Hello from SW Montana USA

[Richard Tyll]

My name is Richard and I am returning to the hobby of fishkeeping after 20+ years.
I am slowly accumulating all the necessary equipment & supplies for my two tanks.
I have one Tall 20 gallon tank & one long 50 gallon tank. So far I've put together the 20 gallon tank and am cycling the water.
I still need to acquire the needed equipment for the 50 gallon tank.
I don't have any fish yet, except for a Cory Cat & a few neon Tetra's to help cycle the 20 gallon tank.
I am very happy to have found this forum, dedicated to Apistogramma's as they are the fish I am most interested in acquiring and raising. Unfortunately, I live way back in the Mountains of SW Montana and it's a 150 mile round trip just to get to a PETSMART ! I am hoping to find my fish and have them shipped to me as there are NO outlets nearby which carry Apistogramma's.
To start off, I will be reading the many articles and perhaps ask some questions.
I will also be looking for equipment & fish to purchase so, if anyone has any suggestions where to buy what I need. I would be most appreciative. Thanks for allowing me to join & for the warm welcome from Josh.

 

[aquaticclarity]

Welcome to the forum!

Finding people to ship fish will be easier then figuring out which fish you want to keep! But that's half the fun...

 

[Cichlid Junkie]

Welcome, not only to the forum but back to fish keeping.

 

[Livebearer Lady]

Welcome to the forum as well!
I'm in the Pacific N.W. er as well and joined a local fish club some years back. It's amazing what things and stuff you'll accumilate being in a group of fisn nuts! Like some have already said, there are many outlets now a days to aquire fish on-line and apistos too. I mostly buy from club members or auctions and on-line and have done well as it is not jow it use to be when I had fish back in the 70's and 80's

 

[Josh]

Hi Richard, welcome!

 

[Mrs. Susie]

I just joined this forum myself. I clicked on your introduction because I was curious about how apistogramma would get to such a remote area. I am lucky to be in Seattle area with so many fish stores. Still I can't find a 2nd female of the species I have and people suggested I check out The Wet Spot which is based in Portland, OR. wetspottropicalfish.com It is a great web site and they do have a huge variety of exotic fish that they ship. I also came back into aquariums after not doing them for about 15 years. This time I got interested more in-depth than before. I found a ton of good deals on craigslist for used equipment and sometimes fish. My used tanks sometimes came with healthy fish and plants too, in a couple cases. I got interested in cichlids which I hadn't kept before, due to a nice silver Angelfish that came with a tank. They have more personality than most fish. I also wanted to do a South American theme. So I have corydoras and some south American tetras - these all look way more interesting in a group of 5 or more and I wish I had room for the 50 gallon to get a real big school of tetras. Or if I was not doing south American there are some great danios and rasboras that school. A local fish store has schools of say 20-30 of them at a time and they are amazing.
Corydoras of all kinds are wonderful in groups, easy to keep and breed too. I' ve stayed away from pleco's which get too huge for me.
Anyway as for the Apistogramma, I am told the cacatoides varieties are very easy (and cheaper/ easier to find). Very colorful. I got A. Macmasteri which is supposed to also be moderate to easy; like their more subtle looks, still colorful but more 'wild' looking. I think agassazi is supposed to be easy. If I spelled that right.
If you like Rams which aren't apistogramma but are dwarf cichlids, I read that Boiivian Rams are way less demanding than German Blue Rams (or varieties thereof) I almost got those. .
A whole other tangent I went on was with a Bichir or 'Dinosaur Fish' (polypterus senegalus) Looks like a fat eel with spines and is a very ancient fish. That was the whole reason that pulled me back into fish, was seeing that for sale on craigslist! But it grew so fast that at 8 inches long I had to re-home it because I don't have time or space for more than a couple 29 gal. However if you like oddballs this one was really entertaining and they are TOUGH fish not picky about water. Eat everything they can fit in their (huge) mouth which is another reason she had to Go. Anyway Its so nice to get back into the hobby now that there is a ton of information and forums out there on the internet which I did not have last time.

 

[Mrs. Susie]

Anyway if Craigslist is anything like it is around here (full of ads for aquarium equipment at giveaway prices) I'd check it out at the nearest medium size city. . .and The Wetspot. Amazon lists a lot of fish equipment and has product reviews - they don't actually sell much directly but it will link you to some good dealers)

 

[star_rider]

welcome

I'm another Washingtonian.

currently keep Altum Angels, discus and a variety of dwarf SA cichlids(Bolivian and blue rams, apisto Cacatuoides (orange flash and double reds) Borelli and Agassizzii. I'm also trying to wrangle some Bitaeniata or possibly vietita red necks
there are a few places on line that seem pretty good. shipping will be a factor for most purchases on line as it may be best to get them overnited and depending on how rural you are that could also be a factor.