The Lazarus Fish

I originally called her Princess and she was a Calico Fantail, a type of Goldfish. It is hard to tell gender in Goldfish but all the indications were that she was female. Calicos are multicolored. She was mostly white with large patches of orange and black similar to the orange and white Koi you see in garden ponds. She had a large veil-like tail and she liked to display it like Scarlett O’Hara on the front porch of a southern mansion.

I began calling her The Lazarus Fish earlier this year when she was around 7 years old. I had come home from work one evening and found her floating belly-up, limp as a noodle, showing no signs of life. I reached for the net and started to dip her out of the tank, to dispose of her in the usual manner. As soon as the net touched the water she SPRANG to life, instantly righting herself and swimming around almost as if she were saying

“Hey! What are you doing? I’m FINE!”
“Just taking a nap. Everybody’s OK in here!”
“Put that net away! What were you going to do with that thing anyway?”
“Can’t a fish take a little nap without someone coming along and trying to FLUSH them?”

I started keeping an Aquarium when I lived in Charlotte. I lived near a store named Fintastic! It was one of the largest, best aquarium stores in the country. I liked to go by on Sundays after Church just to look at all the fish. The store was very friendly to window shoppers, probably knowing these folks will eventually become good customers. In my case it worked. I decided I had to have an aquarium and I wanted a saltwater “reef tank” with living coral, sponges, sea urchins, sea stars etc. However these tanks are very expensive and require a lot of TLC. I was traveling extensively for work, only home on weekends. I decided I should try a simpler less expensive setup before I dropped a grand on a the setup I really wanted.

Goldfish are very low maintenance and amazingly resilient. They are great for kids and single adults who travel or have crazy work schedules. I started with a 10 gallon tank, small power filter, gravel and a few rocks. No heater is needed, Goldfish are “coldwater” fish and thrive in tanks or ponds at temperatures from around 50 to 90 degrees F. Goldfish also come in a myriad of colors and body types. I chose two colorful Calico Fantails but quickly decided to add two more, I like an active tank.

Princess was from the second group of Calicos I obtained. She had the fanciest tail and liked to display it. The other Charlotte fish survived for years but eventually were flushed away. I eventually added two Shubunkin Goldfish which have been her tank mates for about 4 years. The Shubunkin are also multicolored but more spotted than the Calicos. They are very long and slender and very fast. One is mostly white and the other is mostly bronze. I call them Angel and Shadow. All of the Goldfish lived together peacefully.

After almost flushing the big Calico earlier this year, I would find her floating belly-up about once a month. It was like a little game we played. She would appear lifeless and I would get the net. The other two would feign innocence. I would dip the net in the water and she would take off like a shot. They would all appear to protest
“Hey! What are you doing? Can’t a fish get a little rest around here without getting flushed!?”

So I was a little surprised when I checked the tank last night and didn’t see her. She wasn’t floating and she wasn’t swimming, she was wedged between two rocks at the bottom of the tank showing no signs of life. Maybe she thought if she wasn’t floating I would just cover her up and leave her there, but that isn’t healthy for the tank and the two Shubunkin should be around for a long time. After I sent her on her way the other two seemed to be avoiding me.

“Hey, we’re OK in here! No need to get the net!”
“See, we’re swimming, we’re happy!”
“No nets needed here buddy!”

I hope they don’t start playing the Lazarus Fish game : )