# Our goldfish committed suicide! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037 "2011-02-03T16:02:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/1 "2011-02-03T16:02:52Z")
After 17 years of life, Darryl chose to join his other brother Darryl in the aquarium eternal. Sometime after midnight he said farewell to Larry, jumped out of his tank and died alone on the hard cold floor. I’ve always expected to find him floating one day, but this? Never this! What could drive a fish to despair? R.I.P. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/2 "2011-02-03T17:40:19Z")
Goldfish occasionally jump out of their tanks for a number of reasons: [http://www.goldfish-emergency.com/viewpage.php?page\_id=36](http://www.goldfish-emergency.com/viewpage.php?page_id=36) I’m as much amused by the fact that someone else also had fish named Larry, Darryl and Darryl. Ours were cherry barbs though. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/3 "2011-02-03T17:49:28Z")
He might have been having trouble at school. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/4 "2011-02-03T17:56:00Z")
Were you watching _Nemo_ last night? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/5 "2011-02-03T18:01:16Z")
[Peer pressure?](http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ReSizes/OriginalWatermarked/Global/international/planet-2/image/2008/7/children-peer-through-panels-o.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/6 "2011-02-03T18:56:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Were you watching _Nemo_ last night? Or _Free Willy_? ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/7 "2011-02-03T18:59:05Z")
I had a betta once that lived in a bowl that was kept on the fireplace mantel. One day, I came home from work and went over to feed the little guy. The bowl was empty! :eek: I immediately started looking around on the floor around the fireplace and found my suicidal fish - laying on the hard stone hearth, coated in dog hair. (We had two dogs at the time, and he had apparently been flopping around for a while…) I scooped him up and plopped him back into the bowl. I’m not sure why 'cuz he was obviously dead - no telling how long he had been out of water, never mind the six foot plunge to the stone floor! Five minutes later, he was lazily swimming around his bowl, shedding dog hair into the water… Yeah, he survived that and lived out his life without any further attempts to off himself. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/8 "2011-02-03T19:11:20Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > I had a betta once that lived in a bowl that was kept on the fireplace mantel. One day, I came home from work and went over to feed the little guy. The bowl was empty! :eek: I immediately started looking around on the floor around the fireplace and found my suicidal fish - laying on the hard stone hearth, coated in dog hair. (We had two dogs at the time, and he had apparently been flopping around for a while…) I scooped him up and plopped him back into the bowl. I’m not sure why 'cuz he was obviously dead - no telling how long he had been out of water, never mind the six foot plunge to the stone floor! Five minutes later, he was lazily swimming around his bowl, shedding dog hair into the water… > > Yeah, he survived that and lived out his life without any further attempts to off himself. Probably because they can breathe air directly. Perhaps he was just checking to see if he could force himself to evolve some legs? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/9 "2011-02-03T19:27:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Were you watching _Nemo_ last night? Oooh, speaking of Nemo and suicidal fish. _Many_ years ago in **Mrs. FtG** ’s old house there was zebra fish that kept jumping out of the tank. You’d be walking by and there’d be a fish flopping on the ground. Scoop, dunk, rinse, repeat. His name was “Rover”, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/10 "2011-02-03T19:33:01Z")
I blame cyberbullying. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/11 "2011-02-03T19:41:06Z")
Goldfish can live 17 years? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/12 "2011-02-03T19:42:36Z")
My first goldfish did this the night we got him. It was a dark and stormy night and the bastard decided he’d rather asphyxiate than be with us. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/13 "2011-02-03T19:58:21Z")
The family kitty tried to jump out a window we were driving down I-55 from northern Illinois to New Orleans. Good thing the window was closed! ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/14 "2011-02-03T20:04:06Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Goldfish can live 17 years? Wow. Goldfish can live for decades- just like hermit crabs. Both are often viewed as short-term pets but they’re really not. They can and will outlive your dogs and cats. Very, very few die of old age, however. Most are killed by their owners somehow. A friend of mine has a tank with two fish in it: An algae eater and a goldfish. The goldfish is like 14, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/15 "2011-02-03T20:05:25Z")
I’m sorry for your loss ☹ ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/16 "2011-02-03T20:11:52Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Most are killed by their owners somehow. ☹ I tired to be supportive. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/17 "2011-02-03T20:49:23Z")
My cat will scoop out the fish if he’s able to get to the tank while the cover is off, and then not actually eat them. Do you have a cat? ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/18 "2011-02-03T20:53:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Oooh, speaking of Nemo and suicidal fish. _Many_ years ago in **Mrs. FtG** ’s old house there was zebra fish that kept jumping out of the tank. You’d be walking by and there’d be a fish flopping on the ground. Scoop, dunk, rinse, repeat. > > His name was “Rover”, btw. You couldn’t put a screen over the tank? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/19 "2011-02-03T21:22:17Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > My cat will scoop out the fish if he’s able to get to the tank while the cover is off, and then not actually eat them. Do you have a cat? That was my thought. Have you questioned the cat- “Where were you last night after midnight, Fluffy??” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037/20 "2011-02-03T21:39:55Z")
[Blubber, the suicidal goldfish](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHIUGLEQ3hs) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-goldfish-committed-suicide/570037.md?page=2)