How has this fish survived?

[welshfox]

Hi all. A bizarre one I know, but about 4 months ago, the pump broke in my all singing, all dancing fish tank. I had been keeping minnows and Danios in there and its cold water, although the room is normally quite warm so they're not freezing.
Anyway, I took ALL the fish out and popped them into another tank with a working pump/filter/light etc and hey presto; they are quite happy there and there are no issues.
Just after moving the fish, I did something to my back, and so shamefully, have been unable to clean out the old tank, as it is situated about 4.5' - 5' in the air as a feature on my stone fireplace.
Anyway, I have checked the tank for the past few months just to see if there's any movement, such as snails etc, but nothing.
For the past week, my back has been a lot better, and so tonight, after a good 7 days of looking at the tank to make sure there was no life within, I decided to pluck up the courage to see if my back would hold out long enough for me to empty and clean the old tank for repair.
Low and behold, as I looked into the tank, I saw the smallest flash of silver, and on closer inspection, found that there was a minute baby fish swimming along quite happily in the stagnant water. To say I was gobsmacked is a total understatement. He has definately not been there long, or has been just so tiny I haven't noticed him?
How on earth has this little fella survived with no food, light,or filtered water? Are Minnows/Danios really that resiliant? And more to the point, surely their eggs would have turned to mush shortly after the tank ceased to work, wouldnt they?
The little dude is fine and in a bag of the water in the other tank to acclimatise, before I put him into a breeding tank tomorrow so that the big guys dont eat him, but is anyone else suprised by this? And can anyone offer me any decent explanation as to how this brave lil' soldier has survived the past 4 months or so please?x

[hammerman]

A lot of fish are very tough like this....my mate has an 8 foot tank which, about 2 years ago, he kept African cichlids in. A few weeks ago, he decided to sell the tank so emptied it and left it waiting for someone to buy it. yesterday, he stuck his hand down one of the corner weirs to get the filter wool out and was greeted by one of his African cichlids.

Now bearing in mind he hadn't had Africans in the tank for 2 years, the weir was a mere 6" x 6", freezing cold, no filteration and no food for 3 weeks, the fish was one of the healthiest ive seen. We think it might of entered the chamber as a baby and that's where it's lived all its life living on any food thats been washed over.

[welshfox]

Aww, Thanks Hammerman. I'm sure your mate was as shocked as I was yesterday. Still can't believe it but I guess that some fish are just majorly stubborn and determined not to give in!!!
I'm pleased to report that my little lad is still alive and swimming around his new net enclosure inside the tank,as happy as Larry!
I guess that theres some kind of philosophical meaning behind this though, like there's always hope, or new life can spring out of a stagnant pond etc etc! Thanks again for you reply :-)

[Pigletion]

One can only assume there was enough food, oxygen etc. in the big tank for one little fishy.

What a lovely story!