Very interesting thing happened today. I went fishing at a place called Teeter that I often fish and camp at. Most of the fish there are brown bullhead but there are other species as well...golden shiners, pumkinseed and largemouth bass also live here. Anyway....went fishing there with my gf and her brother and caught a few bullhead. One of the ones her brother caught was hooked in the gills and was bleeding a little bit. We tried to get the hook out but alas...the fish seemed dead. I placed into the water with no gill movement or anything, it was really pale and just lay there...lifeless. We did get the hook out but only after it appeared dead. So I decided that we would take it home and cook it. I would eat some (first meat food in 9 years) and also give some to the oscars after it was cooked of course. So we fished some more and grabbed the fish outta the water when it came time to leave. I carried it on top of my tackbox and it was a pretty long walk back. It even fell off twice. We put it in the car and drove off. It was outta water the whole time. We stopped and my gf's grandparents on the way home to grab some stuff and ended up staying for an hour or so. We decided to leave because the bullhead was still sitting in the car. We got it back, I got out my fish cooking/filleting book (never did up a bullhead before) and tossed it on to the chopping block. I grabbed the fillet knife and was just about to cut it when my gf's brother saw its gills move. "No Way!!!!" that fish CANNOT be alive, I know bullhead are stong but seriously...I thought it must be nerves but he seemed to me really trying to breath at this point. I put him in a 3 gallon bucket and ran some water in it. I put declor, some stress coat (slime coat REALLY damaged) and an airstone in the water. The fish has now been in there for over two hours. He was only breathing at first and floating on his side...still very pale. He now has almost all his color back, is moving some more and has started opening his mouth. Incredible!!!!
Here is a very recent picture of the fish, he still may not make it but if he does I will post an updated picture in the morning. When he starts moving more I will place him in a 30g 2 foot wide storage container.
Keep in mind...over two hours without water. I am very unhappy that this happened to the fish but shocked and amazed that he is making it through.
Here is a very recent picture of the fish, he still may not make it but if he does I will post an updated picture in the morning. When he starts moving more I will place him in a 30g 2 foot wide storage container.
Keep in mind...over two hours without water. I am very unhappy that this happened to the fish but shocked and amazed that he is making it through.
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