I have a bi-monthly collection schedule, worked out with my guide, net man, and driver, Dani Atencio.
Yesterday was no exception, heading again toward the Las Margaritas, on a 2 hour drive east, from Panama City, to find a male whip tail cat, for the females caught a month ago
Two weeks ago, we went to the Rio Bayano and caught only species that were not ideally great aquarium fish (3 Rabalo (Centropomus sp) and a 12” mullet (Dajaus sp) all were, (or would eventually) become too large for my 180 gal, so Dani took them home, and ate them.
Sometimes we catch apropos aquarium fish, yet more often than not, we don’t catch anything, or anything that fits an aquarists bill at all.
Today we were lucky, although we only caught two fish that were keepers, some might consider that, a paltry waste of time, and expense, I didn’t.
We arrived at the Rio Margaritas by about 11:30am, and on my 2nd cast, I pulled up an almost 10” (male?)Sturisomatichthys panamense.
Because a month ago, we caught the 2 females, and this appeared to be a male, so I considered it a success.
The current was very strong and hard to walk thru, and even harder to maintain balance while casting nets, great habitat for whip tails.
Over the next couple hours nothing else was caught in Las Margaritas, so we moved a few hundred yards east to much larger Rio Mamoni, that had slightly less current.
As usual I tested the river water for pH (above pH 8) and nitrates undetectable.
, 
.
In the Mamoni Dani caught a bunch of Astyanax tetras, but because I already had shoal pf half dozen in the tank, all were released, and one small (at that moment unidentified cichlid) which later turned out to be an Andinoacara coerleopunctatus) because it was tiny, it went in my sump.
Yesterday was no exception, heading again toward the Las Margaritas, on a 2 hour drive east, from Panama City, to find a male whip tail cat, for the females caught a month ago
Two weeks ago, we went to the Rio Bayano and caught only species that were not ideally great aquarium fish (3 Rabalo (Centropomus sp) and a 12” mullet (Dajaus sp) all were, (or would eventually) become too large for my 180 gal, so Dani took them home, and ate them.
Sometimes we catch apropos aquarium fish, yet more often than not, we don’t catch anything, or anything that fits an aquarists bill at all.
Today we were lucky, although we only caught two fish that were keepers, some might consider that, a paltry waste of time, and expense, I didn’t.
We arrived at the Rio Margaritas by about 11:30am, and on my 2nd cast, I pulled up an almost 10” (male?)Sturisomatichthys panamense.
Because a month ago, we caught the 2 females, and this appeared to be a male, so I considered it a success.
The current was very strong and hard to walk thru, and even harder to maintain balance while casting nets, great habitat for whip tails.
Over the next couple hours nothing else was caught in Las Margaritas, so we moved a few hundred yards east to much larger Rio Mamoni, that had slightly less current.
As usual I tested the river water for pH (above pH 8) and nitrates undetectable.
, .In the Mamoni Dani caught a bunch of Astyanax tetras, but because I already had shoal pf half dozen in the tank, all were released, and one small (at that moment unidentified cichlid) which later turned out to be an Andinoacara coerleopunctatus) because it was tiny, it went in my sump.
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