Altum tank

[Zafgak]

Question - Has anybody had experience using Wingerd Stompe (Vine Stumps in a tank ???



Reason I ask is I am gonna set up my " Altum tank " Very soon, so that it can mature .... In the hopes that I can get some Altums before the season finishes


Anybody out there with 10 or so Altums or maybe a Breeding Pair or two they don't want .....:bird:

By the way Henk the 1000 cube is not an option for me at the moment - I would love to take the 500 cubes as grow out tanks for all my Altum babies ... :stupid:

[Philfarm]

Anybody out there with 10 or so Altums or maybe a Breeding Pair or two they don't want .....:bird:



Ha ha Im gonna let Henk roll with this one...

[Henk Hugo]

i'm not even going to.... :D

You guys need to come past before i leave on monday :D

[solex69]

If memory serves me correctly, I think Riaan used vine stumps/twigs in one of his el-natural tanks before. I know you can use guava tree twigs in your tanks...looks very nice too.

10 altums? Good luck mate :)

Cheers
Dale

[Zafgak]

Hi Henk - I'll give you a call today to make arrangements

Dale, does this mean I can go ahead with the vine stumps ?

[solex69]

Maybe Riaan (urbionic) and share his experience with them before you add to your tank

Chiao
D

[Henk Hugo]

ok cool

[Zafgak]

Dale do you by any chance have a female betta available ? My daughters betta is blowing nests like crazy, and she wants to see the breeding process ??

[veegal]

Dale do you by any chance have a female betta available ? My daughters betta is blowing nests like crazy, and she wants to see the breeding process ??

:cheesy: Nothing like hijacking your own thread!!! :cheesy:

[Zafgak]

Hi Guys - Apologies for hijacking my own thread :sad2:

Ok back to Wingerd Stompw - If they work in a tank then the Western Cape has a resource of note - No more paying for Mopane wood.

I think the stumps are better than Mopane for shape anyway

[solex69]

Sure, got one for you

Discussing offline

Cheers
Dale

[Philfarm]

Hey man it depends on what type of vines it is, if its ivy its a no go but grape vines work very well, i have some in my tank, just make sure they are very dry and that you soak them for a long time before adding to your tank...

[Dirk Bellstedt]

I think we still have more than one thread in one here.

Firstly, wingerd stompies, they are good for braais, if you do not like rooikrans (do something for the local economy man), but there are many types of other wood from more natural sources that are just as good, and I am not referring to mopani wood. My gut feeling tells me that after years of having had fungicide sprayed on them, I would be a little careful about putting them in a tank with sensitive fishes.

And this brings me to your second point. Altum angels are not easy to keep. Just have a look at the angel fish forum and you will see numerous cries for desperate help. My success rate is as follows. First batch of 8 about 12 years ago, all wiped put within a week. Second batch of 8 fishes lasted for 6 years, great fish but no breeding. They were not aggressive towards each other. Third batch bought 2 1/2 years ago: bought 17 fishes of 1 cm body size and I now have 4 adults left and they are perpetually fighting with each other, no breeding activity whatsoever, just battles and battles.......

As for buying a breeding pair, well they are as scarce as "hoendertande"..... I do not think that anyone has bred them is SA and I do not foresee that this is going to happen in a rush. Altums are definitely more difficult to keep and far more difficult to breed than discus.

What I am saying to you is get your wingerdstompies, sure thing, and buy your altums, but these two issues are entirely separate and altums require a LOT of patience (and most probably cash, what prices are you being quoted?....) I might just also be interested, but normally the wholesalers are scared to death of even touching altums.

Just a few of my thoughts.....

Dirk

[Zafgak]

Thanx Eskimo - Yes they will be Grape Vine cutoffs - Do they leach tannin like Mopani ???

[Philfarm]

Yes they do but not nearly as much, the problem is that its a softer wood that can rot quicker so be sure to check for any soft spots and make sure you remove all the bark first!

[Zafgak]

Thanks for the comments prof - I was joking about the breeding pair and half joking about hoping they will decide to breed - The wingerd stompe was an idea to produce a biotope with a fair amount of branches intermixed to try and approximate the roots found in the upper Orinoco tributaries as per the description below :

Quote "for here is the place that I saw Altum caring for their clutches, hidden away under overhanging mangle-like roots shooting from the sandy bank of the creek. A short distance, at Pozo Cristal, maybe 2 or 3 miles away, I saw my second (actually two distinct pairs) pair of fish, also caring for their clutches. At this part of the Pozo Cristal site, we are dangerously close to the Orinoco" end Quote

This is a portion of a description of the three main biotypes for the Altum I came across in my researching of how to try and keep some Altums alive in a tank. What I am aiming for is to create a tank, that hopefully, at least tries to emulate visually what the fish will find in the wild.

BTW it was seeing your beautiful Altums that has sent me on this mad quest to try and keep some Altums.

I am not labouring under the misguided impression that it will be easy to keep them, but if I can get a tank up, running and stable, for the day when I can actually get my hands on a few fish, I am hoping that at least I will have a head start in keeping them alive.

To answer your question - I have not yet been able to source any, I have e-mailed a few people in Venezuela, Brazil, Florida etc. and am hoping to find some REAL Altums ( I have tried to contact people with a reputable name, after searching TASG etc.) If I do find some I will contact you immediately.

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Zafgak,

Importing altums from the USA is going to cost you an arm and a leg.

My last batch of altums, or shall I say my and Andre Costerus' last batch of altums (we shared costs), was purchased from Liaquat, who uses the name Altum on this forum and who trades under the name of "The Waterzoo". Perhaps we should approach him again as well and I am in touch ever so often with him as well.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Zafgak]

Hi Prof

I am seeing Liaquat tommorrow pm to collect some fish - I will ask him and possibly we could find a couple of people interested and share the costs among many

Rgds

Gavin