I found Dory...after losing her briefly while moving.

[Rob A]

My wife and I moved (locally) and during the process of breaking down my 220 gal tank I removed all the rock, and once the rock was out of the tank I took a head count and realized my 4 or 5 inch hippo tang was gone. I haven't lost any fish in awhile but I figured something must have happened so I sadly collected the fish that were in the tank and along with about 5 large buckets of rock I moved everything to the new house. Just a few weeks earlier I had self righteously pasted the "Don't buy a Dory" message from MASNA on my Facebook profile so now I relay felt stupid.

I haphazardly tossed the rocks into a 150 gal Rubbermaid tub full of new water and then acclimated the fish. Fast forward about a week and I look in the top and here is my hippo swimming around! All I can figure is it must have wedged into a rock and then made the trip in a bucket of rocks, with no water, and survived the rock "stacking" in the holding tub, along with being introduced into new water without acclimation. From the time the rocks were pulled out of the tank until the time they were re-submerged in the tub was easily a 1/2 hour. I don't know what to say about it, it seems impossible that it could have survived all of that.

[Bruleyii]

So the fish was in the tub for a week? Was there any oxygen or anything flowing in the water?

[TrueTricia]

That's great that she's still alive though, Rob!

[Rob A]

Thanks Trish!

 

Bruleyii-All of the fish and rocks were moved over the space of 30 minutes to an hour but because of the layout of the tub they are in (egg crate cover, another tub on top and lights) I can't see the fish very well so it took me a week to realize it was in there. I tried to post a picture of the layout but Tapatalk wasn't letting me load a picture. We are just waiting for artfully acrylic to finish making a new tank and then they will have a new home. The old tank won't fit where we wanted it to in the house.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Rob A

[Bruleyii]

Thats crazy. I bet it wasnt very happy and was ready to eat anything you threw at it. lol

[Rob A]

Yes, I was in a state of disbelief for a bit and had to keep looking at it lol.

[Marc Weaver]

Amazing what fish can survive.  I also had an easily startled Dory a while ago whose favorite hiding place was in a very large stag colony I had.  I removed the coral one day for trimming.  Of course, as soon as my hand entered the water, she made a beeline for that colony.  I began to lift it out of the water and she was still in the coral, even out of the water and would not budge.  I had to gently swish the stag at the top of the water to coax her out.

 

I also had a Melanurus Wrasse that slept in the sand as they all do.  I moved my tank inhabitants to their new tank in the same house and forgot about the Wrasse. I drained the old tank and left around 2" of water above the sand bed in the tank, then went to bed exhausted. Of course that "hour long" tank move took 6 hours.  As I was further cleaning and draining the old tank I realized my mistake.  I carefully sifted through the sand by hand until I found the wrasse, completely unharmed but stunned.  I re-acclimated the wrasse slowly and it survived.  It was in the old tank for about 12 hours and the water was pretty darn cold.  I guess the Wrasse probably slows its heart rate for sleep and did not need very much oxygen.

[s2nhle]

Wow, That is amazing!

[monkiboy]

freaking awesome story, love it.