September 23, 2001 --
November 26, 2005
| Sammy was my very first
goldfish! In fact, he was my first pet of any kind! I knew almost nothing
about fish when I got him, but I fell in love so quickly that I knew I had to learn so I
could take the best care of him possible. I've come a long way in fishkeeping since
then, and I'm happy to say Sammy stuck with me through it all. When I finally lost
him in 2005 it was plain old age that was the culprit. He had been slowing down,
with less appetite and less shininess, for the last year or so. But he was still my
beloved psycho fish.
Species: Carassius auratus (a.k.a. goldfish) of the Fantail variety Size: About nine and a half inches long, including tail. Gender: I always called Sammy a "he," although I later came to suspect "he" was female. The way Benny acted around Sammy pretty much confirmed this. I will always think of, and speak of, Sammy as "he" out of habit even though it's most likely inaccurate. Hobbies: Bottomfeeding, squeezing between the air line for the bubble stone and the back wall of the tank, doing barrel rolls to beg for food or greet people.
Diet: See the FAQ Tankmates: Jackie (2001-2004); Benny and Fergie (2004-2005) Habitat: A 37- gallon aquarium between the kitchen and dining room. He used to live alone in a two-gallon aquarium, but after a month I upgraded to a 10-gallon and he moved in with Jackie. Then they both got too big, so they moved into a 25-gallon tank. They kept on growing, and had to get a bigger home yet again. Nicknames: When I was feeling formal I called him "Samuel T. Fish." (The T stands for "the.") ;) Based on a comment someone on the Internet made about one of his photos, I also sometimes called him "my orange gentleman." When he got to be the wise old patriarch of the fishie clan I also addressed him as "My Old Man" or "Ol' Man Fishie."
Photo Album: Watch Sammy grow and change through the years Special Honors: Sammy won the Administrators Award for December 2002 at the Global Goldfish Net! Hooray for Sammy!
|
Sammy's Stats:
Dislikes:
Sudden loud noises, when the air line for the bubble stone gets out of place and he
can't play behind it, and the "kids" nipping his fins
Why
was Sammy a Psycho Goldfish? When I first got Sammy, he was hyper!
He spent his day swimming around the tiny two-gallon aquarium as if he'd had a heavy dose
of caffeine, eating bubbles, hiding and racing in the fake plants, and sucking the glass
marbles at the bottom. I'd never had a fish before, so I didn't know what to expect,
although I'd watched my friend's fish often. As the days went by and Sammy supposedly
adjusted to his new environment, he got more and more hyper. I worried he might have
something wrong with him, but everyone said it was just a sign of a happy, healthy
fish. I bought him a rock with a hole in it and a better fake plant to play with,
and then he was slightly more relaxed...slightly. He was growing, though,
and within a month I had some research and realized a two-gallon aquarium just wasn't
enough for him. Besides, he looked lonely. When the hyperness wore off he'd
just hang there looking depressed. So I got him a bigger home and a playmate:
Jackie! After he hit adulthood he was really quite mellow most of the time, but he
could still zip around and swirl and twirl like an acrobat!
