Not Exactly Wilds

[raglanroad]

Check out Frank Aguirre's f1 Altums- http://www.angelfish.net/AttachPost/young_longfin.jpg

[Tad]

raglanroad,

those are some beauts, one heck of an accomplishment....when did Frank breed his Altums?

thanks for sharing,
Tad

[raglanroad]

Frank bred the Altum in his Mexican facility from 95 to about 2000, and he now lives near me, in Canada. They sold for the price of wild caught (not much, in Mexico). The Altum bred for him about monthly all that time. I guess he was a better fish guy than marketing guy. Main food for Altum previously, in Mexico, where there was a clean cultured supply, was tubifex. Now main food is bloodworm. He is now gonna start up again, as is Jim Robinson. The race is on! Is there anyone who can read Japanese over here?Apparently Altums of several generations are on auction over in Japan. Are you gonna have a try at breeding your guys, Tad?
Dave

[Tad]

raglanroad,

Did Frank ever share with you his water parameters (temp, PH, conductivity etc), water change regimen etc. Were they bred in a barebottom or planted tank?.....His off spring are very regal to say the least...again what an accomplishment,

regards,
Tad

[Willie]

Has anyone confirmed the spawn? Have they seen the eggs and the fries with parents?

A Skeptic

[raglanroad]

Has anyone confirmed the spawn? Have they seen the eggs and the fries with parents?

A SkepticGood to see your straight-forward approach, Skeptic. Are you skeptical about me, Frank, or just generally?

[Tad]

Dave,
I would love to have success breeding my altums someday. I love challenges :)

regards,
Tad

[raglanroad]

Tad, the parameters were : a 100 g., 10 fish, 1 male, 9 female. The water was from sources supplied by fresh rainwater, which had not passed through a lot of mineral rock, so was soft. He used german long-strand peat filtration, and a pH of 6.4. Frank maintains that the most important element in Altum care is temp., and that at low temp., Altums do not do well. He uses an introductory 90 degrees at the start, for new fish, then down to 84-86. Photoperiod is also an important factor, and at the equator, there is usually near 12/12 day/night. He uses about 12.5 hrs light to induce spawning, reduced from what, I did not hear correctly, but I think reduced to 12.5 hrs. Water changes min. every 3 days. When a pair formed, they were removed to their own tank.The water is taken down to 5.8 for spawning, over a period of days, 0.05 lowered per day. using additions of RO, and the peat filtration. The eggs were laid on ceramic laying objects, that were hung upside-down after laying. The eggs were hatched at 84, and slowly the parameters were again raised. The young were fed bbs, which Frank raises using flat, wide, shallow containers, no air, as he says that the shrimp lose their nutritive value quickly by fighting current. He also uses antibiotics on the fry to get maximum yield. Parent raised produced 10 fry, artificially raised up to about 240 at times. That's what I have in my head, but I have more notes, and the discussion is still ongoing. Tad, we have help, and they are fish. Expect pair formation somewhere about 18-19 months, but can be sooner, since they are cichlids. Frank likes to get them going at 18 months or so, I suppose so they are not stunted from early breeding.
Dave

[Tad]

Dave,
Great post, informative and makes alot of sense!

regards,
Tad