they seem to be getting more aquainted with their surroundings..and more comfortable.. I've added more wood to the tank and looking for more to add
Finally...Altums
- Thread starter Star_Rider
- Start date
I wanted to jump in and mention that I recently acquired eight Rio Atabapo Altum Angelfish. They arrived from HAW two weeks ago today. HAW packed nine fish, but one died upon arrival.
Three of mine are larger, nearly half dollar body size and the other five are small, nickel body size. I’m not sure if that means they are from two different batches of Altums. Perhaps HAW receives wild Altums of all different sizes.
Here is a link to photos: http://angelfish.net/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=25378
I’ve got them eating freeze dried black worms and beefheart flake food with pro-growth. I feed these foods to my discus so I figured why not feed them to the Altums. Both are excellent foods.
Of the eight that survived the shipment, one them arrived in poor condition. It’s still alive and eats well, but it looks terrible. It arrived with severe fin rot and body fungus to the point where I just can’t see it being strong enough in the long run to get healthy. I’m surprised HAW sent me one in this poor condition. The other seven are in good shape and getting stronger each day. I did one round of Maracyn to the group, but it so far, I see no visual improvement to the sick one.
I acclimated them in RO/tap mix with a PH of 6.8 and TDS of 40. I’ve increase the proportion of tap water with each water change. TDS is now 120 the fish are lively as can be. Like my discus, they display lots of energy and movement immediately following a water change. I feel good about 7 of the 8. That one though, I just don’t see it making it despite the fish’s display of normal behavior. I’ll keep him around to see if he pulls through. Good, clean water can do wonders if he keeps eating for me.
Three of mine are larger, nearly half dollar body size and the other five are small, nickel body size. I’m not sure if that means they are from two different batches of Altums. Perhaps HAW receives wild Altums of all different sizes.
Here is a link to photos: http://angelfish.net/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=25378
I’ve got them eating freeze dried black worms and beefheart flake food with pro-growth. I feed these foods to my discus so I figured why not feed them to the Altums. Both are excellent foods.
Of the eight that survived the shipment, one them arrived in poor condition. It’s still alive and eats well, but it looks terrible. It arrived with severe fin rot and body fungus to the point where I just can’t see it being strong enough in the long run to get healthy. I’m surprised HAW sent me one in this poor condition. The other seven are in good shape and getting stronger each day. I did one round of Maracyn to the group, but it so far, I see no visual improvement to the sick one.
I acclimated them in RO/tap mix with a PH of 6.8 and TDS of 40. I’ve increase the proportion of tap water with each water change. TDS is now 120 the fish are lively as can be. Like my discus, they display lots of energy and movement immediately following a water change. I feel good about 7 of the 8. That one though, I just don’t see it making it despite the fish’s display of normal behavior. I’ll keep him around to see if he pulls through. Good, clean water can do wonders if he keeps eating for me.
Thanks guys..it's been a lot of work but they are well worth it (IMHO)
ex reefer
the Atabapo have had some issues.. i don't think HAW is to blame tho..the bacterial infections(columnaris) spread quickly and degredation many experienced occurred within hours if not days.
I know several other very experienced Altum keepers that have lost their entire shipment.
the fact you still have most of yours is good news.
ex reefer
the Atabapo have had some issues.. i don't think HAW is to blame tho..the bacterial infections(columnaris) spread quickly and degredation many experienced occurred within hours if not days.
I know several other very experienced Altum keepers that have lost their entire shipment.
the fact you still have most of yours is good news.
I disagree. I think the one that arrived in poor shape already had columnaris. I noticed two others have picked up a tiny bit of white edges on their fins so it's clearly spreading. Last night I began treatment with Maracyn 2 mainly to cure the one weak one, but also to prevent spreading. I will continue this treatment for a few days after (finger crossed) I see the columnaris patches disappear.
If HAW had individually bagged each fish, I would have never bothered to add the sick one to the group. Unfortunately they had four fish per bag which is poor practice for shipping fish.
If they continue to eat and the medicine does it's job, they should pull through. They are more comfortable around me each day which lowers their stress level. They no longer hide if I approach the tank and the smaller (younger) ones are starting to relate my presence with food.
Even if the fish were bagged individually. Given that Columnaris is bacterial..and that the Altums most likely were held in the same tank ..they were all exposed to it.
how well the Altums battle the columnaris might in part be how healthy and resistant the individual fish might be,
adding the antibiotic as a preventative may help ..but generally when we notice the problem the infection is in a fairly advanced state.
it is a bit harder to battle the infection when this happens.
i believe that most shippers , especially larger shippers , usually don't individually bag the fish.. tho I suspect you could request it when you order.. it will increase the cost of shipping tho.
how large were the altums when you recieved them.
I had heard they were pretty large ,,mine were less than dime sized..but they were also Inirida Altums.. and my understanding is these did not seem to have the same issue.
i do hope that your Altums are fine tho.I hear the Atabapo are lovely Adults
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That probably true. They were likely in the same tank. I just don't think HAW should have shipped one that clearly isn't healthy. Poor decision on their part. He arrived with major fin rot and all the signs of columnaris, but he's still hanging on two weeks later and eats like a champ. I'm amazed that he's still eating and acting normal.
I just added the second dose of Maracyn 2. We'll see how this plays out. For sick fish, they eat like pigs.
As for shipping, it would not cost much more to ship the fish in individual bags. Each bag does not require much water. It's also the size of the box that factors into shipping costs. HAW sent a rather large box for just two bags of fish. They also allowed for the fish bags to roll around inside the box. Poor packing IMO.
Maybe my standards are too high, but I'm comparing to my internet shipments of discus. Each discus is bagged separately and the box is stuffed with material that would keep the fish bags from moving within the box. HAW sent me nine Altums when I ordered eight. I'm quite sure the one that arrived DOA was crushed during transit from the bags rolling around within the shipping box. Of course the sick one lived.
