Anyway we caught the British Airways direct flight and 12 hours latter we were in Mexico City.

The whole team from Morelia met us. Including the two of the new Biology students of the 5 that were now studying the Goodeid Family at the Lab at Morelia University, and it was at this time that we agreed that these two could join us on the field trip. All 5 wanted to come but that was totally impractical. Anyway they had been shopping for the Lab and sorting out things that they needed. So that I could help them pay for them. We eventually got everything sorted out and arrived in Morelia at 3-0am on Saturday morning. Finally after unloading it was gone 4-0am before we got to bed and we had been travelling for over 20hrs. However we were informed that the University Vice Chancellor, who was also the head of the Biology Department, would be attending the Lab in the morning to meet us. We therefore had to be up reasonably early for breakfast and then "Mario M Romero Tinoco "the gentleman concerned turned up at 12-30pm, as he had been delayed. Still finally we were all at the Aqua Lab and after all the usual formalities and greeting we got down to sorting out the finances provided by the H.A.L.C.P. A separate account of which will be drawn up and sent to all later so that all can see where the cash is being spent. We also spoke about the necessity of drawing up a formal agreement to protect each other’s interests and so that we all knew exactly were we stood in the event of any change of circumstance at some time in the future, and it was agreed that this should be done. Any way at this time I officially handed over to him on behalf of the HALCP the following equipment.

5 Large Metal Fish tank stands (each would hold up to 9 tanks)

38 New Aquariums (about 25gals to 40gals each)

10 large bottles of Alcohol (To convert all there large spirit collection over to alcohol)

I New GPS Satellite Location Unit.

1 New Air Blower (Big enough to blow air to 200 outlets 18" deep)

6 Thermos containers (For fish transportation)

2 Box’s of Plastic Aquarium Plants.

Fish Food.

8 Polybox’s

This now means that there are now almost 70 aquariums here devoted to the Conservation of Goodeids plus some 20 others were conservation studies are already started on Cichlids, Catfish, and Killi fish. They also have many other Aquaria were they raise cultivated species for the local hobby in order to try to help subsidise themselves. And all this has happened in less than a year thanks to co-operation between the University and Hobbyists worldwide. And this is just the beginning !!!

This done we then had lunch together and agreed to meet again in 10 days time after the field trip we had planned.And so 4-0pm saw us heading out of Morelia, heading Southwest on the old road to Mexico City. We passed the Village of Charo on our right and drove through the Village of Colonia Miguel Hidalgo and on to the Village of Colonia Guadalupe. At the far end of this a stream passes under the road. Turn left here and follow along the side of the stream for about ½ a mile to where an irrigation ditch goes off to the right. Turn right again here and it was in this ditch on the right hand side that we found Skiffia bilineata and an Allotoca species probably dugesi. The stream had a gentle flow on it and was a little cloudy, and there were more water plants present than most places in Mexico I had been to. We then went back through Morelia and out again and on to Patzcuaro. Continue through this Town on the Santa Clara road. Then take the Road to Tacambaro (or Highway 44) and carry on this road to the town of Opopeo. In this town at the central Plaza turn left and go up the hill to the top. Here in Lake Opopeo is probably one of the last reserves of Allotoca meeki. By the time we got here it was already dark, but we still managed to get some fish but unfortunately I can’t describe it any more for you excepts to say that by the lamp and moon light it presented a very idyllic scene . Needless to say we were quite late back again. This of it’s own would not have been too bad but it was this night that a few relations of Omar. Who we were staying with. Decided to have an all night drinking session in the next room so again we were to get very little sleep,which did not help as we wanted to be off early the next morning to start the field trip proper.

Sunday 28^th March

Well we did get up at 6-30am but by now we were very tired after so many nights with so little sleep, and little did we realise this was to continue. Still by 8-0am we had had our breakfast been to the Lab to collect all the gear and were on the road to San Luis Potosi. Followed route 43 to 51 then turned south around Lake Yurira and on to the road from Celaya to Queretaro. We stopped only once on this stretch of road at an irrigation ditch but found nothing so carried on to Queretaro were we picked up the route 57 Autopista to Sa Luis. After driving North for some time on this new Autopista, and not having seen any water for some time. At Kilometer Marker 143 we spotted a bridge over a small stream and despite being on the motorway we stopped to investigate. As we had noticed that other people were not adverse to just pulling of the road Motorway or not. Anyway this was the Puente Tierra Quemada, and here we found  Goodea  gracillis and  Xenotoca variatus. The water here was flowing, very clear and 27’c.We only stopped here just long enough to get the fish as we had made arrangements to meet a friend in San Luis early afternoon and this we did, he took us to a very good cheap hotel were we unloaded and booked in before taking of again with him to visit some more local sites. Hence we found ourselves back on the road heading back along the road we had come on until we turned towards Villa del Reyes after several kilometers on this road we turned right into Adofo Lopez Mateos and followed a trial until we came to a railway crossing after going over which we turned left following a very rough track past some electricity pylons until we eventually arrived at the type habitat for Xenophorus captivous. This was in the ponds at Jesus Maria and these are sited at the foot of a Dam holding back a good-sized Lake. On this occasion though we were to be spectacularly unsuccessful by not catching a single member of this species. We tried two other sites in this area that night all with the same results. By this time it was dark and we are miles out in God knows were and even our guide got lost several times on the way back but still he would not give up and finally took us to a fourth site, A small pond besides a viaduct where we had to park the vehicles facing the pond ( Yes we had 2 our Guide took his own) but we kept the engines going and the lights on while the rest of the party went and collected fish and this time we got some they were a very well colored X, variatus and some Goodea gracillis.Up until know I have not mentioned how we were transporting our fish. Well we had given it much thought as obviously we wanted to keep loses to a minimum and Goodea are notoriously difficult to transport in any number and we wanted to be sure that we got a good number of each back to the Lab after an 11 Day field trip. So we decided that as Goodea are notorious for cleaning out there tummies after they are caught we would give them maximum space for the first couple of days and so we took with us 10 X 25 litter Thermos Picnic Hampers. The beauty of these is that they not only keep the fish at an even temperature but also in darkness and they seem to suffer less from shock that way while travelling especially, We also used the prescribed amounts of Stresscoat at every water change. And we did a 30%water change every night while they were cleaning themselves out. Then after 2 or 3 days, once they seem to be clear we would bag them up singly and put then in Poly-bags for the remainder of the journey. Then we stored them in darkness in a poly-box only taking them out in the evening to check on them. Many did not need changing again then but we still did them every 3 or 4 days. As you have probably already guessed we had a big vehicle it was a 12 seat people mover, fully air conditioned, that the University uses for field trips for it’s students. So we also had plenty of room to carry spare water from one site to another when necessary.

Monday 29^th March.

After breakfast we found the fish from the previous days collections had sever Ammonia problems and it was at this time that we finally decided on the strategy that I had just described to you came into action. We had to give up any thought of going to a site ourselves that morning and do maintenance on the fish instead. But this was where it was good to have so many people along and to have local contacts that knew were they were going. So Arthur and I decided to look after the fish while the others revisited the sites we had been unsuccessful at the previous night and tried again. This they did and this time were successful. However as they did not get back until 4-30pm. This did not leave us enough time to go to Media Luna that day. So we decided that as we needed more buckets and Thermos containers to assist with collecting, we would use the time in the local Super-Mart purchasing these items. That evening we were invited to our friends house for dinner and spent a very pleasant evening with him and his family, you see he too was an Aquarist and had a quite impressive fish room.

Tuesday 30^th May.

We left hotel at about 8-30am to go to Media Luna. We had driven over the mountains and were almost down on the plain the other side when we spotted a stream running under the road. So we decided to have a break here and investigate it this was Puente-del-Charco GPS North 22’-03"-550 West 100’-29"-784.Unfortunately we only found Poe butleri and frogs. After this short break we carried on to Media Luna. Here we decided that as is was holiday time and it was rather full we would not go over the bridge into the main site, but would go to the left of the site were we knew we could find even more fish than on the main site. Indeed we did as apart from the P,mexicana. P,latipunctata. A, toweri. Poeciliopsis species. Gambusia, sp. And Cichlids that we knew about our San Luis friend told us that we could find some Killifish here and we did in some very shallow water in a field where the water temperature was 36’c where as the Lake was only 27c. There were other of the species in this area too but most were young or fry.On the return journey from San Luis we stopped off at a Quarry that Arthur and I had visited in 1996 and had found a Salamander and a Poecilia. And we finally got back to our Hotel in San Luis at 8-0pm

Wednesday 31^st March.

The next stage of our journey was to be the long drive up to Durango so we took a little time in the morning to do some extra water changes and pack the fish down safely to travel. So it was about mid day before we eventually got away and by 3-0pm we were skirting around Zacatecas. We eventually made our first stop north of here on route 45 to Durango, where the Rio Aguanaval passes under the road we were on. And we fished this river besides the road. Here we found some small Gobies, Darters and a type of Minnow. So we decided as there was a Pup fish in some ponds quite close by we would call here again on the way home as we had to come back down this road. So we continued on to the village of   Amado Nervo      turning right just off the main road were we could see a little stream running down besides the Village. Here we found a Characodon species probably C, lateralis and we collected these so that we could clear there gut out for travel while we were in Durango. It was already getting dark as we arrived here, so we did not have long to catch the fish but we found a reasonable number then continued on to Durango to find a Hotel for the night.

Thursday 1^st April.

Thursday morning found us heading North again on Route 45 towards Canatlan then heading for the village of Crucero Guadalupe Agoilera. After passing through this village take the next turning right. Then go for about 5 klms and take a dirt track on the right that seemingly leads nowhere. If you are in the right place this is an almost entirely barren area were even some of the cactus are dying. After about I klms of this you should see some trees, head for these and you should find a small spring in a rocky outcrop surrounded by trees and this is the home of some of the deepest blood red Characodon Lateralis that I have ever seen. The water temp, here was 22c. We tried another slightly better dirt track on the way back and after 5 klms we came to the village of Venustiano Carranza and the villagers told us that were we had been was there spring so we gave it that name. As a point of interest this village was about 60 klms from Durango to which we now returned before leaving it again on route 40. Then about 24 klms out of Durango you will come to the village of Abraham Gonzales. We turned left into this village and just after entering it you could turn left again and go to El Toboso however more about that in a moment. For now we went to the top of Abraham Gonzales and looked in the steam running through the village where once you could have found a Characodon species but now it was too badly polluted. Indeed when we found the main lake and spring there (Behind the houses on the right at the top end) there were very few fish to be found.  We found only one Characodon. After this we went back to the bottom of the village to where I said and headed out towards El Toboso. Once leaving Gonzales you have to turn right then go for about 9 klms across a fairly straight dirt track to get to Toboso. Here again there is a small stream in the village, which seem to be where the water from the spring sinks back underground again. But the fish are at the main spring itself that is to the left of the village halfway up and then you have to walk through some scrubland to get to it. When you do you will find a small spring that seemingly the locals are now trying to protect as they have built a stone wall all around it now and the water flows out under the wall and away to an area where a lake has now formed. Anyway here we found good numbers of Characodon Audax and at 6-0pm the water temp was 19c.

Good Friday, 2^nd April.

And so we left Durango behind heading south now back along route 45. About 50klm out we turned of left from the main road and headed for Los Berros. After passing through this Village we drove for about another 2 klms then turned right on to a rough track that took us to the village of Texzalillo. Just to the right of this village as you get to it you will find the Ojo de Agua de San Juan . It was another site used a lot by the locals for recreation and so as it was Good Friday it was packed. And at first we thought that we were out of luck with the fish we sought but then one of the lads found them up under the plants in the middle and at the far end.They were however quite poorly colored. We also found Xiph helleri. Tilapia, Carp and tetra’s. We left here at 12-30 and resumed our journey to Guadalajara stopping of again at the Rio Aguanaval to search for the PupFish in the ponds there. We only found a dozen though. So how " Possibly because it was so late". We forgot to go to the nearby river for the Small Gobi’s and Darters. Anyway we did not get to our Motel in Guadalajara until 10-30pm that night.

Easter Saturday 3^rd April.

We took it quieter this morning having a late Breakfast caught up on some water changes and did some shopping at the local Woolmart for some more Thermos containers. This done we finally headed out along a new stretch of Motorway turning of to go to the village of Magdalena just past the center of which we turned left and passed back over the Motorway we had been on. On the far side on the left were some ponds in the fields on the left but we found very few fish here and as the water smelt bad and was colored and the fish found were nothing exceptional we decided to leave them. As indeed we did the same at the Magdalena Canal some 8 klms further on. Here we found only an Allotoca species " Probably dugesi" and Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis. Leaving here we continued into the village of Etzatlan. We then turned right on to the San Marcos road and carried on for a mile or two to where the Lagnua Magdalena was on our right. We stopped at this for the Allotoca maculata and quite easily found many of all sizes in a marshy area between the road and the lake . Incidentally the locals tell us that the correct name for this spot was El Palo Verde. It’s amazing really as we had visited this site in 1996 and at that time the Lake had been almost dried out and there was no sign of these fish. Yet just 3 years latter they had recovered so much.After this we carried on along the road to San Marcos and about 3 or 4 klms towards San Marcos we found a small pond on the right .We found an Allotoca Species in here and after another kilometer or so a stream passes under the road your on. At this time this was almost dried out but in the few pools that remained we found a Poeciliopsis infans, Xenotichthys eiseni San Marcos, and Goodea atripinnis. Carried on towards San Marcos and tried another pool in what appeared to be the bed of a dried out stream just before some industrial buildings on the right about 500 meters before the road turned right to San Marcos, and here we found the same as at the previous stop. At this point We turned around and headed back to try to collect some Ameca splendens from the No1 spring at the campsite at the headwaters of the Rio.Teuchitlan.Again unfortunately as it was holiday time it was packed with holiday makers who made it difficult to collect the fish. However we did get just enough so called it a day, but at least we found the fish were happily still there. Those of you that know me may remember that it was concern about this location and it’s species past and present that led me to take up the sword on behalf of Mexican species in the first place. And the formation of the HALCP. So it held a lot of memories for me.

Easter Sunday 4^th April.

We left Guadalajara on the main motorway to Colima but after 2hrs we turned north and headed up into the mountains. After another 2 hrs travelling into the mountains we were still not in sight of our destination when we stopped to take some photos of the Active Volcano Mount Colima in the distance. But it was not’t until ½ an hour latter when we got to the little village of El Grullo that we finally agreed that today’s objective was probably one too far. So as we had found a small stream with many young fish in it flowing through the village we decided to take these then head for a nearby river that would put us on to the road back to our Motel. Just as a point of interest learning from our experiences I would recommend anyone who would come into these mountains looking for species to take a hotel in this area as the distances are to far to use Guadalajara as a base to do it. That was our mistake! Anyway in the Ditch in El Grullo were we found the Ilyodon, Poeciliopsis, and other fry .We stopped after driving about another ½ hour along the road towards the village of El Corcovado but this appeared to be the same stream with all the same fish. So we carried on along the same road until we spotted a bridge over a river on our left, this was the Rio Ayquilla. This river appeared to run south from the Presa de Tacotan to this point on the road between El Grullo and El Corcovado. Unfortunately the spot we had found was another one of those used heavily on Bank holidays like this and so the only fish that we found were Tetra’s. Another advantage of doing what I suggested just now would be that you could consider fishing at night at places like this as many of the species like the Allodonticthy’s are more active at that time. Now however it was almost 4-0pm and we had been travelling away from our Motel for over 5hrs so it was time to start turning back. Also just about this time I was taken pretty ill so I was very glad when we got back to the Motel as by that time I could hardly move my left arm and every jolt of the traveling was painful. I put it down to the slight fall I had sustained the previous day on the San Marcos road plus the effects of dehydration and heat high in the mountains. Anyway I went straight to bed.

Easter Monday 5^th April.

Everyone was feeling very exhausted from our previous days journey and we had to do the water changes we had neglected the previous night so it was latter than planned when we eventually left this Motel for the last time and headed out along the north bank of Lake Chapala. We eventually stopped at a beach cafe on the banks of the lake that we had visited before in 1996, and we were fairly sure that we would be able to kill two birds with one stone there A/ Get lunch and B/ get the fish we wanted from the lake, and this proved to be the case. The meal was good and we found Chapalichthys encaustus, Poeciliopsis infans, and a Gambusia species.We then swung around the south side of the Lake and followed it along highway 110 until we eventually turned right off of this towards the village of Jaripo. Shortly after turning off you will see a fast flowing mountain river down in the valley on your right hand side . The fish we found here were. Xiph, helleri. Skiffia (Possibly multipunctata but with bars.) Chapalichthys species. Goodea atripinnis. and a Poeciliopsis species. Traveled on along this road past the turn off for Jaripo and took a rough track on the left that lead to the village of Aquiles Serdan. At the far end of the village we found a small stream . But only had time for a quick inspection and found nothing, but it was going to start getting dark soon and we had one more site that we wanted to get to today so we pressed on. Soon picked up a newly laid asphalt road. Then about 1 ½ klms before the main Zamora to Los Reyes while still on the asphalt road we found the pond we were looking for on the left-hand side . This was an apparently spring fed serious of ponds lined with rushes the bottoms appeared to be clay and the ground around was a sticky red soil. Here we found an Allotoca species. Leaving here we drove straight into the center of Los Reyes to stay at the Hotel arias which to look at from the outside was a poky place at the side of a small shoe shop. But once inside it was a really good and quite large Hotel.

Tuesday 6^th April,

We left the Hotel and went to the southern edge of town were on the Uruapan road just past a police post were a stream passes under this road. It was a very fast flowing stream about ½ meter deep and we found Allotoca regalis. Poeciliopsis infans.Illyodon species. Xiph helleri and guppies. Next we drove to Tocumbo and searched at the Park Ojo de Agua Tocumbo and found Chapalichthys pardalis. Goodea atripinnis, and a Poeciliopsis species. From here we drove to Orandino or rather the Lake of the same name just outside the village. Here we found Chapalichthys encaustus, Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis, Poecilia mexicana. Skiffia multipunctata. Goodea atripinnis, and a Poeciliopsis species. Now although this lake was quite prolific with fish but the main species we were looking for Skiffia multipunctata was in very short supply, But Omar said he would take us to another location he knew of that was on our way back to Morelia. This turned out to be the grounds of the Cafe la Isla and the owner had turned this pond into a Carp pond but he allowed us to collect these Skiffia from there.  We then drove straight from here back to the Aqua Lab arriving about 9-15pm. After having a meal we worked on doing a 50% water change with local water so that we could bring them into the Aquariums the next day, we finally got to bed after 2-0pm

Wednesday 7^th April.

The next morning at the Lab we quickly found that we would need all the new tanks to house all the fish we had brought back. You see we had over 3000 fish, and had only experienced about 2% looses while traveling which in it’s self was a minor miracle when you consider the temperature and altitude changes that they had undergone in the previous 11 days. That afternoon we again saw Mario who was very pleased with what we had achieved. But after having lunch with him it was back to putting the fish away and it was quite late in the evening before we finished.