A small mystery has rocked X (Twitter) over the weekend, after a junior doctor in the UK found a living goldfish on his lawn.
On Saturday, junior doctor Ben Beska heard a group of birds outside, and went to investigate. Instead of the usual objects you tend to find on the grass (more grass and endless weeds), Beska found a goldfish. This was odd (and slow us down if we’re talking too much science here) as there was no water source nearby.
Beska’s timing, though not quite right to see a fish falling from the sky, was pretty good. Improvising using a freezer drawer – very few people keep a goldfish bowl “just in case” – he was able to make a new temporary home for the fish.
“It was just about dead,” Beska told IFLScience, “but just revived when I put it in the water.”
Locking the fish away from his cats, Beska then hastily bought a better tank (i.e. one whose primary function isn’t to store pies) in which to house it.
Beska believes the fish was likely out of water for a few minutes, though there are reports of other goldfish surviving for hours without water.
Goldfish are pretty hardy creatures, and can even survive for months in anoxic (oxygen-deficient) waters, as their lakes freeze and seal them in. While in these low-oxygen environments, the fish converts toxic lactic acid into ethanol, letting it diffuse out slowly across its gills, a trait they share with crucian carp.
“The ethanol production allows the crucian carp to be the only fish species surviving and exploiting these harsh environments, thereby avoiding competition and escaping predation by other fish species with which they normally interact in better oxygenated waters,” Dr Cathrine Elisabeth Fagernes from the University of Oslo said in a 2017 statement.
“It’s no wonder then that the crucian carp’s cousin the goldfish is arguably one of the most resilient pets under human care.”
Going without oxygen for this long has consequences, however. A study that tested the carps’ ability to memorize and navigate mazes before and after placing them in an oxygen-deprived tank found that they suffered “moderate brain damage”, though this was repaired fairly quickly.
As for how the goldfish ended up on Beska’s lawn, there is probably a very simple explanation: a bird likely grabbed it and dropped it, or it was able to wriggle free. Though the fish being “back to health” is described as a “bit of a stretch” by Beska, the fish is still alive.
“It is a bit worse for wear and fingers crossed it lives,” he added. Beska has named the fish Alice, after he texted a friend and “it’s alive” autocorrected to “it’s Alice”.
