Altum Angelfish

BigPoecilia

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 20, 2010
9
12
33
Georgia
And are as easy to take care of as any domestic angelfish of course !!!
That way we all can enjoy this.
Thomas I don't think you would have a problem raising small wild Altums to adulthood at all. What you have done with spawning and raising your CB fry is amazing. Just like Altum85 I have also purchased Altums from John Kreatsoulas in the past. He was my go to guy with wilds of almost any species. Unfortunately he had a massive cardiac event that forced him to retire. Bless him, I hope he is doing better. Anyhow, John along with a few other importers knew how to prepare for their Altums arrival and connected with suppliers who went a step further in preparing their holding facilities in South America. I believe this is why wild caught specimens are doing much better when arriving in the U.S. Ed Ruiz, an Altum guru, once said to me that finding a good supplier is half the battle. I totally believe that. In my opinion most hobbyist don't want to mess around with R/O water so the CB are much easier, and conservation is very important. I have one question my friend Thomas, How did you get that fish to grow so big. :)

Lionel
 

shoreline

Exodon
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2017
23
40
21
47
Seattle
Thomas I don't think you would have a problem raising small wild Altums to adulthood at all. What you have done with spawning and raising your CB fry is amazing. Just like Altum85 I have also purchased Altums from John Kreatsoulas in the past. He was my go to guy with wilds of almost any species. Unfortunately he had a massive cardiac event that forced him to retire. Bless him, I hope he is doing better. Anyhow, John along with a few other importers knew how to prepare for their Altums arrival and connected with suppliers who went a step further in preparing their holding facilities in South America. I believe this is why wild caught specimens are doing much better when arriving in the U.S. Ed Ruiz, an Altum guru, once said to me that finding a good supplier is half the battle. I totally believe that. In my opinion most hobbyist don't want to mess around with R/O water so the CB are much easier, and conservation is very important. I have one question my friend Thomas, How did you get that fish to grow so big. :)

Lionel
That is great to hear. I love success stories and nothing is worse than seeing fish being sent out to die.
 

shoreline

Exodon
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2017
23
40
21
47
Seattle
I believe that growing truly monster altum starts with captive bred stock.
As my fish approach 14" top to bottom they become less social. Space is becoming an issue. Fish that pair don't forget each other and they fight any other fish even when separated. It's almost as they have gone insane. They've remained twitching and jacked up.
The amount of space , time , and dedication required to breed and make quality stock makes this endeavor hardly worth it.
Complications are ever present and I feel like I'm always going into new territory and often reacting instead of being able to anticipate.
I will most certainly try to breed wild atabapo altum. 1st I need to get the space and then I need to get some good stock. I would prefer to buy somebody else's adult fish because I don't want to wait 2 years to grow my own monsters from nickels.
 

BigPoecilia

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 20, 2010
9
12
33
Georgia
I believe that growing truly monster altum starts with captive bred stock.
As my fish approach 14" top to bottom they become less social. Space is becoming an issue. Fish that pair don't forget each other and they fight any other fish even when separated. It's almost as they have gone insane. They've remained twitching and jacked up.
The amount of space , time , and dedication required to breed and make quality stock makes this endeavor hardly worth it.
Complications are ever present and I feel like I'm always going into new territory and often reacting instead of being able to anticipate.
I will most certainly try to breed wild atabapo altum. 1st I need to get the space and then I need to get some good stock. I would prefer to buy somebody else's adult fish because I don't want to wait 2 years to grow my own monsters from nickels.
LOL I must say I really like when they start to twitch and the dark spot appears over their Operculum and the boasting and fighting commences. Sort of reminds me of dogs who get their hackles up when threatened. I guess that's why the space is important. Long and deep tanks with plenty of hiding spaces for those Ambush Predators. :)

Lionel
 
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rtdiscus

Jack Dempsey
Sep 6, 2007
2
1
31
Minneapolis
I can vouch for Thomas. He shipped 10 altums into Minneapolis two weeks ago and they're doing fantastic (airport to airport). If you get on the website, he's got some fantastic introductory deals going.
 

Sarlindescent

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 4, 2017
26
25
8
39
My altums are f1s from nickel to quarter size when received. Think I have had them around 20 months. The largest is currently 12" tall and 7" from mouth to back center of tail, not including streamers.

Tank is a 180 with a 75 sump and about 200 gallons total. Sorry about the glare, but it's the best picture I have of the fish sideways. They like to face me and beg when the camera rig and backdrop come out.

Food is fluval bug bites, hikari frozen blood worms, hikari mysis 1-3x/day. Occasionally I will order a couple lbs of blackworms and stock the tank. Temps are around 79. Ferts are dosed daily for plants, but still low nitrate. No co2 yet, building a reactor. Altums WILL eat plants to include java fern and crinum, but haven't seen them touch crypts. Also, the fluval color enhancing bug bites really help with coloration.



Here is a pic with a little better color. You can see the fish facing straight ahead on the left side is pretty thick for an angel.

 
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Sarlindescent

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 4, 2017
26
25
8
39
They are "Simon Forkel's Orinoco Altum Angelfish F1" from AngelfishUSA. The fish arrived healthyish... there was a lot of ammonia in the bags. It was so bad that after cutting the tape I could smell it before opening the box. I temp acclimated and pop and dropped into a qt. Not sure why the ammonia was so bad since it was 2 fish per large bag. Initially I ordered 8, but one was a runt and after 6 months of no growth died. The rest have been with me since and spent 9 months in a 29 qt before being added to the display.
 
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shoreline

Exodon
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2017
23
40
21
47
Seattle
Very nice. I've never seen this product offered.. I've seen Siegrist Line, and Atabapo F1.
Since these fish have long digestive tracks and the eat so very much it is imperative to hold them before shipping for several days or more .
 
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