Hypoptopoma Gulare

Hypoptopoma gulare a.k.a. Giant otocinclus.
And when I call giant, mind it. They really are giant. I mean in comparison to our Otocinclus affinis (common oto) they really are. They can grow upto 4 inches.
When I first got them, they didn't appeal much. You know a big dull colored catfish..
Then they got settled in my tank and I got to see them very closely. They are very beautiful. Their tapered mouth looks awesome.
Then I started Google-ing about their eating habits. Didn't find much. Just some basic information like their origin, temperature, water hardness and all. So feeding them and knowing there eating habits were a hit and trial for me.
I have 3 of them in a 12 Gallons tank along with some endlers and Epiplatys annulatus (clown killies). Initially I tried offering them Hikari algae wafers. They refused. They werent eating anything. I was worried. And that was the time I saw a few endler's fries. I fed them
Hikari Micro pellets. And then I saw gulare eating the left over. Hahaha.. I mean micro pellets !! Great.
And now, they are eating anything that I am tossing in the tank. Bloodworms, mysis shrimps, algae wafers, Jake's homemade shrimp food, micro pallets. They are very happy.
A friend of mine who's been keeping Gulare since a long time told me about their temperament when kept with other cats. He kept Hypoptopoma gulare with Hypoptopoma sp 'Peru'. And guess what.. Gulare finished all of the 'Peru's. Its like ancient tribes fighting. Hahaha...
He added that Gulare loves to be in mild flow. I dont have much of a water flow in my tank as I just have a sponge filter in there. I'll soon put a small powerhead in there.
They also like Repashy Super Green and Repashy Soilent Green.

here is what msjinkzd.com has to say about them - LINK
here is what Planetcatfish.com has to say about them - LINK

And here are some photos that I have taken since I got them-

 
And a crappy Iphone video showing them eating micro pallets. Just in case you wanna check it out -

Devil's Backbone and Rocky Mountain National Park

This weekend we planned a short Hiking trip. There are numerous places in Colorado famous for their hiking trails, landscape and the species they inhabit. We first went hiking the Devil's Backbone, where we spotted wild llamas and Western Meadowlark.
From there we headed off to the famous Rocky Mountain National Park. The landscape is breath-taking. There was sun, snow and rain all at the same time. Watching the animals and bird in their natural habitat was a treat to the eyes. We did a short hike to the Bear lake - all frozen at this time of the year. It was fascinating and then we were told that we saw almost every possible birds and animals that live in the Rocky Mountains at this time of the year. The Spring season here has just started, in a month more birds will be returning to the Mountains, so will we :)

 Enough said. Time for the photos-

Llama in the wild.

The Devils Backbone-

It was nice to see wild deer roaming freely near houses.

Rocky Mountains.

 
View from Bear lake trail. Majestic !
And those arent clouds but vapors of the melting ice.

 
The sunlight falling on the snow made it too bright to see without shades. 

Steller's Jay - "Cyanocitta stelleri"
Very close to Blue jay. But blue jay have some white on their wings and these dont. And crest of Blue jay is blue and Steller's jay's is Black.

Steller's Jay - "Cyanocitta stelleri"

Wild Turkey- Now endangered. Less than 3 millions are left in the wild. We were lucky to see them. The dark tuft suspending from the breast characterizes a male.

 
The golden color on their wings is kind of unique.

Deers

Sight was amazing-

Was that "Twin Sister Mountain" ?

 

black billed Magpie- A beautiful bird from crow family

Elk- A small herd of Elk was like a bonus on our way back.

And Finally we saw our Universities mascot. Or maybe cousin of our mascot. Big horn sheep.

Big horn sheep.