This fish kind of randomly appeared in the tank...?

Question

This isn't a joke! Even if it seems like it, really!

My fish tank is really big. (About 5 feet long and two feet deep)

Anyway this fish that is about twice the size of any of the others will randomly come out of the plants/algae and swim up to the surface really really fast and then just go back down to the plant again.

I don't have any other fish that look like it, and we haven't gotten any new ones. It wasn't there yesterday.

What the hell?

Well we have had all these fish for about a year...they are the kind tht just kind of refuse to die haha...but...

The three (for lack of better word) normal fish are:

The biggest type is silver and black striped about a square inch, with a big back fin and a smaller one on top of it, kind of.

Then there are the medium ones that are red on their bodies and ther heads are browinsh, and are shaped just like goldfish (crackers)

The smallest ones are about an inch lonf but only about a cm tall, and when the light hits them right has a blue/red streak. Not the glowfish but they reflect.

Also I just noticed that there are a few ones about the same size only they are grey and silver striped.

the random fish is about 4 or 5 inches long, brown, and well...kind of ugly. But I haven't gotten that good of a look at it

Maybe God is trying to disprove Darwin haha

And all the other fish seem kind of satrtled by it

The fish and the tank came with the house when we moved in a few years back. (The previous owner said that he was tired of taking care of it.)

But what made me notice it was the fact that it will just sprint up to the surface like that and make a huge slpashing noise. And it seirously wasn't there before...

Answer 1

If it's big, brown and ugly, it's probably some kind of plecostomus. You ought to check out some sites with pictures of tropical fish so you will be able to identify all the fish you have in your tank. Just for your own fun.

Answer 2

Either the fish was just put in your tank by someone playing a "joke" on you, or maybe an egg or small fry (newly born baby fish) accidentally came with the purchase of a live plant. It is very possible that an egg or fry could have been living on or in a live plant that you could have purchased and you just didn't notice it living in your tank until now, as it is very good at hiding. Try to catch it and bring it to the pet store to see if they can identify it - hopefully it is a fish you can keep with your other fish, otherwise the pet store could take the fish from you if you don't want it.

Answer 3

From the way you describe your tank and the way you ask your question,it seems like you hardly ever really look in the tank or really notice what's happening in there. you may have bought a loach,eel,ropefish,or catfish a long time ago as a small fish and when you didn.t see it you forgot about it. These are nocturnal fish and many times hide under the gravel. Now it got bigger and is looking for more food. Since it is a bottom-dweller,it rarely comes out or up for food,and then,only at night when the light is off. Or;someone sneaked in a new fish without telling you,to surprise you.

Answer 4

Maybe if you could post a photo of it here, someone could help you identify it.

As far as how it got there - are we talking live plants in your tank? I once bought a bunch of Elodea (or Anacharis, or whatever the taxonomists are calling it this week!), it was stuffed in a bag (without water), rinsed out well under tap water to remove any snail eggs, and three days later I find a baby fish in the 10 gallon tank I had put it in. Mine turned out to be a zebra danio. Either I had an egg on one of the plants or a tiny fry that managed to get stuck in the axil of a leaf and stem of a plant.

(Sorry, I don't buy spontaneous generation! Maybe someone's playing a joke on you!)

Answer 5

Hi, I'd like to help but I need more info.
1. How long have you had this tank and how long has there been fish in it?
2.What kind of fish do you have?
3.How many?
4.What size are your fish?

Answer these q's and maybe I can give a answer.

Answer 6

I believe you have a plecostomos in your tank they like to hide under rocks etc. or in vegetation they are actually in the catfish family. They have a large rounded head with a body that is tapered back to the tail. They swim very fast and will sometimes attach themselves to the glass and just hang there. They are very efficient at cleaning the glass inside the tank and the aquarium floor and in a large aquarium will grow to about 5-6 in. in length and they tend to be nocturnal.

Answer 7

people who like fish. people who want a puppy yet won't be able to have the money for or seem after a cat or canines, etc. people who want to reproduce fish and make a earnings. some people purchase large fish tanks using fact they're wealthy and want to instruct off to their acquaintances and kinfolk. people who like the seem of fishes or fish tanks. additionally some spas have fish tanks as they're meant to be relaxing and theraputic. desire this helped!

Answer 8

Oh my gosh, what the heck? That is weird... Maybe someone put it in there for some reason. Maybe it's some weird plant creature that grows out of plants or something. Ask another question about it w/ a description and stuff because I want to research this.

Answer 9

I hate to ask the obvious question -

Do you have any pranksters in the house? Maybe someone bought a newbie and popped it in!

Or, is it possible that some of your fish bred and created a frankenstein?

Either way, I hope he's friendly with your other fish... maybe take him down to your local petshop and see if anyone can identify him!

Answer 10

Mabye someone got you a new fish as a surprise or mabye if the owner gave you the fish then that fish was there and you just never really noticed him. It would be really cool if it just ended up their. Can you describe the fish more?

A$h!