wild caught fish....

[andypython]

I am planing on obtaining a number of wild caught pel. Taeniatus from below water in montreal and I was just wondering how I would go about acclimatizing these fish when i get them to their new homes.
these fish will be going into a series of new tanks that I want to begin establishing as soon as possible. I am looking for advice about how I should go about perparing for their arrival, getting them into thier new tanks, and keeping them alive and happy. I am pretty sure I have not ever had in any of my tanks wild caught fish, and I must admit that I am somewhat nervous about this idea, and excited of course!
any experiences or tips would be great.

thank you in advance
andy

 

[tjudy]

P. taeniatus are pretty tough customers. They can handle a lot of different conditions (though will do best is soft acid water). I would start by asking Oliver what he is keeping them in, and try to match that. If that is not possible, just acclimate slowly and watch out for extreme temperature shock. Temperature seems to be the biggest acclimation factor in my experience... especially if the water is a lot colder than what they are coming from.

 

[Randall]

Acclimating Pelvicachromis taeniatus

Dear Andy,

The wild caught fish you are expecting have probably already been acclimated to the distributor's water. Ted and I are on the same page here. You might ask Oliver Lucanus about his water parameters and act accordingly. One might expect that he maintains his fish in tap water.

After you receive your new fish, it's a good idea to keep a close eye on them and watch for signs of undue stress and/or disease. Assuming that things go well, you can slowly acclimate your fish over a period of time to softer, more acidic water with weekly partial water changes.

Good luck with your new Pevicachromis taeniatus. They are among my personal favorites and rate as some of the most beautiful cichlids in western Africa.

All the best,

Randall Kohn