seasonal fish availability???

[Magnum Man]

I just got a message from Jack Wattley Discus ( I've not had good luck with fish from them, but the best plants I've bought, have come from them, so they send me stuff ) apparently it's "Altum season" for wild caught Altums...

I assume that that would be controlled by region / season, so, it should be a good time to find other South American wild caught fish???

I also know many fish are farmed globally , from Asia to Florida...

And I know there can be political issues, both with warring countries or factions, and with import tariffs here in the US... but after being back into aquariums for a few years, they do seem to be seasonal... so what are the various harvest seasons, for the areas, that tropical fish are wild caught???

 

[GaryE]

Rain. The Amazon can rise to a great depth, and similar rainy seasons happen in other tropical regions. It's almost impossible to catch fish when the waters are high, and flowing.

I'm loosely working on a trip back to Africa, and it has to be timed correctly or the roads will be mud and the water will be too deep. The season is different where I'd like to go, compared to equatorial Gabon, which has 2 dry seasons. If I were to go when I went last time, I'd be swimming and swinging around an empty net.

So if that's similar for Amazonia, then altum regions might have different seasons than when water levels make capture with other species easy.

I know a lot of Amazon tributaries stop flowing and turn into evaporating pools, and tens of thousands of trapped and otherwise doomed fish are easily scooped up for sale.

 

[Back in the fold]

Are you thinking you might try Altum Angels ? That’s pretty heady stuff Man .

 

[Magnum Man]

no... but if they are in season, maybe some other wild caught amazon fish???

 

[GaryE]

Dozens of companies import from the Amazon, though I suspect it will be easier and cheaper to get fish in Europe now rather than in the US, because of the tariffs. Most quality importers will bring in a lot of fish between now and November. It sounds like Wattley have their marketing in order, but as an importer, they're in good company.
Brazilian fish will be hit with the extra costs, and are harder to get because of export regulations at home. A lot of what we see now is Colombian and Peruvian.
A lot of importers are coming to life now as summer moves to a close and people start to want aquarium time again. Sales drop off in summer at the retail level and a lot of stores get stuck with slow moving stock. Generally, we all want fish when it's awful to ship them - once it gets cold in the north. It's good to plan ahead a bit and get things in during the autumn, to reduce the risk and stress of shipping.

I've found the best times to ship are when nights stay above 10c, and days below 26c. September and October in Canada are good times with the lowest risk, as are April, May and parts of June. Remember that if you're sitting in a lovely breezy environment your fish can be in Texas roasting like the souls of the damned, so look at the weather across the route they'll travel for best results.

 

[Back in the fold]

I've found the best times to ship are when nights stay above 10c, and days below 26c. September and October in Canada are good times with the lowest risk, as are April, May and parts of June. Remember that if you're sitting in a lovely breezy environment your fish can be in Texas roasting like the souls of the damned, so look at the weather across the route they'll travel for best results.

This is a good recommendation and should be heeded . The rigors of shipping can be offset if the fish are in comfortable temperatures . High heat as well as low cold can be fatal . Air cargo containers are not temperature controlled and sometimes sit out on the ramp for several hours while changing flights .

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It has to do with what happens during the rainy season. The rivers become full and then they overflow their banks. What is dry land becomes submerged and fish can leave their rivers and forage in this new wonderland. The food is plentiful and its time to spawn. Dry land becomes a lake and it is teeming with fish. They are easier to catch when the water is shallow and the flow is slower.

When I shipped airport to airport we used Delta. I could pick the plane they be on. I picked up on the edge of La Guardia in NYC. Most times the traffic was insane and it could take 2 or more hours to drive to the airport. But I picked flights that were landing in New York City at about 10:30 at night. The drive was just over 30 minutes at that time of night.

The box was on what was a passenger flight, so no worries about air cargo issues.

 

[emeraldking]

so what are the various harvest seasons, for the areas, that tropical fish are wild caught???

That depends on the type of fish we're talking about...

 

[GaryE]

So many factors. Deep water fish? Small stream fish? Lake species? Rapids species? Rainfall patterns? Climate change? Human land use and culture (try getting fish around Christmas in Christian regions of the world), buyer preferences (some fish are easier in a northern summer, but hobbyists don't buy in summer).
One river can stretch from highlands to sea level, and along its way, what fish are there and how they're caught can change.

I had some Poecilia mexicana mollies once that my friend had picked up by hand, from small pools among rocks in a dry river. She went back the next day for more, and there were no pools, just bare hot rock.

Importers here usually try for fish between September and late winter, as that's when fish sell best. Fish that are hard to catch at those times often end up seen as rarities by us.