My goldfish died on June 25 of last year. Ironically the same day as my father in law. My partner was just beside himself to loose a father and our pet on the same day. We had that goldfish for 7 years. I consider ourselves the luckiest people to have had her, and her the luckiest goldfish that she got such good care.

I froze her and she remains in the freezer. We have been wondering what is the best thing to do with her. I have considered placing her in a beautiful wild place, or perhaps in the garden. I don't know, what do you think? The relatives think we are weird for keeping her in the freezer for this long. Actually that we didn't immediately flush her away...so goes conventional thought about goldfish.

Like any pet I would give her back to the earth. If you choose a spot in the garden where you are growing edibles she will be reincarnated into a part of you. That's how I think of reincarnation anyhow.

I'm with Coco on her suggestion. Sorry for your losses. Do goldfish usually live that long? Seems like a good long time for a little fish.

Are you going to get another pet?

Love,
Prism

My friend kept her pet budgie in the freezer for three years after he died, and I thought she was weird!

But seriously, the fact that you thought highly of your goldfish only says good things about you.

Give you goldfish back to the earth as others have said. <3

I concur with the general consensus here...and I understand..I really loved my gold fish too...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I remember how attached you were to that fish, and how sorry you were when she died. I'm sure giving her a nice ceremony in the garden would be a good way to honor your relationship, like maybe under your favorite flower bed, where she could contirbute to its flourishing.

I would set her in a pond or bury her in the underwater mud of a pond. Not in the dry earth. I would feel badly knowing the aquatic spirit was buried in the dry earth without water.

wouldnt that be what happens to any fish that was eaten in the wild by fish eating animals?

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

We were thinking of a particular swamp in the area, or a beautiful river. Maybe exactly one year after she left us. I placed a different goldfish in a pond in golden gate park. I forever refer to that as her place now. I suggested niagra falls to my partner one day.

that sounds pretty cool

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I would call it "becca falls" after that, or 'becca swamp' after that. In golden gate park there is now 'Chelsea pond'. I sometimes have a warped sense of humor, as I visualized a small orange speck going over niagra falls, and I thought that didn't seem right. So, maybe a little less spectacular of a body of water might be better.

Prism,
'Do goldfish usually live that long? Seems like a good long time for a little fish. Are you going to get another pet? "

It seemed like a long time, but I have heard of goldfish living longer. But it is longer than what most people experience with goldfish. I will definately get another fish at some point, but I would rather wait until I am finished with my program, and I am in my own place.

Prism,
I would add that she went through 3 major fasts while we had her. Two while we moved, I fasted her before the trip and during the trip to make it easier on her for transport. About 10 days each time. Also for about 14 days while we went on vacation.

The vacation one was particularly interesting. My partners sister is a professional nutritionist, and she was predicting that I would find her dead floating in the tank when I got home. I was fully confident that she would be fine. The aquarium shop guy told me that goldfish can live on the muck in the tank for 6 mos without feeding, and usually people find their fish in better shape after they come back from vacation.

I knew she would still be alive, but what I didn't expect was a substantial increase in the growth of her fins! They looked like they doubled, and also her color was incredibly brighter. So, I think the conventional model of nutrition isn't seeing the whole picture. I told someone about this, and they said that we rejuvenated her by the fast. So its possible that we extended her life.

I think the gunk in the tank would be healthier than fish flakes. It would be alive, right? With bacteria and growing fuzzy green stuffs. Like what fish would eat in nature.

Make sure your next fish gets a fishy friend too. A friend to swim with and keep it company through the years.

Not sure about that. I think I'd rather take my chances on being alone than stuck in a fishbowl with someone I don't like. What if the relationship was a flop?

I always buy them in pairs, I never mentioned the other one. It died a few years before. But I never got another one. I think she was a little lonely after that. But as far as water quality and room went she was probably better off alone. I always liked keeping them in a 10 gal tank. that seems like the best min. size. I hate it when people keep them in those little 1 gal or 2 gal things. I have seen siamese fighting fish in like a pint container. I guess they 'live' but that just seems like its just too small.

actually, your fish probably did live longer cause of the fasts, most people really over feed goldfish, and their systems get all plugged up, amongst other issues, similar to over feeding in humans, I had two goldfish for over 10 years in a 120 gallon tropical fish tank, they where still alive and healthy, but the tank sprung leaks so I had to give them and the other fish away...

yeah a 10 gallon is the minimum size tank one wants for any reason... the smaller tanks are much harder to keep a balanced environment for the fish in, which means a lot more stress for the fish, lower lifetime... My friend had a beta in a 10 gallon with a normal cheap H.O.B. filter that lived for over 16 years!!!

Basically, over feeding and crowding are the two most common dangers to fish lifetimes... the minimum one wants is 2 gallons per inch of fish, but the larger the tank the easier it is to maintain a healthy environment...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

That is such a nice long life for a beta!
I had a 40 gallon tank with plecos and fancy guppies but they never lasted very long. They would worry each other's fins to shreds. Sad.

yeah, pleco's are cantankerous fish, and they are rather bad at tank cleaning too! Otocinclus varieties are best for keeping a tank clean and getting along with other fish, they stay small, around 2 inches or less, yet one will eat more algae than even a 12 inch pleco, they are not aggressive, but they are social fish, so you want at least 2 in a tank so they dont get lonely... in a 40 gallon tank id probably do 3, they are really neet... bristle nosed pleco's are pretty cool too, more gentle than the normal ones, a bit better at algae eating, and have weird tentacle like sensory organs on their faces,lol...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Oh no, the plecos never bothered anything. They were lovely, leopard speckly silent shadows in the tank. It was the guppies that tormented each other to death. Those pretty little things are horrors!

hah, must have had a female in there, when I had just males they never bothered eachother, once i put a female in there...all friendships where off and the battles began...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I kill fish.

Really... I can't keep them alive no matter how hard I try. I try to do everything right -- the right pH, the right temps, the right lighting, chlorine-free water, the right food, etc. I still kill them. I have friends that have the skankiest gross tanks with fish that have been alive for years.

So as a rule fish are banned from my house. They're safe that way.

Rocketship,
Sorry to hear about your luck in keeping fish. I guess I might have that special touch with fish. I kept some fish together in a tank which was unheard of. I told this aquarium guy, and he did a double take. WhAT?!!! you have that and that together...naw, can't be. Apparently their needs are so far apart that its supposed to be impossible to keep them both alive. Yet i did exactly that for several months. The more sensitive of the two eventually died, but they stayed alive together for 4-5 mos. The guy was surpised that they stayed alive together for a single day!