I have a goldfish.
I have a goldfish, but we originally had two. The bigger one (Shiner) was always bullying the other one (Tigger).
When we had had them about 1 1/2 years, Tigger developed a tumour, but kept his friendly cheerful personality! To help you picture them, the Shiner has the personality of a killer whale and Tigger was more like a dolphin (coming out of the water to be fed etc.)
When the tumour started getting bigger, I noticed that Shiner would let Tigger get the food first and she stopped bossing and pushing him around! I found this strange, as fish will usually attack weaker fish!
I should note that Shiner is bossy and demanding and will find various ways to get my attention, including splashing or making noises with her mouth at the top of the water.
Anyways, one time I noticed that she was desperately trying to get my attention by swimming very fast back and forth across the front of the tank. I thought that she wanted shrimp treats and it was too soon after feeding them supper, so I made a point of ignoring her!
She kept this up for about 15 minutes before I actually looked at her and I was going to ask her what she wanted. This is when I noticed that I couldn’t see Tigger! I went up to the tank (20 gallon) and still couldn’t see him. This was strange since he was approx. 6 inches long and very round! This is when Shiner went to the back corner and I saw Tigger had somehow gotten up and behind the tube and was stuck upside down! Shiner was “kissing him” (they were always touching each other and very close).
I opened the lid and pulled out the tube so Tigger could get free. He swam away just like nothing had happened! The really funny part, is that Shiner wouldn’t let him near that corner for the rest of the evening! If she saw him going towards it, she would swim quickly and cut him off or push him back across the tank!
Don’t believe people when they say that fish have no feelings, thoughts, or memory! It took two little goldfish to teach me that! (I’m a dog person).
I’m sad to say that Tigger’s cancer got worse and the vet said that he wouldn’t survive surgery. I had to put him to sleep when he was about 2 years old. Despite the size of his tumour, he kept his cheerful and playful personality right until the end! Even in the vet’s office, whenever I called him, he would poke his head out of the water and do his little dolphin act!
My goal in life is to see how many years I can keep Shiner alive! They can have very long life spans so we’ll see. Until then, she is one very special and spoiled goldfish! (I think she knows it!)