I absolutely and totally love Goldfish! I have 9 fancy goldfish thriving in a one hundred and twenty five gallon aquarium. Goldfish are docile, social fish and are so sweet and easy to tame. My fish will eat out of your hand, and they always come to the top of the tank greet me when I walk by (they might just be begging, goldfish are real piggy’s!). Well, here they are; meet my Goldfish!
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Steadman is a Moor and is 2 years old. Steadman is almost totally blind. I think he can see light because he reacts when the light is turned on or off, but doesn’t react to food being dropped in the tank or people walking in the room. Most adult Moore’s are blind because the optic nerve is distorted-see his bulging eyes? Steadman is a BIG BOY-about 9 inches nose to tail. [top] | |
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Puppy is an Oranda and is about a year and a half old, maybe a little older. I got Puppy from the local fish store. A customer had returned him to the store because they didn’t want him any more! (I don’t understand anybody not wanting a goldfish!) He was in a “return” tank with Bala sharks and Cichlids, the other fish had torn his fins to shreds. I could hardly tell if he was ill, just beat up, or both. Long story short, I brought him home and nursed him back to health-isn’t he gorgeous? Puppy is almost 9 inches long nose to tail too. Oh, I call him “Puppy” because it was kind of like picking up a puppy from the dog pound; how I got him, and he has a puppy face. Puppy had an ordeal, here is his story... [top] | |
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Ms. Thing is a Pearlscale. Pearlscale’s have round, thick, domed scales instead of flat scales like most fish. They also have round bodies because they have really, really short spines. Because of their body shape they swim kind of funny-like they are doing a hula! Ms. Thing was all black when I got her, but she turned orange almost over night. [top] | |
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Malcolm is a Ranchu. I got Malcolm, Harriett, and Tanya at the same time from a goldfish importer. This man imports goldfish from China and I think he has his business back East somewhere...anyway, here's how ordering goldfish on the Internet works; You call the importer up and tell him what you are looking for; he tells you what he has in stock, you agree/decide on the goldfish, exchange money, and viola’, the next day FedEx hands you a box (you can hear “splashing”) full of goldfish!! Really cool! Anyway, Ranchu’s don’t have dorsal fins and they have little “tucked” tails. They kind of look like whales when they swim. Malcolm is the smallest fish I have, and the youngest. “He” hasn’t matured yet, and is the only fish I have that I’m not yet sure if “he” is a he or a she. Malcolm is a love though; and so little, only 3 or 4 inches. Malcolm swims in circles and “corkscrew loops”, kind of like a dolphin. [top] | |
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Dell is a Comet, the most common variety of goldfish. I have had him the longest of all my fish. He doesn’t have nearly as much personality as the others, but Dell is great to have in the tank because he is white. White goldfish are like barometers for bad things going on in fish tanks. Dell’s veins will turn red if the water parameters are getting bad, (high nitrates, or ammonia) when that happens I know I need to do a water change right away! His body is bright-white if I am feeding high quality, fresh food. His skin turns kind of dull or yellowish if the food is old or of poor quality. [top] | |
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Harriett is a Ranchu like Malcolm. She was the same size as Malcolm when I got her and now she is more than twice as big, about the size of a medium baked potato. Harriett is has a great personality; she comes up to the surface to check out any activity, she stares right at you. She will rub against my hand if I am cleaning, arranging (rearranging) tank. And of course, she will eat right out of your hand! The other fish seem to like her best too, they will follow her around the tank, and if Harriett is doing something the others come to check it out. Harriett is defiantly one of my favorites. [top] | |
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Tanya-ahhh isn’t she the cutest? She is a Pearlscale like Ms. Thing, but Tanya has a “crown”; see the jelly like lump on her forehead? That’s a crown; she also has some calico markings (the black dots and the stripe on her tail). Tanya was shipped with Malcolm and Harriett, and was sadly damaged on the journey. I thought she was dead when I opened the box; she was upside-down and not moving. I totally freaked, did some quick fishy CPR, she was alive-just barely…for weeks she lay on the bottom of the tank and didn’t swim at all. I would have to pick her up to feed her; she was like a little bird sitting in my palm eating the pellets I was holding. Eventually she began to swim a little, she is still fragile and she will lounge on the bottom of the tank sometimes, or she perches herself in a plant to rest, but she is fine for the most part. The coolest thing about Tanya is she is PERFECTLY round-just like a golf ball. I think if she was in a Goldfish Show Tanya would win, she is that pretty and perfect (I think!). Oh, she still comes to me to rest in my hand. [top] | |
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Herman AKA Herm is an Oranda, not nearly as pretty as Puppy, but I think she is pretty. Herm, we learned soon after she was named, is a girl. She was black and orange for about a year and slowly turned all orange. She has never developed much head growth, but in a way that is good, sometimes goldfish “wens” grows so large that the fish can’t see. I have had to trim Puppy’s wen, I don’t think I’ll have that problem with Herm. Herm is the biggest pig, when I feed the fish, she sticks her head clear out of the water and smacks her mouth. If I hold the food and don’t let go Herm will suck on my fingers until she get a mouthful, or if you don’t have food she will just suck on your fingers (you can feel the bones in the back of her throat-eeewww). [top] | |
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Wanda is a Ryukin. Ryukin’s are supposed to have deep bodies and humps on their backs, Wanda isn’t defined in either area, but he (another early mistaken gender identification) has really cool markings: it looks like he has lipstick on!! Cool, huh? He also has a beautiful tail. One weird thing; Wanda developed a tumor at the base of his tail, I have tried to pop it, applied medication and peroxide to it, but it just comes back. He has had it for about 6 months and it isn’t getting bigger (or smaller) so I guess we’ll just live with it. [top] |
Copyright © Mo McKenna, 2003. All rights reserved.