As some people here may remember, I had a goldfish named Mary Baker Eddy earlier this year. This was her:
She was a ryukin, which is a Japanese type of goldfish bred for its large humped back and hardiness. I loved her.
Unfortunately, when I bought her she had a fatal fish disease called dropsy (I did not know this at the time), and I had to have her euthanized within a month.
However, today I got a new ryukin. It is very small, and already has a large humped back, which usually doesn’t come in until later adulthood. Here it is, as of yet unnamed:
Remember last August when there was a discussion about betta fish? Rob G told me all about them.
Just a few days later at Walmart, there were a number of bettas on a dark, depressing shelf in the back. All but one of them were dead. The remaining one looked awful–faded and pale–but I felt so terrible about it that I bought him. I thought he’d die, but I didn’t want him dying in that horrible, filthy little container.
At home, I put him in a pretty 1-gallon spherical bowl, gave him a meal of betta kibble, and was rewarded the next morning by the sight of a happy, healthy, brilliantly colored, deep-red fish. He had even built a bubble nest during the night.
It’s been 10 months. He’s still happy and healthy. This is what he looks like, except that his fins and tail are about twice as long:
