This week we sit down with Chandra (Wetpetsa/ApistoSA) a breeder from Cape Town, well known for her work with Apistogramma.
Q. Introduce yourself 🙂
I was born and lived most of my life in East London, but am currently living in Cape Town. I studied a three year national diploma in photography at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. After completing the diploma, I’ve since been employed as a photographer and designer.
Q. Let us know a little about you? what you do outside of the hobby?
I thoroughly enjoy doing photography, also, collecting plants and anything that involves animals.
Q. How long have you been in the hobby? when/how did first get involved with the fish keeping hobby ?
It started for five years ago. My partner who had been in and out of the fish keeping hobby for years, decided to get an aquarium again. After he set it up, I pretty instantly fell in love with the fish he had at that time, which wasn’t surprising as I’ve always had a passion for animals. I soon found that I was spending all my spare time researching all things fish keeping, which again wasn’t surprising as I have a tendency to go overboard with anything that I do. After that I was hooked and decided to set up up my own aquarium.
Q. How many tanks do you currently have setup? tell us about your fish room..
I converted our garage into a fishroom and currently have 35 aquariums.
Q. What are some of your favourite fish and why?
Dwarf cichlids, or more specifically Apistogramma. They are full of character, their size makes them easy to manage and keep, they are great with plants and I personally think they are some the most beautiful fish.
Q. What and who inspires your hobby?
What: Keeping and raising happy and healthy fish.
Who: Locally definitely Prof. Dirk Bellstedt and Marco Du Toit. Internationally Frank Hättich, Mike Wise and Roland Kipper.
Q. How have you evolved as a fish keeper?
By continuing to do alot of research and speaking to other experienced and knowledgeable fish keepers. Also by narrowing down what I’m most passionate about in the hobby and concentrating on that.
Q. Has the hobby changed over the years?
Unfortunately I haven’t been in the hobby long enough to notice any significant changes.
Q. What do you think is missing in the hobby in SA, or what negatives currently exist in the hobby?
Unfortunately we don’t currently have access to alot of species.
Q. What advice/tips can you give to fellow hobbyists?
What advice/tip can you give to fellow hobbyists?
There’s really something for everyone in the hobby so just find what you’re passionate about and do it.
Also research is very important, personally, I think most mistakes can be avoided by doing research beforehand.
Q. What future plans do you have?
Hopefully to finish my fishroom re-design so that I can double the amount of aquariums I currently have. Which in turn will give me the extra space I need to bring in new species to breed.
Q. Do you breed for profit or pleasure?
Definitely pleasure, all the money I make goes back into the hobby and I spend way more than I ever make.
Q. What made you get into breeding Apistogramma?
My passion for breeding and raising fish and my love for Apistogramma.
Another great thing about Apistogramma is that there’s so many species to choose from. At least 500 different species according to Mike Wise.
Q. How many Apistogramma strains do you currently breed. Would you like to try more?
I currently have thirteen species/ colour forms:
Agassizii “double red”
Agassizii “white seam”
Agassizii “fire gold”
Cacatuoides “double/triple red”
Cacatuoides “orange flash”
Macmasteri
Panduro
Steel-blue
Personata
Tefe
Hongsloi
Trifasciata
Borellii
Yes, I’d love to try more.
Q. What makes you so successful in breeding Apistogramma? hints, tips
The four main things I focus on is:
1) Water: I keep them in as close to ideal water parameters and make sure water quality is very good as they are prone to bacterial infections.
2) Food: Feeding high quality food. I feed two to three small meals a day to my pairs. One meal always consists of baby brine shrimp and the other is dry food. My favorite dry food is Prof Dirk Bellstedt’s food that he imports from Germany. Especially the DHA/EPA granulate as it’s hugely beneficial for dwarf cichlids. I also feed other live food (daphnia, grindal worms and mosquito larvae) and frozen food (Brine shrimp, daphnia and cyclops) a few times a week. Never bloodworm or tubifex as it’s known to cause Apistos to bloat.
3) Managing aggression: Aquarium size and creating alot of hiding spots and line sight breaks is important.
General rule is that for a pair you need atleast a 60cm aquarium and for a trio 90cm or larger is best. The base size of an aquarium is more important than height.
4) Minimizing stress: Apistogrammas are very sensitive to stress.
Q. Have you changed species a lot or did you previously breed other species?
I’ve bred a few different species such as Geophagus sp. Tapajos ‘red head’, Parosphromenus cf. bintan, Corydoras, L. ocellatus gold, etc. but my passion definitely lies more in breeding dwarf cichlids so I mostly stick to breeding them.
Q. Where do you sell your fish?
Mostly through my Facebook page (Apistogramma South Africa) and Instagram (@apistosa). I also advertise on some of the fish Whatsapp groups
Q. What challenges do you face when getting breeding stock and in general breeding Apistogramma?
Finding stock is always the hardest part as new species are rarely available and unfortunately exporters generally send mostly males.