Jaws RIP

joanlawson

Hi

I have a garden pond, and for the last 8 years, my beautiful Koi carp, Jaws, has lived there. Sadly, today he has died.

Some people might think it rather silly to mourn a fish, but he was special.

He was only tiny, about 2 inches long, when he first came to live in my pond, but he grew to about 2 feet long. He was a lovely shade of gold, and had unusual markings on his head, which resembled a skull and crossbones.

He became amazingly tame, and would come to a corner of the pond to be fed. Then he would lift his head right out of the water, and open his mouth really wide. That is how he got the name Jaws. He would almost take the food out of my hand, and was very greedy. There are other fish in the pond, but they would always wait until Jaws had finished before coming for their food. He was king of the pond, and he knew it.

The pond won't seem the same without him. He was only a cold fish, but he warmed my heart.

Joan

Wonkylegs

oh Joan, what a lucky fish to have been so loved - not strange at all to be so attached.

so sorry to hear your news, but you have such lovely way of remembering him I know he will not be forgotten.

valval

he sounds like he was part of the family some animals/fish r like that have there own personalitys so u will miss him but u have lovely memories that no one can take away

annie_mial

I remember a place where we used to go as a child where the carp would lift their heads out of the water to be fed.............if that memory has stayed with me for 50 years, Joan, you have every right to be upset about Jaws. He must have been part of the family.

Annie

joanlawson

Thanks Wonky

Jaws also survived an attack by a heron on one occasion, in which most of the pond was cleared out of fish. I think he hid under some lily leaves until it was all over. So he was clever, as well as beautiful.

joanlawson

Thanks Val and Annie

He was like part of the family because my grandchildren always loved feeding him. They will miss him.

joanlawson

pixyandfaries wrote:

awww im sorry joan, they live a long time dont they , huggys hun

Thanks Jan

They can live a very long time, I think. I have thawed a hole in the ice on the pond every day, but I think it is the long spell of freezing weather which has killed him.

He was like this X 10

joanlawson

A couple of the small fish have died as well, and this has never happened in previous winters.

trisher

Joan

I'm sorry for you.

We have Khoi in our pond, we have one that was all silver he was named Ghost, The orange stripped one is reall big, he always has his favorite place to eat, he would not eat anywhere else.

We had them from tiny babies, like yours. We have four left, but they all became tame and would lift their heads out of the water to be fed.

Our granson before they went aboard to live, he would always rush in when visiting and say Got to feed the fishes and out to the garden waiting for hubby to get the food down.

Perhaps it was the cold weather Joan.

joanlawson

Thanks Trisher

We also have a ghost one, but he isn't as tame as Jaws.

Mu cat often drinks from the pond, but Jaws was never bothered, and would swim right up to the cat's nose, as though he was telling him to clear off.

trisher

joanlawson wrote:

Thanks Trisher

We also have a ghost one, but he isn't as tame as Jaws.

Mu cat often drinks from the pond, but Jaws was never bothered, and would swim right up to the cat's nose, as though he was telling him to clear off.

Ahh Joan, It is nice to watch like that. Have you taken any photo's of your fish? We managed a few.

Trishxx

joanlawson

No, I never thought of that, and now wish that I had.

annebr

Joan,

I am so sorry to hear about Jaws it is upsetting to lose any pet.

I did enjoy hearing about him and didn't realise that they grew so big. Or that you could get silver ones.

Love Anne xx

chris7

Hi Joan

Sorry to have just seen this. Yes 8 years is a long time and you have fond memories of Jaws, no wonder you feel a bit down over it.
It sounds like he was the leader of the pack but that he suffered with this cold spell.
Take care
Chris xx

joanlawson

Thanks Anne and Chris

It does seem rather embarrassing to say that you will miss a fish :!: :shock: But caring for any creature for a long period of time means that you do get attached, and miss them when they are gone.

bertyboy

i would be upset too as you have seen him grow from a tiddler to a proper sized fish xxxx
we have a pond and its been a job to keep an air supply going with all the frost as the toxic gasses can kill the fish if its iced over we have put a piece of drain pipe in at an angle and it seems t have worked it needs a bit of a giggle first thing but usually stays free xx

joanlawson

delboy wrote:

Shame about jaws, I think it's the cold weather or even the particular type. I've lost two goldfish of the same breed this last week but the others have survived. The grass carp are immune to everything, a heron has cleared the pond twice while they've been there.

Hi Delboy

Re the heron, we have now got a mesh cover over the pond to stop the herons. It doesn't look so nice, but at least the fish are safe.

joanlawson

bertyboy wrote:

i would be upset too as you have seen him grow from a tiddler to a proper sized fish xxxx
we have a pond and its been a job to keep an air supply going with all the frost as the toxic gasses can kill the fish if its iced over we have put a piece of drain pipe in at an angle and it seems t have worked it needs a bit of a giggle first thing but usually stays free xx

I like the idea of the drain pipe. Do you have to read a few jokes to yourself first, before you go out there to give it a giggle :?:

joanlawson

Thank you for the advice, Delboy.

mellman01

I love Koi and had some in my pond but they destroyed all me plants so I gave them to a friend who has a big pond full of big devils, pond now is a wildlife one, I think there are a few goldfish in there I know we have stickle backs living in there they keep the mosquitoes down.
Now minus Koi we get toads frogs and newts breading in it.

joanlawson

mellman01 wrote:

I love Koi and had some in my pond but they destroyed all me plants so I gave them to a friend who has a big pond full of big devils, pond now is a wildlife one, I think there are a few goldfish in there I know we have stickle backs living in there they keep the mosquitoes down.
Now minus Koi we get toads frogs and newts breading in it.

Hi Mell

We get lots of frogs too, and I love to hear them croaking in the evenings. But have you ever heard a frog scream :?: I used to have a cat which used to catch them to play with occasionally ( not my present cat. he is too lazy ) If in danger, they give a loud screaming noise which is very eery.

oneday

sorry to hear about your pet fish.....

joanlawson

oneday wrote:

sorry to hear about your pet fish.....

Thanks oneday.

It seems a bit silly, but I am missing him.

oneday

joanlawson wrote:

oneday wrote:

sorry to hear about your pet fish.....

Thanks oneday.

It seems a bit silly, but I am missing him.

no,its not silly........also i didnt know what to put....but i can feel for you if you know what i mean and i guess you do.......i am an animal lover........had alsorts.........

mellman01

Hi Joan, the people behind us had a boxer dog that started acting really weird a few years ago turned out it had played with a toad, god knows what that did to his mind but I bet he never did it again, we have loads of frogs but the Koi use to eat so many of the tadpoles and rip any plants we put in up from their baskets, we put biggish stones to hold said baskets down but they even had them away!, as for the cat and the frog thing, I bet that was creepy I never knew they did that mind you it didn’t have any other choice but to scream.
I was once out rat shooting in the middle of nowhere at a place called ousley barn and a dog fox was behind the barns calling for a mate, by heck now that made me skin crawl when he started the flippn thing.

joanlawson

delboy wrote:

I've loads of frogs but have to keep chasing bloody cats away from the pond.

Ever heard a squirell grunting? Weird noise too.

No, never heard a squirrel grunting. They usually run away before you would get near enough to hear them. Do they communicate with each other in grunts :?: Sounds like some teenagers I know :!: