Majjie
Fishaholic
Hi Folks.
Long time no visit. My fish have had to take a back seat for the last few years ... but I still love them!
I've had glowlight tetras ever since I started keeping fish seven years ago ... but you know how it is ... one after another they've died over the years until a few months ago, I was down to one big fat female. She was perfectly healthy and there are cardinals in the tank for her to hang out with ... but she didn't do much, just hovered amongst the plants waiting for feeding time.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I just happened to be in my lfs (buying food don't you know) and amongst a tank of small young glowlights - there was a huge great whale of a glowlight tetra. Fish always look bigger in the lfs tanks don't they? Anyway - I bet she's about the same size as my old lady - I thought, so I decided to buy her. The assistant didn't know how she came to be there - whether someone had brought her back, or whether she turned up with the youngsters.
I decided it wasn't fair just to buy one more, so I asked for two of the little glowlights too. I know four doesn't really make a shoal ... but I've already got a lot of fish in my tank and didn't want to squeeze too many more in.
As far as my old lady glowlight is concerned, it has definitely done the trick ... she's a lot more active now and she indulges in a bit of friendly bickering with her new companion - who is indeed almost exactly the same size. I was disappointed to find, though, that one of the new smaller fish was very pale in colour and appeared to be blind - with no eyes. A little runty fish I thought - and half expected him to expire within a few days.
Far from expiring, though - he actually blossomed and became a shiny white. He does have eyes and can see food perfectly well - but there's no black pigment in them, they're actually pink. He has a very faint red lateral line, his dorsal fin is edged with red and he has a faint copy of the normal red marking above the eyes ... so I'm guessing he's an albino glowlight and a natural mutant, rather than being specifically bred.
I see from a Google search that you can actually buy albino glowlights - but does anyone know - do they occur quite frequently? Are they a common mutation? My alby doesn't hang out with the other glowlights - he's much more extrovert and tends to swim around with the copper harlequins. I've sort of warmed to him now.
Here he is with his normal coloured brother:
Here he is with one of the rasboras he prefers to hang out with (sorry not in focus):
And here he is with my original old lady (he's caught up a bit in size) and an interested pygmy cory:
What do you think of him (or her)?
Long time no visit. My fish have had to take a back seat for the last few years ... but I still love them!
I've had glowlight tetras ever since I started keeping fish seven years ago ... but you know how it is ... one after another they've died over the years until a few months ago, I was down to one big fat female. She was perfectly healthy and there are cardinals in the tank for her to hang out with ... but she didn't do much, just hovered amongst the plants waiting for feeding time.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I just happened to be in my lfs (buying food don't you know) and amongst a tank of small young glowlights - there was a huge great whale of a glowlight tetra. Fish always look bigger in the lfs tanks don't they? Anyway - I bet she's about the same size as my old lady - I thought, so I decided to buy her. The assistant didn't know how she came to be there - whether someone had brought her back, or whether she turned up with the youngsters.
I decided it wasn't fair just to buy one more, so I asked for two of the little glowlights too. I know four doesn't really make a shoal ... but I've already got a lot of fish in my tank and didn't want to squeeze too many more in.
As far as my old lady glowlight is concerned, it has definitely done the trick ... she's a lot more active now and she indulges in a bit of friendly bickering with her new companion - who is indeed almost exactly the same size. I was disappointed to find, though, that one of the new smaller fish was very pale in colour and appeared to be blind - with no eyes. A little runty fish I thought - and half expected him to expire within a few days.
Far from expiring, though - he actually blossomed and became a shiny white. He does have eyes and can see food perfectly well - but there's no black pigment in them, they're actually pink. He has a very faint red lateral line, his dorsal fin is edged with red and he has a faint copy of the normal red marking above the eyes ... so I'm guessing he's an albino glowlight and a natural mutant, rather than being specifically bred.
I see from a Google search that you can actually buy albino glowlights - but does anyone know - do they occur quite frequently? Are they a common mutation? My alby doesn't hang out with the other glowlights - he's much more extrovert and tends to swim around with the copper harlequins. I've sort of warmed to him now.
Here he is with his normal coloured brother:
Here he is with one of the rasboras he prefers to hang out with (sorry not in focus):
And here he is with my original old lady (he's caught up a bit in size) and an interested pygmy cory:
What do you think of him (or her)?
