Sunday, January 21, 2018

I am worried about the goldfish

He doesn't look well at all.

And I fear it's my fault.

He's not even my goldfish, strictly speaking. He came to live with us when Younger Son and Nuora went travelling (I think - whenever it was it was a long time ago). He and his brother became part of our family and somehow I ended up as the one who looked after them. 

I say 'looked after' but they don't ask for much: a feed once a day and being cleaned out now and again. Probably a goldfish expert would say it's much more than that but they seemed to flourish on neglect. Well, initially they both did and then one died. 

The remaining one has continued to live ... and live and live. In spite of a growth on its back. It first appeared a few years ago but as it didn't bother him we ignored it. Over the years it's grown bigger and bigger and grosser and grosser, but it still hasn't caused him any obvious problems. He's certainly not off his food.

But yesterday I decided it was time to give the tank a proper clean, mainly because GrandSon4 had been overly-generous with the fish food. And since then Goldfish has not been himself. 

He's doing a lot of floating upside-down. Younger Son suggests he has problems with his flotation tank: his growth is nearly as big as he is. But why would that suddenly develop? And is it just coincidence that it happened when I cleaned the tank?

But the real reason I think it's my fault is that, before Christmas, I said to Husband, 'I wouldn't mind if he died. In fact I'd be quite relieved.' (I was suffering with the stress of pre-Christmas pressure at the time and cleaning his tank was just another thing I could have done without.)

I'm not really a goldfish person. But I am a guilt-ridden one.

I shall keep you updated.

3 comments:

Jimmy said...

The growth sounds really strange, and I am not sure what causes their flotation device to get out of kilter but have seen it happen. The timing with your statement is not good but it is only a coincidence and nothing to feel guilty about.

Sharon said...

Question a fish doctor? Maybe you could take a picture and email it?

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

He's had a good innings. Perhaps he just wants a little peace and quiet?