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Goldfish survive 134 days without food after NZ earthquake

27 July 2011 [14:12] - TODAY.AZ
Two goldfish have become the smallest and hardiest survivors of the devastating February earthquake in Christchurch that killed 181 people.

The fish, named Shaggy and Daphne after characters from the animated television show Scooby Doo, spent four and a half months - 134 days - trapped in their tank in the city's off-limits downtown without anyone to feed them or even any electricity to power their tank filter before they were discovered this month and rescued.

Luckily for the fish, they lived in a large 26-gallon tank and may have gleaned some nutrition from eating algae growing on the tank's rocks and walls.

"It's certainly an incredible story. I wouldn't have guessed that fish could survive on their own for four months," said Paul Clarkson, curator at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. "Goldfish are very hardy critters." He said naturally growing bacteria may have helped keep the water clean enough to sustain life.

Then there's the delicate question of their missing companions. There were six goldfish in the tank when the earthquake struck. By the time the survivors were found, no trace remained of three of the fish. A fourth was found floating in the tank. Goldfish are, after all, omnivores.

The fish had been on display in the reception area of Quantum Chartered Accountants in Christchurch's High Street. Company director Vicky Thornley said she was about to step into the elevator when the quake hit and she grabbed onto the wooden tank surround, both to steady herself and stop the tank from falling.


/The Telegraph/

URL: http://www.today.az/news/interesting/91477.html

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