# The Goldfish That Will Not Die **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570 "2010-05-24T14:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/21 "2010-05-25T03:22:36Z")
Several years ago I brought home a small perch I caught while fishing at a local lake. He was in 5 gallon bucket about half full of water. I left it in the garage. A month later I looked in the bucket expecting to find a dead fish. The perch was alive and well. I took an aquarium that had been used for gerbils, cleaned it out and put the perch in it. He did not take to tap water all that well so I went to a local creek and brought home enought water to fill the aquarium. Once every few weeks I would go to the creek and get water for the perch. We fed him feeder gold fish, bugs we would catch and the occasional piece of meat. He loved the little balls of hamburger he was fed. He would greet visitors by blowing bubble on the surface of the water. He lived in the aquarium about 3 years. He grew from about 3 to 7 inches long. I returned him to the same lake where I caught him. He swam around in a circle for a few minutes then jetted away. 3 months later the game department killed all the fish in that lake to get rid of non native small mouth bass that were infesting the lake. Made me wish I hadn’t let the perch go. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/22 "2010-05-25T03:56:40Z")
The two my daughter won in 1994 are still swimming around in circles. I think they each have a portrait of a really old goldfish hidden at the bottom of their tank. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/23 "2010-05-25T05:08:19Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > So why do they give out goldfish in those little bowls? If I’d known how to optimally take care of a goldfish, maybe my fish would have lived longer than a week. Many countries have outlawed goldfish bowls as animal cruelty. I got the feeling talking to pet store customers that an awful lot of people think fish just need water to stay wet; that it serves no other purpose. One guy came up to me once and said, “I need some goldfish.” This phrase usually denotes feeder goldfish, so I said, “How many?” He picks up a medium sized fishbowl, looks it over, and goes, “I don’t know, a dozen?” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/24 "2010-05-25T05:10:41Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Same reason they sell Bettas in cups, they only care about making money. My betta lives in a 35 gallon tank with a couple other fish. My Nana’s goldfish live for years and years out in the pond. To be fair, Bettas live perfectly well in small bowls. They breathe surface air. However, the reason the little bowls usually kill them is that it’s virtually impossible to keep a little bowl consistently warm. Goldfish like cold water, but don’t thrive in bowls. Bettas do just fine in bowls–some breeders say they prefer still, stagnant water–but they need to be warm. You can’t win for losin. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/25 "2010-05-25T07:25:27Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > To be fair, Bettas live perfectly well in small bowls. They breathe surface air. However, the reason the little bowls usually kill them is that it’s virtually impossible to keep a little bowl consistently warm. Goldfish like cold water, but don’t thrive in bowls. Bettas do just fine in bowls–some breeders say they prefer still, stagnant water–but they need to be warm. You can’t win for losin. They can survive for a while, yes. They don’t live perfectly well. My brother has been a breeder of fancy bettas for 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/26 "2010-05-25T10:02:34Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > The two my daughter won in 1994 are still swimming around in circles. I think they each have a portrait of a really old goldfish hidden at the bottom of their tank. You have 16 year old goldfish?!?! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/27 "2010-05-25T10:58:21Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Oh god, please, not another Chad hanging. You really should be ashamed of this… Eons ago, my mother in law gave my daughter a bowl with half a dozen feeder goldfish in it. All but one died - he was a tough one. So we upgraded from a bowl to a tank with other fish in it. I’m pretty sure one of the other fish ate the goldfish. We have a saltwater tank now - since November. It’ll be interesting to see how long these guys survive. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/28 "2010-05-25T14:34:57Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > To be fair, Bettas live perfectly well in small bowls. They breathe surface air. However, the reason the little bowls usually kill them is that it’s virtually impossible to keep a little bowl consistently warm. Goldfish like cold water, but don’t thrive in bowls. Bettas do just fine in bowls–some breeders say they prefer still, stagnant water–but they need to be warm. You can’t win for losin. My betta is still gorgeous and happy three years after I got him (of course, I have no idea how old he was when we got him from the fishstore) in a “goldfish bowl” (which I’d never put a goldfish in) that holds about 3 quarts of water. It’s not heated, but I do keep it away from windows and bright light to keep the temperature as stable as room conditions allow. He’s got a thriving plant (variety unknown) to hide in which also, I assume, helps clean his water somehow. He’s big and deep red and gorgeous and appears as “happy” as a fish ever does. I wouldn’t keep a betta in a betta cup, but I also think the aquafanatics insisting on 10+ gallon filtered oxygenated set ups for a betta are being a bit silly. I’ve been to Bali. I’ve seen the water available in rice paddies. It ain’t much. ---
**Author:** ![Morgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Morgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgis)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/29 "2010-05-25T15:13:40Z")
I started out with filters for my betta tanks, but they really just hate the current, especially the long-finned males. As long as you do regular water changes, there’s no need for a filter with a betta. They can thrive in small containers, but you have to be even more vigilant about keeping the water clean. I find it’s just easier to keep them in 5 gallons so that I only have to do water changes every few weeks. More on topic, my friend has a catfish that’s nearing 10 years old. As far as I can tell, she only throws food in a few times a week and rarely cleans the tank. I’m pretty sure that fish is immortal. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/30 "2010-05-25T15:16:19Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Wow, and my goldfish only lasted six days… > > …but that was after being X-rayed and flown from Kansas to New Jersey in a tupperware container. So I think I get some points. I suppose the x-ray bit put you off cooking it? ---
**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:** [May 25, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/31 "2010-05-25T15:53:49Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > You have 16 year old goldfish?!?! Yep. [Meet the Darryls](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2362832320027528800NQOsbn). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/32 "2010-05-25T17:13:16Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > They can survive for a while, yes. They don’t live perfectly well. My brother has been a breeder of fancy bettas for 20 years. There are minimum standards of care even in a Betta bowl. In other words, it’s possible to do it wrong. But if you keep it in a consistently warm place, and–key here–don’t overfeed it, and keep it reasonably clean, yes, a Betta can live perfectly well in a small bowl. They breed in flooded water buffalo hoofprints fer chrissakes. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/33 "2010-05-25T17:45:07Z")
I have a solution for you. You might have seen my thread over in GQ. We’re looking to go the goldfish route. We live in MA. If we could come up with a way to acclimate my tank to your tank, we could transport Chad here and he could live as long as he likes and grow as big as a 30+ gallon tank will allow. We also do not have any cats and never will (the boyfriend is allergic) and our dogs have shown no interest in the tank, not that they could disturb it in any way other than barking at it. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/34 "2010-05-25T22:29:12Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Many countries have outlawed goldfish bowls as animal cruelty. I got the feeling talking to pet store customers that an awful lot of people think fish just need water to stay wet; that it serves no other purpose. One guy came up to me once and said, “I need some goldfish.” This phrase usually denotes feeder goldfish, so I said, “How many?” He picks up a medium sized fishbowl, looks it over, and goes, “I don’t know, a dozen?” I agree with you that there is a lot of ignorance out there about how to take care of fish properly. It’s actually not that hard to keep most kinds of fish alive as long as you don’t overcrowd them and change the water on a regular basis. If someone kept 10 dogs in a closet and never cleaned out the accumulated poop, then we wouldn’t be surprised if their dogs were sickly and died quickly. Most people don’t seem to make the connection that fish also need a clean environment to be healthy…and that larger tanks are much easier to keep clean than tiny ones filled with too many other fish. You can’t expect a fish (let alone a dozen) to live a long, healthy life in a small tank that quickly is fouled by the fish poop. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/35 "2010-05-26T06:04:37Z")
Does anyone reading this remember “Dime Store” turtles? If not, **GET OFF MY LAWN!** In the olden days (the '60’s), one could pop down to the local dime store and buy a turtle - about an inch long. We got one, and enjoyed his company for several days before he disappeared. Out of his tiny terrarium, on top of a table. His lifeless body was found weeks later, in my parents’ closet, in one of my father’s shoes. 😕 To get to the point: several years ago on NPR there was a piece on a guy who had done just that, and twenty or thirty years later, he still had his turtle. This struck me as being pregnant with comedic possibilities: The guy meets an absurdly hot, rich chick who wants him to accompany her on a six-week tour of Europe’s hot spots. He has to decline, saying “I’ve got this turtle…” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/36 "2010-05-26T12:03:38Z")
> [@](#): > > If we could come up with a way to acclimate my tank to your tank, we could transport Chad here and he could live as long as he likes and grow as big as a 30+ gallon tank will allow. We also do not have any cats and never will (the boyfriend is allergic) and our dogs have shown no interest in the tank, not that they could disturb it in any way other than barking at it. I relayed your offer to MilliCal, and she got quiet and asked for a couple of days to think about it. I think the reality of it is giving her second thoughts. I’d as soon not move the aquarium into the living room (Short enough on space, and this will just give the cats a better angle of attack on the fish). I’ll let you know. I used to work in Southbridge, and i follow the goings-on there on Dick Whitney’s website. Every now and then I drive through town and look at the new stuff in the store windows. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/37 "2010-05-26T13:51:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Which, in a way, is too bad. MilliCal now wants the real estate he occupies back, so she can put a desk and a computer there. There really isn’t anyplace good to put the tank, and I’d like to simply get rid of it, or store it. But Chad is in there. Oh BTW you have mentioned your daughter many times over the years, it seems strange that she is now old enough to have a computer. How time flies. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/38 "2010-05-26T14:39:04Z")
**Attacklass** wants me to add this story: About 7 years ago, **Attacklass** got 2 goldfish in a little bowl. But then, the Uncle stepped in, thought they needed more goldfish. Thus, four more goldfish and a huge tank were bought and placed on the mantle. Two died, but one of them seemed to be thriving. It got bigger, and bigger, and bigger… until it was crowding the other fish. Eventually the fish were given to a different Uncle (he has a huge outdoor fish pond). A pond might be a good idea for Chad. Most of the fish that went to live in the pond are still alive, years later. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/39 "2010-05-26T15:09:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I relayed your offer to MilliCal… > > I used to work in Southbridge… She can take as long as she needs to think about it. We just moved here in November. The only places we’re even really familiar with are the grocery store, the pet store, the vet, and Subway. In spite of that, we love this town. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570/40 "2010-05-26T17:09:27Z")
Goldfish can live 50 years or more with proper care. And they really need about 50 gallons of water per fish. (Of course, the pet stores never tell you that before you buy one.) Time to look for a new pond home for Chad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-goldfish-that-will-not-die/540570.md?page=3)