Taking pity on Adolf's rapidly deteriorating condition, I was compelled to put him down on Sunday, the 15th of April, 2012. Having decided to get rid of most things that would remind me of him, I gave away the large pleco and exchanged Memnoch at a Local Fish Store for 8 beautiful 2" Marble Angelfish and 3 little 3" plecostomi.
I had hoped to get some Silver Angelfish, but the LFS had only Pearlscale (Diamond) Golds and Marbles. I decided to buy the Marbles. Out of the 30 odd fish in the display tank, I handpicked 8 fish on the basis of wide colour and pattern differences, which would help me identify each fish individually. Quality was not a criterion for selection, simply because this is my first serious attempt at angelfishkeeping (I have kept angelfish earlier, but only as a part of overstocked community tanks) and if I fail, I don't want to waste good quality stock. If I succeed, I will buy a variety of different strains, unless of course, if they start breeding, in which case, I'll have to keep only the breeding pair. Only time shall reveal what's in store for me.
2 years back, I had a totally negative opinion about angelfish. But it all changed when I bought Silvers for my uncle. For the 2 odd weeks that they were under my care, I realized that they were cichlids through and through and deserved the same kind of love and respect that I have for any other cichlid. Moreover, they struck me as very elegant and graceful creatures and I really liked feeding them and watching them swim around the tank in a very regal manner. I was tempted to keep them for myself, but I neither had the space nor the permission to house another tank. But I had decided that one day, I would keep Angelfish and if all goes well, breed them. And that time is upon me now. I don't expect water parameters to trouble me much since I am used to carrying out daily water changes and barring the exception of the fiasco that lead to Adolf's demise, the quality of MCGM's water is topnotch. I plan to raise them in a barebottom, as always, with the exception of a few inverted pots and vases (to be added soon). Currently I am feeding them a variety of feeds including the remainder of Adolf's food, frozen bloodworms, Azoo micropellets and mysis shrimp.
So without further ado, let me introduce you to my new aquatic pals. I have given them some working names based on the colour and pattern on their body and fins, to help me identify each of them individually. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Full Tank Shot (Day)
Full Tank Shot (Night)
Blackie
Snow Leopard
Black Strippo
Grayscale or Frailo
Batman
Black Marble
White Marble or Twoface
Panda or Indira
NB: Pardon me for the bad quality of some pics. There was difficulty in focusing on them due to their tiny size and my lack of photography skills. Capturing their clear left profile was also tricky due to their direction of swimming.
No comments:
Post a Comment