Couple's dinner turns into new pet after fish survives 48 hours on ice

A woman who visited a fishmonger was shocked to discover the gills of the crucian carp she bought were still moving - after nearly 48 hours on ice.

Knowing the fish had so far defied the odds of survival, the woman and her partner sprang into action and ran a bath of water which is where the carp would live for the next two weeks.

Cindy Lao from Cheltenham was in London for Chinese New Year with her friends.

On her last day away, she visited a fishmonger and bought several sea bass and Crucian carp, which are believed to have come from the wholesalers that morning.

When Cindy arrived home, she stored the fish in the fridge and the next day she began to prepare it for dinner.

But, soon after she called her partner Paul Lewis-Borman to the kitchen as she could not believe what she was seeing - one of the fish seemed to still be alive.

Paul said: “She called me down as she had thought she had seen the Crucian carp’s gills moving and asked me what I thought. They certainly were.

“I was in two minds of whether to put the poor thing out of its misery but Cindy said ‘no, it is a miracle he is still alive’. So we got a bowl of water to put him in.”

For a while, the fish seemed to be struggling, however, he slowly showed more signs of life.

Paul said: “The carp was listless for a while, but after 20 minutes those gills were certainly going.

“We had nowhere to keep him except the bath and luckily we have another shower room. Needless to say, he could not stay there and it did put you off when you were trying to use the toilet.

“Lazarus, as he is now known, needed to be rehoused, if for no other reason than my girlfriend was then paying the fish more attention than she did me. In the picture, you can see how quickly things can change, 24 hours before he was going to be dinner.”

Paul posted on a forum called Pets4Homes and a lady with a pond with Koi carp in it came forward and said she would happily give Lazarus a good home.

Paul said: “He had been through a lot. He was sandwiched between all those dead fish for all that time and was nearly dinner. Cindy certainly bought fresh fish that day.

“We are pleased he now has a good home. The lady told us he now has a best fish friend who he happily is swimming about within his new home.”