Chronicles of Fluffy

[opabinia]

Subject: Re: African lungfish
From: [Lepidosiren]
Date: Wed, October 6, 2004 12:52 am
To: "Christopher, Lise" <lchristopher@sheddaquarium.org>
Cc: tritzman@mspca.org

Hello, Ms. Christopher. Thank you for your prompt reply. The answers to
your questions are inserted below.

> [Lepidosiren],
>
> Thank you for your interest in donating your African lungfish to our
aquarium. We are interested in looking into the possibility that we can
accept your donation. Being that we are a public aquarium, we have
guidelines regarding the acquisition of new animals. If you wouldn't mind
> taking a few minutes to give us some background information I would
appreciate it.
>
> Also, could you send us a digital photo of the animal that
> you would like to donate?

Attached are two photo files. The side-view photo is older, from when she
lived on a coarse gravel substrate, which I later replaced with sand. The
top-view photo was taken during recent tank maintenance.

> Thank you in advance for your help.
> Animal history:
> How long have you owned this fish?


Since March 3, 2002 -- about 2.5 years. She was about 18cm long when I
purchased her.


> Where did you acquire it from?( store name, address...)

Tropic Isle Aquarium
4 Pierce Street
Framingham, MA 01701
(508) 875-5303
http://tropicisleaquarium.com/


> Housing information:
> What size aquarium are you keeping it in?

The lungfish (named "Fluffy") lives alone in a 180-gallon glass aquarium.
The substrate is fine sand. Filtration is via home-made trickle filter.
Temperature is kept between 74 and 79 degrees F. The water is of medium
hardness, and the pH is kept between 7 and 8.

I am certain she can adjust well to different water chemistry, given enough
acclimation time. She has lived in soft, slightly acidic water (pH=6.5)
in the past.

> Diet information:
> What diet are you feeding? Types of foods, amounts and frequency.

In an effort to slow Fluffy's growth, I have recently decreased her food
intake. (Fluffy appears to be female.) She has readily accepted every
sinking pelleted prepared food I have introduced.

Current staple feed is Wardley Shrimp Pellets, approximately 1tsp twice a
day. This is frequently substituted with either of the following, in
similar amounts: Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets, Wardley Spirulina
Discs. These larger pellets are easier for her to find and handle.

Live foods are provided about once a week, including crayfish (I remove
the claws to prevent injury to the fish), earthworms, apple snails at
about 3-4cm in diameter (genus Pomacea, probably P. canaliculata or P.
bridgesii), and, infrequently, small fishes. She is especially fond of
the snails.

> Medical history:
> Has the animal had any injuries or diseases? If so, what treatment was
> used? Dosage and duration. When was the animal treated?
> (Note:since we treat all in coming fish in our quarantine area, we only
ask these questions because we need to know what they've been treated with
> in the past for our records.)

Fluffy has never shown symptoms of a communicable disease. Tracey
Ritzman, DVM, Dipl ABVP-Avian, of the MSPCA Angell Animal Medical Center
in Boston, has seen Fluffy twice, most recently on October 2, 2004. She
determined that the fish was in good health on both occasions.

Fluffy was anesthetized on October 2, 2004, using a water-soluble
anesthetic recommended by the Shedd Aquarium, to acquire X-rays of her
head. I was concerned about a bump on her cheek, but apparently she was
simply holding sand or air in her mouth (the X-ray was completely
normal.). She recovered from sedation quickly and resumed normal activity
within hours.

Dr. Ritzman may be reached at (617) 522-7282, or via email at
tritzman@mspca.org. She is aware that the Shedd aquarium is interested in
Fluffy.

> Once we hear back from you we can make a final decision. If we are able
to
> accept your donation, our registrar (record keeper) will be sending you
some paperwork to sign prior to the donation. Please send me your
address
> so that we can forward the paperwork when the time comes.

[Lepidosiren]
[street address]
[city, state, ZIP]

> Thank you again for your interest and I look forward to hearing from
you.
> Please contact me if you have any questions.
>
> Best regards,
> Lise Christopher
> Animal Acquisitions Coordinator
> Aquarium Collections Department
> John G. Shedd Aquarium
> 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive
> Chicago, IL 60605
> 312-692.3181 phone
> 312-939-0215 fax
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [Lepidosiren]
> Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 9:08 AM
> To: Contact Us
> Subject: donating an animal
>
>
> Hello. Could you please direct me to the person(s) in charge of your
freshwater fishes collection? I wish to know if the Aquarium would like a
> 75cm-long specimen of Protopterus annectens (African lungfish).
>
> Thanks,
> [Lepidosiren]
> [cellphone number]