Finally wild caught cichlids in Panama

[duanes]

I've working on setting up a collecting trip, without much luck lately.
But today I showed up at the dock for my normal grocery shop, and my usual cab driver Julio said, you've got to change your schedule, my friend Jose went to the Rio San Martin and has a bucket of fish here. It was a half full 5 gallon bucket with a battery operated air pump chugging away
I reached in a pulled out a maybe ...4" Andinoacara coeruleopunctatus, and asked what is friended need, Julio said $50 for the work, there appeared to be at least another half dozen fish in the bucket, he also gave me another gallon of San Matin river water, just in case.
Not quite the "collecting experience I wanted, but interesting no less.
After the ferry ride back to the island, and 10 minute walk to my house, I slowly poured a couple gallons from my waiting tank into the bucket to acclimate the fish and started netting them out.
1st the 4" Andinoacara, probably male.

next, netted out 2 tetras which look to me like a species of Roeboides

a live bearer, maybe a molly

a shrimp, which I haven't seen since it was dropped in the tank

and at least 6 more Andinoacara, another male, and others that may be female.

 

[newworld]

That’s awesome Duane, that was the first cichlid I ever collected/saw, so you got a tank setup with them now? What other stuff is around you? What about the beautiful tuyrense? Haha actually I would love to get them...

 

[duanes]

After adding the fish, I decided to check a couple parameters from the extra gallon on San Martin river water.
pH was approx 7.6 (although since I don't know how long the water sat, it could have easily changed.

Nitrate from the river water was undetectable.

The San Martin river is east and slightly north of Panama City
Images for San Martin River Panama
Since Jose seemed very accommodating, I told him I was also looking for Istmheros tuyrense, and gave him printouts of what they look like. Keeping my fingers crossed, in the parlance of our time.

 

[LBDave]

Cool.

 

[duanes]

This is my first experience with any Andinoacara, they seem to be settling in well.

 

[james99]

Congrats on finally getting fish . I kinda like the tetra, I bet it would look nice if you had a large school and they didn't become cichlid lunch.

 

[duanes]

I agree bout the school, maybe get a few more on Jose's next try
The tetras are hard to get photos of, most of the body is almost transparent. Took a few hundred shots throughout the day. Maybe kept a dozen.



just found the shrimp half hidden in a rock crevice.

 

[tlindsey]

Awesome Duane! You will have them spawning in no time.

 

[jonclark96]

Very cool, Duane.

I had some coeruleopuntatus that were imported several years ago. They were fine together as youngsters, but as they got older, the dominant male got rough on tank mates, eventually killing all the other fish. I probably didn't have them in a big enough tank, so I'll take the blame. How big a tank do you a have for them?

 

[duanes]

They are in a 180 gal, and already getting a little testy with each other.
Because I cycled the tank with Gambusia they were already eating flake, so the cichlids naturally watching everything, noticed, and are eating it already too.