Odessa barb survivor !

[ptr]

Just wanted to share this with you, it's incredible how tough these fishes can be.

I have a pair of breeding kribensis together with a school of odessas, and of course the kribs are edgy and chasing every fish that comes close. The other night, as I walked by the tank, I stepped on something wet. I looked down, and there was this male odessa barb, on the rug. He must have gotten too close to the baby kribs, and the adults chased him so much he must have jumped out of the tank. Then I realized, maybe 10 mn before, I had seen my 3 cats gathered around the tank...

I picked the barb up (he was still alive, but barely... his fins were injured, and he had like puncture holes by his sides, possibly due to the cats...)... put him back in the tank in a breeding box, and dumped a few drops of melafix on his wounds.... He couldn't swim, though he tried, and was just sitting there on the bottom of the box, looking like hyperventilating... I really didn't expect him to make it through the night.

The next day, he was still alive, but still extremely weak.

After 3 days, he was swimming around in the box, and trying to get out. I released him in the tank, and although he is extra wary of the kribs now, he is back to his clownish self...

So in summary, here is a fish that:
- got his fins nipped by 2 aggressive cichlids twice his size
- spent an undefined time out of the tank
- got bit by my cats
- got stepped on by me !

... and survived!!! I think he deserved to be named Rambo !

[mistergreen]

You're lucky. Whenever I find a jumped fish, they're all dried up. I have covers for all my tanks now.

[LB79]

One tough fish. He should be stuffed and mounted on your wall when he eventually does pass away.

[phoenixkiller]

Originally Posted by ptr

Just wanted to share this with you, it's incredible how tough these fishes can be.

I have a pair of breeding kribensis together with a school of odessas, and of course the kribs are edgy and chasing every fish that comes close. The other night, as I walked by the tank, I stepped on something wet. I looked down, and there was this male odessa barb, on the rug. He must have gotten too close to the baby kribs, and the adults chased him so much he must have jumped out of the tank. Then I realized, maybe 10 mn before, I had seen my 3 cats gathered around the tank...

I picked the barb up (he was still alive, but barely... his fins were injured, and he had like puncture holes by his sides, possibly due to the cats...)... put him back in the tank in a breeding box, and dumped a few drops of melafix on his wounds.... He couldn't swim, though he tried, and was just sitting there on the bottom of the box, looking like hyperventilating... I really didn't expect him to make it through the night.

The next day, he was still alive, but still extremely weak.

After 3 days, he was swimming around in the box, and trying to get out. I released him in the tank, and although he is extra wary of the kribs now, he is back to his clownish self...

So in summary, here is a fish that:
- got his fins nipped by 2 aggressive cichlids twice his size
- spent an undefined time out of the tank
- got bit by my cats
- got stepped on by me !

... and survived!!! I think he deserved to be named Rambo !

Came upon this story just now. That's a miracle, to say the least. He's back from the dead.... sorta....

I have heard similar stories for Bettas and plecostomus.... but this scenario for that type of fish is new to me. I hope he doesn't jump out of the tank anymore though!!