This is an appropriate question for you, Derek, since all you deal with are wild caughts.

I consider myself pretty adapt at taking care of these fish, but for the life of me, I cannot shake my streak of bad luck with wild caughts.

What steps do you go through to acclimate yours?

I think I read somewhere that you "treat" them for 3 weeks after getting them in your possession??? Could you explain this?

I would like step by step, from the time you leave the pick up point with them, when you have time.

I have so many opportunities to get really nice fish that I cannot find as tank raised, but it isn't doing any good if I kill them within a couple of months! Boo Hooo

Do you ever lose any???

Kim

Kim


Great Question!

First off you need to get them from a reputable importer!That is very important!The importers treat them for disease and get them acustom to feeding flake,pellets etc.Medications are placed in the tank to elliminate internal and external parasites.This is key that this is done properly!

Secondly when I bring them home of course you need to float the bags.I do this for about 45 min to 1 hour.The water has been changed and of course a well cycled tank is in place

The next step is very important in my opinion Feeding ! In the wild fish do not eat nearly as much as what we feed here in our tanks.(thats why WC(wild Caughts) look so skinny)So putting in a fish giving it all kinds of pristine water conditions and then dumping alot of food in its plate will only lead to problems such as bloat.I dont feed the first day at all,tank lights are shut off and I dont disturb them(causes stress)remember these fish go days without food so they are use to it and no need to feel guilty.Over the course of 2 weeks I gradualy work them into my feeding routine which consist of only one feed per day and I skip Sundays altogether.My fish are healthy and breed very very well.Over feeding only leads to more ammonia ,nitrates,nitrite etc which can kill your fish as well.So like I said the first week will consist of feeding 3-4 times thats all then the next week will be 4-5 times and then on the 3rd or 4th week 6 times


During this time my water changes are monitored as well .So for the first week Ill do 2-3 small water changes of 10 -20 % each time.Dont do large water changes this is an extreme shock to the fish!keep them small!2nd week Ill do 3-4 water changes still at 10 -20 % (remember a good cycled tank is important for these reason if the tank in not cycled be prepared for spikes which you may have to do larger water changes)
The third week Ill start with doing 2-3 larger water changes 20- 30%
The fourth week Ill 2-3 40% water changes
The fifth week 1-2 40 % water changes

Then I just move them to my normal 1 per week 40% water change.You can do whatever % water changes you want but always move them up in increments.


Thats pretty much all I do then I have fish that are use to my methods and routines and the are prepared for that.So its like they are tank raised so to speak

Ohhh I also continue to give medicated foods for the first two weeks after I get them home.
Another very important thing to remember that LArry taught me was to syphon Dietrus!Antiparasite food doesnt always kill the parasite but removes it from the fish.You can have a dormant parasite in the fishes Dietrus and we all know that other fish will mouth other fishes dietrus thinking it is food.The transfer of the parasite can happen at that time and you may not be treating with parasite food any longer.Therefore you have a fish with a parasite after the fact.Not treated this can move to the whole tank

Wild Caughts are not hard to keep at all.Yes they do require more work at the start but the end result is much better in my opinion.Have I lost Wilds you ask... Hmmmm ohh yes but my strict regiment that I do now as I explained above has minimalized that.

I hope this helps

Derek

I just can't imagine what I'm doing wrong...

The only thing that I do different from you is that I do my normal water change rather than breaking it down into smaller water changes, and I don't fast one day a week, but I feed minimally for the first month.

I'm not just losing one here and one there. I'm losing entire groups of a species.

Several months ago, I lost a trio of Cynotilapia sp. Lion's Cove.

In the past month, I've lost a trio of L. fuelleborni and a trio of Mloto's. Boo Hooo

The fuelleborni and Mlotos were in the tank with 2 other wild caught groups, both of which are perfectly fine and breeding like crazy! (They were quarantined all together, I bought them the same day, and just left them in the tank they were QT'd in permanently.)

Water was perfect, throughout the whole time frame. It was an established tank with no previous health issues.

Larry had just gotten most of them in that week, so I continued for 2 weeks with the Jungle antiparasitic food, and also treated the tank with Jungle Parasite Clear, since one of the fuellebornis in the tank at the LFS had anchor worm.

For the next two weeks, feedings were quality flake, but minimal amounts. After the first month, I started also giving them very small amounts of HBH African Cichlid Attack. 2 weeks later, they started showing subtle signs of illness, one by one. HBH has done a recall on this food, coincidentally.

It's not typical bloat. They stop eating and become very lethargic. No other symptoms at all - no white stringy feces, no loss of colour, finnage looks great right up until you find them dead - absolutely no visible signs of stress.

Whatever it was, it happened to them one by one. Strangest thing I've ever seen, with absolutely NO effect on the Cynotilapia White Tops and Ps. zebras (both wild caught) that are still in the tank! In fact, they all spawned in the midst of the plague...

The only difference between the dead ones and the living ones is that the living ones had been in the store longer before I got them.

It's making me want to give up on keeping wild caughts! Nooooooo

Kim

Kim That could have been your problem!Part of the recall was due to Melamine in the food.Due to their sensitivity when you first get them this could have triggered their deaths

Derek

I agree, Derek...

It seems that the melamine causes kidney failure, and IMO, it probably didn't affect my tank raised or more stable wild caughts because their health wasn't as stressed as the new guys were.

Interestingly enough, I have emailed HBH daily since the recall, asking for a list of symptoms of melamine overdose, but they don't seem to want to respond.

I've been a pretty good proponent for their fish foods, so if I don't hear back from them soon, I will stop recommending them.

I really like the HBH Veggie flake, but there's very little difference between that and Omega One.

Kim

Derek. at what age do you take your fry from 3 to 2 to 1 time per day feedings?

I've been feeding NLS twice a day, with spirulina flake as well, trying for about 30 seconds of total feeding time for the "active eating."

Reading this thread (and the one from Joelio where I asked about once-a-wek treats) makes me worry that I should cut back on the NLS and add HBH vggie to my mix.

Thoughts?

(This is starting to hijack the thread from its WC roots and I can move the question to the Food section if you'd prefer!)

Don

I drop my feedings from 3 times daily to twice daily with fry after about a month. If at anytime I notice they are slowing down in growth, I'll bump it back up to 3 times a day.

But again, I'm not feeding anymore than they will eat in 30 seconds...

I think water changes are almost as important to fry and juvie growth as the feedings! And warmer water temps are important, as well. You don't want to slow down their body metabolism with cooler water!

No need to move the thread unless you just want to practice your moving skills, Don! fishy

Kim

Hi Kim,sorry to hear about the fish. :blink:
Just as a note,I still have the one leftover female fuelleborni at the store,she's doing fine.
The others were sold to another breeder and they are doing fine as well.
I have re-ordered the FBNI again because they were so popular.
So another wild caught order is in progress.

4larry Larry 4larry

No problem, Larry...I'm just trying to figure out what I am doing wrong! I seem to do alot better with the ones you've had in the store for a bit, from what I can tell.

Kim