MORE FISH TALES (edited with photo)

Fish are considered a lesser pet, usually enjoyed by the tankful rather than individually.  They aren't exactly the kind of creature that one would brag about at the work place or mention in the Christmas newsletter, so why would someone want to blog about one?

Well, when the fish in question was rescued after being abandoned by a previous owner one might be tempted to blog about it.  And when the rescued fish is then entrusted into a family's care by a loved one who just joined the military, one would surely become attached.  When said goldfish single-handedly consumes a $40 community of tropical cousins there might be some anger amid the growing attachment.  When the fish resides for over a month in a referbished stew pot because everyone was too lazy to clean out the aquarium, and held no resentment when he was finally returned to his glass home one might become endeared to the creature.   When a fish greets his 2 legged family every time they pass by, enthusiastically wagging his tail like a puppy he is no longer considered a lesser pet.  And when any creature can lay a turd twice it's length, I don't care if you don't want to read about it... that is definitely blog worthy and I'm going to blog about it.  

So imagine my alarm when I walked past the aquarium and didn't see our beloved goldfish's gaping smile magnified through the glass.  Aside from the decorative ceramic cave placed on the center of the gravel bottom, the tank was empty.  Henry the Goldfish was missing!

No he wasn't.  A minute motion through the unusually cloudy water caught my attention and I saw a flash of gold through the hole in cave.  Henry had squeezed into his old hiding place in the cave.  Henry hadn't fit in that little cave since he was 2 inches long... almost 2 years ago.  Now almost 6 inches long I have no idea how he squeezed his fat fins into the cave but it was pretty obvious that he wouldn't be squeezing back out.  He was stuck tight! 

The Oompas took turns frantically trying to free him but to no avail.  The goldfish was almost folded in half and was wedged in so tightly that he could barely move.  I knew what had to be done.  The Oompas protested, knowing the danger, but they also knew that the only way Henry would be able to get out of the cave was for me to break the cave, and soon!  The boys tried to do it gently but time was of the essence.  Becca ran upstairs, almost in tears, not able to watch as I laid the cave on the carpet, Art wedged a pry through the holes in the cave in front of the fish to shield it and I smashed the top.

Henry flopped free and Zack scooped him up, quickly depositing him back into his now unfurnished tank.  Despite a few missing scales, Henry is fine.  He stretched out, swam into my submerged hand and blew a couple of bubbles at me before going back to feeding.  This morning he greeted me in his usual way, as if nothing had happened.

Stupid goldfish.

Edit:  I don't know who took this picture of Henry but here he is from last month.  Notice the cave down below in the background?  Yeah, the little bitty cave that is way smaller than he is?  Yeah, that cave... well, its no longer in the tank!

Tags: Henry the Goldfish