Goldfish leaves owner gasping by surviving 13 hours out of water

Goldfish leaves owner gasping by surviving 13 hours out of water

A goldfish survived for 13 hours on the floor after apparently leaping from its bowl, according to its owner.

By Patrick Sawer
Last Updated: 8:44PM GMT 27 Dec 2008


'This is the longest I've heard of a goldfish staying alive' Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Barbara Woodford woke to discover Ginger missing from its bowl. Unable to find the fish before leaving for work, she feared the worst.

But when she returned home in the evening she spotted her pet on the floor behind a cupboard, alive and well.

"I picked him up with a spatula and his mouth started moving. I put him back into the water and off he went. He was swimming fabulously. I couldn't believe it - it was a real Christmas miracle," said Mrs Woodward, 61, of Gloucester.

Ginger was given to Mrs Woodward as a birthday present in August, and had recently been jumping up out of the water a lot.

"We thought nothing of it," said Mrs Woodward. "Apparently goldfish jump when they need more oxygen, so on this occasion he obviously jumped right out."

After finding the empty bowl at 7am in the morning, Mrs Woodward had a look for Ginger, but her search proved fruitless.

It was only when she returned from work around 8pm, and moved the cupboard on which the fishbowl was placed, that she found the missing goldfish.

A spokesman for the Association of Midland Goldfish Keepers said: "Fish can survive quite a while out of the water, as long as their gills remain moist, allowing them to breathe. But this is the longest I've heard of a goldfish staying alive. It's quite astonishing."

The goldfish, Carassius auratus, has been a popular pet fish for more than 1,000 years.

It developed from mutant carp in imperial China. Orange became the most popular colour after common people were banned from keeping yellow goldfish, because it was the imperial colour.

The oldest recorded goldfish lived to the age of 49, but those kept in bowls typically live eight years or less.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3982455/Goldfish-leaves-owner-gasping-by-surviving-13-hours-out-of-water.html