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Description

3/31/2016 - 1/10/2017

Scotty is and likely will forever be one of my favorite fish if not my favorite of all time.
I only owned him for about 9 months, but in those 9 months we together battled infection after infection after infection. His original owner had kept him in a 29 gallon tank with 9 other goldfish, so he was stunted - which may have in part contributed to his poor condition. My suspects are on bad breeding, or perhaps a disorder or disease integrated into his very DNA. He'd get hit hard with things none of my other goldfish got sick with - even some of my more delicate ones which I helped recover after saving them from their nasty first home. His swim bladder also was suspected to be damaged or malformed, but still he fought. In the end it was Dropsy that took him, and mercifully it took him swiftly.

Scotty was a fighter, and I can't say I ever have had such a close relationship to a goldfish before. Although in the past I had owned a similar goldfish, who was comforted as they were dying when I held them, I can't say that that goldfish meant anywhere near as much to me as Scotty did. Perhaps it was the constant interaction and the slow painful process of trying to keep bacterial and fungal infections at bay. I swear he knew I was trying to help him. He'd swim into or around my hand to be petted or gently held by his own free will. He always greeted me in the mornings or when I walked by his tank. He knew I was his caretaker.

People say goldfish don't feel pain. They say they have short memories. They say they are dumb animals. I would boast about Scotty - friends and family both - I would show them how he seemed to love me (or at least in some small way know he depended on me). Anyone who would have and had met him would say he was a dog in a fish's body. There was no denying that he had feelings, however primitive they might be. Only in the few hours before he passed did he cease to show courage if ever a fish had any, but even then when he was panicking did he calm in the palm of my hand.

It's been months since he passed, and though the pain of losing him has since become easy, it still stabs sometimes. It might sound crazy, but I loved that fish.

I've wanted to draw him for a long time, but I never really had the inspiration to do it. The pictures above are older pictures - he was a little more filled in and much larger (plus some of his black markings had disappeared) when he passed. Even then the picture isn't entirely accurate, as I wanted to draw him as a full grown non-stunted Oranda. I know it's rather silly, but I'd like to think that if he's swimming in the Sparkle Blue (tips to you if you know where that term's from) that he'd be a big old happy goldfish, looking like he might have had he not had such a life of illness.

Swim in Peace, little one. I'll miss you dearly.

xXx

Drew this as a tribute to Scotty, but also for both realism practice and more painting practice. I might draw more goldfish (and possibly some bettas) in the future, because they're really fun to draw. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see more like this!

Art@ FizzGryphon

Description

3/31/2016 - 1/10/2017

Scotty is and likely will forever be one of my favorite fish if not my favorite of all time.
I only owned him for about 9 months, but in those 9 months we together battled infection after infection after infection. His original owner had kept him in a 29 gallon tank with 9 other goldfish, so he was stunted - which may have in part contributed to his poor condition. My suspects are on bad breeding, or perhaps a disorder or disease integrated into his very DNA. He'd get hit hard with things none of my other goldfish got sick with - even some of my more delicate ones which I helped recover after saving them from their nasty first home. His swim bladder also was suspected to be damaged or malformed, but still he fought. In the end it was Dropsy that took him, and mercifully it took him swiftly.

Scotty was a fighter, and I can't say I ever have had such a close relationship to a goldfish before. Although in the past I had owned a similar goldfish, who was comforted as they were dying when I held them, I can't say that that goldfish meant anywhere near as much to me as Scotty did. Perhaps it was the constant interaction and the slow painful process of trying to keep bacterial and fungal infections at bay. I swear he knew I was trying to help him. He'd swim into or around my hand to be petted or gently held by his own free will. He always greeted me in the mornings or when I walked by his tank. He knew I was his caretaker.

People say goldfish don't feel pain. They say they have short memories. They say they are dumb animals. I would boast about Scotty - friends and family both - I would show them how he seemed to love me (or at least in some small way know he depended on me). Anyone who would have and had met him would say he was a dog in a fish's body. There was no denying that he had feelings, however primitive they might be. Only in the few hours before he passed did he cease to show courage if ever a fish had any, but even then when he was panicking did he calm in the palm of my hand.

It's been months since he passed, and though the pain of losing him has since become easy, it still stabs sometimes. It might sound crazy, but I loved that fish.

I've wanted to draw him for a long time, but I never really had the inspiration to do it. The pictures above are older pictures - he was a little more filled in and much larger (plus some of his black markings had disappeared) when he passed. Even then the picture isn't entirely accurate, as I wanted to draw him as a full grown non-stunted Oranda. I know it's rather silly, but I'd like to think that if he's swimming in the Sparkle Blue (tips to you if you know where that term's from) that he'd be a big old happy goldfish, looking like he might have had he not had such a life of illness.

Swim in Peace, little one. I'll miss you dearly.

xXx

Drew this as a tribute to Scotty, but also for both realism practice and more painting practice. I might draw more goldfish (and possibly some bettas) in the future, because they're really fun to draw. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see more like this!

Art@ FizzGryphon