OH HENRY!

I've been feeling sorry for Henry, the Goldfish lately.  He needs a mate.  If you've been a reader here for a while you may remember Henry as being a prime suspect from the Great Aquarium Massacre.  (the story begins here and goes on through February 2005). He is the lone survivor from an inter-species school of 9.

How do you tell the sex of a goldfish?  I tried peeking between his fins, but he wouldn't stay still and he stared unblinkingly at me like I was some kind of fish molester.  I didn't want to put another sex-unknown fish in with him for fear of renewed fighting, so I did the next best thing... I bought him some dried baby shrimp!

Henry has never had shrimp before, only flakes, raw venison (which he loves!) and of course his tank-mates, which he also loved.  Shrimp was a new taste sensation for him and after spitting them out a couple of times, he swallowed them whole.

Later, when I walked past his acrylic sided domain, he waved lazily at me.  I placed my finger again the side of the tank in greeting but rather than swimming over, wagging his tail like a puppy as he always does, he merely waved again from the center of the tank.  He was so full he could barely move.

That was when I saw it.

Henry was giving birth!

Wait, Henry COULDN'T give birth, he was by himself and to my knowledge there is no such thing as self impregnating fish.   I moved in closer and the goldfish turned away shyly, giving me a better view...

Congratulations Henry, its a shrimp!