# Cichlid falls out of tree in North Van (Missing yours?)



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

By Jane Seyd, North Shore News

It's a flying fish tale worthy of Finding Nemo. But in a bizarre twist, this unusual story of three North Vancouver women trying to reunite an exotic fish with its owner started on land - with a fish that fell out of a tree.

Cindy Wilkinson got home on Monday to find a voice message from her friend Jan Bailey.

"She said, 'The strangest thing just happened. A fish just fell out of our cedar tree on to the ground.'" Bailey, who lives near Third Street and St. David's Avenue, had seen the fish make a dive worthy of an Olympian in her backyard. Her husband went out to investigate, and found the piscine drop-in covered in cedar needles but - incredibly - still alive.

It was an unusual looking fish, reddy orange and about 25 centimetres long. Bailey hauled out an old aquarium, filled it with water and put the fish inside. Then she called Wilkinson, who promptly called Lynda Taylor, another friend who knows her fish and has a big koi pond.

"I said, 'There's a fish that just fell out of a tree,'" said Bailey.

The friends decided some Internet sleuthing was in order.

A quick check showed the mystery fish was probably a cichlid, an aquarium fish native to South and Central America and usually kept in indoor aquariums.

Wilkinson and Taylor took it to a local pet store and had its identity as a Midas cichlid con-firmed; it's described online as a "rather robust fish."

What's still a mystery is how the fish ended up in the tree. "Maybe someone was cleaning out its tank and left it outside for a minute," said Wilkinson.

Taylor said it's also possible the cichlid was put in an outdoor pond for the summer. Her best guess is an eagle or a heron, seeing a potential meal, snatched it from the water and dropped the fish from its perch.

For now, Taylor has set up the cichlid, nicknamed Lucky, in a small 30-gallon tank with pH-balanced water, plants and a bubbler to aerate his environment.

"He's swimming around and he's happy," said Wilkinson.

Because Midas cichlids can be aggressive towards other fish, Lucky has the tank to himself. Lucky has also turned from orange to a paler peach colour. Taylor, who already has koi, shubunkins, goldfish and rosy reds, is keeping a close eye on the new arrival.

"I've saved a lot of fishes. But not a cichlid. And not one that's fallen out of a tree," she said.

What the Taylor and Wilkinson hope to do is to reunite the fish with its owner.

"Who is going to think their fish is alive?" asked Wilkinson. "It's an unusual fish. I'm sure not many people have lost one of these things."
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Read more: 'Lucky' fish falls out of tree


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Not mine:bigsmile:


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Not mine, but a very lucky fish indeed! Something similar happened to my friend's parents who lived in Sumas...they had a very distinctively coloured kitten go missing from the farm, and chalked it up to coyotes. Months later, a neighbour a couple of miles away mentioned that they had a new kitten that had mysteriously appeared covered in scrapes at about the same time theirs vanished. The were able to bring him home but figured out that an eagle must have grabbed it, carried it and dropped it near their place.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Damn, I'm so tempted to contact them and see if they've rehomed it...


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

Elle i had no idea you were after a midevil lol, I actually know a guy who has one , haha
but if you want him your more than welcome to him...


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## roshan (Jul 19, 2010)

i posted an ad for a 2 gallon tank i found on craigslist, the person was giving awa a fish just like that one wiht the tank....hmmmm i wonder.....


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

> Elle i had no idea you were after a midevil lol, I actually know a guy who has one , haha
> but if you want him your more than welcome to him...


Yours is just a little too evil for me, or I'd take him. Mostly I feel bad for this one if they're still keeping him in that betta bowl in the pic!


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

yeah no doubt mine is eveil , i think i had read in the article that he is in a 33 gallon now maybe another article, but still im not sure how big he is looks at least 8 inches so a 33 is still small but ... yeah here is the exerpt from the article
"For now, Taylor has set up the cichlid, nicknamed Lucky, in a small 30-gallon tank with pH-balanced water, plants and a bubbler to aerate his environment.

"He's swimming around and he's happy," said Wilkinson.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Lucky+fish+falls+tree/7042116/story.html#ixzz239hsljf5"


Elle said:


> Yours is just a little too evil for me, or I'd take him. Mostly I feel bad for this one if they're still keeping him in that betta bowl in the pic!


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