A Letter Home from a Newbie Keeper

by John LeVasseur

Hi Mom,

When I moved into my new home I was delighted to find that I had a large community tank to watch. It was nice to know that whomever lived here before left these pets for me to enjoy and watch. Which doesn't really suprise me; it's huge. One of the nicest things I found was that their biotope was self sustaining an I didn't have to do anything by way of maintenance. Whoever set this up before me, knew a lot more than I ever will. There are lots of ornaments, good lighting, and even a few live plants.

After the first few days I found that they seemed to enjoy watching me as much as I did watching them. At first they seemed to be more concerned with hiding in the darker or unseen areas, but eventually they got used to my presence, and came right up to the glass. They are kinda cute, with big round eyes. And I was delighted with their coloring, which seems to change a lot, and their fins are long and graceful.

I then noticed that they have a brood. A small one though. I guess some of the others may have been eaten or something. There is a variety of sizes, and the juveniles look very similar to their parents, both in colors and body shape. They are very active and flick around the tank. Their fins are a little smaller, of course, and probably will grow in as they mature. The parents for the most part seem to ignore the juveniles, but occasionally grouped them together (I assume it was because they may have sensed a predator) and disappear as a group into one the darker areas, out of sight. Sometimes for long periods.

I became concerned over time when the male parent seemed to develop dropsy. His belly became distended, his scales opened along his belly, and he seemed to not move for long periods, especially in the evenings. This is when he would usually come out of from hiding. But he was eating ... a lot in fact. As it turned out, one of my friends told me, this is normal for this species, especially as the male matures. I was happy to find out it wasn't dropsy at all.

There are also several cats, which I am happy to see, since they do a good job of getting the uneaten food that falls onto the floor of the tank. Part of the self-sustaining system I was so happy get with this setup. They will occasionally group together in a school and move around all over the glass. They look like the are trying to get onto the other side of the glass. Or they will sit there, just staring. Their behaviour was very much like Corys, but I do not think that is what they are. They look different. There is one cat that looks a lot different though, and he seems to revel in chasing the other cats around the tank. He is larger, has a shorter tail, and even looks meaner. He kinda reminds me of a Flying Fox, although not as sleek. I wish I had some way of getting rid of him, because the other cats always seem to hide behind the plants, and don't come out till he's gone and hid himself. He chases the others too, but they don't seem to mind as much. Mostly they just ignore him, except at feeding time, when they chase him away from their food.

Speaking of which, I don't even have to feed them, since it appears they are able to find food on their own.

My only complaint; I hate it when they come every week and move around my water, or when the juveniles tap on the glass, or drop dead smelling stuff into the water. It scares the heck out of me, and the other fish I live with. My new roommate Oscar hates them completely because he says they never feed him enough. Stupid carnivore! Feed him? I don't get it. I eat algae.

Hope all is good in Rio de Janeiro with the rest of the Affinis clan.

- Oto

P.S. I've enclosed a picture of me in the new place.