Hi all,
I have some questions about fish collecting trips in the Amazon, as a friend and I are planning one in 2020 or 2021. I'd love to hear back from those of you who have experience.
Thanks in advance!
Michael H.
I have some questions about fish collecting trips in the Amazon, as a friend and I are planning one in 2020 or 2021. I'd love to hear back from those of you who have experience.
- Would you recommend a fish-collecting tour through a private company, or do you prefer to do each part of the experience (vehicle travel, boat travel, meals, accommodations, etc.) separately?
- What's the best way to ensure that your fish arrive home safely? Do you take them to a licensed exporter in the area and have them handle quarantine and shipping?
- In regards to travel cost, Iquitos looks like the best option for a starting point. Any other recommendations? (I've been to Manaus before, but flights there are about twice as much - I'm in the midwestern U.S.)
- This may be a bit vague, but do some groups of fishes handle collection and shipping better than others?
- As far as hardiness through the whole process, how would you rate knifefishes, pike characins, apistos, smaller loricariids (Loricaria, Rineloricaria, etc.), tetras of various genera, pencilfish and splash tetras, cories, etc.? Any come to mind that ship well that I didn't mention?
- What is the best way to acclimate wild Amazonian fishes to my local water parameters (7.5-8.0 pH, 300-400 ppm TDS) while quarantining to prevent losses?
- Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We plan on building some new tanks specifically for these fishes before the trip, but want to start getting a feel for the process before designing the tanks.
Thanks in advance!
Michael H.