"Hussein M." wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 Feb 2003 21:12:45 -0000, "snafu steve"
wrote:

snip
Isn't it goldfish which can simply swim out of a thawing block of
ice? I pondered last night whether their ageing processes are slowed
down dramatically under sun zero temperatures. But then I laughed out
loud with the thought that even if their lifetime had been thus
prolonged it wouldn't be much of a bonus spending the exra time with
numb brain all fruzzed up in a block of ice.

No I don't think it's goldfish cos I am quite a keen fish keeper and one of
my books recommends for fish euthansia to freeze them. Their body temp
falls ever so slowly until they stop functioning. Fortunately I've not yet
had to do this but it seems the most humane way compared to lots of other
horrid ways that I could *never* do.

They can survive *very* cold water though and do hang almost motionless at
the bottom of the pond for many weeks in our winters. We've had 10cm of ice
on the pond before now and they've all survived it (with an air hole of
course to let out poisonous gases). Here's hoping they all pull through
this year.

--A