Addy joined Tony and Mellie when they just couldn't seem to get along.  Mellie pestered Tony, especially at meal time, and  needed a distraction.  Once Addy came, the three of them got along just...swimmingly!   *ducks bricks*   (Sorry, I can't resist a pun!)   For several years it was just Mellie and Addy, and they were great friends.  Mellie was quite attentive and protective of Addy, especially when she wasn't feeling well.

Addy was a friendly and very sweet fish who often came to greet anyone who approached the tank.    Unfortunately she was plagued by swim bladder problems, a common ailment for Ryukins.  After a trip to the vet in the summer of 2004 and a round of Baytril injections, she was otherwise healthy but couldn't stay upright on her own.  So after some experimentation with different designs I worked out a flannel harness that kept her upright.  She spent the last year-and-a-half of her life wrapped in a 100% cotton flannel sling with fishing sinkers on the bottom and fishing bobbers on the top, attached with string.   It was awkward and looked really funny, but she adapted to her handicap quite well.   She couldn't move up and down in the tank much, but she got around fine otherwise.  I had to hand-feed her since she couldn't bottomfeed anymore.  It wasn't an ideal situation but she wasn't suffering and could still enjoy eating, swimming through the bubbles, and spending time with Mellie.

Addy's borrowed time finally ended in the spring of 2006.  She simply stopped eating and passed away peacefully a few days later, on April 18.  Now she's free to swim and swoop however she pleases.

Addy's Stats:
Age:  I don't know when she was born, but she lived with me from Saturday, February 9th, 2002 until Tuesday, April 18th, 2006.

Species:   Carassius auratus (a.k.a. goldfish) of the Ryukin variety

Size:   Approx. 8"

Gender:   I'm fairly sure she was female.

Hobbies:   Making cute faces against the glass at me, nibbling my hand.  In her pre-harness days she'd amuse me by doing the "V.W. ^tm" (Vertical Wiggle) in the corner.

Dislikes:   Loud noises, being nipped from behind, being upside down

Diet:   Same as the others.  Her special favorite food was Tetra floating pond sticks.  She gobbled those out of my hand like crazy!

Habitat:   A 37-gallon tank near my computer.  She used to live in a ten-gallon aquarium on my kitchen counter before they all got too big for it. She briefly shared the 5 1/2 gallon tank with Mellie and Tony, too, before that.

Tankmates:   Tony (2002-2003) and Mellie (2002-2006)

Nickname: Sweet Adeline, Rolly-Polly-Hitler-Fish (see below).  Also, this isn't exactly a nickname, but due to her balloon-like shape my best friend and I sometimes looked at her and say "pop!"  ^_^;

Namesake:   This is soooooo embarassing, but...Adolf Hitler.  >_<  She had markings that look sort of like lipstick or a Hitler mustache!  I was looking in the tank at the pet store for a healthy, active fish about the right size, and I noticed her.   In trying to explain to my mother which fish I was looking at, I said, "That one with the Hitler mustache!"  We laughed, and it went from there!

Baby Addy and her dubious namesake

Photo Album:   Watch Addy grow and change!

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