My ever-evolving tank (picture heavy)

[Amandas tank]

Did some reading about wild caught Altums and tank bred Altums (because I do not know a lot about them outside their basic needs) I found that the Altums are very difficult to breed in captivity...so I am guessing the breeder is working with hybrid Altums which explain the bent fins and black lines of the one I kept. The other that I returned had brown lines which is more true to the wild Altums and his dorsal fin was much straighter than the other. (I got this from reading...no first hand experience) No difference to me though. I think the fish I have a beautiful.

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Originally Posted by Amandas tank

Oh for sure sexual maturity had something to do with it. The cleaning of the driftwood and the claim on the territory, I definetely believe the intent was to commence breeding...only thing is the female was more interested in Little Blue. She was following Little Blue and then when the "male" interested in her would chase Little Blue and coral her back to his turf to start cleaning the wood again. Everytime he was busy cleaning, she'd sneak away to be with Blue LOL!

that B-word!!LOL

[Fishies_in_Philly]

Originally Posted by Amandas tank

Did some reading about wild caught Altums and tank bred Altums (because I do not know a lot about them outside their basic needs) I found that the Altums are very difficult to breed in captivity...so I am guessing the breeder is working with hybrid Altums which explain the bent fins and black lines of the one I kept. The other that I returned had brown lines which is more true to the wild Altums and his dorsal fin was much straighter than the other. (I got this from reading...no first hand experience) No difference to me though. I think the fish I have a beautiful.

yes, they are

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

that B-word!!LOL

HaHa! Now I wish I would have taken some video of the behavior. It was very interesting to watch. Too late now since he's gone.

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

yes, they are

Thank you

[driftwoodhunter]

Y'know, I was just thinking...I think you don't QT because you said your lfs does QT their fish. But if they have a revolving door policy where fish can be returned anytime (didn't you say you once returned fish you had 6 months?) don't you worry that fish you buy may have been returned from someone else, and the fish may have been exposed to something when at another person's house? Other folks may be mixing fish from different sources - not always from your lfs...just a thought. It would make me nervous!

[Fishies_in_Philly]

one would think that if they care enough about their product to quarantine it from outside suppliers, that they also would quarantine any "returns". or at least you would like to think that is the case.

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by Amandas tank

The aggressor is now back at the LFS taking on another Koi Angel a bit bigger than himself...through the bag he's floating in!!!

This made me think that the fish might be going back into a sales tank - unless the QT tanks are visible to customers?

Oh well...

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

Y'know, I was just thinking...I think you don't QT because you said your lfs does QT their fish. But if they have a revolving door policy where fish can be returned anytime (didn't you say you once returned fish you had 6 months?) don't you worry that fish you buy may have been returned from someone else, and the fish may have been exposed to something when at another person's house? Other folks may be mixing fish from different sources - not always from your lfs...just a thought. It would make me nervous!

They are very careful and very trustworthy. I am not worried at all. The fish they get in they have different tanks for certain fish from unfamiliar tanks and fish for familiar tanks. The LFS owner takes care of many of our tanks when we take vacations (awesome ) and he knows his familiar customers quite well as well as their practices. But thank you dear for your concern

Originally Posted by Fishies_in_Philly

one would think that if they care enough about their product to quarantine it from outside suppliers, that they also would quarantine any "returns". or at least you would like to think that is the case.

They do They have stack of 12 tanks just for this purpose. As well as a few others for fish that are obvious sick with something. They also have more tanks in the back room in case they need them. Great FS!

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

This made me think that the fish might be going back into a sales tank - unless the QT tanks are visible to customers?

Oh well...

Yes, the 12 stack is. The other bigger ones are not lighted so viewing is not something people do...it's pretty much invisible without the lights on.
And of course, those in back are closed off the general public.

[OVT]

Amanda, in case you have missed a link in my previous post:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=199034 --->

[Amandas tank]

Lol I didn't miss it. You must have missed my response post? Are you saying that 2 new Angels are Philipine Blues? The breeder is a nice woman...but maybe she is playing everyone up here for fools saying her Angels are Altums? She and her Husband claim to have collected the starting pair on a trip from the wild. They collected several and when they paired off they selected a couple pairs to begin their program.

Oh well...shrug. I still love my cute little blue and her new buddy the said Altum (of course that is not the case...perhaps a hybrid...perhaps a Philipine Blue? just not very blue...)

They can be called "Amandas MuttAngels"

[Amandas tank]

Wait...did I misunderstand why you posted the link? Are you attempting to be an enabler OVT? LOL!

[ua hua]

Originally Posted by Amandas tank

Did some reading about wild caught Altums and tank bred Altums (because I do not know a lot about them outside their basic needs) I found that the Altums are very difficult to breed in captivity...so I am guessing the breeder is working with hybrid Altums which explain the bent fins and black lines of the one I kept. The other that I returned had brown lines which is more true to the wild Altums and his dorsal fin was much straighter than the other. (I got this from reading...no first hand experience) No difference to me though. I think the fish I have a beautiful.

While those are some nice looking angelfish you have there they are not Altums. They are actually Pterophyllum scalare. Altum angels are a very sensitive fish as most of them are wild caught and the survival rate is very low. Altums have a very distinct look and once you see one the difference is very noticeable. My dad used to breed several different varieties of angels in the late 70's and 80's, so I have seen almost every variety of angelfish out there. Anyone looking into keeping Altums needs to understand that these are not fish for beginners and raising them to adulthood takes a lot of work and near perfect tank conditions. I have seen several people on this forum attempt to keep these fish only to watch them meet an untimely demise. The altum hybrids are a Pterophyllum scalare x Pterophyllum altum cross. The dorsal fin is almost identical to that of P. altum and there is other morphological features such as the head and mouth formation, which is the easiest way to tell if you have a altum hybrid.

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by ua hua

While those are some nice looking angelfish you have there they are not Altums. They are actually Pterophyllum scalare. Altum angels are a very sensitive fish as most of them are wild caught and the survival rate is very low. Altums have a very distinct look and once you see one the difference is very noticeable. My dad used to breed several different varieties of angels in the late 70's and 80's, so I have seen almost every variety of angelfish out there. Anyone looking into keeping Altums needs to understand that these are not fish for beginners and raising them to adulthood takes a lot of work and near perfect tank conditions. I have seen several people on this forum attempt to keep these fish only to watch them meet an untimely demise. The altum hybrids are a Pterophyllum scalare x Pterophyllum altum cross. The dorsal fin is almost identical to that of P. altum and there is other morphological features such as the head and mouth formation, which is the easiest way to tell if you have a altum hybrid.

Thank you That is fine with me they are just Scalares. I wasn't hoping for Altums, it's just what the breeder claims them to be. But I really don't care. Well, I guess I do because I don't want to have them die on me! I just saw them at the LFS and he gets his fish from this breeder. He only knows what she tells him and then it is a ripple effect going on down the line. Anyway..these two Angels came from a close friend of his that had bought them from the breeder. The owner of the 2 Angels was moving out of Alaska so they had to give the fish up. That is how I ended up with them.

When I saw them, I didn't care what kind of fish they were...just that they were beautiful Angels...so I tried them. I only have one of the two newbies now and things are going great. The three are swimming together along with the betta as if the third Angel had been a part of the group since the beginning. Now that the Male is gone, I again have a peaceful tank Fingers crossed that no one decides they need to take on the Aggresser role. Only time will tell.

Thanks again! I appreciate your comment and knowledge.

[Amandas tank]

A quick update...the Angels are doing great and the Betta aproves

Above the 3 Angels following the Queen Betta.






I love this one Betta is not flaring...those are her fins fluttering as the two of them look at eachother as if having a conversation.


Anyway...that's it. I am not feeling too well so I won't be on for a time.

[Fizgig777]

Nice new shots =)