to differentiate what they are if all mixed up. Proper fish shops are different in my book though, but most of them dont have mixed tanks already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 Assorted peacocks are here to stay IMHO because what else happens to batches that lfs can't be 100% sure of species on? Can't cull them all everytime. That and more people have displays than have breeding setups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) I hope to see the end of the "as sorted peacock" label before my time is over. Wild Aulonocara:My intentions are to establish a Australian wide supply of aulonocara species to local pet shops and a few bigger chains to see the proper labels on them Demand and supply - Demand is there for customers of retailers wanting colour fed "assorted peacocks" they sell well for non-specialty shops - as has been said they are here to say. Larger chain stores will not touch your fish - that much I can guarantee you. They have contracts with select wholesalers with heavy discounts and have no interest in Aulonocara strains other than the cheap imports. Edited April 6, 2015 by none Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Aulonocara Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 I guess its better for chain stores not to have their hands on the good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 I like the idea that it will be good for local breeders.... but I doubt that is reality. If we consider the fish that are not on the allowable import list, the Malawi cichlids and the large Americans, we do not have a good record. We have too many ordinary breeders of Malawi cichlids and the quality is not good of many we see. The hybrids are a major issue affecting pure lines due to poor or beginner breeders. Large Americans the same. We are severely limited on the imports we can currently have in the cichlids world....... If we are going to keep quality up we are going to need to reinvent the quality fish project on here and make sure we are part of the solution encouraging quality wish breeding. On a positive note, I do believe that many of the breeders here, including those who posted in this thread are party of the solution in breeding quality fish and will continue to do so by sourcing bloods within Australia if the borders are closed, and as much as there are many Malawi species in particular that I see and am disappointed with, good specimens can still be found amongst members. The issue is going to be people aiming for a quick profit without the appreciation of the effort in quality lines......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
