Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
My experience with Angelfishkeeping so far
I'm over 3 weeks into Freshwater Angelfishkeeping. And I am glad to have decided to do so.
On 15/04/2012, I started with 8 fish supposed to be marble angels, a 3 foot barebottom tank, 33% daily water changes, a DIY 1 foot composite sponge filter and thrice daily exclusive premium pellet feeds.
I'd codenamed my fish as Panda, Snow Leopard, Two Face, Black Marble, Batman, Grayscale, Black Stripo and Blackie.
But 3 days later, when I visited the LFS again, I fell for 2 other angels, a marble and a gold. So I got these guys in replacement for Black strippo and Blackie.
I named the marble as 'Bluefin' and the Gold as 'Rabbit Ear'.
Initially, all my angels swam together as a shoal, obviously a defensive instinct in an alien environment. They swam together and fed together. ( I love the way they feed at all levels of the tank. First, they capture food from the top, then chew it and spit it out and chew it again till it gets softened and broken down into swallowable bits. Its like two soccer players passing the ball to each other. Then they eat the sunken bits off the bottom of the tank like cattle grazing in the fields. Not even a single grain/particle is wasted. ) But as they got used to their new home, transient minor conflicts occurred over space and food. Snow Leopard was initially at the top of the pecking order. Then Rabbit Ear took over for a couple of days. Then it was Snow Leopard again. But other than feeding time, they live in harmony.
As days went by and they stabilized, they started displaying an array of colours - yellow, orange, copper, blue, green, grey, violet, peacock blue, etc. Grayscale, who had the blandest colours of the entire lot was now the most colourful. This was new for me. I always thought that marble angels are Black and White with a hint of yellow. During my study breaks, I surfed angelfish forums and consulted angelfish experts to seek more info on this. During this, I came across vast pools of information on angelfish genetics and emerging trends. Dr. Joanne Norton's articles were the most enlightening. Based on my newfound knowledge, I realised that my fish weren't merely Marble angels. They had a blend of various other genes/traits. Gold (G), Smokey (Sm) and Pinoy/Philippine/Platinum Blue (pb) were the genes responsible for the non-black&white colouration.
As the days pass by, I am learning some new things about these beautiful fish. While following the traditional rules, I am also trying some new stuff. I'll report my findings once my experiment succeeds or fails.
I'll be posting further updates only after finishing my exams in June.
Till then, enjoy these.
On 15/04/2012, I started with 8 fish supposed to be marble angels, a 3 foot barebottom tank, 33% daily water changes, a DIY 1 foot composite sponge filter and thrice daily exclusive premium pellet feeds.
I'd codenamed my fish as Panda, Snow Leopard, Two Face, Black Marble, Batman, Grayscale, Black Stripo and Blackie.
But 3 days later, when I visited the LFS again, I fell for 2 other angels, a marble and a gold. So I got these guys in replacement for Black strippo and Blackie.
I named the marble as 'Bluefin' and the Gold as 'Rabbit Ear'.
Initially, all my angels swam together as a shoal, obviously a defensive instinct in an alien environment. They swam together and fed together. ( I love the way they feed at all levels of the tank. First, they capture food from the top, then chew it and spit it out and chew it again till it gets softened and broken down into swallowable bits. Its like two soccer players passing the ball to each other. Then they eat the sunken bits off the bottom of the tank like cattle grazing in the fields. Not even a single grain/particle is wasted. ) But as they got used to their new home, transient minor conflicts occurred over space and food. Snow Leopard was initially at the top of the pecking order. Then Rabbit Ear took over for a couple of days. Then it was Snow Leopard again. But other than feeding time, they live in harmony.
As days went by and they stabilized, they started displaying an array of colours - yellow, orange, copper, blue, green, grey, violet, peacock blue, etc. Grayscale, who had the blandest colours of the entire lot was now the most colourful. This was new for me. I always thought that marble angels are Black and White with a hint of yellow. During my study breaks, I surfed angelfish forums and consulted angelfish experts to seek more info on this. During this, I came across vast pools of information on angelfish genetics and emerging trends. Dr. Joanne Norton's articles were the most enlightening. Based on my newfound knowledge, I realised that my fish weren't merely Marble angels. They had a blend of various other genes/traits. Gold (G), Smokey (Sm) and Pinoy/Philippine/Platinum Blue (pb) were the genes responsible for the non-black&white colouration.
As the days pass by, I am learning some new things about these beautiful fish. While following the traditional rules, I am also trying some new stuff. I'll report my findings once my experiment succeeds or fails.
I'll be posting further updates only after finishing my exams in June.
Till then, enjoy these.
Birds of a feather or fish of a scale?
Panda
Snow Leopard
Two Face
Black Marble
Batman
Grayscale
Bluefin
Rabbit Ear
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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