# Darters, Shiners and Killies, OH MY!!! Texas natives collecting and observing trip



## chrislewistx (Jun 8, 2012)

Darters, Shiners and Killies, OH MY!!! "A show of Hands Please!" Who wants to Come to TEXAS!!!!! May 2014 collecting and observing trip for Texas natives. 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1438274223058939/

This is still in the planning stages, but will be taking place next year. I was reading the other thread on collecting natives, and thought this might be of interest to the group. Especially since it starts and ends in Dallas.

Join Kari McWest, Texas native fish and Scorpion expert, on a 10 day expedition into the wilds of TEXAS!!!!! Take this chance to observe the incredible variety of Fish from the Lone Star state. We will attempt to collect and identify every species of Darter known from the Great State of TEXAS.

Texas is home to over 180 species of North American Native fishes, & the only native Cichlid and Tetras species in the USA! 50 species of Crayfish! Don't forget all the herps, insects, scorpions and spiders!!!! Camping, fishing, eating, this trip will be a completely "van supported" road trip of a Lifetime!!! Including a real Cajun Crawfish boil!

All Ground costs (TRANSPORTATION, FOOD AND LODGING) are included once you reach Dallas.

Blacklighting for Scorpions!!! Kari will have his own blacklight to spot scorpions at night, but he encourages you to bring your own!

We are planning this for late Spring/ early Summer 2014. Pricing for this trip will depend largely on group size, so if you are serious about coming with us, let us know! IF THIS SOUNDS INTERESTING TO YOU, PRESS "JOIN" AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU WITH COMPLETE DETAILS! We are staying somewhat flexible on the exact dates until we see how much interest there is for a trip like this.


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Pretty cool! Chris, are you going?


----------



## Pam916 (May 22, 2008)

I would love to do this!


----------



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Why am I all the way on the East Coast!??

This trip looks like a blast.

I especially like the Etheostoma pulchellum picture.


----------



## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

Zapins said:


> Why am I all the way on the East Coast!??


Excellent question. The east coast blows. Texas is the place to be.


----------



## chrislewistx (Jun 8, 2012)

Hi Michael,

I am planning on going. Just waiting to hear the finalized dates and the price. However, considering the prices they charge for their jungle tours I'm sure it will be more than reasonable.

I was hoping some of the Dallas and Houston plant club members would want to join in. Also, it would be great if some of the APC members from out of state wanted to join too.

Brian Perkins of Wild Peru Jungle Adventures is the one hosting this event. He also has some spectacular trips trips planed for 2014 outside of the US. They all sound like great trips, and with experts in each field. Kari Mcwest for the Texas natives trip, Karen Randall for the Plant expedition, Hans Evers, the editor of my favorite magazine Amazonas, collecting Plecos, and Ian Fuller collecting Corydoras. Now if I could just win the lottery before then I could spend the whole summer on collecting trips. Otherwise I will settle for the Texas one. 
http://www.wildperu.net/news.html

2014 Exploring Plants with Karen Randall
Karen Randall, noted aquatic plant expert, wants you to join her for a two week expedition to the southern Peruvian district of the Madre de Dios, observing the jungle flora and conducting the first-ever systematic survey of the region's Aquatic and Marginal plants, while also enjoying the rest of the fascinating flora the region has to offer. Karen will be available to answer all of your questions and aid with species identification. We will be looking into some known stream and swamp locations, and checking out some here-to-fore unexplored areas to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the region's wetland and stream habitats. Thousands of species of Ferns, Orchids, Carnivores and Aquatic plants will be sampled and photographed. The dates are from Aug 29th to September 9th, 2014. (14 days) All of your ground costs are covered once you reach Puerto Maldonado in the 2- week package price of $1,995! A 50 % deposit is required to hold your place in the fantastic expedition into the Tropical forests of Southern Peru! Paypal, Bank transfers and Bank checks accepted. Contact us, if you have questions.

2014 Loricariids collecting tour with Hans-Georg Evers
What could be better than an expedition into the tropical forests of Southern Peru, collecting members of your favorite group of fishes with a renowned expert in the field? Hans Evers is well known around the globe as a Collector, Author, Explorer and Editor of the amazing Amazonas Magazine! Join him for 2 weeks exploring new areas & collecting "PLECOS.", from August 9th, 2014- August 23d, 2014. Consult directly with Hans for identification help in the field! Hans wants you to join him in search of new discoveries! The first half of the trip will involve river travel, by boat, into areas that no-one has entered to date, in search of new species. We will be exploring the southern flank of the Fitzcarrald Arch, an area that gives rise to nearly all of the main rivers feeding the Amazon basin! For this part of the trip we will truly be going "off grid"; tent-camping on river beaches and cooking all of our own food for 5-7 days. The catch will be stored in special insulated boxes with portable oxygen, until they can be returned safely to our Aquarium. The second half of this trip will include vehicle-based trips into the Andean foothills in search of clear, high gradient streams where you can snorkel collect for these fish! Make Underwater videos a photographer's dream! In addition, we will look into some of the local streams of the lowland jungle feeding into the mighty Rio Madre de Dios as well as collect the river itself. August will be in the "low water" season, making the main river much more accessible. So if you are a "Pleco. Fanatic", this is the trip for you. Space is limited, so contact us, and make your 50 % deposit today to hold your spot on this incredible trip of a lifetime! The cost for this trip, once you reach Puerto Maldonado, our base of operations, is $2,699 per person. This price covers all accommodations, food and transport for the entire two weeks visit. We will also store and care for your catch during your visit and help you ship the fish back to your home country.

2014 Corydoras Collecting Expedition with Ian Fuller
When: July 4th-19th (2weeks) 2014

Where: Embarking from Puerto Maldonado, Peru

What: To explore and survey as much of the Madre de Dios Region for Corydoras catfishes with Corydoras expert, Mr. Ian Fuller.

Cost: $2,599 per person- FOB Puerto Maldonado. This covers all ground costs to collect for two weeks. Flights and Travelers insurance excluded. Paypal, Wire Transfers, Bank Checks accepted.

Reserve: Initial reserve payment of $1299 is required for reservation. The remaining $1300 must be paid within 60 days of tour launch date. Click below to make initial reserve payment securely via PayPal account or credit/debit card. If you wish to pay using a different method, please Contact Us.


----------



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Zapins said:


> Why am I all the way on the East Coast!??
> 
> This trip looks like a blast.
> 
> I especially like the Etheostoma pulchellum picture.


Clearly we need to team up and take a road trip to the Lone Star State! Gulf coast killies are epic little critters, and all the livebearers we could find...invasive platies and swordtails, native and invasive mollies... seems FL has a better array of invasive cichlids, though.

Personally, I want to go find those crypts in the San Marcos and pull them all up and bring them home. Alas, they passed some law prohibiting that... silly Texans! We'll gladly take all your invasive aquatic pests up north where they can't survive! MWAHAHAHA!

...Just not the ginormous plecos. You can keep those and have them for dinner or something. We will, however, give due consideration to any smallish catfish species.

If the cost isn't prohibitive, I'd be interested-but my budget's tight, so unless I suddenly land an epic gig, it's unlikely I'll make it.


----------

