Jools and Shane's Uganda Adventures

[Jools]

Here is the location.

http://maps.google.co.ug/maps?hl=en&ie= ... 1&t=h&z=19

Two or more species of barbs and two

Clarias

, likely

Clarias alluaudi

.

The largest of the barbs:


Jools

[Jools]

At the source of the Nile (http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s ... 5&t=h&z=17).



Jools

[bigbird]

where is your flag to claim that island ? , very nice report so far. enjoy and look after yourselves cheers jk

[Jools]

where is your flag to claim that island ? , very nice report so far. enjoy and look after yourselves

Well, I am just another in a long line of Scots to visit that place!

Jools

[Jools]

OK, a couple more pics. The one of Shane is when he is collecting the baby

Clarias

. In this side of the river there was a lot of saw grass. This is nasty stuff and we both copped a lot of leg grazes including some that saw blood. Solution is long trousers.

The other picture is a second species of barb from this area.

Jools

[Shane]

Greetings from Fort Portal! We had a great day yesterday collecting south of Kampala. This morning we drove 3.5 hours east to Fort Portal. The only collecting so far was a beautiful mountain stream running from Rwenzori (Mountains of the Moon). Habitat was a cool (65F ish) fast flowing stream with clear water. This looked like a Chaetostoma stream might in South America and several watching children told us there were no fish in the stream. After several pulls we were going to move on when we turned up a gorgeous killie living along the stream's margins. Once we had the right habitat down we collected over a dozen in 10 minutes. Beautiful n]scenary today driving along the Great Rift.
The plan for tomorrow is to head south from Fort Portal to the Kazinga Channel between the Rift Lakes George and Edward.
Sorry we have been so bad about posting updates and photos, but as you might imagine, when you are 20 km from the Congo/Uganda border it is almost impossible to get any kind of internet connectivity.
-Shane

[Shane]

Thankfully, we have wifi internet here at our hotel in Fort Portal. Although it's been down for couple of days, it's up now!

Some pics from back near Lake Vic: All ID suggestions welcome (I know what the Clarias is)!

[Shane]

Video of the Killie. .

Jools

[Shane]

Some others from the ditch.

Jools

[Shane]

Mountains of the Moon killie.
-Shane

[Richard B]

Nothing like chiloglanis or any amphiliids? I was getting my hopes up if there was something looking like a chaetostoma stream....

[kruseman]

The last killie is a Hypsopanchax, probably H. modestus.

[Yann]

Hi!!

it is very nice indeed!!
Look you have a fun time, even if the insects are not on Jools' side!!:-(



The fish is indeed a Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae...a nice male



typical Haplochromine behaviour!!
Cheers
Yann

[Jools]

Thanks for the IDs. We collected hillstreams today, but all we found as far as catfishes go is a hillstream Clarias!

Meantime, a couple of not-for-the-nano-tank fishes. The lungfish breathed out when it was on the ground and it sounded like a horse.

Jools

[Yann]

Wow!!!

this is what I call huge!!
need some serious tank for that!! the shipping price would be quite important as well!!

Cheers
Yann

[Shane]

Got Jools off to the airport this morning and he will be home this evening (GMT). Great trip and great fun. Now I just need about 18 hours of uninterrupted sleep.. and a new liver.
-Shane

[Firestorming]

Are you going to give us a spoiler on what is going home with him?

[Jools]

Well, getting the fish through import/border in T5 was easier than expected! I turned up, my luggage did, the fish were checked and off we went. I wish it was easier for the Ugandan Sherry and Waragi (a gin like spirit) I brought back, I had to check it in at the UK border and that made have to rush to get the connection. So, OK to fly into London with it in my hand luggage but clearly a risk to fly from London to Edinburgh the same! Grrrr.

Actually, the whole experience in the airport in Entebbe was very relaxed. It felt like a small regional airport, 4 gates I think. No big queues, everything went like clockwork. The flight back was half full at best and I had checked in online to an exit seat with tonnes of legroom and no one sitting next to me. I used the 8 hours to watch a movie, edit all the images from the trip and finish off a new level of Angry Birds Rio. That, some decent food and a couple of glasses of wine made it a very pleasant afternoon!

Anyway, I am pleased to report zero losses after two days in the fishroom I have:

8 "African checkerboard barbs". 1"
2 "African silvershark barbs". 1"
4 "African three spot barbs". 0.5-1"
7 Clarias alluaudi 1.5-2"
1 Clarias ? 2"
2 Pr Hypsopanchax modestus 1.5"
2 Pr Pseudocrenilabus philander victoriae. 1"
5 UN Lampeyes that are plain but eat flakefood from Lake Nawampasa drainage. 1"
6 Baby cichlids from the Lake Nawampasa drainage, might be spectacular Haps, more likely I have some w/c Tilapia! 0.25"-0.5"
4 or 5 Lacustricola bukobanus .75"
11 Lacustricola sp `Rusty` .75"

and a baby leech (3-10mm depending on mood) which I have set-up a nano (it's a small show tank) aquarium for!

Lacustricola eat frozen lobster eggs, which is good to know, everything else is on flake.

Are there any in particular you want to see pics of?

Jools

[Firestorming]

All of the above! Mate whatever pics you put up I am sure folks will appreciate, especially those of us who rarely if ever have the chance to see these species.

[Birger]

1 Clarias ? 2"

Hopefully a

Clarias werneri

and not

Clarias gariepinus

Where was this one captured?

Yeah, lets see them all, even the little leech in his nano home. How do you feed this one?

Birger

[Firestorming]

1 Clarias ? 2"

Yeah, lets see them all, even the little leech in his nano home. How do you feed this one?
Birger

I bet it's a bleeding pain..... sorry bad joke but it's the end of the day for me.

[jippo]

That trip sounds fantastic, one of my dreams.

Thanks for youre posts, really nice to read and watch your photos from the trip. Just let us see rest of the photos .

[Jools]

1 Clarias ? 2"

Hopefully a

Clarias werneri

and not

Clarias gariepinus

Where was this one captured?

This was the hillstream one. Looks like the others - but how does a 2" Clarias get into a piedmont stream?

Yeah, lets see them all, even the little leech in his nano home. How do you feed this one?

Carefully. I don't know - I will try a bloodworm I guess.

Jools

[grokefish]

Sounds like you had a fab trip!

Jealous? Moi?

You bet I am!

[Jools]

For Jippo...

[Birger]

This was the hillstream one. Looks like the others - but how does a 2" Clarias get into a piedmont stream?

In the Rukwa book Seegers talks of catching

Clarias alluaudi

in mountain streams as long as they were not running too fast, in these clear streams they were a length of 6-10 cm and there were many of them seemingly at a certain time of the year, migratory maybe?

Also mentions that the ones he had captured or raised after capture never got past 16cm TL, and seriously doubts the 35 cm size thinking that may have come from confusion with other Clarias. This sounds like a perfect sized Clarias.


Birger

[Jools]

All pics online here.

Jools

[Shane]

Took a schisto test and it came back negative, but I dosed with Biltricide anyway since I'll be leaving Uganda in a few weeks.

-Shane

[Firestorming]

I'll be leaving Uganda in a few weeks.

-Shane

Is this for good or a "holiday"?
I really enjoy reading about your travels.

[Shane]

For good. We left the States in 2000 and have been gone since (Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, Uganda). Feels like it is time to go back for a year or two. My daughter is five and has never lived there, she was actually born in Mexico City. She needs some exposure to the US and her extended family.
We are also truthfully excited to have some developed world living for a spell. Book stores, high speed internet, international foods, convenience, etc. Instead of going to five stores to find the one lightbulb to be had; you can go to one store and choose from 5 lightbulbs! Oh and a break from malaria, schisto tests, giardia bouts, etc.

I'll still have plenty of travels, they will just be chasing madtoms instead of Synos and minnows instead of tetras.
-Shane