Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
I appologise for not posting for so long, but something happened today that has prompted me to post.
Basically, earlier today it was a sunny (but still cold) day so i decided to go out and feed the goldfish in the pond, as it has been too cold or rainy to do it these last few days. As i went outdoors, i noticed that unusually none of the goldfish were in the shallow end of the pond (my goldfish pond is shaped like 2 large ponds connected together by a chanel with a bridge over it) but instead all in the deep end at the bottom. Also unusually when i fed them their wheatgerm pellets none of them came up to feed.
I thought it was very odd behavior but i put it down to the cold weather, but as i turned to go back into the house i saw something orange in the muddy peat of the flower bed going around the pond. I instantly thought "Sh*t its goldfish orange!"- i quickly got down to inspect the orange thing when to my absolute horror i saw my favorite prize original goldfish lying dead in the mud!
I was absolutely mortified- its gills and mouth weren't moving, its eyes were clouded over and as i prodded it with a stick, its body was stiff and unresponsive. Assuming it dead, gutted i decided to go back indoors- there were only 15minutes of daylight left (it was already getting pretty dark) and so i didn't have enough time to bury the goldfish. Back indoors i was about to cook some supper when i thought to myself that foxes or cats could eat the goldfish and mess it up, so i decided to go back outside and put a weighted empty plant container on the fish until the morning when i would have a chance to bury it.
But as i was gingerly moving the goldfish into position, one of its fins slightly moved! At first i thought it must be a reflex action, but then just to make sure i decided to pour some water from the pond on it- and then a small section of its back moved slightly! I thought "Sh*t its alive"! But i mean, this fish otherwise wasn't moving- it wasn't even breathing!
I knew it was at deaths door so i quickly scooped it up in the plant container and put it in the pond. I gently swished water in & out of the container to help start getting oxygenated water flow over its gills. After a couple of minutes, its mouth slowly moved! And then a few minutes later, it started taking some slow gasps under water!
But its gills still weren't moving, and i saw a lot of mud on its gills, eyes, face, and well just everywhere. So i went indoors and grabbed a sponge and then gently started to wipe the mud off the fish. As i gently wiped the mud off the fish, its gills started to move a bit. As it started slowly breathing, i went into the garden shed and grabbed a large hanging plant container to put the fish in (as it has a lot of holes to allow water in) and carried on gently swishing the fish in the water, helping it to breath.
The pond water was so cold my fingers hurt, but i carried on swishing the fish in the water. My guy came back home from work and got me a torch so i could carry on doing it (as it had gotten dark by now).
I had to go to college in a few minutes, but at least by now the goldfish was now properly breathing on its own, waving its fins and had uprighted itself. I decided that it had been through a serious amount of stress and that it would be even more shocking for it to go indoors, as the water in my tanks at room temperature indoors is considerably warmer than the temperature of the pond water outdoors, so once i decided that it was breathing and swimming properly, i left it go into the deep end of the pond to rest with its buddies.
It was heartwarming, as this fish that had just been brought back from the dead, the first thing that it did once it was back swimming in the pond on its own was meet all of its buddies, nudging each other and staying together.
None the less, i have no idea though whether i will wake up to a dead goldfish tomorrow though. This goldfish is in a bad shape- it believe it was a cat that caught it and dragged it out of the pond as the goldfish has injuries to its eyes, gills, head and front fins (just like if a cat hag dragged it out by its head out of the water). Plus cats often just hunt and kill stuff for fun, abandoning their dead (or half dead) prey once they are bored of it.
Although last time i checked it was alive, it is so weak right now (and probably extremely stressed) i worry whether it might just give up anyway.
"Sigh"...At least i've done my best for now. I am so glad i went outside the second time as i would never have otherwise realised that the goldfish still had a trace of life left in it. I will be so gutted if i loose this fish as it is my favorite goldfish and quite possibly my most favorite fish ever.
And i am so pissed off at the cats in this area- this has never happened before, but i think the combinations of;
a. The weather has been really cold for weeks, making the goldfish slow and sleepy
b. All the pond plants have died back, leaving no cover left in the pond apart from the bridge going over it, and
c. The fact that the pond has flooded out a few times over the last week, leaving the water level very high
All meant that the goldfish were all particularly vulnerable from cat attack (especially since there are more cats than ever in this area of town, its like every friggin person has one). I really hope the goldfish makes it, although i'm also now very concerned about cat fish attacks as the pond that has never had one for 2-3 years has now had one
.
Basically, earlier today it was a sunny (but still cold) day so i decided to go out and feed the goldfish in the pond, as it has been too cold or rainy to do it these last few days. As i went outdoors, i noticed that unusually none of the goldfish were in the shallow end of the pond (my goldfish pond is shaped like 2 large ponds connected together by a chanel with a bridge over it) but instead all in the deep end at the bottom. Also unusually when i fed them their wheatgerm pellets none of them came up to feed.
I thought it was very odd behavior but i put it down to the cold weather, but as i turned to go back into the house i saw something orange in the muddy peat of the flower bed going around the pond. I instantly thought "Sh*t its goldfish orange!"- i quickly got down to inspect the orange thing when to my absolute horror i saw my favorite prize original goldfish lying dead in the mud!
I was absolutely mortified- its gills and mouth weren't moving, its eyes were clouded over and as i prodded it with a stick, its body was stiff and unresponsive. Assuming it dead, gutted i decided to go back indoors- there were only 15minutes of daylight left (it was already getting pretty dark) and so i didn't have enough time to bury the goldfish. Back indoors i was about to cook some supper when i thought to myself that foxes or cats could eat the goldfish and mess it up, so i decided to go back outside and put a weighted empty plant container on the fish until the morning when i would have a chance to bury it.
But as i was gingerly moving the goldfish into position, one of its fins slightly moved! At first i thought it must be a reflex action, but then just to make sure i decided to pour some water from the pond on it- and then a small section of its back moved slightly! I thought "Sh*t its alive"! But i mean, this fish otherwise wasn't moving- it wasn't even breathing!
I knew it was at deaths door so i quickly scooped it up in the plant container and put it in the pond. I gently swished water in & out of the container to help start getting oxygenated water flow over its gills. After a couple of minutes, its mouth slowly moved! And then a few minutes later, it started taking some slow gasps under water!
But its gills still weren't moving, and i saw a lot of mud on its gills, eyes, face, and well just everywhere. So i went indoors and grabbed a sponge and then gently started to wipe the mud off the fish. As i gently wiped the mud off the fish, its gills started to move a bit. As it started slowly breathing, i went into the garden shed and grabbed a large hanging plant container to put the fish in (as it has a lot of holes to allow water in) and carried on gently swishing the fish in the water, helping it to breath.
The pond water was so cold my fingers hurt, but i carried on swishing the fish in the water. My guy came back home from work and got me a torch so i could carry on doing it (as it had gotten dark by now).
I had to go to college in a few minutes, but at least by now the goldfish was now properly breathing on its own, waving its fins and had uprighted itself. I decided that it had been through a serious amount of stress and that it would be even more shocking for it to go indoors, as the water in my tanks at room temperature indoors is considerably warmer than the temperature of the pond water outdoors, so once i decided that it was breathing and swimming properly, i left it go into the deep end of the pond to rest with its buddies.
It was heartwarming, as this fish that had just been brought back from the dead, the first thing that it did once it was back swimming in the pond on its own was meet all of its buddies, nudging each other and staying together.
None the less, i have no idea though whether i will wake up to a dead goldfish tomorrow though. This goldfish is in a bad shape- it believe it was a cat that caught it and dragged it out of the pond as the goldfish has injuries to its eyes, gills, head and front fins (just like if a cat hag dragged it out by its head out of the water). Plus cats often just hunt and kill stuff for fun, abandoning their dead (or half dead) prey once they are bored of it.
Although last time i checked it was alive, it is so weak right now (and probably extremely stressed) i worry whether it might just give up anyway.
"Sigh"...At least i've done my best for now. I am so glad i went outside the second time as i would never have otherwise realised that the goldfish still had a trace of life left in it. I will be so gutted if i loose this fish as it is my favorite goldfish and quite possibly my most favorite fish ever.
And i am so pissed off at the cats in this area- this has never happened before, but i think the combinations of;
a. The weather has been really cold for weeks, making the goldfish slow and sleepy
b. All the pond plants have died back, leaving no cover left in the pond apart from the bridge going over it, and
c. The fact that the pond has flooded out a few times over the last week, leaving the water level very high
All meant that the goldfish were all particularly vulnerable from cat attack (especially since there are more cats than ever in this area of town, its like every friggin person has one). I really hope the goldfish makes it, although i'm also now very concerned about cat fish attacks as the pond that has never had one for 2-3 years has now had one
.
! But although he is fairly active right now, he appears to be blind (both his eyes are very cloudy looking and appear to be damaged) and he appears quite reluctant to come right up to the surface to feed (he is just pacing around below the surface). But i am so happy he is alive 
! I am feeling a lot more positive now about him making it through the next few days! 
!
