Angels - PageSuite

AMAZONAS
40
some of the young in our luggage on the journey home.
The wild-caught individuals supposedly originated from
the Río Orinoco in Venezuela, from the area around
Puerto Ayacucho. They were much more compact and
beefier in their body form than the true Pterophyllum
altum from the upper Orinoco drainage.
But despite intensive efforts and a 370-gallon (1,400-
L) aquarium, I had no success, and neither did Dr.
Menauer. It was all over by the day after the beginning of
courtship and the cleaning of the chosen spawning site.
However, the fish grew into splendid specimens. Food is
provided in abundance in my tanks, as I still go “ponding”
almost every day. Good feeding is indispensable
for breeding condition and for the rearing of the young
The parents of this variant,
which I have bred for several
generations, came from
Surinam. The precise origin of
the species is a mystery.
Below: Sadly, this disease
syndrome often occurs in
offspring of the Surinam
Angelfish.
brood. Cyclops, Daphnia,
Moina, glassworms, and
mosquito larvae are on the
menu—and not just as frozen
food! Unfortunately,
the excellent menu wasn’t
enough for my Altums.
What was my mistake?
Was it rare to succeed with young fish of the next generation,
as with Heckel Discus? The only answer is to keep
on trying!
Blackwater Altums
In the past year, I finally got to see the blackwater Altum
underwater in the Río Atabapo and in the net. The
fishes reared by Dr. Menauer probably originated from a
population living in the Orinoco, probably at Puerto Ayacucho,
where the Orinoco is a whitewater river. But that
can be deceptive, as there are not only black-, white-, and
clearwater rivers in South America, but also mixed-water
zones, as is the case at Puerto Ayacucho. Some way to the
south, two mighty blackwater rivers, the Sipapo and the
Atabapo, empty into the upper Orinoco.
The fishes from the pure blackwater of the Atabapo (pH
4.5 at a conductivity of around 30 μS/cm in March 2011)
are much more high-backed and filigreed than those from
the Orinoco. Their beige-brown base color also differs from
the blue-green of the Orinoco fishes. In the Atabapo fishes,
red dots predominate on the head region, but the dots are
blue in those from the Orinoco. Unfortunately, we weren’t
allowed to export the fishes from Venezuela. Imports from
there are getting more and more scarce.
When these fishes do reach our shops, they are usually
from Colombia. That is often a death sentence for
Altums, as they are transported from the lowlands to
Bogota, in the highlands. At this altitude, with unheated
tanks, everything depends on how quickly the fishes are
subsequently dispatched. The sensitive Altums are often
chilled and the losses reach 100 percent. But healthy
specimens may soon reach us again.
Because they are now being bred successfully in Germany,
hopefully that will continue in the filial generations,
so that these fishes can be permanently retained in
our aquariums.
H.-G. EVERS