# Lazarus, a fish story



## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

I know this has nothing to do with birds but I wanted to share this experience.









Yesterday, I received a shipment of 7 Japanese imported Koi from a seller in Maryland, who I have bought from before. They had been in transit for 2 days and all appeared in good health when they arrived.

I did my normal acclimation process which involves putting the fish into a container and gradually adjusting them to my water conditions. This usually takes me between an hour to two hours. During this period, I always have an airstone or two giving them fresh air as they are likely low on oxygen from their ordeal.

After about 2 hours, I began putting the fish into a 150 gallon holding tank where I would be able to observe them and give any necessary treatments before putting them with my other fish. After a couple of minutes in the new tank, the new fish all began breaching the surface, gasping and looking very distressed. One of them was on his back and appeared dead. I made a quick decision to move them into a different tank as I could only think that there is something wrong with this tank. My water is all the same so I wasn't worried about different tank conditions. I took all the free swimmers first, thinking that the one was already dead.

When I lifted him out of the tank, he moved ever so slightly so I brought him to the other tank as well. At first I was pulling him back and forth in the water as you see fishermen do to revive fish that they have caught. I wasn't getting any responses at all and he would just drop to the bottom and lay on his side if I let him go. For all intents and purposes, he appeared dead, was not breathing or moving anything.

Then I remembered that I either read or heard that it is not the reverse motion which opens their gills that does them any good, it is only the forward motion which brings water through the mouth and past the gills in the right direction. So, I began forcing water toward his face with one hand while I cradled him in the other and I could feel it going through him.

He began to open his mouth as if to say yes yes, this is what I need and began moving his gills as well. I decided that I was not going to give up on this fish. I did this for over half an hour, sometimes setting him down only to watch him roll back over on his side. Finally, after more than half an hour of forcing water into his mouth. He was able to swim away on his own and not lose his balance.

I would have bet any amount of money when I started that this fish was going to die. I decided to try something and to my complete and utter amazement, he was swimming normally within an hour or so and managed to eat before the lights went off.

My wife asked if we could name this fish Lazarus and I said sure, he's our miracle boy.

Today, he looks normal and acts normal. The picture shows him today in the middle of a group. He's the big orange, black and white guy, he's about 18 inches long and a very beautiful fish.

If there's a moral to this story and I think there is, it is to never give up hope. If an animal has the will to survive, they can do amazing things with our help. I'm glad I refused to give up.

Bill


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Well, I for one say well done.........I think Koi's are so pretty and have wondered what's involved in keeping them, but have never investigated it. I tend to go for the animals that you can hold and play with, but I've heard that some Koi's will come and eat out of your hand. Sorry, getting off topic here..........Lazarus is a pretty boy...........how do you know if they are boys/girls? 
I did try gold fish a few months ago. They all died.


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks for sharing the photo and story, they are beautiful. I've always loved Koi but never had any luck keeping them alive, I do keep a few plain goldfish in the turtle ponds and love to watch them swimming around.(Don't worry I have plenty of places for them to hide for the turtles)


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

What an uplifting story!!

So glad you didn't give up and I'm sure Lazarus is too! WELL DONE!!

Shi


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Thank you*



Lovebirds said:


> Well, I for one say well done.........I think Koi's are so pretty and have wondered what's involved in keeping them, but have never investigated it. I tend to go for the animals that you can hold and play with, but I've heard that some Koi's will come and eat out of your hand. Sorry, getting off topic here..........Lazarus is a pretty boy...........how do you know if they are boys/girls?
> I did try gold fish a few months ago. They all died.


Koi keeping is fairly simple, once they have adjusted to your conditions. They need a fair amount of space. They get big and can eat alot and their food is not cheap. I do have a few that will eat out of my hand. Maybe Lazarus will be one of these fish as I think we should be buddies sooner or later.

Telling males from females is not so easy. I think Lazarus is a boy, as he is long and slender. Females are normally bigger around as they get quite engorged with eggs and need the extra body space. Body shape is not always the way to tell as some males can be wider and some females can be slimmer but it's what I'm going by until they show me something different. Like pigeons, we look at them and take an educated guess and with some experience, we can get pretty good at sexing on appearance alone.

I would say that the number one reason that people can't keep fish is that nobody seems to take the time to acclimate them properly. This process should take over an hour and two hours is better. The main reason is PH differences, which will kill many fish if they are not slowly acclimated. They may not die right away but infections will take them over and kill them if not done properly.

When I sold the fish that I used to raise, I always insisted that people take the proper time and care to acclimate them or I could not guarantee the fish at all. Everyone thinks that floating a bag to equalize the temperature is the most important factor but it's not nearly as important as the shock of a different PH. 

Bill


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Hi Robin*



EgypSwiftLady said:


> Thanks for sharing the photo and story, they are beautiful. I've always loved Koi but never had any luck keeping them alive, I do keep a few plain goldfish in the turtle ponds and love to watch them swimming around.(Don't worry I have plenty of places for them to hide for the turtles)


Thanks for reading my story.

I keep goldfish too and breed Sarassa comet goldfish and calico fantails but just a few for fun and if any people want them for ponds, I give them away to friends or sell them to customers.

Bill


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Thanks Shi*



mr squeaks said:


> What an uplifting story!!
> 
> So glad you didn't give up and I'm sure Lazarus is too! WELL DONE!!
> 
> Shi


I had to tell this one. It's the gospel truth and I'm absolutely amazed by it myself.

Bill


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

jbangelfish said:


> Everyone thinks that floating a bag to equalize the temperature is the most important factor but it's not nearly as important as the shock of a different PH.
> 
> Bill



Well, that's what the idiots at the store tell you. Float the bag for 30 minutes........and that's what happened to my fish probably. They lived for about 4 or 5 months, but slowly died off one by one..........I had no clue what was wrong.


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*That's funny but sad at the same time*



Lovebirds said:


> Well, that's what the idiots at the store tell you. Float the bag for 30 minutes........and that's what happened to my fish probably. They lived for about 4 or 5 months, but slowly died off one by one..........I had no clue what was wrong.



I used to be one of those idiots but the difference was that I actually cared about the people and the animals that they were buying.

My wife and I met at the pet store where we both used to work. She applied for a job and I got the boss to hire her because I said she was a cute chick and I needed somebody to take over the cleaning duties. I was surprised that he went along with it but it worked out pretty well. We are still together after 36 years.

Bill


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

jbangelfish said:


> I used to be one of those idiots but the difference was that I actually cared about the people and the animals that they were buying.
> 
> My wife and I met at the pet store where we both used to work. She applied for a job and I got the boss to hire her because I said she was a cute chick and I needed somebody to take over the cleaning duties. I was surprised that he went along with it but it worked out pretty well. We are still together after 36 years.
> 
> Bill


Ok. maybe idiots was a harsh word. Sorry.........but..they DO tell you that, at least at Wal-Mart, which is THE only place within 50 miles to get a fish.  We got major storms rolling through here.........gotta go......


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Bill,

Thank you for sharing that story. I really enjoyed it. Lazrarus is one lucky fish that he had you when he arrived. He is quite beautiful. I love his tri-colors. I didn't know there were so many kinds of Koi until I had to draw an illustration of some last year. I was astounded. The person I was doing the illustration for didn't want any orange in the picture. But she wanted Koi. I always thought that Koi were orange and white. I learned they were black and white, yellow and white, mixtures of that, etc. So I didn't have to use any orange.
How do you get them through the winter? Are they able to stand the cold and freezing water?


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Hi Margaret*



Margarret said:


> Bill,
> 
> Thank you for sharing that story. I really enjoyed it. Lazrarus is one lucky fish that he had you when he arrived. He is quite beautiful. I love his tri-colors. I didn't know there were so many kinds of Koi until I had to draw an illustration of some last year. I was astounded. The person I was doing the illustration for didn't want any orange in the picture. But she wanted Koi. I always thought that Koi were orange and white. I learned they were black and white, yellow and white, mixtures of that, etc. So I didn't have to use any orange.
> How do you get them through the winter? Are they able to stand the cold and freezing water?


Orange is the original Koi color or the first mutation of Carp. Next was the orange and white (they call it red and white and they are pretty red) and it remains the number one Koi color in Asia. It is called Kohaku and is the largest Koi class of any colors. There are probably over 100 named colors and color combinations.

Well, I don't know if the poor guy was so lucky as I figure I'm the one who poisoned him in the first place. I'm just one happy camper that it all worked out and he lives to tell about it.

Another little side note to all of this is that most of the fish that were in the eventual tank where he went seemed to pay considerable attention to him. Especially those that came with him and even some that I've had for a couple months but came from the same source. It is honestly as if they knew him and were concerned with his well being.

For one thing, he is the biggest in the group and Koi all look up to and follow the biggest fish. You can observe this in the wild if you see a school of Carp as they all follow a very large fish.

Many fish from the same group or source were coming up as if to check on him and would look him right in the eye. Before he was moving freely and was obviously still under the weather, they would swim beside him, nuzzle him and seem to urge him to move about. It was an amazing display and I'll never forget it. My wife and I were both moved to tears over this entire experience. It truly was incredible.

As to Koi living over the winter, yes they can endure very cold temps but I and most Koi keepers who value their fish will bring them inside or to a greenhouse for the winter months as this is a dangerous time for them and many things can go wrong. A hard winter has killed many collections of very valuable fish that were fine for 10 years or more outside. This winter here was one of those.

The old rule of thumb was that a pond had to be 11 feet deep to winter Koi in zone 4. I don't now and I am not likely to ever have one that deep. Many people will keep them out in a pond that is only 2 or 3 feet deep and those people lost their fish this winter. They keep them open with air or heat but this year it was not enough for many ponds in the area. I'll keep bringing mine in until I have a Koi house or greenhouse to winter them in.

Bill


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Bill, I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed your story about Lazarus. I'm very glad you were able to save him. I expect I would have been in tears too watching the other Koi respond to him.


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

Bill,

Nice story about Lazarus. Didn't take the time to read it the other day, but really enjoyed it today.

By the way, has your wife ever graduated from the cleaning duties? Has she turned the tables on you. Ha!

One of my brothers worked at a fish store and sold them, during his high school years. Talked many of his friends and some relatives into setting up aquariums.

I never took up keeping and caring for fish after I had a few goldfish and some small turtles die on me when I was very young. I don't think young kids should be given fish as pets, because the fish are so very dependent on you, and you can "torture" them and make their lives very miserable without ever being aware of it. Some kids are, or can be, responsible, but how is a parent to know? I took care of a cocker spaniel for a couple of years when I was young, but did not really know much about what was going on.

Larry


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

my sister called me yesterday to tell me she saw a trained goldfish on Good morning America. It brought a ring around it's nose to the owner, and would put a ball in a net and some other stuff. he used food of course, and i think he has a kit out to help you train your goldfish! how cute..I think it is called r2 goldfish training. loved the story of your beautiful koi!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

I remember reading a story a few years back about a female Cardinal who had lost her mate and she routinely fed the Koi in her neighborhood. I googled to see if I could find anything and could not but did find this. So cute.

http://www.weshow.com/us/p/15648/baby_duck_feeding_carps


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Lady Tarheel said:


> I remember reading a story a few years back about a female Cardinal who had lost her mate and she routinely fed the Koi in her neighborhood. I googled to see if I could find anything and could not but did find this. So cute.
> 
> http://www.weshow.com/us/p/15648/baby_duck_feeding_carps


That is just TOO sweet............he's sharing his food. CUTE!!


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

How adorable. What a sweet baby duck.

Reti


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Thanks again to all who read this*

It was quite an ordeal and Lazarus is still doing well.

As to calling people idiots who work in pet stores or just about any other stores, I do the same and it applies way too often. They either know nothing about what they are selling or will tell you that they don't have something because they don't know and they are too lazy to look for it.
It's amazing how many times I have found things that they didn't have. Don't get me started.

Pets for kids, I used to think was a good idea as it should teach them a sense of responsibilty and caring. It didn't work for my kids as they are not very responsible in how they care for theirs and my kids are pushing 30. Someone said Mr Rogers is to blame as he encouraged all children that they could do anything and that they were special. I don't know about poor old Mr Rogers, he certainly meant well. I think it's a combination of things that have made nearly all young people to be completely self absorbed with cell phones, video games, their own TV's that it is all about them and they don't know how to behave with other people or even animals. It's a mess to say the least.

I could go on forever, so I better quit.

I'm glad people read and enjoyed my story, it is an experience that I will never forget.

Bill


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

jbangelfish said:


> It was quite an ordeal and Lazarus is still doing well.
> 
> As to calling people idiots who work in pet stores or just about any other stores, I do the same and it applies way too often. They either know nothing about what they are selling or will tell you that they don't have something because they don't know and they are too lazy to look for it.
> It's amazing how many times I have found things that they didn't have. Don't get me started.
> ...


I agree with you Bill...I think technology is running amok...unfortunately, to the detriment of the upcoming generations!

At this rate, kids will never go outside, interact face to face with others and end up with unhealthy bodies...

Heck, one of these days, mankind could end up with NO body, just a brain diirecting everything!  

Then again, with the way things seem to be going, we may not have to worry about it because we won't be around... 

Shi


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

He's a beautiful koi, with a wonderful story. I'm glad he made it. It's not surprising to hear about the other ones "helping" him and checking on him, I've noticed that with a friend's koi as well as a school of wild carp at a local park.  They are amazing fish, they've been around forever!


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I loved your story Bill and your Koi are beautiful. We've had fish at various times over the years, though not Koi. Even fish have personalities and can be good pets. I used to have angel fish that took food from my fingers and my bettas did that, too. 

Hubby and I are currently in trouble with my daughter for spoiling our "grandfish." She brought Ari (a betta) over when she went to Rome earlier this month. She said she only fed him once a day, but I felt sorry for him and fed him twice a day because he would "beg" when I walked by his bowl. Then I decided to join her in Rome, so Steve had to feed him for the six days I was gone. He couldn't get Ari to eat his pellets at all (probably because I gave him a few more freeze-dried worms than I should have--bad grandma) and was terrified of inadvertently starving the fish, since he and my daughter don't get along very well in the first place. By the time Monica and I got home that betta was turning up his nose at anything but worms.  Hate to think how badly I'll spoil actual grand_children_ some day!


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Thanks again to all*

By the way, Lazarus is still doing well and I'm still amazed by his recovery from where he had been.

Koi are probably the most personable fish that I've ever had and it's not hard to see why people get so attached to them. The fact that they can live so long is another factor, as they can live to be over 100.

I used to raise lots of Angelfish, hence my silly moniker and they also could become quite tame, as you say.

I also managed to raise a few Bettas and they were my last fish venture before a long hiatus that led to the Koi and pond fish. Bettas do like the worms as they are basically carnivores and relish live or meaty foods. Feeding twice a day is probably best anyway or even more if time permits, just smaller quantities.

It is difficult not to spoil the grandkids or even our own children for that matter. Something we all wrestle with and joke about. 

Bill


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Bill,

Thank you so much for your reply to my questions. I haven't been able to get to all the threads till now. I loved your descriptions of how the other fish responded to Lazarus. We, the naked apes, don't pay much attention any longer to any species other than ourselves and thus miss the intelligence and caring they show among themselves. Our increasingly technical lifestyles has separated us from nature so far that by now that most people see non human life as either food in plastic wrap or something to be eradicated as pests. 

I'm so glad to hear Lazarus is doing well.

Margaret


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## jbangelfish (Mar 22, 2008)

*Thank you Margaret*



Margarret said:


> Bill,
> 
> Thank you so much for your reply to my questions. I haven't been able to get to all the threads till now. I loved your descriptions of how the other fish responded to Lazarus. We, the naked apes, don't pay much attention any longer to any species other than ourselves and thus miss the intelligence and caring they show among themselves. Our increasingly technical lifestyles has separated us from nature so far that by now that most people see non human life as either food in plastic wrap or something to be eradicated as pests.
> 
> ...


True, most of us don't but look at all of us. My kids are like us as well, just more preoccupied with themselves and their own problems in life. I'm just happy that they turned out at least somewhat like me and they have no meanness in them and feel compassion for our animal companions as well as people who would be picked on by many. I always stressed to my sons to defend and protect those who were unable to do it for themselves. 

The selfishness and lack of compassion that shows in today's youth, very likely came from their parents or the lack of parents, which is also a big problem today. I'm afraid that it's just a sign of the times and only those with a good heart will rise above and do something truly good.

Animals are pure and only do what they must to survive. Even among them, there are bullies as they must have their heirarchies so that the fittest can live on. People should be above all of that and should know better but for some reason, many do not.

Bill


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## JuliePigeon (Sep 11, 2008)

Wow! That's Really amazing how you saved that fish! I love fish and want to breed them eventually. What was it in the tank that made him ill? Again, truly amazing.


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

I've seen group support in several different species. They can put us to shame.

Thanks for sharing the information regarding the proper way to acclimate fish to a new environment. Very timely, as we are planning to repopulate our fish tank.


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

What a wonderful story and great outcome. Great job for caring and not giving up. I hope Lazarus is still doing well. Love the name.

The duck feeding the fish was amazing and cute.


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