Another one bites the dust. 10-30-11

One does not know at first if a new fish is going to do well upon its introduction to the tank. Baby angel fish can be especially fragile at first. But both of the new baby angels seemed vigorous enough when we first put them in. We floated the plastic bag for over half an hour in order for the water temperatures to equalize. They both swam out of the bag with gusto. Sometimes, a new angel will find some thick plant cover to swim off and hide in. Neither the black one nor the gold one did so. It is always a good sign when they accept food within the next 24 hours. Both of them did this as well, although the gold one seemed to be a little pickier as to which flakes he ate. By Friday evening, the black one was eating well...rushing to the surface every time flakes were added. The gold one, however, was waiting for the flakes to float down and inspecting them carefully. He would eat a small one, then taste and spit out two or three more. This is never a good sign. By Saturday evening, the gold one was hiding under a broad plant leaf--and showing little interest in the small flakes that happened by him. On Sunday morning, he was no where to be found...until I began to clean the tank. His little corpse floated out almost immediately...belly up. With great ceremony, I have placed him in a cup of water and stored him in the back freezer, to be de-thawed and returned to Pet Smart next Thursday. His black co-hort and his other tank mates continue to thrive. RIP.