Wow - Extra Fish!

Aqualung

AC Members
Jan 31, 2004
845
0
0
Visit site
I was seperating my zebra otos today due to an ich outbreak. First time I've ever had ich, and I must say I'm dissapointed that it slipped through quarantine unnoticed. Anyway, I'll be treating the tank with salt, but I'm also going to experiment with a salt-free treatment method using rubbermaid tubs. I KNOW I had 19 of these fish, even though I can never count more than 16. I moved 9 to a bin, and figured I'd count the remaining ones to make sure none had dissapeared on me.

Well, not only had none vanished, but I have an extra one :eek: Thinking I had miscounted, I counted again, and again, and again. Yup, 20 fish. What a mystery this is......my intention is to attempt breeding them, but I can't imagine they would have bred without me trying. I've never noticed fry at all, although they certainly could have eluded my eyes (lots of caves, plants, and various hideouts). One of them is a bit smaller than I remember any of them being......could it be offspring born in the tank? I can't think of any other possibility except spontaneous generation.

A nice surprise following the dissapointment of having ich. Hopefully all of them will handle treatment well....wish me luck!
 
Just thought I'd add that it is definitely not a case of me forgetting how many fish I had in there. I keep detailed notes of how many fish I add and when, and only add them one at a time from my QT (where they have also been counted). I also do daily counts, although as I mentioned I have never been able to get an accurate count above 16 until now.
 
AquariaCentral.com