When a 10-year-old goldfish was dropped off at the pet store last year, no one ever thought that the fish would end up getting a new home. People who buy fish typically look for young ones.
However, when Lacey Scott entered the store, she immediately fell in love with the mature fish and brought him to her house.
She shared the full story of the rescue and recovery of the fish on TikTok recently and it’s something that you have to see to believe. The transformation is absolutely incredible.
It all happened so quickly.
Just like that, Scott “accidentally become a goldfish keeper”.
“I honestly didn’t think he was going to make it, but I couldn’t stand the thought of such an old fish wasting away the last of his days alone in a store,” Scott told Bored Panda.
She named the fish Monstro, but at 10 years old, it was clear that he didn’t have much time left.
He was already dying and was unable to swim. He even had lesions on his body from laying on the bottom of the aquarium for so long.
In addition, although Monstro was technically a goldfish, by looking at him, you would never be able to tell.
His skin was a bluish-black color.
“I thought at least I can give him a home and make him comfortable in his last days, so of course, I was over the moon when he started improving!” said Scott.
Scott didn’t give up on the old fish.
She did her best to nurse him back to health by setting up a special hospital aquarium for him with shallow water and salt. She then proceeded to replace the water daily.
Over the course of the next several weeks, Monstro’s health began to change.
He ate little bits of food here and there and built his appetite back up. She fed him healthy snacks including the standard pellets and gel food, but also brine shrimp, blood worms, leafy greens, and blanched veggies. Healthy goldfish require a lot of variety in their diet.
Slowly but surely, he began to regain his strength and swim around again.
That’s when Scott decided to get him a big 85-gallon tank and some additional friends to join him.
Shortly after, something miraculous happened — Monstro started to change colors.
At first, it was just a little bit of orange on his belly.
However, over the months, more and more orange continued to show up.
Eventually, he became almost completely orange, just like most young goldfish that we are used to seeing.
In that time period, Monstro also got much bigger, truly living up to his name.
By the end of his transformation, he was almost unrecognizable. Plus, his energy levels were off the charts in comparison to when she first brought him home.
“He’s like a goofy oversized puppy. He’ll come to the glass and beg for attention, especially when he wants to be fed, which is always,” said Scott.
It’s truly an amazing story. Scott rescued the fish and saved his life that day in the pet store.
“I don’t know how long he has left, but he’ll spend his days happy and loved,” Scott said on TikTok.
Monstro will live out the rest of his time on this earth in great care, Scott will make sure of that.
Watch the full TikTok video of the goldfish’s rescue and transformation below.
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@heretherebesculpturesThe one where you accidentally become a goldfish keeper. Meet Monstro 🖤 ##rescue ##inspirational ##goldfish ##rescuepet ##fish ##recovery♬ Inspirational Piano – AShamaluevMusic
