what is you WC Apisto procedure?

[ErtyJr]

Hey guys! I will likely be going after some WC cacatuoides to broaden my strain's genetics fairly soon here. I just want to hear from all you knowledgeable people here about what you do when you receive a fish wild caught?

 

[Mike Wise]

Quarantine tank for at least 4 weeks, longer is better. I check for any abnormal behavior or symptoms of disease/parasites and treat as appropriate. Fish don't come out of quarantine until they look completely healthy and are well acclimated to water they will live in. My wild-caught fish have fewer disease problems than commercially available fish because they were collected by me and shipped home in individual bags. They don't have the same shipping stress that commercially available fish encounter. In that way, I guess I'm more fortunate than most.

 

[ErtyJr]

Quarantine tank for at least 4 weeks, longer is better. I check for any abnormal behavior or symptoms of disease/parasites and treat as appropriate. Fish don't come out of quarantine until they look completely healthy and are well acclimated to water they will live in. My wild-caught fish have fewer disease problems than commercially available fish because they were collected by me and shipped home in individual bags. They don't have the same shipping stress that commercially available fish encounter. In that way, I guess I'm more fortunate than most.

You're right you are extrondinarily lucky in that sense mike. While I plan on going with my girlfriend one day to collect our own, it is not something we can do anytime soon as we are buying a house soon among other things.

I'm quite nervous about adding wild caught to my stock as my fish and their health are very important to me so I think 4 weeks is a good goal to aim for and perhaps longer.

Thanks for the info Mike, hopefully I can get some responses from the other big names here as well, such as Tom or Ted. I'm especially curious to see what Ted thinks since he gets shipments of wild fish in so frequently for sale.

 

[gerald]

There are certain diseases that wild-caught Apistos may actually be LESS likely to be infected with than commercial farmed fish. I'd suspect Mycobacterium and Camallanus are more prevalent in farmed fish. But yeah, quarantine as long as you can and watch closely.

 

[ErtyJr]

There are certain diseases that wild-caught Apistos may actually be LESS likely to be infected with than commercial farmed fish. I'd suspect Mycobacterium and Camallanus are more prevalent in farmed fish. But yeah, quarantine as long as you can and watch closely.

Thank you gerald for the advice, you've always been helpful as long as I've been on this site. I wonder what makes the specific diseases more prevalent in our farmed fish as opposed to others.

 

[gerald]

Thanks Erty - I learn so much from everyone here and like to give back when I can. At least three possible factors come to mind regarding disease in farmed fish: 1) crowding, stress, and long-term use of the growing ponds for many years (common problems in most types of farming); 2) Exposure to local disease strains that the fish have not co-evolved with. e.g. SE Asian bacteria & parasites that fish from Peru or Colombia have no prior exposure to; 3) Overuse of drugs and hormones. There's probably other reasons too.

 

[ErtyJr]

Thanks Erty - I learn so much from everyone here and like to give back when I can. At least three possible factors come to mind regarding disease in farmed fish: 1) crowding, stress, and long-term use of the growing ponds for many years (common problems in most types of farming); 2) Exposure to local disease strains that the fish have not co-evolved with. e.g. SE Asian bacteria & parasites that fish from Peru or Colombia have no prior exposure to; 3) Overuse of drugs and hormones. There's probably other reasons too.

All those seem like very logical reasons. I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on the topic. Would be an interesting read to say the least.