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Becky
Honor Thy Goldfish…With Peas
by Becky - April 23, 2007 - 5:15 PM

7yiWhen I was growing up, goldfish were the ultimate contraband. The easy-access packaging (a Ziplock bag, usually) was too tantalizing, and my mother was often too exhausted to resist our solicitations. But few were the hours before my sister was crouched over the fishbowl, gingerly lifting the doomed thing out of its habitat and into her Fritos-stained hands–”I’m petting him!” The ones that weren’t tortured this way were usually belly-up within weeks; however, if we’d been aware that many goldfish actually aren’t dead when they float or “swim” upside down, maybe things could have been different…Well, maybe our hopefuls wouldn’t have been able to top the lifespan of Goldie, the UK goldfish who died at 45, but still! Apparently, constipation in goldfish makes it tough for them to maintain equilibrium, tipping them upside down. But if you switch up their diets–boiled peas (as long as you remove the skins) are especially good–they should deflate in no time.

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Comments (4)

  1. A 45 year old goldfish? Yeah, ok. And there was only one Lassie. i think Goldie’s owner just has extra stealthy parents who good at replacing pets.

    posted by Jeff on 4-23-2007 at 5:53 pm

  2. I had a goldfish that lived to be 8 years old. It would float on the top for a day or two, or sink to the bottom, but then it would be fine. I’m positive my parents didn’t replace it because we wanted it to die more than they did.

    posted by Amy on 4-23-2007 at 6:14 pm

  3. I had a friend that had a goldfish that was about 20 years old. It was about 6 or 7 inches long. After all that time, it jumped out of the tank and died.

    posted by Stew on 4-24-2007 at 2:46 am

  4. The best way to avoid swim bladder issues in goldfish is to not feed them “tropical” fish food. Goldfish specific foods tend to be higher in fiber and help avoid the problem. My goldfish also enjoy finely diced melon, oranges (removed from the membrane) and cooked spinach.

    posted by zale on 4-25-2007 at 7:30 pm

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