You’re gonna need a bigger tank! Meet Big Bob, the foot-long goldfish (and his very little brother)
WHEN Anne Cooper bought two tiny goldfish from a pet shop it was difficult to tell them apart.
But one of them soon made sure he sure he stood out.
Big Bob, as he has now been named, never stopped growing – forcing his owners to buy bigger and bigger tanks – while, his brother Little Bob stayed the same size.
After three years with the family, Big Bob is about 1ft long and still growing. He has outgrown four tanks and his owners face having to buy a fifth one soon.
To make matters worse, the giant goldfish appears to have a temper. Instead of swimming about sedately like his little brother, he splashes water out of the tank if his food does not arrive on time.
Mrs Cooper, 56, of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, said: ‘Bob seems to be still growing and I
‘He’s intimidating … the cats run away in fright’
have no idea when he will stop. How big can a goldfish grow?
‘I am going to have to get another new tank now as he is now too big for this one despite it being about five feet long.
‘He is more than a foot in length and shows no signs of stopping. His size is quite intimidating to the cats who often approach him but if he moves suddenly then they run away in fright.’
She added: ‘He seems quite intelligent, he knows when his feeding time is and he knows what food he wants.
‘He also has a bad temper when he doesn’t get what he wants…and will thrash around and throw water out with his tail … soaks anyone or anything in range so the fish tank has to be kept away from everything else.’
When Mrs Cooper’s son Anthony, 43, left a packet of Skittles by the tank it sent Bob ‘splashing water everywhere and bashing his head into the glass’.
‘He does this whenever he sees something red now. He must think it’s a rival. I have a violent goldfish,’ Mrs Cooper joked.
She bought both her fish from Pets At Home in 2012. Little Bob is still just 2in long, but it seems his big brother has no intention of stopping growing. ‘I try to cut his food down but he gets frustrated if he isn’t fed,’ Mrs Cooper said.
Ray Rich, of the Goldfish Society of Great Britain, said: ‘Bob’s size is definitely unusual, especially considering he is kept in a tank…It is a testament to Anne’s good goldfish keeping that Bob has grown so big.’