wanted: another Very Brave Goldfish.....

I have a deep dark secret.....I am a serial goldfish killer.
Even though I quite successfully manage to feed and sustain a household of five people,I cannot manage to keep a small goldfish or two alive.
Since we first bought our tank in August, I have been an accessory to the demise of five goldfish of various breeds.
Julie Sylvia and Pearly Boom boom were the first couple to come and rather quickly go ( two weeks to be precise)....
Next up Fifi and Lola - Fifi was unhappy from the moment we brought her home. She sat in the corner of the tank and refused to explore or even to eat. After a day ,she started the dreaded upside- down and sometimes backwards swim. I must say though, Fifi was pretty tenacious and hung in there for a week. Lola seemed fine until I found her floating sadly at the top of the tank one morning. Fifi gave up about two hours later and so we bid both of them good bye...
I waited two weeks for the tank to finish " cycling" as instructed by my good fish man friend down at the local aquarium. By now I was an expert on nitrogen cycles, white spot and swim bladder disease.
I must admit ,I was sorely tempted at this point to give up on goldfish altogether and just grow aquatic plants instead. It was far easier to keep the tank clean and there was no risk of sucking a small goldfish into the gravel vacuum when it was time to clean (my sincere apologies to Pearly Boom Boom but apart from looking a little shocked there seemed to be no permanent damage. Besides which it wasn't actually my fault...the little sucker swam up the vacuum in a vain bid to escape...)

Anyway, I decided to give it one more try: this time I let my fish friend expert choose a good vigorous looking one and insisted that he test the water sample as well. I was determined to keep this one alive.
We didn't actually name this one but unofficially I thought of him as One Very Brave Goldfish.He was a feisty fish and practically leapt out of the water every time I lifted the lid to feed him his crumbs ( I am very careful NOT to overfeed - probably lean a bit more in the other direction). Five weeks and one successful partial water change   and O.V.B.G is still going strong. Until I opened the tank lid one morning early on in Week six to be greeted by one very still and very dead Brave Goldfish.

Now I am not a Squeamish type of girl: I can kill a cockroach, trap and get rid of very big hairy spiders, even stuff a chicken and I don't even eat meat  (only seafood but not,of course goldfish in case you were wondering).
Every Christmas I bring home an enormous whole salmon or ocean trout and cook it for Christmas Day. I'm talking a Very Big Fish here- last year I practically had to fold it in half to get in in the oven.

The sight of a tiny, small dead goldfish, however gives me the absolute horrors. I can hardly bring myself to look at it, let alone touch it or attempt to remove it from the tank and dispose of it.
Rose on the other hand was absolutely fascinated and offered to get it out of the tank for me. Which she promptly did by scooping it up in her hands....I did my best not to squeal and climb onto the nearest chair as she approached with the dead Very Brave Goldfish held outstretched in her hands. I convinced her that I did not in fact want to feel it or even get a closer look and she disposed of him in the bin. RIP One Very Brave Goldfish.

Now I have to decide whether to risk another gold fish or not .... I love the look of them swimming around the tank but I do not like the look of them floating quietly at the top.

Maybe I ought to try a hermit crab instead....

Comments

[Jen]

you know, my friend had the same problem as you, then she learned that she was buying feeders!!! she started spending more than 15 cents per fish, and her life became a bit happier!

[Eren]

We have the biggest goldfish tank the in entire world, but the fish (koi) were there when we bought the house. We dont do anything other than feed them every 3 days and make sure the filter is running smoothly. And they will go to the next owner of the house. Sorry you are having such a tough time. Maybe try another kind of fish???

[jessica]

oh, too bad little fish.

[Ruth]

Sorry to hear about the fish. No advice, just wishing you lots of luck with the next one - how unlucky can you be, right?

[melissa]

i loved your goldfish story. I think you and Rose are Very Brave, too!

[Mokey]

It's terrible when a goldfish dies! :'( We just lost one recently, and we were down in the dumps for a couple of days. I feel for you, but hang in there! Goldfish are super sweet. :)

[Tiel S-K]

I wish I could help with this dilemma, but I have a poor history with gold fish too. I have always had the belief that they are the best pet to buy if you want to let your children experience the notion of death. You think a small simple animal would be easy to take care of. As children we would insist they be buried in the garden, ceremony and all. My father would curse when he mowed the lawn because he kept on running into tiny brick tombstones.

best of luck with it all. Have you tried moving the tank into a different spot?

[barb]

So sorry to hear about OVBG..Have you tried Beta fish? I once kept one (Foster) in a bowl on my desk at work for over 2 years..( he even traveled home for vacations and maternity leave )and all I did was change water once a week and feed on weekday mornings.

[Charmaine]

I always did the same thing! THEN I found Betta fish (not sure of the spelling). They are very pretty with bright colors and as long as you only put one in the bowl, they do fine. I had one for about 3 years and it died and one for about 4 years until it died! Check them out.

[Jen]

ooh ooh! I got your card and LOVE it!!! thanks so much

[Green Darner]

If you think keeping goldfish alive is hard...you don't even want to "go there" with hermit crabs LOL!

It's so not fun pick up a shell and have a couple of claws and slimy dead lump fall out.