A beloved pet goldfish believed to be the oldest in Merseyside has died at the grand old age of 22.
Nicol Arathoon, 38, was just 16-years-old when she bought Sparky from Burleydam Garden Centre in Ellesmere Port. The feisty fish, who saw the appointment of six Prime Ministers throughout his long life, earned the nickname 'Sparky the Sharky' due to his tenacious nature - mercilessly slaughtering any other fish that dared invade his tank.
He died yesterday, June 15, and was buried at Plymyard Cemetery next the grave of Nicol's mum, Janette.
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Nicol, a mum of two, said: "Last night I came into the kitchen and I saw he was lying on the bottom of the tank. He started opening and closing his mouth, and then he passed away.
"I took him to my mum's grave in a little box with his tree and little stone and rose petals and buried him there.
"We came home last night and his fish tank is still there. The kitchen will never be the same now. It will take a while to get used to. I've had him since I was a teenager. For my son's, he's always been around."
Nicol thought her pet's time was up eight weeks ago when she found him curled up at the bottom of his tank. But he perked up after she spent £60 on swim bladder treatments, switched his food from 99p pellets to premium flakes, and painstakingly fed him frozen peas with a plastic straw.
In 2017, he made a miraculous recovery after being found floating upside down after a sausage roll was hurled into his tank.
Nicol, who has her precious pet's name tattooed on her arm, said: "I have lost pets in the past. If I only had a fish for a couple of months, I wouldn't cry, but I sobbed my heart out last night. We've had him for that long.
"He really did make it to a good age. I never thought he'd get there. Once he got past 10, I thought I couldn't believe how old he was, and then he got past 20. He was a real fighter. He fought until the end."
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