question on WC Tropheus

[gehandylan]

HELP PLEASE:

I recently ordered a group of WC Mpimbwe Red Cheeck Tropheus from a local importer who got the fish from Cichliden-Stadl in Germany. The WC Tropheus were listed at 10-13 cm in size. I received the fish on Saturday and they all turned out to be in the range of 5-6.3 cm (2-2.5 inches). Most fish were a bit less than 2 inches. The importer in Toronto has not been very helpful when I asked questions about the size if WC fish I received.

I have purchased many WC Tropheus groups in the US and they have always been huge.

Are there no restrictions on the minimum size of WC Tropheus they are allowed to catch in Africa?

Is it possible to on occasion get WC Tropheus juveniles in an order instead of adults.

I am just trying to understand whether I have been taken for a ride or not.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

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Very unusual to get such small wild troph's...I don't know if any stipulations regarding size limits on collecting wild troph's but it does seem from the sizes shipped that perhaps net gauges used prevent catching juvenile troph's...
Why would an importer buy wild fish from Germany and not Africa? Was it the variant you ordered? Perhaps they mixed up the order? Sucks if they screwed you. Its tough to trust the integrity of some people in the industry...the hobbyist is really at their mercy...

[...]

I would be especially very upset if you paid full adult price...

[...]

The one good outcome of the troph's you bought potentially being German bred is that the German's are world renowned for their impeccable line breeding successes...you may very well end up with a AAA quality group of Red Cheeks...lets hope hey??

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

I'll be 100% honest. IF they are all that size then they are probably pond or Tank breed. it's very unusual for tropheus to come in wild caught at that size. Let alone all that same size.

[jpayne]

Not wild. Mpimbwe are one of the largest tropheus you can find. I personally bought 90 wild caught red cheek, 30 each at a time from three different collections. ALL of them were 4.5"+. Some were 6"+.

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

DAAANG! Monsters Josiah! Did you ever find any photos of those bad boys. Or video. Would love to see a big tropheus like that.

[jpayne]

The reason I bought so many is because out of 30, only a handful were nice with red cheek. I think when collecting these fish, divers are also collecting green cheek which have no color. They were just dull fish for the most part.

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

no no no. That makes total sense man. This is the exact reason why I decided to go against getting the Tr. Brichardi "Karago" Aka: "Malagarsi" because there are like 3-4 other variants in the general area that look very similar but not as nice as the Karago (aka: green wimple; Aka: Brichardi Maswa as well) So that is another that is in a similar situation as the actual Maswa. It would need a few imported groups, selective breeding and outcrossing to specimens with the appropriate desired traits.