Alan Ilagan

This past week, the aquarium finally completed its nitrogen cycle. Nitrites had at last begun to decline, and when they went down to zero and stayed there it was time to stock the tank. I decided to begin with a group of gold zebra danios, for their hardiness and ease of keeping, as well as their lively and animated nature. They have been wildly exploring their new environs, darting to and fro among the plants and rocks and driftwood, and they must be comfortable enough already as they don’t even show signs of schooling behavior (which was sort of what I wanted to see) but as long as they’re happy I’ll deal.

I also picked up three cory catfish, who have been much less active, keeping to the bottom and themselves while the danios wreak havoc in the rest of the tank. They strike a nice balance.

As is evident here, fish are hard to photograph. I need to work on this a bit more, but for the fast-moving danios you may never see a clear photo. For now, here’s a look at their new home, and a brief, blurred glimpse at some on the inhabitants.