As I was observing my reclusive albino bristle-nose plecostomus in the Fluval Chi, I noticed a few peculiar dots lined slightly beneath the substrate and pressed against the glass. When I took a closer look, it became apparent that the dots are fish fries that were probably born quite recently. I looked around the gravel for more traces of fries and sure enough, I counted about 7 fries scattered across the tank. I suspect the gold-dust mollies gave birth as the zebra danios and neon tetras are both egg layers. I doubt all the fries will live to adulthood, if any. They’ll probably be eaten by the other fishes, by the shrimps, sucked up by the albino pleco or by the filter pump. It would be cool to see even just one reach juvenile status though!
Also, one of my zebra danios decided to make the leap of faith (literally) and jumped out of the tank. It landed on my carpeted floor, approximately 4 feet down and lied there for at least a good 20 minutes. When I found it, it was almost completely dried up. I examined it briefly before making the executive decision to toss the fish carcass into my turtle tank and noticed that it was still alive, albeit crossing the line between life and death. I released it back into the Fluval and it floated about, then its gills began to vibrate rapidly as its entire body is gradually being hydrated by the water. About 5 minutes later, the danio came back to life and swam in random motion, probably suffering from brain damage from its exposure to dry air. About half an hour later, its fin are fully hydrated and flowing (however with strands of coagulated fish mucus stringing along) and it assimilated back into the community. Pretty amazing recovery if I must say so myself.
