OP
OP
Ah, good questions.
I used breather bags.
The importation rules for Canada are radically different than the rules for the USA. They are much less bureaucratic. I printed up Canada's list of species needing veterinary evaluation, none of which were from the region I was fishing in. I wanted it to cooperate with the customs agents - to simplify their lives so they'd simplify mine. I also printed up the IUCN red list status of every species I caught - they were all clear. By giving the agents the paper back up to prove I knew what I was doing, I saved them trouble and they gave me none.
I declared the fish upon arrival - demonstrated humane packing to the customs people, and went on my way.
I had to put the fish in baggage, but in the suitcase that carried my equipment. That was because of liquid regulations in carry on - not allowed.
Survival rates? Somewhere along the way, my bag got walloped, and damaged. One bag with 4 Epiplatys were killed, I think by crushing which caused a leak. Everything else was fine.
The extreme temperatures there may have contributed to some of the fish looking rough on arrival. The fish were caught in water that pushed their limits already, and were on the edge. We were all concerned about that, as the water was above 32c in the habitats, and that's not good. I thought I'd lose more. They are rallying now, and will be fine, though my delicate Poropanchax luxopthalmus crashed out since. I didn't have many and their issue was bacterial.
We rented a hotel in Cotonou, and hired a driver with an old AWD vehicle for the week. The country is small, and the region where the fish are is smaller, so that worked. It was a rough hotel, but way more luxurious than our trip to Gabon, where we constantly changed hotels as we traveled. No one would stay in a room like that here, but there, it was okay.
Research answers the last question. We spent months reading, and working through likely drainages. In many past collecting reports, there are GPS coordinates included, which let us identify drainages. Google Earth was very useful, although we hit the one very good looking habitat (online....) that had dried up in the real world. Once we were in a likely area, we could talk with local people, who were generally helpful.
When we found the dried habitat, a passing motorcyclist stopped and told us of a lake that was all that remained of the stream system. So we asked around, and other locals took us directly to the water.
One locality, our last, was because we spotted a drying creek out the car window and decided to give it a try.
The only dwarf Cichlid in the region is a golden morph of Pelvicachromis taeniatus. The ones I brought back are beauties - it's quite a stunner. We caught a lot of Cichlids - mainly Rubicatochromis guttatus and Hemichromis fasciatus. There were some nice Thysochromis ansorgii, borderline dwarfs, and tons of large growing Coptodons and Oreochromis. I only kept the taeniatus - one of my favourite dwarf Cichlids. I don't keep larger fish, and numbers were low. I was hoping for characins and barbs too, but we didn't catch enough of the tiny ones to make it worthwhile.
I'd have welcome Phractura sp catfish, but we didn't catch many and they were a wishlist fish for a friend fishing with me.
We got catfish, characins, barbs, and a few oddballs too.
I used breather bags.
The importation rules for Canada are radically different than the rules for the USA. They are much less bureaucratic. I printed up Canada's list of species needing veterinary evaluation, none of which were from the region I was fishing in. I wanted it to cooperate with the customs agents - to simplify their lives so they'd simplify mine. I also printed up the IUCN red list status of every species I caught - they were all clear. By giving the agents the paper back up to prove I knew what I was doing, I saved them trouble and they gave me none.
I declared the fish upon arrival - demonstrated humane packing to the customs people, and went on my way.
I had to put the fish in baggage, but in the suitcase that carried my equipment. That was because of liquid regulations in carry on - not allowed.
Survival rates? Somewhere along the way, my bag got walloped, and damaged. One bag with 4 Epiplatys were killed, I think by crushing which caused a leak. Everything else was fine.
The extreme temperatures there may have contributed to some of the fish looking rough on arrival. The fish were caught in water that pushed their limits already, and were on the edge. We were all concerned about that, as the water was above 32c in the habitats, and that's not good. I thought I'd lose more. They are rallying now, and will be fine, though my delicate Poropanchax luxopthalmus crashed out since. I didn't have many and their issue was bacterial.
We rented a hotel in Cotonou, and hired a driver with an old AWD vehicle for the week. The country is small, and the region where the fish are is smaller, so that worked. It was a rough hotel, but way more luxurious than our trip to Gabon, where we constantly changed hotels as we traveled. No one would stay in a room like that here, but there, it was okay.
Research answers the last question. We spent months reading, and working through likely drainages. In many past collecting reports, there are GPS coordinates included, which let us identify drainages. Google Earth was very useful, although we hit the one very good looking habitat (online....) that had dried up in the real world. Once we were in a likely area, we could talk with local people, who were generally helpful.
When we found the dried habitat, a passing motorcyclist stopped and told us of a lake that was all that remained of the stream system. So we asked around, and other locals took us directly to the water.
One locality, our last, was because we spotted a drying creek out the car window and decided to give it a try.
The only dwarf Cichlid in the region is a golden morph of Pelvicachromis taeniatus. The ones I brought back are beauties - it's quite a stunner. We caught a lot of Cichlids - mainly Rubicatochromis guttatus and Hemichromis fasciatus. There were some nice Thysochromis ansorgii, borderline dwarfs, and tons of large growing Coptodons and Oreochromis. I only kept the taeniatus - one of my favourite dwarf Cichlids. I don't keep larger fish, and numbers were low. I was hoping for characins and barbs too, but we didn't catch enough of the tiny ones to make it worthwhile.
I'd have welcome Phractura sp catfish, but we didn't catch many and they were a wishlist fish for a friend fishing with me.
We got catfish, characins, barbs, and a few oddballs too.
