An eight-hour power cut last Sunday spelt the death sentence for expensive exotic koi fish which Anthony Abela Medici had been raising for over 30 years.

The couple of fish of the Japanese breed, each costing around €1,000, floated lifelessly to the surface of the pond after struggling to breathe for hours.

“The air pumps were off for too long, causing them to suffocate to death,” Abela Medici, a retired and renowned forensic expert, said.

“Big fish like these need constant oxygen circulation in the water, which can only be achieved by pumping air into the pond.”

He said last Sunday’s was the third power cut for scheduled maintenance in Dingli last week.

“I wish they had at least called us up before cutting off electricity,” he said.

“When I called them, Enemalta said they uploaded a notice on their website but the residents did not know that.”

Abela Medici bought 10 koi fish more than 30 years ago and has seen them grow since.

On Sunday, after four hours without electricity, he noticed two of them swimming lethargically close to the surface and explained how he and his wife desperately tried to save the fish from dying. 

“They were clearly seeking more oxygenated water near the surface of the pond,” Abela Medici said.

“We tried to pour buckets of water into the pond to generate air flow but it was all in vain. They died shortly afterwards."

The fish measured over a foot and weighed around six kilogrammes each.

Abela Medici noted that the breed is quite high-maintenance but has a remarkable life expectancy.

“They may have otherwise lived for 100 years or even more,” he said.

Expensive fish

Japanese breeds of koi fish are some of the most expensive pet fish in the world and they are very much sought-after, mostly because of their bright skin colour and patterns, size and the way they gracefully swim.

In Japan, koi breeding is as popular as dog breeding and many koi owners enter their fish in competitions all around the world.

The most expensive koi fish ever on record was sold for $1.8 million in 2017.

Abela Medici insisted that even though the fish were expensive and important to him, there were people in other households who are affected way more severely by power cuts.

“For me it was just the fish, for other people it may be their medical equipment, breathing pumps or elevators,” he said.

“For most people, a power cut may be just a temporary inconvenience but for others it may be life-threatening.”