I was up and out early this morning for blood tests (next PET scan coming up soon!), which meant I had to forgo coffee until that was done. So on the way home I stopped in at a cute little spot that specialises in toast and coffee and serves breakfast all day long. Sitting in the window seat I noticed this colourful fish in a glass vase and was struck by its beauty and elegance. And then I noticed its odd behaviour. It kept floating to the top and then would flip upside down so its mouth was just touching the surface of the water and Peter pointed out that it was probably lacking oxygen in that small amount of water, maybe 3 litres. Suddenly struck by a huge wave of sadness watching that gorgeous fish stuck in a small vase of stale water, the line from Down by Law “it’s a sad and beautiful world” came to me. And you know what? It really is.
it’s a sad and beautiful world
18 Tuesday Mar 2014
Posted in animals & pets, musings, video
casa azahar 
The fish more likely has a problem with its air bladder, a fairly common affliction with goldfish, especially with the fancy “googly-eyes” ones. Sadly, it doesn’t bode well for it. There is a video about this guy who built a harness which helped his fish. But I doubt that the restaurant owners will bother to do the same for their poor fish. Very sad…
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I had a goldfish once, and I read books on their care and followed all the rules, testing water ph, cleaning often & carefully, oxygenating the water, etc, etc. It once tried to commit suicide by throwing itself out of the tank – I found it one morning lying motionless on the kitchen floor. Despite all odds it survived that, but it only actually lived for about 6 months.
My brother, on the other hand, has 4 goldfish which are treated with very casual care, and they’ve been thriving for well over a year!
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My sister bought my niece some “feeder fish” (for feeding to other fish, etc.) when she expressed an interest in pet-ownership, figuring the fish would last a few weeks, at most. Four years later, the fish were a foot long or more and only succumbed to my sister’s misguided over-cleaning of their gigantic tank after they got a fungal infection. She upset the balance of the ecosystem by cleaning the water repeatedly and they eventually died.
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