Wild angels in my tap water?

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M

Mythic Figment

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2012
2,117
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Florida
As implied by the title, I'm looking to see if I could house some wild Pterophyllum scalare and/or P. leopoldi in my local tap water without the use of an RO/DI unit. My tap comes out at a pH of 7.8 and settles down to 7.4 after a few hours. The GH is 7 and KH is 9. I thought about altums, but after all the reading I've done, I'm sure it would be a nightmare just to keep them alive. I bred scalare years ago, but I only ever worked with captive bred specimens who didn't seem to have an issue with my local water.

Can it be done or am I just asking for a headache?


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I don't see any problem there. I kept Peruvian Scalare in mine - steady pH of 7.6, overall hardness at 11. You will never go back to domestics after keeping wilds! There is always the feeling of accomplishment of keeping a wild fish happy, then there is the added aggression of wilds - really surprised me. I bought mine from Rapps, but my advice would be to talk with John(Snookn - sells on Aquabid, might be a vendor on this site) he gets alot of very nice wilds in. There are also some very nice F1s currently avaliable. I bought a group of F1 Brazilians from Bill @ Inland Empire a few months ago & they are finally starting to color up. I've seen F1 manacapuru & Santa Isabels @ AngelfishUSA too.

Snookn had some medium size altums about a month ago for a helluva price - I think it was 10 for $150. He acclimates all his wild fish to Florida tap before he ships. At that price, it is worth a shot. If I had any room at all, I would have gone for it.
 
When I read the title it sounded like you were getting fish out of your faucet. I had to see where you were from. LOL

You should be fine fish are more stressed by fluctuation in ph than the level of ph ( with in tap water ranges)
 
Some tips I've learned along the way.

-for wilds, get a larger tank than you would think necessary for domestics. Wilds seem to stake out a chunk of real estate & guard it fiercly - holding their ventral fins out on either side to look larger. A 55gal won't cut it. 75 minimum for a group of wilds
-get a group of at least 6. This will spread out the aggression & make sure no one fish gets excessively picked on
-your fish should take flake well & frozen bloodworms. If you have trouble getting them to eat, try live blackworms. I typically don't recommend feeding live, but its better than nothing until you can get them taking other foods.
-don't be disappointed if your fish come in looking drab in color & a little beat up. Few wild fish have perfect fins, but they will heal with a good water change schedule. It also takes wild fish some time to settle into an aquarium & start showing their colors & irridesence. Its not unusual for the fish to really start looking their best 6 months to a year later in your tank. Mine took four months before I started to really see some color.
 
decoy50 said:
Some tips I've learned along the way.

-for wilds, get a larger tank than you would think necessary for domestics. Wilds seem to stake out a chunk of real estate & guard it fiercly - holding their ventral fins out on either side to look larger. A 55gal won't cut it. 75 minimum for a group of wilds
-get a group of at least 6. This will spread out the aggression & make sure no one fish gets excessively picked on
-your fish should take flake well & frozen bloodworms. If you have trouble getting them to eat, try live blackworms. I typically don't recommend feeding live, but its better than nothing until you can get them taking other foods.
-don't be disappointed if your fish come in looking drab in color & a little beat up. Few wild fish have perfect fins, but they will heal with a good water change schedule. It also takes wild fish some time to settle into an aquarium & start showing their colors & irridesence. Its not unusual for the fish to really start looking their best 6 months to a year later in your tank. Mine took four months before I started to really see some color.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointers. I have a 75 they can go in. I will check with John to make sure his angels are acclimated to tap and feeding on prepared foods.

decoy50 said:
I don't see any problem there. I kept Peruvian Scalare in mine - steady pH of 7.6, overall hardness at 11. You will never go back to domestics after keeping wilds! There is always the feeling of accomplishment of keeping a wild fish happy, then there is the added aggression of wilds - really surprised me. I bought mine from Rapps, but my advice would be to talk with John(Snookn - sells on Aquabid, might be a vendor on this site) he gets alot of very nice wilds in. There are also some very nice F1s currently avaliable. I bought a group of F1 Brazilians from Bill @ Inland Empire a few months ago & they are finally starting to color up. I've seen F1 manacapuru & Santa Isabels @ AngelfishUSA too.

Snookn had some medium size altums about a month ago for a helluva price - I think it was 10 for $150. He acclimates all his wild fish to Florida tap before he ships. At that price, it is worth a shot. If I had any room at all, I would have gone for it.
Click to expand...

John actually still has altums listed at 10 for $150. A little pricy, but I might give it a shot since shipping is only $20. I got screwed by Angelfish USA the only time I ordered from them. Their prices seem pretty steep compared to a lot of other places.

Rivers2k said:
When I read the title it sounded like you were getting fish out of your faucet. I had to see where you were from. LOL
Click to expand...

LMAO I didn't see that. I wish there were wild angels in my tap water. I love free fish.


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10 for $150 is actually dirt cheap. You won't find a better deal than that anywhere. Altums are the only wilds I would have any hesitations in keeping in straight tap, from the little bit of research I've done on angel forums, a few folks are doing it and having success.

I too had a bad experience with Angelfish USA, some angels I received had obvious signs of advanced stage hex when I removed them from the bag. It was clear they were sick when they were shipped to me. But I also got some really nice angels in that order. I would try him again if he had something I was looking for, but I would def QT & monitor closely.
 
decoy50 said:
10 for $150 is actually dirt cheap. You won't find a better deal than that anywhere. Altums are the only wilds I would have any hesitations in keeping in straight tap, from the little bit of research I've done on angel forums, a few folks are doing it and having success.

I too had a bad experience with Angelfish USA, some angels I received had obvious signs of advanced stage hex when I removed them from the bag. It was clear they were sick when they were shipped to me. But I also got some really nice angels in that order. I would try him again if he had something I was looking for, but I would def QT & monitor closely.
Click to expand...

Very cheap. He is charging more for his wild Brazil and Peru scalares. I am definitely worried about trying altums in my tap water. I've read a lot of reports about altums fading away and dying if not kept in very soft water. I'm still waiting to hear back from John about water and food he is using with the altums, so hopefully we'll see soon.


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John replied to my email. Unfortunately he has them in low pH water. He said the pH was 5.2-5.8, which means they are out of the question for me. Might still get some Peruvian scalares though.


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I gotcha. Thats good to know b/c that takes them off my radar as well - I hate monkeying around with water params. I wouldn't hesitate with other wilds though. Good luck & keep me posted!
 
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