Fish with half its body missing still alive and well in Ratchaburi

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Half fish is still alive and swimming

RATCHABURI:-- A video that shows a half fish that is still swimming and that has gone viral on Internet has now caught attention from fishery experts with confirmation that fish that is left with half body can still be alive.

They say that it is possible for the animal to be alive and if looked after properly should be able to have a long life.

The video shows the Goldfin Tinfoil Barb has only half a body but somehow is still alive.

Its owner has now named his half fish ‘Boon Krueng’ or literally translated means ‘lucky by half’ or ‘half lucky’.

Its condition came about after it lept out of its tank and hit the edge of a concrete covering 5 months ago.

The wounds it suffered on the bottom half of its body had slowly decomposed leaving it with only half a body.

Despite its condition, its owner decided to still look after it and ‘Boon Krueng’ has become something of a minor celebrity at the fish shops in Ratchaburi province.

Fisheries experts explained that fish are cold-blooded animals that breathe with gills.

So even though losing half of its body, the upper half which contains its vital respiratory organs is still able to function.

They go on to say that the bottom half of a fish’s body is composed mainly of muscles and flesh anyway so there is no reason why ‘Boon Krueng’ cannot live for a long time if well looked after.

Goldfin Tinfoil Barbs belongs to the same family as Java Barb or more commonly known as Silver Barb.

Normally, these fishes are fed by dropping fish meal directly into their tanks wherein they feed on the surface where the food floats but in ‘Boon Kruengs’ case, fish meal that submerge or sink are a necessity.

This is because poor ‘Boon Krueng’ has difficulty in surfacing to get to foods floating on the surface. Furthermore, the experts advise feeding him prawns or shrimps which would help in muscle regeneration and allow him to grow strong even though he is only half a fish.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/half-fish-is-still-alive-and-swimming

-- Thai PBS 2105-12-25

[Misterwhisper]

Wow, amazing!

And now everybody must flock to wherever Boon Krueng lives pronto-pronto, because there surely are lottery numbers displaying on what is left of his scales.

[retarius]

Amazing, truly amazing

[cruisemonkey]

Poor Boon Krueng is not even a half-assed fish any more.

[Norvid 1950]

Just wonder, if this fish feels phantom pain of the missing part of her body.

[sanukjim]

These so called experts are wrong.The fish will survive for a while,then it will die from it's insides being esposed..It could not digest any food as it has no stomach but it will die long before it starves.

[losworld]

Great I am sure many will now be cutting apart fish to see if it is true.

[Narratio]

But, if he's half a fish, shouldn't the name be Eric, or was that just for a Bee?