Ngara Flametail - How Much?!

[jnms]

Just saw two 'wild caught' Ngara Flametails at my LFS - they were priced at £90 each!! Must say I was kinda shocked by the price. Is this the usual sort of price they sell for?

 

[rifty]

No only from lfs with big windows to see you coming!!! lol

let me guess was it ark aquatics in Maidstone? if it was I would be dubious they are even wilds more likley f1 as I know the guy who sold them to them a bit of a cowboy.

You can get a wild pair for £70 from one of the best Uk sellers of Malawis imo

http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/php/detail100_114015.php

 

[jnms]

Perfect guess rifty and spot on!! It was indeed Ark Aquatics.

I noticed the Flametails when browsing around the store, and I actually went back in to ask one of the guys if they were priced correctly. I tend to avoid buying in that shop now - they are not at all the same as they were a year or two back.

Thanks for that link, I've been wondering where I can get some decent Malawis as all the LFS that I am aware of around this area are not that great.

Unless you know of any decent LFS around medway?

 

[rifty]

There are NO good Malawi suppliers in Kent! apart from Mike in the link or I sell some of my F1s off from time to time.
private breeders are the only way to get correctly discribed and well priced malawis! one reason for me setting up the shed!your welcome to pop over when its setup

Mike is best mates with the only straight to Uk importer of Malawis, I know a few others that get them via other countries or from Mikes supplier but this normally pushes up the prices!

I am still very dubious of the wild status of these fish as pretty sure only f1 where available also the quality of them is not great and as they are now in a central system and probably not being treated as they should be i walk away! i remember when the guy purchased these and they would have set him back around 6 quid each! but like i said he is only out to make £££.

Is there anything you are after in particular?

 

[jnms]

It's a real shame that Malawi's are so difficult to get hold of.

At the moment I've got almost enough Malawi's in my tank - though I'd like to introduce a few more. Problem with that is my current stock have become fairly territorial, and attack anything put in with them.

If I were to get another malawi now though, I'd like a Jewel Cichlid.

Thanks for the offer of checking your shed...I may do that. Where about are you?

 

[rifty]

dont think a jewel is from lake malawi but they are a nice fish not sure how the would do tho? I totally agree with the lack of availability in kent or anywhere in the south so intend to have an impact into this by breeding some real nice fish not normally available in lfs. I'm in maidstone btw keep an eye on my journal for progresson the shed.

 

[elisew]

Some of the nicer looking Malawis are difficult to get hold of for a decent price, especially if you`re looking for WC ones.

The main thing I would advise on is that IF you do manage to get WC fish from anyone/anywhere, please do make sure you check with the seller about any quarantine time that the fish have had after being imported or illness etc that the fish may have had and been treated for (or not). It`s extremely important to get this info, especially if you`re planning on adding to a tank that already has existing stock.

There are a few really good hobbyist/breeders in the UK that will despatch a good selection of fish via Courier so don`t limit yourself to just WC or F1, line bred are just as nice as wild ones in my opinion.

rifty......you on commission?

 

[rifty]

I wish lol
I agree that postal is am option but have one if the best selection of malawis in the uk on my door I save on postage and spend that on fish.
I agree wilds are expensive and would never buy wilds at a lfs but mike also sells first generation at around a fiver each so cheaper than mixed breed fish available in local lfs.
With regards to linebredI must disagree with you and I have one of the best examples of a firefish I've ever seen from holland and appreciate the initial fun of owning him plus his fry are easy money but he will always be overshadowed by a real fish like my aulonocara mamelela or placidochromis phenochelius but that my opinion

 

[jnms]

I should have looked into that more - apparently the Jewel isn't even a rift lake cichlid. So that's a no go.

As for WC fish - that's not an essential requirement, and non of my current stock are WC. I'm just interested to see what sort of malawi's are available, and if I see something I like am willing to give it a try, assuming it works with my tank and stock.

Will certainly keep and eye on your journal!

 

[elisew]

I wish lol
I agree that postal is am option but have one if the best selection of malawis in the uk on my door I save on postage and spend that on fish.
I agree wilds are expensive and would never buy wilds at a lfs but mike also sells first generation at around a fiver each so cheaper than mixed breed fish available in local lfs.
With regards to linebredI must disagree with you and I have one of the best examples of a firefish I've ever seen from holland and appreciate the initial fun of owning him plus his fry are easy money but he will always be overshadowed by a real fish like my aulonocara mamelela or placidochromis phenochelius but that my opinion

I`m obviously on the opposite end of the opinion as I love the colour and quality of line bred, especially those I bought from Tony.

Didn`t realise you had Firefish, would you mind posting a pic of it as I`d love to see a really good example of an imported one?

I should have looked into that more - apparently the Jewel isn't even a rift lake cichlid. So that's a no go.

As for WC fish - that's not an essential requirement, and non of my current stock are WC. I'm just interested to see what sort of malawi's are available, and if I see something I like am willing to give it a try, assuming it works with my tank and stock.

Will certainly keep and eye on your journal!

It is clearly a route that brings up different opinions but IF you wanted to consider the linebred option, I buy all of my fish from a great guy called Tony and I can`t rate the quality highly enough. He has an online shop and is always open to people phoning him with any enquiries and orders and always welcomes people who want to go and buy fish from him in person.

You can see what Malawi/mbuna/haps he sells at his website. Not all of the fish he has are on there so if you wanted something else you could always phone and ask him:

http/www.tonysafricancichlids.co.uk/page86.html

 

[rifty]

At work at the moment I'll post up a pix later he came via mal in southport. I also buy my fish from kevin smith in ramsay, lekh in lakeside and have had fish from tony when I first got into malawis some real good some not, but I guess everyone is a critic and looks for different things in a good example of a fish so wouldn't buy from him again for this reason I agree tony does give good info and is very helpful tho, so now I prefer to go and pick my own by collecting also find this half the fun of buying new fish and have never had any issues with any of the sources mentioned.

 

[rifty]

hard fish to photo sorry but as you can see the shape of the aulonocara is spot on to a true aulonocara form, some of the linebred available in the UK are more mbuna in shape with shorter fins and fatter bodies which isnt what i look forhence getting this one from europe as they seem to get a true looking fish with the exception of tonys eureka aulonocara which are imo spot on and stunning fish too!

and one of his offspring at around 4-5cm which i sell at around £5 each

Mikes wild ngara he sells the offspring at £3 each so a bit cheaper than £90 quid lol

 

[elisew]

Nice looking fish rifty

I guess it does come down to personal choice, I much prefer what you consider to be the 'fatter' body of the Aulonocara in the Firefish from Tony to be honest, also the colour is much deeper and vibrant:


As you say, the Eurekas that he breeds are absolutely stunning, I love my male eureka and I think that`s why my local MA are so happy to trade my Eureka fry, they know that the fish are really good quality

 

[rifty]

like i said think its down to preference
plus the firefish i got from tony where not what it said on the tin in regards to colour also with reference to his stock photo i think the red was turned up a tad this was he fish i got from tony

thought you might like this link see what the germans are up to next!
http/www.malawi-firefish.de/galerie.php

 

[jnms]

Those are all really awesome fish. Would love one in my tank.