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The Story of Deadtail
Please don't laugh at my aquarium, the fish are sensitive about their little, ten gallon glass box. There are currently three of them, two comet goldfish (which have no names because they have not distinguished themselves in any way), and a fantail goldfish named 'Number One' (also affectionately called 'Dead-tail' by the family).Yes, I am a minor trekkie, but Number One earned his name by being the only fish to survive from our first batch. He received the nickname 'Deadtail' after getting his tail caught in the filter intake, having it shredded and doing serious damage to the muscles (or whatever) that he needs to control it. If you've never seen a fantail with a completely shredded and limp tail, struggling to move with only his fins...well, it's a hard thing to watch. That happened about a year ago, and he has fought a long, hard battle with it.
He refused to die. Numerous, stressful water changes, the last of his group dying, new fish joining the tank, and facing it all without the ability to move the rear half of his body. I thought about putting him out of his misery, but the choice had to be his. As long as he was willing to fight it I would be there to help him. I think I made the right choice.
Today he is strong, energetic, has regained a little movement in his tail and can dart around the tank with the comets on fin power alone. He is no longer a meek, timid little guy that hides from the others near the bottom of the tank, but rather a strong, almost aggressive little guy that gets first dibs on the sunken log.