G'day everyone...
Once in a while this hobby will throw a suprise, something that makes you realise why you love the hobby so much.
The story begins about 4months ago, when myself and a good friend who also keeps fish did a LFS run hitting up a few of the better stores in our city. After a visiting a few stores and still remaining empty handed we walked into the last store and had a look around. In one of the bottom tanks we spotted a excesptionally nice pair of Parachromis friedrichsthalii full grown adults, the male was a little thin but nothing that a few weeks of powerfeeding wouldnt solve. So my mate grabbed them and stuck them in his 6x2x2 with a few assorted CA's, a Giant gourami and his leichardti. I then saw the fish about 3 weeks later at which time they had a nice big batch of eggs that they were guarding. As you could imagine they were now starting to get a bit narky, battering his beloved Giant Gourami.
About 2 weeks after this he came around to my house and was telling me how his female freddie was going white around the face. Judging by his description I simply assumed to male was damaging her or maybe even a bit of fungus. Something along those lines. Over the next 3 weeks i saw my friend about 5 times and everytime he'd come around saying - "this damn freddie is going white and looks like crap etc" and that they were attacking his GG. He also said he wanted to get rid of it.
So about 2 or 3 weeks ago now I went to his house. On the way there he told me that he finally managed to catch the female freddie out and that he had put it with bruiser, his 14" e-cat, at this point id like to mention that other then the featherfins and a ghost knife nothing that has ever gone with bruiser has come out alive. I walked into his bedroom that has his tanks looked into his 6x2 and commented on how nice the male freddie was looking and how smashed up the GG was, i didnt even think to look in the tank below at the freddie. Then I gazed at the tank below and almost fell over! the once normal looking female freddie had turned into what I would describe as complete albino colors, but retained the black eyes! this was an amazing looking fish! absolutely stunning. She had been with bruiser all of a couple hours and took a good battering and seemed like half her body was paralized. I almost killed my mate, but he just didnt know any better that he had something truly remarkable on his hands!
I took the fish home and tried to nurse it back to health over the next couple weeks, she seemed to be getting a bit better, but eventually kicked the bucket! very sad.
I don't have any pics of her before this color change as it was not my fish. But this fish was just a typical looking freddie, a nice one at that though. This fish changed from normal coloration to albino color. I wouldnt have believe this if i was not there when the fish was purchased, I am greatful I had the opportunity to witness this, but truly saddened that the fish was lost.
Well here she is after she died. I would also like to add that the black splotching was not visible at all previous to her death, she was pure snow white!
Anyone had this or something similar happen? I have never in all my years of fish keeping had this happen to me.
I have been quite reluctant to post this up until now purely due to the fact that I was so dissapointed and upset that the fish passed on.
What are all your thoughts???
pics -
Alex
Once in a while this hobby will throw a suprise, something that makes you realise why you love the hobby so much.
The story begins about 4months ago, when myself and a good friend who also keeps fish did a LFS run hitting up a few of the better stores in our city. After a visiting a few stores and still remaining empty handed we walked into the last store and had a look around. In one of the bottom tanks we spotted a excesptionally nice pair of Parachromis friedrichsthalii full grown adults, the male was a little thin but nothing that a few weeks of powerfeeding wouldnt solve. So my mate grabbed them and stuck them in his 6x2x2 with a few assorted CA's, a Giant gourami and his leichardti. I then saw the fish about 3 weeks later at which time they had a nice big batch of eggs that they were guarding. As you could imagine they were now starting to get a bit narky, battering his beloved Giant Gourami.
About 2 weeks after this he came around to my house and was telling me how his female freddie was going white around the face. Judging by his description I simply assumed to male was damaging her or maybe even a bit of fungus. Something along those lines. Over the next 3 weeks i saw my friend about 5 times and everytime he'd come around saying - "this damn freddie is going white and looks like crap etc" and that they were attacking his GG. He also said he wanted to get rid of it.
So about 2 or 3 weeks ago now I went to his house. On the way there he told me that he finally managed to catch the female freddie out and that he had put it with bruiser, his 14" e-cat, at this point id like to mention that other then the featherfins and a ghost knife nothing that has ever gone with bruiser has come out alive. I walked into his bedroom that has his tanks looked into his 6x2 and commented on how nice the male freddie was looking and how smashed up the GG was, i didnt even think to look in the tank below at the freddie. Then I gazed at the tank below and almost fell over! the once normal looking female freddie had turned into what I would describe as complete albino colors, but retained the black eyes! this was an amazing looking fish! absolutely stunning. She had been with bruiser all of a couple hours and took a good battering and seemed like half her body was paralized. I almost killed my mate, but he just didnt know any better that he had something truly remarkable on his hands!
I took the fish home and tried to nurse it back to health over the next couple weeks, she seemed to be getting a bit better, but eventually kicked the bucket! very sad.
I don't have any pics of her before this color change as it was not my fish. But this fish was just a typical looking freddie, a nice one at that though. This fish changed from normal coloration to albino color. I wouldnt have believe this if i was not there when the fish was purchased, I am greatful I had the opportunity to witness this, but truly saddened that the fish was lost.
Well here she is after she died. I would also like to add that the black splotching was not visible at all previous to her death, she was pure snow white!
Anyone had this or something similar happen? I have never in all my years of fish keeping had this happen to me.
I have been quite reluctant to post this up until now purely due to the fact that I was so dissapointed and upset that the fish passed on.
What are all your thoughts???
pics -
Alex
