Loaches – Balitorid family
This book has 24 pages complete with full colour photographs of the most commonly seen balitorid species. The aim of this book is to be as informative as possible and offer insights into the basic care and needs of these wonderful fish.
Order direct from the author HERE
by staff
Corydoras Catfish, or Cory Cats as they are more commonly known, are a placid algae eating species which make a useful addition to the freshwater aquarium.
At around 6cm in length, Cory Cats are easy to care for and a good choice for beginners and anyone restricted to a somewhat smaller aquarium size. Cory Cats are found wild in a wide variety of habitats in South America.
While the name Corydoras Catfish describes nearly 150 different species within the family, all Cory Cats can be distinguished by the four barbels located by their mouths. These funny appendages are used by Cory Cats to search for food which has fallen on the tank floor (or river bed in the wild). This habit is very appealing to the aquarium owner, as it helps to balance out the amount of waste in the tank. Despite the fact that Cory Cats do assist in tank cleaning, normal aquarium maintenance should be carried out by the owner on a regular basis.
Although Corydoras Catfish are primarily algae feeders they need a varied diet to maintain their health. The species nose around in the aquarium substrate looking for scraps, but your tank many not provide enough algae to create a correct nutritional balance. Algae Wafers can be bought at specialist pet shops, and are said to be a great favourite of Cory Cats. Blood worms and brine shrimp can also be used to supplement their diet as well as other live or frozen meat foods.
Cory Cats are generally calm and non aggressive and prefer to be kept in groups of six or more. To encourage schooling behaviours, ensure that each individual is of the same Corydoras species. Other fish which can happily share an aquarium with Cory Cats include Tetras, Siamese Fighting Fish, Discus Fish and Mollies.
In the wild, Cory Cats are found in rivers and streams around as the Amazon basin region, and to see them thrive they will need a tank which gives them space to swim, foraging opportunities and hiding places. The minimum aquarium size for keeping Corydoras Catfish is 10 gallons, and experienced aquarium keepers usually recommend that beginners start with the largest tank they can afford. Its helpful to use aquatic plants in your tank, not only to add decoration but help to aerate the water. In their native habitat, Amazon Sword Grass and tree roots provide Cory Cats with shelter and nibbles, and these can be added to the tank to help replicate their natural environment. Cory Cats can be somewhat sensitive to temperature, so dramatic changes should be avoided. A good water temperature is between 22-26°C with a PH of between 6.6 and 7.
With the correct care and attention, Cory Cats can live for many years, with some examples reaching 20! This friendly species is not only a pleasure to watch at play, but it works hard to help keep your freshwater aquarium clean and fresh.
by staff
The Oscar Fish is a member of the cichlid family, a freshwater species which is notable for its high levels of intelligence and playful nature.
Oscar Fish are native to South America, where they are found in the Amazon and Orinoco River Basins. Oscar Fish have very large mouths and their scientific name provides a description of their unique patterns. Astronotus means marked with a star, while ocellatus translates as “eye spot”. The natural colour range of Oscar Fish is brown with crimson and orange markings. You may see Oscar Fish which are brightly and exotically coloured in shades of purple or blue. These are white Oscars which have been dyed, a process which causes suffering for the fish and leaves them susceptible to infections.
Young Oscar Fish grow very rapidly, at over an inch per month, reaching an average size of at least 12 inches, with a body mass of around 3.5 pounds. The large species are known for their longevity, living for at least ten years when kept in healthy conditions.
Owners of Oscar Fish report that this species is one of the most friendliest and quickly learn to recognise the person who feeds them. Patient fish keepers may see their Oscar Fish begging for food, and some even perform tricks, which has led to them being nicknamed “river-dogs”.
As a fish with a big personality to match its physical size, Oscar Fish can be aggressive toward fish of the same and other species. Providing the tank is big enough, you should not experience many problems, but tank mates should be selected with caution. Small species such as the Neon Tetra will not last long in a community aquarium with an Oscar Fish, and it is best to choose a species which can defend itself if necessary. Good options would be Clown Loach, Silver Dollars or Catfish. Avoid over-stocking your aquarium, as Oscar Fish do need plenty of space to live and grow, with experts recommending a minimum aquarium capacity of 55 gallons for just one of these fish.
Oscars do best in a tank which maintains a constant temperature of 22- 26°, and a PH of around 7.2. Oscar Fish like to have plenty of hiding places so plant your tank well and add driftwood, rocks and decorations. In many cases, Oscars have been observed to rearrange their tank decorations!
Oscar Fish are predatory fish which will eat anything they can find. In their natural habitat, this would include crustaceans, small fish, plants and berries. Indulge the Oscars carnivorous nature, many owners feed chopped ox-heart or even feeder fish, which should be given in small amounts only, to avoid overfeeding. Oscars need to enjoy a varied diet to flourish, and poor nutrition is often to blame in cases of Hole In The Head, an curable infection(in some cases) which causes pitting and deterioration of the flesh on the infected fish’s head.
Research Your Fish Before Buying
By Aaron Guzman
Knowledge is power—and when it comes to maintaining the health and wellbeing of aquarium fish, the more you know, the better prepared you will be when it comes to caring for the fish, providing for their needs, and dealing with any problems that may crop up while keeping them.
Before Buying Fish
The aquarium hobby is often punctuated by impulsive purchases, especially people buying fish solely for aesthetic qualities. Many times people know nothing about the fish they purchase, and more often than not, these experiences end badly.
Not performing the proper research before obtaining fish can end up being a costly mistake. Fish can become stressed and susceptible to disease because the proper environment and conditions were not provided. More sensitive fish can outright die from such stress.
First off, the aquarium must be properly cycled. This process usually takes 4-6 weeks. During this time, you should figure out what types of fish interest you and that you would like to try your hand at keeping. This is where the research begins. Ask questions about the fish that interest you, and seek out information.
Researching the Fish
There are certain details that you should acquaint yourself with before actually buying any fish. The most important and relevant facts that you will need to determine are:
Where to Find Information
The best place to start looking for information would be your local pet store. Speak with the clerks and glean what tips you can. Take special notice of anyone who has already had experience keeping the desired fish. Speak with them and learn from their experiences. What kind of problems did they encounter? What did they feed their fish? Did they encounter any behavior issues?
Don’t limit your search just to those around you. There are many resources out there packed with helpful information. Be sure to check with multiple sources as some people have discrepancies about information; others are simply wrong or misinformed. Other people may have alternate strategies for proper care of the fish. Here are a few places to find information:
The aquarium hobby is at its core an educational experience. People who are passionate about fish keeping are always learning and seeking out new information. Those new to the hobby must realize that success is a matter of good husbandry—a skill that is only refined by knowledge and experience. Take the time to do the proper research and prepare for any aquarium projects. Your fish will thank you.
Photo Source: Alfonso Diaz
by Robert Paul Hudson
The following aquariums are the work of Diego Sandoval Cava. He not only designed these fascinating looking aquascapes in great detail in very small aquariums, but built the actual aquariums too.
“el verdico”
Vegetation : sphagum moss sp.
Measures :11cm x 7cm x 7cm
“Mestizo”
Vegetation: eleocharis acicularis ,java moss and unidentified plant for my land.
Measures: 11cm x 7cm x 7cm
“la linde”
Vegetation : cladophora , java moss and eleocharis parvula .
measures : 11cm x 11cm x 9 cm
 |
| Written by Betty, DataGuru |
In her book, Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist, Diana Walstad says the goal is to set up an ecosystem where “plants and fish balance each other’s needs”. In this type of tank, the plants are the water purifiers rather than the usual filters. Rather than converting ammonia to nitrAte, plants convert ammonia to plant mass, so there’s no buildup of nitrate and pH doesn’t drop over time. Plants also remove heavy metals from the water. Fish food, mulm and micronutrients from the soil feed the plants. Fish and bacteria produce carbon dioxide for the plants and the plants help produce oxygen for the fish. Only moderate lighting combined with sunlight is needed. A Walstad-type natural planted tank is low maintenance requiring only pruning of plants and infrequent partial water changes.My 29 gallon bowfront pictured above, was set up as a natural planted tank in January, 2005, this is what it looked like eight months later. The substrate is an inch of topsoil amended with crushed oyster shell, covered by an inch of small gravel. Plants include pygmy chain swords, sagittaria subulata, an amazon sword, and hygrophilia difformis (wysteria). Inhabitants include swordtails, Endler’s Livebearers, a clown pleco, ramshorn and pond snails. Lighting is sunlight from a south window and 40 watts of 6500K compact fluorescent light.
How to set up a Walstad-
type natural planted tank:
Substrate: One to 1.5 inches of unsterilized garden soil, potting soil or topsoil with 1 to 1.5 inches of 2-4mm gravel on top. Don’t use subsoils or clay soils from areas near brackish water. If the soil is acidic, you can use powdered dolomite lime mixed in. If you have soft water add pelleted dolomite lime, or crushed shells to gradually increase the level of hard water nutrients over time. She recommends not adding peat or fertilizers (including manure). Adding a small amount of well-decayed organic matter/compost is fine. You may want to set up a bottle test to see how much the soil yellows the water. Add a layer of soil and cover it with a layer of gravel and then add water being careful not to disturb the soil. Then let it sit for several weeks. Some soils leach more than others. When using bagged soil, it would be a good idea to spread it in a thin layer and let it air out over night to gas out ammonia. Plants: Use lots of different plants, some of which will eventually grow emergent. Use floating plants too. Generally cheaper plants are easier to grow. Fish: Diana says you can immediately moderately stock the tank. (Keep an eye on ammonia, because I’ve had soil that immediately cycled a tank and other soil that took a month to be habitable.) Avoid plant eaters or fish that dig in the substrate. Lighting: Diana prefers a mix of sunlight and fluorescent lighting–one to two watts per gallon if the tank does not receive sunlight, less if the tank receives sunlight. She likes to use a combination of cool white and plant grow light fluorescent bulbs. Avoid tanks taller than 18 inches unless the tank will receive sunlight. She recommends a timer set to 10-14 hours of light per day. Filtration: Her book says that all you need is water movement, though these days, Diana recommends using mechanical filtration as well. A power head with a pre-filter works fine. Fertilization: Feed the fish liberally. Water changes: 50% every 6 months, or if fish or plants look unhappy. Mulm feeds the plants. Aeration: only if the fish are piping/gasping in the early morning hours. Misc: snails are good for cleaning plant leaves and speeding up the decomposition process (that provides nutrients and CO2 for plants). She recommends water hardness of > 7dh. Putting it together: Add one inch of topsoil and amend with crushed shells, mix well and smooth. Add just enough water to wet the soil. Then add a layer of gravel around the edges of the tank. Set each plant and add gravel around it. After you have all the plants in, fill in with gravel until you have an one to 1.5 inches of gravel. Place a plate or shallow dish on the bottom of the aquarium and carefully add water. If the water is cloudy after you have three or four inches of water in the tank, syphon it out and refill. Diana usually adds fish immediately, but I like to wait and check the water parameters the next day to make sure the soil isn’t releasing ammonia. Here is a step by step pictoral guide to setting up a Walstad-type natural planted tank. This article also appears on the GAB web site |
Bala Sharks are a not true sharks, but are so called for their shark-like torpedo body shape and large fins. Their pretty silver colouring, with black markings on the tails and fins make this member of the minnow family an attractive addition to the freshwater aquarium.
Native to Asia, Bala Sharks are found in the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins. Unfortunately this species are a victim of over-fishing and industrial pollution, and are now almost extinct in their natural habitat. For conservation reasons, it is preferable to only purchase Bala Sharks which have been bred in captivity.
Bala Sharks are usually around 2.5-5cm when purchased in a pet shop, growing to 25-35cm when mature. The fish need a large tank to live in comfort, and may occasionally exhibit aggressive or territorial tendencies if kept in cramped and unsuitable conditions, as their natural habitat is in large and medium sized bodies of water.
Bala Sharks are normally quite peaceful and happy to co-exist with other species in a community tank. Experts recommend that Bala Sharks should be kept in groups with a minimum of five individuals, as it is their nature to school and solitary fish become stressed and insecure. Other species which will are tolerated by Bala Sharks include Angel Fish, Gourami, Guppies and Danios. Fully grown Bala Sharks may eat small fish like Neon Tetras or Guppy fry, which is something to bear in mind when stocking your tank. Aquarium mates to avoid are the African Cichlid family and Red Tailed Black Sharks.
Aquarium preparations for Bala Sharks include selecting a tank which has a heavy cover. Some aquarium owners have reported Bala Sharks jumping up to six feet out of the water, which is obviously best avoided! These very active fish enjoy a water temperatures between 22-29°C and are at their best in soft water with a p. H of around 5.8 to 7.8. Any tank which is to be home to Bala Sharks should be planted with live plants around the edges, leaving plenty of clear swimming space in the middle . Grass-type plants including Sagittaria, Pearl Grass and Dwarf Hair Grass are excellent choices which provide ample hiding and rest spots for this species.
Bala Sharks are omnivores, and have scavenger tendencies, nosing around the tank substrate to pick up food scraps, which helps to keep the tank clean without disturbing the substrate. Live, fresh and flake foods are all acceptable to Bala Sharks, as in their natural habitat they will eat small crustaceans, insects, plant matter and algae. Sometimes Bala Sharks make an audible clicking sound when feeding, which is another quirky element to this placid species’ nature.
By Robert Paul Hudson
Many hobbyists are first introduced to aquarium plants when purchasing packs of “easy to grow” plant bulbs that are available in some department stores. Hobbyists also discover what a rhizome is when they attach aquatic ferns and Anubias plants to wood by wrapping thread around that thick, horizontal, root like base that the leaves and roots grow from. These are important parts of the plant structure that are critical for storing nutrients and asexual reproduction. With a greater understanding of this plant anatomy, you can better insure the plants health and vitality.
First, lets briefly discuss the proper definitions of these terms.
Rhizome describes a horizontal stem structure that stores energy and sends out both shoots, (vertical stems, leaves) and roots. It creeps along the surface of the substrate, or just below the surface and may branch. Depending on the plant specie it can vary in appearance from very thick and woody to thin and fleshy.
Tubers, like rhizomes, are enlarged stems that store nutrients, however tubers have multiple eyes that sprout shoots, such as a potato.
A tuberous root is a modified lateral root, enlarged to function as a storage organ. It is thus different in origin but similar in function and coarse appearance to a tuber. In root tubers there are no node and internodes, (eyes). Example is the sweet potato.
True bulbs and Corms
A bulb, strictly speaking, has enlarged scales where most of the nutrients are stored and a small basal plate, which is where the next future plants roots and shoots are. A corm is just the opposite: it has small scales and the nutrients are stored in the enlarged basal plate. In some cases a plant may be separated from the bulb and then the bulb will produce another plant. True bulbs develop miniature bulbs, known as bulblets, which when grown to full size are known as offsets. Offsets can be separated from the mother bulb and replanted.
More detailed differentiating between these storage organs becomes somewhat blurred and confusing. Even botanists may refer to any underground nutrient organ as a “bulb”, so from here on in discussing the aquarium application I will refer only to either rhizomes or bulbs.
Healthy rhizomes and bulbs
One common problem in the aquarium is rhizomes and bulbs rotting due to lack of oxygen. This is caused when it is buried in the substrate where there is heavy accumulation of decaying organic matter. You can avoid this by leaving the bulb or rhizome above the substrate or burying only enough to keep it rooted. Tiger lotus, (Nymphaea sp.) has a nice, small, perfectly round bulb. I simply leave it sitting on top of the gravel without burying any portion of it at all. Roots form and grow into the substrate easily and eventually the plant may detach from the bulb on it own and another plant will develop from the bulb.
Sometimes the rhizome or bulb may be so small you have to bury it. Since the smallest piece of rhizome may produce a plant, sometimes from mass production the plants are grown with very small rhizomes. You commonly see this with Anubias and Cryptocoryne species. Bulbs may also be quite small if the commercial grower is using bulblets instead of much older bulbs. If you have a large bulb plant such as Aponogeton or Crinum growing on a very small bulb, or a bulb with no roots yet formed, bury it, but gently pull the plant up 4 to 8 weeks later after the roots have formed to expose the bulb. Sometimes the rhizome, or multiple rhizomes of a big potted Cryptocoryne may be surrounded by a large root ball. This appears to protect the rhizomes as long as the roots remain healthy.
Nature designed rhizomes and bulbs as a nutrient storage to enable the plant to grow back every spring or season, not as the plants sole nutrient source through out the year. If you do not provide enough nutrients for the plant it will live only until it uses up the nutrients stored in the bulb or rhizome and then it will never grow back. This is particularly evident in Aponogetons, which often go dormant in the winter and will only grow back three months later if they were properly fed while growing.
Reproduction
Rhizomes may be divided. Each piece will produce new roots and shoot growth. When dividing a mature plant such as Anubias or Java fern, leave some existing roots and shoots on each piece. Make sure the cut is clean. I always use a razor blade. Some bulbs will produce smaller bulbs as I mentioned earlier. A bulb should not be otherwise divided. You can sometimes cut out rotting portions of a bulb, but pieces of a bulb will not grow. A bulb produces a single plant stalk at one time, while a rhizome and tuber may produce multiple plant stalks/shoots at the same time.
Aquascaping
To my knowledge, most if not all bulb plants in the aquarium are either quite large or fairly tall and are usually placed toward the rear of the aquarium. Aquarium plants with rhizomes can be relatively small as well as large or tall. Most rhizome plants in the aquarium may also be attached to wood or rock, or any object. You simply wrap a tie around the rhizome and the object snug enough to hold the plant erect. Java fern and Anubias nana is often used this way to create plant walls against the glass or the illusion of sloping hills. There is even a new cultivar miniature Anubias nana, which grows tight clusters of leaves no bigger than a thumbnail, (Anubias nana petite). A newer version of Java Fern, (Microsorum pteropus) is the “needle leaf” variety. It features extremely narrow leaves a half inch wide that grow fairly long. Microsorum rhizomes are very tough and woody and may easily be stuffed into nooks and crannies in wood or rock without damaging the plant. It also should never be buried in the gravel. In it’s natural habitat the roots serve only as anchors to attach to rocks in streams. It absorbs most of its nutrients from the water through its leaves.
Now that you have had a little lesson in botany, hopefully you now know not to bury your rhizomes and bulbs, and to keep them healthy and how to propagate them!
How to insure your collected fish survive the trip home and their new home
Lepomis gibbosus
by Joshua Wiegert
Last time, we introduced a few basic collecting tricks. This time, we’ll discuss the next steps: transporting and keeping native fishes alive in the long term. So, imagine that you’ve arrived at a stream full of native fishes you’re interested in.
Like any other activity, there is a bit of etiquette involved in fish collecting. First, and foremost, when collecting fishes, one should be cautious to never take any more fishes than needed. Sometimes, its not hard to seine a hundred darters or minnows in a surprisingly short period of time. Most likely, you don’t have the tank room for that many fishes, and so throwing the vast majority of them back is appropriate. Similarly, fishes should never be collected during spawning. I’ve seen collectors tear streams up, tossing rocks on shore, ripping up vegetation, and leaving litter. Fish collectors should never destroy habitat or leave trash behind.
Transporting fish home is not nearly as difficult as many people believe. For about $15, you can buy a power inverter to plug into the socket of your car, which will allow you to power any kind of electric device. Pick one of these up, and visit your local fish store. Get an aerator, about 10 feet of airline tubing, a gang valve, and a pack of air stones. This will let you aerate any buckets of fish while driving.
Fish can easily be transported in standard buckets. Putting a lid on them will reduce sloshing: simply drill a hole through it to allow airline tubing through. Be careful not to put too many fish in a single bucket, and be cautious in mixing bigger fish with smaller fish. Not only is it possible that you might lose a few fish to predation, but larger fish can bounce smaller ones around in the confines of a bucket.
Many fish collectors will collect things other than fish, as well, including interesting aquatic insects, reptiles or amphibians, and especially plants. These should never be mixed with fish in a bucket. Reptiles or amphibians should be transported out of water (except for larvae – tadpoles – of course), but kept wet. Its too easy for them to drown in a bucket. Plants should never be put into a bucket with fish – in the confines of a small bucket, they can release toxic stress chemicals and kill fish, or simply pollute the water.
Depending on the length of the trip, it may be necessary to change the water on your fish several times. If feasible, transport some extra water from the stream with you to allow for at least one water change. If not, make sure you have a bottle of dechlorinator – preferably one that neutralises ammonia as well. Some aquarists like to cut up pieces of “PolyFilter” and toss it in the buckets to help reduce other chemicals during transport.
When the fish arrive home, care must be taken to acclimate them to the aquarium. While fish from your local fish store are used to your area’s general water, the fish from a stream ten feet away may not be! Aside from possible variations in temperature, your tap water has been treated with a variety of chemicals that may potentially greatly effect its chemistry. Simply acclimating your fish for temperature (i.e., “floating the bag”) will not be sufficient. Instead, slowly mix the tank water into the bucket. Take a cup of water out of the tank and pour it into the bucket every few minutes until you’ve at least tripled the water volume in the bucket (you may need to reduce it first). Carefully net the fish out of the bucket and introduce them to their new home.
One of the biggest challenges with any type of wild caught fish is getting them to eat. Many types of wild fish will accept flakes and pellets, but often must be taught that this is food first. Purchasing a few rosy red feeder fish and placing them in the tank is a great way to do this: the rosy reds will eat flakes and pellets, and encourage the other fish to try them. Any of the various danios work great for the same purpose.
Some fish, however, just won’t take flakes (at least not right away). They may require live foods, so make sure you have access to these. Most fish will, at the very least, accept frozen food, particularly if its mixed with a bit of live. You can generally wean them off of live food by increasing the amount of frozen foods offered until live food is eliminated.
Beware that many fishes will simply not eat for several days when moved. Be prepared for an ongoing hunger strike when the fish are first acclimated, and be patient.
While 90% of the fish out there will eat prepared foods, there are some that will just never adapt to anything but live foods. Be prepared to continually offer them live blackworms, Daphnia, Gammarus, Dero worms, or other foods.
When collecting fish, take a close eye at their habitats for clues on keeping them alive in the tank. If, for instance, you’re collecting in a backwater slough, placing fish into a tank with high current may not be the best solution. Similarly, a heavily planted tank with a small power filter is not an appropriate habitat for fish coming from a fast flowing stream.
Be sure to adequately research the care requirements for fishes before setting out into their habitat. This is one of the places a good, knowledgeable collecting partner comes in handy. I’ve more than once found a fish I haven’t seen before, and certainly never kept. Having someone nearby who can tell me, “Those are pretty, but mean! They eat the eyes out of the other fish” or “They just always seem to waste away in a few months” is really, really helpful. Its prevented me from taking home fish that would eventually have died or caused problems.
by Brian Perkins
When my clients, Mark Brown and Brian Allen of Astoria, Oregon approached me with the idea of visiting Machu Pichhu, Peru’s justly famous archeological and cultural wonder, in the rainy season , (October to April) rather than the more popular dry season (May-September), my mind drifted back to my last visit there walking the Inka trail & viewing the incredible richness of the plant life to be found there; including over 80 Orchid species native to the area.
However, certain plants only flower during the wet season. During that dry season trip I was learned that a life-long favorite Orchid, Masdevallia veitchiana could only be seen flowering during the “Epocha de Illuvia”, or season of rain in the high Andean mountains of central Peru. With Brian and Mark along, here was our chance to witness what is arguably one of the world’s most beautiful Orchid species blooming in it’s wild condition.
Originally discovered byRichard Pearce in 1866, this plant, originally coveted by the Victorians of 19th century England, for its rich colors and exotic flower shape and size, was subsequently recognized by orchid breeders & hybridizers as having great potential for creating new and beautiful hybrids.
Peru, with its extremely varied terrain, from high mountain valleys to lowland Amazonian jungle, is home to an extremely wide variety of habitat types and is, therefore considered by many to be the “Biodiversity Capital of the World”. For this reason, our trips into the Peruvian “outback” combine “Botanizing”, “Birding”, Herpetology, Ichthyology, as well as wildlife viewing, archeological learning, hiking and camping into one adventure.
For this adventure, we are searching for wild orchids in the Archeological zone surrounding the famous “Lost City of the Inkas”- Machu Pichhu. Machu Pichu is nestled on a high mountain “saddle”, perched precariously between two tall peaks, situated grandly above the majestic Rio Urubamba river canyon
The climb from the river up to the city itself is approximately 800 meters. This may explain, in part, why the Spanish conquistadors never found this site, and why in turn it was found (by Hiram Bingham in 1911) in such incredible, original condition; making it today, the premier tourist destination in South America.
The climb from the city to the top of Machu Pichhu Mountain, the subject of this story, is an additional 800 meters, making the altitude at which Masdevallia veitchiana is found in this locale to be approximately 3,400 meters above sea level.
After signing in at the control booth a short distance up the trail, we proceeded up, up,up to the top of Machu Pichhu Mountain in a driving rainstorm. The air temperature was approximately 18C with low clouds, rain and heavy banks of fog and mist swirling constantly over us. There is only one way to describe the trail: steep. It is a steep and exposed route that takes you directly to the top of this mountain. Along the way, one climbs through hillsides dense with low shrubs and trees alternating with more open grassy areas. The soil it very thin to non-existent here and wherever there was an opening in the low tree cover, one could find many species of Orchids positioned to receive the bright, high mountain sunlight when it appeared.
Sobralia, Ida, Odontoglossum, Epidendrum, Pleurothallis, are just a few of the many, many genera either in full bloom or preparing to flower, alongside a rich panoply of non-orchids.
The terrain, as you approach the summit, becomes noticeably rockier and more exposed to the extremes of this high altitude site. In the dry season, these rocky sites do receive some rain, but most of the precipitation takes the form of early morning fog and mist that is quickly burned off after sunrise. So the plants there are adapted to diurnal extremes of hot and cold, wet and dry. Even in the wettest parts of the rainy season the soil, such as it is, drains very rapidly due to its very rocky nature. Low shrubs predominate here, offering some respite from the intensity of the high mountain sun. M. veitchiana is seen most often growing in the more moderate microclimate created by these low shrubs.
When found growing the open the plants are much smaller in stature.
At the top of Mount Machu Pichhu is a small observatory where one can seek shelter from the elements, surrounded by interesting plants, commanding an outstanding view in all directions.
From the top one can get a new perspective on the Machu Pichhu site, its relationship to its surroundings, providing an insight into why its builders placed the city where it stands.
For those planning a visit to the Machu Pichhu Cultural site, nearly every month of the year can yield wonderful opportunities for seeking out Orchids in bloom in addition to the many other interesting plant species seen there. From Ferns to Begonias, the many “niche” climates that characterize this Cloud forest eco-region provide a rich trove for plant enthusiasts of all interests. For more information concerning planning a custom trip to Peru of your own, please contact WildPERU at info@wildperu.net. Please see our website at http://www.wildeperu.net/or look for us on Facebook for further details.
