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Going on a work trip to Mex City. Anyone know places to go, either zoos, city aquariums, shops, or collection sites that are close enough to take 3-4 hours of my work day to visit?

drive east, there's the atlantic ocean, drive west, there's the pacific ocean, any water inbetween = a collection point

jimmyB wrote:Going on a work trip to Mex City. Anyone know places to go, either zoos, city aquariums, shops, or collection sites that are close enough to take 3-4 hours of my work day to visit?

PM Shane if he doesn't reply to this post.

Until recently, he lived there.

I think Shane is awol for a few more days... I think he will be around early next week.

When will you be there and what do you have in mind?
-Shane

Shane: I go there every 10-12 weeks for business travel. Whenever I travel anywhere, I like to go to the local shops and zoos to see what kinds of fish are available. In Mexico City, I usually stay in the "Polonco" neighborhood across from the zoo. I have not gone to that zoo due to time constraints but plan to next time. In the US, there are plenty of aquarium store reviews on-line (cichlid-forum.com has one) to get an idea of the places to visit, but not for Mexico. I expect I will have only a few hours to go touring, (I actually do work hard when I go!). I am looking for either shops or zoos or export companies where I can see some species that aren't available in the States. Trying to educate myself now that my tanks have mysteriously slowly converted over to housing only catfish instead of the 'popular' species of fish. Can I bring any home on the plane with the new liquid restrictions?

I lived in Polanco until a few weeks ago just 5 blocks from the hotel zone down on Campos Eliseos. The Irish pub Celtics down there was a favorite hang out of mine. The Chapultepec Zoo is a very nice zoo but has no aquarium. The only fish store in Mexico of importance is Echevarria out on Peri Norte past the Home Depot, maybe 2 miles, on the right. This is about 15-40 minutes from Polanco depending on traffic.
Very small (10-15 tank) pet stores are all over the city. They rarely carry anything of interest with one major exception... their "feeders." The feeders at these stores are all just wild Mexican fishes and usually contain a hodgepodge of livebearers, goodeids, cichlids, and tetras. You can buy a bag of 30 "feeders" for about US $1.00 and obtain many rare spp this way.
Echevarria is a blue building just a few meters past an overpass. They import from SE Asia and Colombia and supply pretty much all the stores in Mexico City. Their selection does not compare to a proper US fish store but their prices are about 1/2 to 1/3 of US prices. The biggest drawback is that the animals are usually in pretty bad shape and need some immediate TLC.
The best aquarium in Mexico is down in Veracruz (about a 4 hour drive from DF) and well worth the trip.
-Shane

Thanks Shane. I will look for Celtics. I always like to try the local brew and I haven't found anything notable in MC. A nice draft Guinness would be good "comfort food" while travelling. I think I know the Home Depot you are talking about. I wish I could get a couple bags of 30 Tetras for a planted discus tank I am working on at a $1 a bag!!! Taking them back on the plane would probably not be a good idea these days. I might stop there just to see what they are up to. I plan to check out the pyramids too.

Jimmy,
DF is the largest city in the world and you still can not get Guinness on tap there. Bottles only. Of note, you can get bottles of Guinness Extra Stout Export at Chedrauy supermarket in Polanco. I am not sure if it is available in the US. Mexico has many fine beers. I was always partial to Indio, a nice dark amber lager. It is on tap at Celtics and in one liter mugs! Around X-mas time Noche Buena is brewed in limited amounts. It is an outstanding holiday beer. Also, on a lazy Sat or Sun have brunch at Karisma which is also in the hotel zone by Starbucks. Try the cuitlacoche (sp? my Nahuatl sucks). It is a yummy corn fungus.
I have flown many times from Mexico to the US with live fishes in my carry on but I probably would not try it right now.
-Shane

Shane, I went to the home depot I know of, I see it on the freeway to Nualcapan, but was not able to find a fish store...perhaps I had the wrong home depot...and I did not have my local friends with me so I was not as brave an explorer as I could have been. Next time I will have a local with me to help me navigate. I have gone by celtics several times on these last 3 trips, but I have not gone in..I did go to that restaurant around the corner, owned by a woman who has a wall full of hats..she has a great mole' sauce. Had an Indio, I think it was at the Nikko bar. I have found myself lured into the tequila world, as opposed to the cerveza market. First time I have ever tried tomato juice! And I had the best stuffed Relleno at the restaurant that is in the base of the old bull fighting arena. I won't be bringing back any fish, I had a small bottle of 6 oz shampoo confiscated at the airport.