Topic: Maureen - a goldfish with Attitude..

[Hyacinth]

Hello, peeps,

I noticed last night that Colin was asking about 'Maureen'... ;D ..yes, Colin, she's alive and well, still nagging  ;D and back in her little cottage..

To explain...Maureen hit the WWW when I mentioned on the Lottie Board last year there was an alternative use for Epsom Salts...ie, cure for constipation in goldfish? - and then, of course, there were the usual questions..."how do you make a goldfish take her medication?" etc....etc... ;D (not that I thought it was a matter of jollity, of course....)

But Maureen is not only v. elderly - more silver than gold - must be, oh!...24 or so yrs old now?? but still living in her original tank = 12" x 8"? Her weekly outing consists of a few laps up & down the bath every week whilst I change her water, etc., but she's getting very large and filling her tank...was it time for Maureen to Move???  And, brutally, at her Extreme Age and given a Shrinking Penshun, was it cost-effective for me? And this question I posed on the Pets Board and Colin replied....

Whew! what a long lead-in!!

To your question, Colin...well, she had a house-transfer to a larger tank and was not only unhappy, but severely Mentally Disturbed??? And I thought that goldfish had no memory???

WOW!! She's a survivor...knocked scales off herself in her effort to Get Out Of This Prison and only settled down again when I re-introduced her to her old , constrictive tank...truly .... I covered the (old) tank with towels and  played Radio 3 to her, softly, with low-light and was only able to gradually bring her back into the real-world after a few days.....

She's now scarred but triumphant and nagging again, as usual..I sleep-in and she demonstrates all the worst characteristics of a piranha when I feed her..

.sorry for any typing errors...had a lie-in today and it's hard to type with just bleeding stumps to hit the keys...

BUT!! I'm still really worried about this Huge Lump she's got on one side? Browsed the Bristol site & can't find anything that relates to it? Any suggestions, please? - Lishka (and Maureen!)

[teresa]

Hi,

Does Maureen have oxygen weed in here tank? I had a goldfish years ago and if Fred was under the weather etc he would eat the weed like mad.
Did something for him in the winter when no weed was available I use to buy him a lettuce and break it up into pieces. :o
They seem to need the greens as well as fish food.
Margaret is the one for lumps and bumps it could be just a growth like all animals get with old age and humans. :-/
If she is swimming happy and has a bunch of weeds to hide in and play might leave your fingers alone.
Fred used to do his dolphin bit ( he had a large tank) get speed up and jump out of the water hit the lid of the tank and go down like a sub. What for what else to get your attention he was a real showman. 8)

Teresa

[Colin_Bellamy-Wood]

Hi Lishka, I'm so glad Maureen is still going strong, and I found your story fascinating.

If I recall correctly one of your questions was "how long can/does a goldfish live".   I researched this question on the www and found the answer on an RSPCA site.   I was stupid enough to quote that site, and Aunty kicked the message into cyber-space for daring to quote the RSPCA.   (I sulked for at least a week).   I'm certain the average life span is 25 years.   So Maureen is (in human terms) about as old as you Lishka.

[tim]

nothing to do with Maureen, whom we all love, but - the lovely chap opposite has a fish that is so big (14") that it is permanently bent in the tank.

Battery hens? - Tim

[Colin_Bellamy-Wood]

Hi Tim, I'm horrified to hear of your neighbours fish of 14" being in a tank too small for it to straighten up - I'd be tempted to have a word with the RSPCA (anonymously if necessary).

I am reminded of a true story I heard when I owned a Pet Shop.  

A Pet Shop owner in the North East had a couple who were exceptionally good customers in that they came in every couple of days or so to buy a goldfish or two.   They would spend some considerable time in choosing the goldfish(s) they wanted.   After several weeks, a relationship built up between Shop owner and his customers such that he felt it was not being impolite to ask why they purchased so many goldfish.   They replied that they had a pirahna fish at home, and they fed it with live goldfish.   The Pet Shop owner was horrified.   Like me, he thought more of the animals than he did of his profit. He banned them from his shop and forbade them ever to return.   He then phoned every pet shop in the area and told them about the couple, their pirahna, and their need for "goldfish food".   I never did  find out the ending of this story, so I can only wonder.    

[Colin_Bellamy-Wood]

Another true story !!!
Our shop was a 5 minute walk from the Tame Valley and each lunch time I would take Annie down the road to the Valley for a walkies.  

Adjacent to the river was a pond, not very big, with bull rushes, and weeds, and a smallpatch of clear water.   The youngsters used to fish the pond, but I don't think they ever caught anything.

One day, I was approaching the pond, and a man, standing very still, urged me to approach with caution, which I did.   In the middle of the pond was a very bright orange goldfish;  one of those with a huge body and bulging eyes, merrily swimming about near the surface.   On the opposite bank was a heron, very still, and oblivious to the dogs on our bank, or our selves.   I didn't have time to stay and watch for too long, so next day I returned to the pond.

Needless to say, there was no heron, and no sign of the goldfish.   I had hoped, rather foolishly I suppose, that the goldfish would have escaped, but sadly it didn't.


A a a h

[tim]

you know they can now teach a goldfish to tell the time? - Tim

[jethro]

OK they can tell the time, but where do they wear their watches  :o on the fins perhaps? ??? or do they just watch the clock on the wall. Im not a goldfish fan, i keep tropical and marine in the house ;D i wonder if they can tell the time? will have to ask them :-/.

[Margaret]

Hi all.I cannot believe anyone can be so unfeeling as to keep a goldfish in such cramped conditions.When I was putting an ad on my local supermarket ads board,there was one there for a 48" tank,with all the extras you get,for a measly £30.It wouldn't even need to be that big.Surely the bloke must know someone with a pond if he hasn't the space for a larger tank.I started off with a 30" tank for my smallish tropicals,went to 39" as the catfish grew,and now he is in a 48" tank.He still looks small in there but I believe every creature deserves a bit of space,for God's sake.All my goldfish and other coldwater fish are in ponds.The Orfe are now 18 inches long.And though the ponds are big,I still long for a house with a huge lake.AND "NO FISHING" SIGNS UP EVERYWHERE!!

Colin is right,I would ring the RSPCA.They are apparently duty bound to investigate every complaint.

[tim]

I do hope that noone is associating Maureen's Mum with small tanks - Tim

[Hyacinth]

Nah, Tim. More the chap you know who's keeping a fish in such cramped conditions? You should just see Maureen doing her laps up and down the bath once a week...

However, Jethro's started me thinking...I have a choice...Maureen or a Marine...hmmm....Maureen or a Marine....Maureen or a Marine...

Anyone fancy goujons of goldfish at the Saturday night thrash? I think my fish has had her chips..  ;D Lishka