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stevenjohn21

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2012
125
0
16
Atlanta
Hi everyone, im new to the forum so i thought i would pop in and say hi and show you my latest addition.

I recently answerd a post on craigslist regarding a free fish, now i dont usually do this but for some reason that day i decided to reply and get more details. The owner told me that on his way to work he noticed a fish tank holding dirty water in his parking spot. He moved it to the side and thought nothing of it. When he left work that evening the tank was still there and he noticed a faint orange smudge moving in the dirty water. He took it home and emptied the tank and filled up with tap water, he kept the fish for 2 years until he realised that the fish was out growing the tank. . . . thats when i answered the post.

Last week i arranged to pick up the fish that the owner had no idea what it was, i entered the room to find a 10-12" Red devil cichlid in a 10 gallon tank ! The poor thing has hole in the head which im working to heal at the moment. The owner told me that the tank he was in was the tank he had originally found him in when he was roughly 2-4" He admits he knows nothing about fish keeping but he couldnt throw him away like the previous owner obviously did.

I decided to take him home, knowing i had no tanks available for him at the time but i figured i could swap a few fish around and squeeze him in somewhere. I had a 30 gallon tank with Angels in which i moved to a 20 gallon long i had "hanging" around, and put the RD cichlid in the 30 gallon. Now before i get hate mail i know neither tanks were suitable for the cichlid or the angels but i figured a 30 gallon would feel like a mansion compared to the 10 gallon he was in all his life !

Since taking the fish home i have been searching all over the place for a affordable 75+ gallon tank for him. . . . last week was the day ! Aswell as having HITH he has a chunk missing out of his back which im guessing was caused by his previous living conditions. Anyway enough of the text , here he is .......
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Firstly, Welcome!

Secondly, wow, kudos to you for taking that poor guy home and finding a great home for him. Crazy story. Not sure if I've seen such a major deformity.
 
I know very little of fish keeping but for what its worth, I think what you did was very noble and wish you the best of luck with him! He looks like he's recovering well and is a pretty neat fish.
 
welcome to mfk.........wow great fish and great pictures of him/her..such a beauty..... nice to meet youbowlfish.gif

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Dude awesome work finding him a home. It is good to hear your looking for a bigger tank as that is definitely the next step for his health but anything is better than his previous condition. Good clean looking water as well so you must be keeping up on those WC's. He is a good looking fish even with the deformity. Good luck!
 
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