To not know what to do with the GIANT goldfish in my kitchen?

[SkinittingFluffyBunnyBonnets]

It was bought over a year ago as a pet for DD....it was bought a proper tank and filter and we followed the advice of the pet shop with regards everything....now it is bloody massive and looks cramped in its tank...the tank is 13 inches across and the fish is over 5 or 6 inches....it has a voracious appetite and throws itself aroud to attract attention when it's hungry.

Tbh it's bloody creepy. Like jaws living alongside us.

DH feeds it peas now and then and he gave it a prawn once which made it almost faint in excitement. It's cannabalistic and I don't ike the look of it!

I cannot afford 70 quid for a new tank....which is what they cost new...and I have been looking on Ebay and Frecycle for weeks now wih no luck. Ebay ones that are big enough are also more than I can afford.

I am hoping some neighbour might have a pond I can re-home him in...but any other ideas?

Do they all grow like this?

We were considering getting one for the dc, as I had one as a lass - but it never grew to freakish proportions!

Did I starve mine, or is this a mutant species?

Normal goldfish grow to about 8 inches I think. And each one should have 40l of water in a tank - so a 120l tank is big enough for three goldfish.

Honestly, they're quite gross and giant and tricky, guppies or neons or whatever (tropical freshwater) fish are much easier.

(We have two big normal goldfish and one big fancy, I've had tropicals before, and they were much less work.)

If it's a common goldfish, comet or shubunkin (ie normal fish shape) then it can go in a pond. Now is a good time of year to move it.

If it's a fancy goldfish (the fat ones with long fins) then it can't live in a pond so you'll need to rehome it somewhere with a nice big tank.

I think people underestimate how long goldfish live and how big they get, they are very large fish and do not grow to the size of their tank (sorry, but this myth is often perpetuated by clueless shops who should know better). Keeping them in a tank that's too small causing stunting which can cause long-term health problems and premature death. They are big, messy fish that need a lot of cleaning and it costs a fair bit to keep them because of the space and filtration they need.

Here's a guide to tank sizes and life expectancy.

We have a goldfish that is about 7 and it has a massive stomach. Doesn't look right some how.

YABU to not know what to do with it though, you are a grown up .

And DO NOT ever put a fish - alive or dead - down the toilet .

Re-home the poor devil - some fishy person out there will be over the mmon with him.

Ahhh - 'moon' !

Maybe the shop will swop it for another small one and you can start all over again.

Put an advert in the local newspaper or something (or buy a bigger bloody tank which you could probably get from the local paper).

maybe it's a carp?.