What the strangest thing you found in your tank?

[bob21115]

Well mine is a bat. No not a baseball bat. A flying brown bat.

Tonight after I put the kids to bed I walked into the living room to it have do a flyby. The cat chased it for 2 more passes and it when in to the hallway so I thought. I woke my wife for work(she works 3rd's) warned her about the bat. I looked in each room and shut the doors. I walked past the 300 reef tank and for some reason the naso's were out and that made me look into the tank. There it was taking a swim at the top of the tank. The odd thing is the tank is covered completely except for a 2in hole over the overflow. I took a net to covered the hole and it swam on to the top of the overflow. I was able to grab him with a pair of long tweezers.

I put him in a box taped it shut. I took some pictures. See below

I dont want this thing in the house again, but I didn't want it to die outside either(its soaking wet). I also promised my 12 year old daughter I wouldn't kill it. So I'm going to put holes in the container and put him in the basement. I'll have vector control take him in the morning (I hope).

 

[kaihonu82]

oh my god, that's freaky

 

[cfarrow2]

I was going to post a lame-*** pic of a weird sea slug I found once, but after seeing this I think you won. Hands down. Definitely the weirdest thing ever found in a tank. (Fish can't get rabies can they?)

 

[cfarrow2]

By the way, I know we're supposed to keep this site reef related but.......GO HAWKS!!

 

[2fishy]

You had a bat in your house in February in Michigan! Okay, that almost freaks me out more then the bat landing in your aquarium! I didn't think we had bats out this time of the year or do you think it was somewhere else in the house prior to its appearance?:eek2:

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

define strange. looking? acting?

IMO, it is mostly all really strange, like a living Dr Seuss story

the marine algae I have seen probably blows me away the most for strange looking
like right now I have a couple Astrea snails with those multi-deck Acetabularia's(look like a 3-tiered round cookie tray) growing on their shells. Look like weird tall CB antennas or something heh

but that kind of stuff is the constant kaleidoscope of my reeftank


or strange like a mithrax crab climbing around on a gorg like monkey bars (actually was foraging, not playing )

 

[Alphabet]

Thats totally crazy. I was cleaning my tank the other night (imagine that ) and I found a spoon from Wendys!!! Have no clue how it ended up there, although I had company over a couple weeks ago??

 

[2fishy]

On the stair side of our half wall, there is a shim that keeps poking out from under the oak ledge. My 9 year old broke off pieces of the shim, set them on the ledge, and flicked them into the living room. One landed in the aquarium and got caught on my polyps. Boy, was he in trouble!

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

heh, now I get it: Alien thing. I've been lucky there.

the worst thing story I ever heard ever was one from a guy at a CSEA mtg.
he eventually figured out that he had a LR encrusted brass nut from off a ship or something.

his stuff was dying for no reason until just for the halibut he tested for copper out of desperation. I wonder what the combined feeling of revelation and extreme nausea was like when he read those test results

 

[Sk8r]

Be kind of careful. Rabies is rampant among bats. Don't let it drop excrement on or bite you, and throw away that container when you release it.

 

[bob21115]

I think he was in the attic. I noticed that the hatch to the attic was open a crack the other day. I'm sure he got cold and wanted something to eat.

This is the second flying thing I've had in the house in 2 weeks I caught a bird in the basement when I was working with some frags.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9286139#post9286139 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 2fishy
You had a bat in your house in February in Michigan! Okay, that almost freaks me out more then the bat landing in your aquarium! I didn't think we had bats out this time of the year or do you think it was somewhere else in the house prior to its appearance?:eek2:

 

[bob21115]

I was very careful. Never touched it. I will trow away the nets I used and the container. I was reading you can get sick from the spit also.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9286370#post9286370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Be kind of careful. Rabies is rampant among bats. Don't let it drop excrement on or bite you, and throw away that container when you release it.

 

[Aliie]

WOW! That is crazy! Never had bats but flying squirrels are common around here. I can't believe that the little things crawled into the hole. Must have been thirsty after making so many flybys. :lol:

 

[sandry75]

I woke up one morning and during my normal quick inspection found this thing?

I thought my kids threw something in the tank! Found out later it was a nest from my Moon Snail !!

 

[SpektralerSpeer]

f the bat is acting strangely and unseasonably, be very careful. Realistically, you can only contract rabies if it bites you (people have also been infected through breathing in 'bat dust' in caves). The problem with bat bites is that they are hardly noticeable. If there is any chance anyone could have been bitten by the bat, I would recommend seeing a doctor.

Paul

 

[bob21115]

Luckily ther is no chance at all anyone was bit.

I brought the bat to the local animal control this morning. They said they were going to destroy it.

 

[sunfish11]

All that trouble taking the bat in and they are going to destroy it??? Why didn't you just let it go? After all it's just a silly little bat... Near my home we have thousands and thousands of bats that eat bugs all night long. People put up bat houses to encourage them to move close by. I have had one in the house before (we took it outside and let it go.)

Argh!...City folk...

 

[hyperfocal]

Odd behavior is an early sign of rabies -- flying into someone's house and taking a swim in their tank probably qualifies as odd behavior for a bat ;-) Given that, I'm not surprised they decided to destroy the bat, better safe than sorry.

Oh, and bob21115... you win the internet.

 

[bob21115]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9288012#post9288012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sunfish11


Argh!...City folk... [/B]

1. Its the middle of winter and it was soaked with salt water. How long do you think it would have lasted. If it was warmer out I would have let it go.

2. I didn't know they were going to destroy it until I ask if I should leave it in the hallway or bring it in. They said leave it there and they would destroy it. What was I todo?

3. I completely understand the benefits of the bats.

What would you have done? I thought I was doing whatg was best for the bat. I think most people would have just killed it first chance they got.

 

[bob21115]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9288049#post9288049 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hyperfocal
Odd behavior is an early sign of rabies -- flying into someone's house and taking a swim in their tank probably qualifies as odd behavior for a bat ;-) Given that, I'm not surprised they decided to destroy the bat, better safe than sorry.

Oh, and bob21115... you win the internet.

I think he was aready in the house and as far as flying into the tank. Actinic light were still on and I have the left side of the wall open replace a 30 cube with 2 60's.

I'm sure he thought the back of the wtank was a cave and landed on top of the tank to find the hole in the cover. Wanting to getaway from the lights he went threw the hole into the dark warm tank. Here is a picture of the construction and a link to the build thread.

60 Cube upgrade thread