Not very nice pictures
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 1:25 amEvery day I've spent some time by the pond looking out for the tancho. I think it's almost 2 weeks since she got damaged during mating. Anyway... I've not seen her since, until today that is 
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I was out this afternoon and on returning home I went to feed the fish. When I opened the back door... my poor tancho is laying dead on the patio, about 100 feet from the pond and up some steps
. How on earth did she get there??? Anyway, I inspected her for injuries and such, but she looked very much as she did 2 weeks ago e.g. the mark on her back was not worse or improved. The thing that did confuse me... I've seen quite a few dead fish, but none like this. Sorry to be graphic, but she reminded me of the DOAs (dead on arrival), that used to come to casualty to be certified dead by the doctors (they used to keep them in the ambulance). When someone has been dead for a while, there is a horrible mottled look where gravity allows the blood to settle at the lowest level and the longer dead, the more pronounced it is. Well the tancho had this on her head, so I'm thinking that she had been dead for rather a long time. When I moved her, there was no flexibility... like she had come out of a freezer solid.
Bearing in mind that I've checked the pond for her every day... what's going on here?
If she had been dead in the pond for a while but only just surfaced... would she be bloated at all? Apart from a fleeting thought of the ridiculous such as someone has had her in their freezer for a couple of weeks then planted her there whilst I was out (Donna suggested this and reminded me about the missing duck eggs). I can only think that the guy who cut the grass this morning saw her in the pond, fished her out, then placed her on the patio. I won't be able to check with him until next week.
Anyway... here are those awful pics, if you can bear to look:
.I was out this afternoon and on returning home I went to feed the fish. When I opened the back door... my poor tancho is laying dead on the patio, about 100 feet from the pond and up some steps
. How on earth did she get there??? Anyway, I inspected her for injuries and such, but she looked very much as she did 2 weeks ago e.g. the mark on her back was not worse or improved. The thing that did confuse me... I've seen quite a few dead fish, but none like this. Sorry to be graphic, but she reminded me of the DOAs (dead on arrival), that used to come to casualty to be certified dead by the doctors (they used to keep them in the ambulance). When someone has been dead for a while, there is a horrible mottled look where gravity allows the blood to settle at the lowest level and the longer dead, the more pronounced it is. Well the tancho had this on her head, so I'm thinking that she had been dead for rather a long time. When I moved her, there was no flexibility... like she had come out of a freezer solid. Bearing in mind that I've checked the pond for her every day... what's going on here?
If she had been dead in the pond for a while but only just surfaced... would she be bloated at all? Apart from a fleeting thought of the ridiculous such as someone has had her in their freezer for a couple of weeks then planted her there whilst I was out (Donna suggested this and reminded me about the missing duck eggs). I can only think that the guy who cut the grass this morning saw her in the pond, fished her out, then placed her on the patio. I won't be able to check with him until next week.
Anyway... here are those awful pics, if you can bear to look:
When mine surfaced he was very soft and just broke in half when I tried to get him out. It seems extremely strange to find her on your patio. Is there no chance of phoning the lawn guy? Usually don't things go stiff with rigamortis and then afterwards soften up again? I can't understand why she should be so stiff. You haven't upset the next door neighbour again have you 
If it was the lawn guy who placed her there wouldn't he have left you a note?