Pics from Uruguay Trip

[dogofwar]

Great to see you here, Armand - wish I could go back in Dec but it's just not in the cards for me!

I hate losing any fish...let alone ones pulled from a stream thousands of miles away. Did everything that I could but it still frustrates me.

Matt

 

[FishInMaryland]

Beautiful countryside...looks very calm and peaceful. I'm glad you went, glad you had fun, glad you came back!

 

[verbal]

Good luck with the rest of your fish.

 

[dogofwar]

Anyone want to guess what countries are visible here (looking across the Rio Yaguaron)?


Matt

 

[dogofwar]

Other than a jumper (on a covered tank, nonetheless!), things are much better today. Treating a couple of tanks for ich (expected) including the one below the afflicted tetra / catfish tank but things seem under control.

Lost all of the Astyanax tetras and most of the cories but have fish from the trip in about 12 other tanks... and some nice pics from collecting the tetras (will post on Monday). Ken Davis brought some back and is going to work to breed them (I wasn't), so hopefully we'll see them in the hobby!

Matt

Good luck with the rest of your fish.

 

[Avatar]

There's no place like not home...

Anyone want to guess what countries are visible here (looking across the Rio Yaguaron)?

If memory serves it could only be one of two - west lies Argentina, north is Brazil - or is there some sky kingdom you're alluding to of which I know naught?

Pleased you had a pleasant and gratifying trip, and that it's your fish that are experiencing maladies rather than thee, not always the case with globetrotting as I can attest.

 

[dogofwar]

Hint: The people in the trees across the river also speak "Portugnol" (strange mix of Spanish and Portuguese) with a slighly more Purtuguese-y accent than the people on the side of the river from which the picture was taken

Matt

 

[MHMoro]

Of course you are talking of Brazil!

Manuel

 

[dogofwar]

You are correct - people on both sides of the river (and there aren't many of them) routinely travel back and forth. There are even a couple of little boats where we fished (although one looked a little worse for wear).

The older gaucho in my pictures (who's the father of Patricia, our hostess in Centurion) was returning from stocking up in Brazil. The nearest town (a small one) is closer than Melo, which is the nearest decent-sized town in Uruguay.

Matt

Of course you are talking of Brazil!

Manuel

 

[Tony]

Great shots, Matt. Looks like you guys had a blast - both in and out of the water. Can't wait to see the new acquisitions in person.

 

[samsmobb]

hey dogofwar, can you describe how you bring back fish or how you go about doing this whole process?
i usually take trips to bolivia and go to far stretches of the amazon river finding peacock bass i think they are and piranhas and other bad a** pike and would be cool to learn to bring some back for you guys

thanks!

 

[dogofwar]

We collect the fish ourselves throughout the trip and keep the larger fish from a particular locale (to ensure that we're not mixing fish from different locations) in buckets with battery air pumps (twice daily water changes, at least)....and smaller fish in bags (lots of water changes as well).

Felipe has small ponds and some tanks for the fish once we return to Salinas (small town outside of Montevideo where he lives). We kept some fish in the buckets (with air) since we had fish from a bunch of locales and people leaving at three different times and sorting from the vats would be complicated...

The day of your departure, you pack the fish in plastic bags with Oxygen (Felipe has a tank) in your checked luggage. I double bag everything and triple bag stuff that could poke a bag. I use styros in my luggage. You have 50 lbs per bag...so you need to pack wisely!

The other part of the equation is permits. To bring fish into the US (and not violate the Lacey Act), you need two things: a Fish and Wildlife Import/Export Permit (Ken has one) and a permit from the country of origin (Felipe gets this - I actually picked it up with him at the building in downtown Montevideo). Uruguay actually restricts the number (by type) of fish that you can take (and sometimes check!) so you need keep that in mind as well.

I don't know the rules for Bolivia. The other consideration is how to pack the fish. Uruguayan fish are tough and cold-tolerant but the stress of shipment still can cause ich. True tropical fish are another story. Big fish are also a lot harder (and heavier) to successfully pack out. Much easier to bring back a dozen baby pike than a couple of adults (which is why wild adults are so expensive). Know idea on pirahna...

Here's a pic of Felipe's vats

Matt

hey dogofwar, can you describe how you bring back fish or how you go about doing this whole process?
i usually take trips to bolivia and go to far stretches of the amazon river finding peacock bass i think they are and piranhas and other bad a** pike and would be cool to learn to bring some back for you guys

thanks!

 

[dogofwar]

Tetras that I boiled...Astyanax laticeps...

Matt

 

[dogofwar]

More of the saxatilis from Cardozo...although they don't do it justice!

When I caught this one, I wanted to be sure to get a picture of it (fish are really easy to lose!).

I was alone with my dip net in one hand, my collection container in the other and my (waterproof) camera in my pocket. A little sun would have revealed some of her (?) beauty but I didn't have enough hands

Matt

Nice pictures!!

What is this?

 

[dogofwar]

Centurion is a really, really small, rural town. About 70 km from Melo (a good sized town, at least for Uruguay).

This place is the "shopping center" as Felipe likes to call it.

The shop owner (dude in the beret) has a strict no shirt policy (as evidenced by his clientele)...

Somehow we bought three liter bottles of cold beer here (Pilsen...num)!

Matt

 

[samsmobb]

That's great thanks!
Permits at my problem I guess :/ if only I could try and ship fish to here rather than try and bring them in my luggage lol it's 50lb per bag but I believe any extra bags are $75 which isn't much but I wonder how much to ship from Bolivia to here :/ was just asking anyway, maybe one day I will try, would be awesome, you must enjoy it alot!

 

[dogofwar]

I flew with points, so I was able to upgrade to Priority Status on American. First two bags were free. Third was $150.

For most folks, it's $75 for the second and $150 for the third (and that's if they're under 50 lb!).

I don't know what the fish export rules are for Bolivia or shipping rates. I don't believe that there are any commercial exportes there, but who knows!

Matt

That's great thanks!
Permits at my problem I guess :/ if only I could try and ship fish to here rather than try and bring them in my luggage lol it's 50lb per bag but I believe any extra bags are $75 which isn't much but I wonder how much to ship from Bolivia to here :/ was just asking anyway, maybe one day I will try, would be awesome, you must enjoy it alot!

 

[mscichlid]

Matt, while you guys are collecting do you take note of each species' biotope and water parameters?

 

[dogofwar]

I took notes and took pics of things I referenced in my notes to synch pictures and places. I've got lots of pictures of biotypes for almost all of the places we collected. And I also remember which ones were muddy, as I was most often the guy in the weeds with the dip net

I didn't test water but parameters but most of the water in Uruguay is neutral to slightly alkaline with moderate hardness. They're not picky fish, either! Water temps ranged from comfortable for swimming (probably low-80s) to kinda cold! It's end of summer...

Matt

Matt, while you guys are collecting do you take note of each species' biotope and water parameters?

 

[Spine]

Nice pics Matt. I hope your remaining fish are doing well.