When his children brought two goldfish home from the fair in a water-filled plastic bag, Richard Wright thought they might survive for a few months.
But for 35 years, Splish and Splash proved him wrong … until this week, when Splish sadly departed this world for that great big fishbowl in the sky.
It means Splash, believed to be Britain’s oldest living goldfish, is alone for the first time since 1977.
End of an era: Splish (left) died on Sunday leaving Splash (right) alone for the first time in 35 years
Happier times: Splish and Splash had been companions for more than 35 years after being brought home from a funfair
Flying solo: Splash is now living alone for the first time in more than three decades
Mr Wright, 68, said: ‘I found Splish floating dead in the bowl. Splash looks as if he is coping fine and he’s just swimming around as normal.’
‘It was actually quite sad to see him go, because we’d known him for so long... more than half my lifetime.’
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He and his wife Ann had looked after the two fish ever since their children Hayley and Matthew, then aged six and nine, won them at the fair.
Mr Wright, a retired human resources consultant from Brockworth, Gloucestershire, said: ‘We certainly didn’t expect them to live this long – it’s incredible. The children eventually grew up and left home but Splish and Splash stayed put with us. The kids are in their forties now.’
Gold oldies: Splish and Splash had lost some of their gold colouring over the years but were otherwise healthy
Mr Wright said there was no particular secret to their longevity: ‘We just fed them normal goldfish food, but they have thrived on it.’
In the last three or four years they had finally begun to show their age, however, losing their gold colour and turning silver.
Splish and Splash shared the same bowl for more than two decades. Around ten years ago they moved house – into a new tank equipped with a filter, which Mr Wright nicknamed the ‘Old Fish Home’.
Shocked: Richard Wright had expected the fish to live for no more than a few years after winning them at a funfair with his children in 1977
Common goldfish normally live for between five and 15 years. Those kept in small tanks, like Splish and Splash, are not generally expected to live for more than ten.
But Splash still has a long way to go to beat the world record holder – Tish, a goldfish which died at the grand old age of 43 in 2005.