Actually, I’ve done this, sort of! I used to get the ‘feeder fish’ and let them grow instead. They can be pretty, with different coloration, and get pretty big! I had one that was about 6 inches long, was orange with a white spot on its ‘forehead’. It suddenly got sick with a fungus that covered it, and it sat on he bottom of the tank, leaning over. I put it in a separate medicated tank and gently wiped the infection off, but it still appeared dead, flopping over on its side. Figuring there was nothing left to lose, I held it face down over the big bubble stream coming from the aerator so the air went through the mouth and gills. After a short time, the thing began to gasp! A little bit after, it started to wriggle! When it seemed even stronger, I let go of it, and it started swimming. It had seizures for the first day, suddenly swimming into the side of the tank, but by the next day it seemed perfectly fine. The really weird thing is that its coloration changed- the white spot grew until it was all white with just some orange on the fins! He grew to over 8 inches, and earned the right to be named – Lazarus.
Actually, I’ve done this, sort of! I used to get the ‘feeder fish’ and let them grow instead. They can be pretty, with different coloration, and get pretty big! I had one that was about 6 inches long, was orange with a white spot on its ‘forehead’. It suddenly got sick with a fungus that covered it, and it sat on he bottom of the tank, leaning over. I put it in a separate medicated tank and gently wiped the infection off, but it still appeared dead, flopping over on its side. Figuring there was nothing left to lose, I held it face down over the big bubble stream coming from the aerator so the air went through the mouth and gills. After a short time, the thing began to gasp! A little bit after, it started to wriggle! When it seemed even stronger, I let go of it, and it started swimming. It had seizures for the first day, suddenly swimming into the side of the tank, but by the next day it seemed perfectly fine. The really weird thing is that its coloration changed- the white spot grew until it was all white with just some orange on the fins! He grew to over 8 inches, and earned the right to be named – Lazarus.