My goldfish died. He jumped out of the tank and killed himself and I found him dead on the floor. I feel so horrible about it. I'd had him for almost three years; he would have turned three at the end of august. He was so beautiful. I found him tonight lying on the floor dead. I feel so terrible. I feel like the most horrible fishkeeper in the world for not seeing him sooner. How long would he have survived out of water? Five minutes? An hour? I'm so broken up. I thought he would be with me for years to come. He never seemed unhappy. Was there anything I could have done? If I had seen him sooner, could he have survived? Why did he jump? He never so much as stuck his head out of the water before, and I didn't do anything different. Nothing that I hadn't done hundreds of times before. Please, you forum members who have owned lots of goldfish, please answer. How long was he in pain, waiting for me to put him back? Did he suffer a lot? I know that I shouldn't ever own a fish again, but what did I do wrong? I'm the most wretched human being that ever lived. I just wanted him to live forever so we could prove to everyone that comet goldfish are good fish and they deserve a good life. He was the most beautiful goldfish ever, and he loved being alive. He loved swimming around and playing in the current from the filter and eating food pellets. What changed? What was it that made him want to die? He's dead and he'll never come back and he suffered horribly because of me because I was too cheap to buy the full tank kit with the lid instead of just the tank because I already had a filter. I thought sometimes about cutting some plexiglass and making a lid because the water evaporated so fast from the filter and the bubbler, but I didn't ever do it. I wasn't the best fishkeeper; I was lazy and sometimes put off cleaning the tank, but I really did love him. He was as important to me as anybody's dog or cat ever was to them. I just wanted him to stay with me. I wanted him to be there swimming around ten years from now. I was so proud of him and I would tell anybody who asked if I had a pet that "I have a goldfish." I wanted him to grow to be the most wonderful goldfish in the world. I wanted him to be a foot long and live until he couldn't live anymore. I never bought any other goldfish or even a snail because I was afraid they would make him sick. Did he die of loneliness? If he was jumping out of the tank to find someone else to be with, I'll never forgive myself. I'll never even know if he was a boy or a girl now. He was the most wonderful fish that ever lived ever, and he killed himself because he thought I didn't care about him enough. Please answer, goldfish forum. I await your judgement. I don't know what to do. I don't have a fish anymore.