LOTS of wild caughts these days, hmm...

[John Rambo]

Mo's right on. The wild Festaes are in season now and there is a viable commercial collecting in Equador. Most wild caught S. American fish are wild caught, most of the countries down there have viable commercial collecting systems set up. The problem is the multitude of people who suddenly have wild caught Centrals, As far as I know there is one commerical collecting outfit on Lago Nicaragua and that is it. Unless you know the person who went down to anywhere else south of the US border and personnally collected the fish then most likely it's BS and the seller is lying. There are no collectors in Mexico, Belize, Guatamala, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama or Costa Rica, so any fish from any of those countries that are" wild caught" are not. The RTM people are selling are pond raised in Florida, No one has a wild La Ceiba Parachromis for sell. None of us who have them would let them go, most likely with the recent pollution of the collecting site will any more wild be caught so we are keeping them. Buyer beware, it's just a way for these guys to get more money, example, the recent thread where I asked a guy who caught the fish and he couldn't answer. I can tell you exactly where any wild fish I sell was caught at, by whom and when. Jeff Rapps can also. Ken

I buy "wild caught" fish from many people, but I really believe I have F0 when I buy from J. Rapps or Ken Davis. Does anyone else have suggested go-to-guys when it comes to wild caught fish?

 

[cichlidinsomniac]

I been seeing a lot of central and south american cichlids on sale being called "wild caught" lately. Is anyone else suspicious?

For example, the "new fish" La Ceiba, some one told me they had a young adult for sale as F0. As far as I know, only 3 well known people have f0 breeding pairs from a few years ago, so the rest can only be their f1 or f(>1) offspring.
Also a bunch of tiny little less-than-an-inch fry, labled as wild caught whatevers. But at that size, one would never be able to tell the species of fish, unless of course, the fish were hatched in the tank with the parents, making them not wild caught. most cichlids look the same at that size, who can really ID them from the wild?
Next, red terrors. Im seeing more F0 rt's than tank raised! These guys are not that hard to breed. I can imagine many people breeding them. Why are there so many damn rt's wild caught?

or maybe im just paranoid

I think that the guy saying he was selling an f0 la ceiba was just mistaken; rapps was selling f0 cenote enscondido around a year or so ago and after looking at the pic thats what it looks like

 

[young_rico]

why is every festae being sold a WC cichlid???? does anyone carry tank raised? i really want some festaes but i cant seem to find some affordable ones.

 

[Aquamojo]

I think that the guy saying he was selling an f0 la ceiba was just mistaken; rapps was selling f0 cenote enscondido around a year or so ago and after looking at the pic thats what it looks like

Those Freddies came from Rusty...and they look very similar to the Yellow Head...especially the females...and juvenile males. Another reason why Dr. Loiselle and Juan Miquel are calling them a Freddie variant rather than Loiselle.

 

[Mad About Cichlids]

We have been getting WC Festaes here at least once a year for the last 5-6 yrs, they all usually come in at around 3-5". To me they do look slightly better than farm raised fishes, it seems the farm raised ones we get here has the funny beak look(best I can explain lol) to them.

 

[dogofwar]

I actually prefer F1 fish to wild caught. No acclimation to aquarium life, fewer parasites, less beat up fish...and - if they're from a reliable source - pretty darn authentic in behavior to what's in the wild...and at a fraction of the price.

 

[young_rico]

so there are no more tank raised festae? is everyone only holding wild ones in stock??

 

[Toby_H]

I hate seeing wild caught fish taken from their home environment simply to be kept as pets, although I'm not going to criticize those who choose to do so... just a personal opinion...

Yet I fully understand the benefits of using Wild Caught fish to produce 'pet' fish or to enhance a breeding line. Therefore I do hope that those purchasing F0 fish are establishing pairs and creating F1's for hobbyists to enjoy raising...

 

[Padiwan cichlidiot]

maybe someone found and observed a pair in the wild, as soon as they laid eggs, he/she took them. It seems that this method would be unprofitable, so I don't know. Most likely it is just a trick used to get better business.

 

[John Rambo]

maybe someone found and observed a pair in the wild, as soon as they laid eggs, he/she took them. It seems that this method would be unprofitable, so I don't know. Most likely it is just a trick used to get better business.

that is the story behind many of the wild green umbies in the market today. As far as wild verses tank raised, wild is always a better bet for, generally healthier fish. The shallow gene pool can produce some sickly and deformed cichlids. Having said that, some tank breeders have selected for brighter colors through the years and have made better tank raised looking fish. Then on the other end of the coin, I know many of us just keep the first juvees that pair off then sell the rest off. This does not select for the largest, most colorful, or healthies fish. maybe just the horniest!