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THE ANGELFISH LOCUS |
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Copy Right The World Angelfish Forum Pictures and articles are the property of the members of TWAF and should not be used unless permission is expressly given! |
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1. The World Angelfish Forum User Name (can give your real first name, but is optional) Nagatsubo (literally translated from Japanese, my surname was turned into a nickname by friends at Japan Airlines after I started calling Shimbashi-san “new bridge”). Otherwise I just go by Stan. Georgia, USA, ya’all!
3. When did you get into breeding Angelfish? What led you into Keeping/Breeding Angelfish? It was in 1976. I think I started with red jewels in a 10 gallon – they multiplied like rabbits. Being able to breed fish and watch the process was fascinating and unknowingly I’d become hooked to the hobby. Later the same year I added another 10 g for a male betta and also a 55 long with the chrome steel braces on all corners, top and bottom and it had a slate bottom. The 55 became the home for 2 oscars, 2 tinfoil barbs and a small betta barracks for the females that I was able to successfully breed with the male, although I only had a few dozen of their fry actually reach full size. Learning how to feed the betta fry was my hardest challenge, the recommended hard-boiled egg yolk squeezed through a fine mesh didn’t cut it. Eventually I went to the coke bottle BSH (yep, the idea is as old as the plastic coke bottle) and things started working for me then. Next I added a 20 long and that was when I decided angelfish were cool. I bought a pair of black lace veils and was really happy with the tank layout and the fish. The oscars had personality but the angels had style and grace.
4. What strain of Angelfish is your personal favorite and why? I appreciate all of the other current strains although I’m fascinated with what is on the forefront of breeder development. Ken’s wi-fi is way cool and I like the dark varieties as much as I do the white and platinum. Mellow Aquatics has some interesting high-coverage koi. We might see a 100% orange angelfish one day. Yet if I had to be pinned down to just one expression I think the pb smokey pearl scales would have to be my favorites. I like it that most of my fish have the pearl scale gene as that little extra flash adds a nice touch and gets attention. The pb expression with the smokey results in stunning adult coloration.
5. What Angelfish are you breeding for at the moment? All of my fish are pre-breeder size so I’m not actually breeding any right now. They will probably pair off by September, then the magic will begin. Although I did buy a proven pair of Paraiba & Pinoy Paraiba last month but they have not arrived from the shipper yet. I would like to sell fish to folks, nice fish that they cannot buy from PetSmart or PetCo and their ilk. As my fish room fills with more candidates for a breeding program I will better be able to accomplish that goal.
6. What is your worst fish keeping experience? Ah, you had to ask… I was laid off in late ’77 and decided to move to another state for work. The house sold ($23,000 for a 3 br ranch, kiddies!) and moving time came in January of ‘78. A major snow storm had just hit Missouri and Kansas as I loaded the U-haul for the move out to Wichita (may I never live there again!). I had sold all of the fish except for my favorites, the black lace veil pair. |
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These I placed in a Styrofoam bucket with a battery operated aerator (the type used by fishermen for minnows). I placed the bucket in front of the heater outlets and headed out early one morning for my new adventure and a job with Learjet. The roads were icy and driving the U-Haul was nerve-racking but I finally reached the farm house I’d arranged to rent. There was nothing inside to sleep on - no heat, electricity nor water - so, bone tired, I took the ’70 Torino I had in tow and drove to a nearby hotel to sleep for the night. It wasn’t until the next morning that I remembered the angels I’d left in the truck cab at the farm. Overnight the water had frozen…. It was like I had failed a close friend. It bugged me for a long time afterwards..
7. What is your funniest fish keeping experience? Looking back on this now this event has lost the humor it once held for me and its something I would not do to a child today but at the time…. I had a 2~3 y/o niece who thought it was her mission in life to feed the fish when she came over so feed them she did – bologna, mac-n-cheese, hotdogs, potato chips, whatever she was eating the fish should like too, right?! I talked to her mother about how bad that was for the fish but was ignored. Well, finally I’d had enough. The oscars were about 3” long then and all appetite. Their tank was on a homemade stand that was well within her reach. Having been initially surprised myself by the oscars aggressive eating behavior, I encouraged her to hand feed them with some real fish food one day, knowing what would happen…. Snap!…. crying child, protective mother berating me and discord reigning. Well, despite the social unrest it caused I never had to clean macaroni out of the tanks again and my dark side found it pretty darn funny. The internet has killed off many of the mom & pop style fish stores that I enjoyed in the past. In talking with some local LFS owners (there are only two in my area outside of the big box stores), they tell me cannot compete with the internet prices, even if they were to sell at their wholesale prices. Also folks come into their store and ask for help with something they bought over the internet because it was cheaper. One local store owner told me he charges for questions because of this abuse of their past generous advice. The buyers need to understand that support is not free. If they don’t support their LFS, it will go away their only after-sales support will be a website. Change drives change but I hope the LFS owners can evolve as well and leverage the internet to their own ends, assuring folks of a local source of support that has been all but destroyed in many areas by changes in technology.
9. What advice would you give to keepers who are new to Angelfish? I would encourage them to read up on keeping fish and if their not a reader, then to talk fish with other fish people. Join the local aquarium club or the online forums are a great source of knowledge. It’s like owning any pet; you really should do your homework before buying that Collie for your mid-town condo that already has two poodles and a Shih-Tzu. Peace.
Stan’s Platinum can also be seen on one face of the Widgets cube on the forum newsletter links site.
Stan is also one of the handsome guys in our male dance review, TWAFINGDALE DANCERS! |