Trouble in FishTown Batman!!!

So this evening has proven to be very exciting indeed. While preparing a delectable new culinary invention (details to follow), our attention was instantly yanked from hot griddles and computer screens to our top shelf fish tank. While the tankmates have always been known to be on the fiesty side, the activity was sudden, LOUD and and elevating in urgency. The 5 of us - Ali, myself, Audrey, Pew and Rachel - all stare dumb-founded at the tank. One of our stripey guys, a leporinus, was meandering through one of the cubby-holes on his aquatic plastic cave when low and behold the posterior portion of him could not negotiate the hole opening. The little bugger was stuck fast and both him and the cave were flopping wildly about the tank. HOLY SHIT!!!! RESCUE MISSION!!!

So both Ali and I have a pregnant pause and then leap to our senses and dive in. We grab hold of the cave and gently try to tap the fella out. No luck. Errrrrt. So with Ali's encouragement, I use a bit more force and try to maneuver our slippery friend back through the way he came but he had himself wedged in tight.

Despite being "Farm Girl" I pussed out and couldn't take it and passed the delicate operation onto Ali. Try as he might Flipper wouldn't budge...time to bust out the tools. Wire-cutters? Check. Pliers? Check.

So I'm standing there, in probably more distress than the fish is experiencing while Ali chips away at the sturdy plastic noose around our scaley friend's body. With each snip I cringe...I know he's being careful but that's awfully close to his vulnerable soft spots.

So after a few dips in and out of the water, and a 5 fingered tweak, the little rascal was free at last. His back is a bit scratched, but amazingly he's no worse for wear.