Man wants to reunite goldfish he rescued in Lower Hutt floods with its owner

A Wellington man was checking on his neighbours during flash flooding when he spotted a pet fish on the ground.

The large goldfish was found lying “lifeless” on the grass at the bottom of Tawhai St in Stokes Valley.

Lower Hutt resident Tim Rempala told the Herald he used his umbrella to carefully scoop up the fish and rushed it back to his house, changing the water every few minutes while on the way.

Stokes Valley man Tim Rempala found a goldfish in the Lower Hutt flash floods on April 18 and immediately put it into a recovery tank.

“Once home, I set up an appropriate quarantine tank straight away and dosed it with the necessary treatments I had on hand.

“Thankfully, I already had the right equipment ready, which made it possible to act quickly.”

Rempala posted about the missing pet on his local community page but no one has come to collect the fish yet.

Tim Rempala feeding the goldfish he rescued, which he believes is a female fish.

He knew of a few ponds in his area and assumed one of them must have overflowed from the rain, washing away the fish.

He said the “poor thing” might have floated away for a considerable distance because both sides of its body were de-scaled.

The fish was “bashed-up” when Rempala found it but it has since been administered medication and is on the road to recovery, he said.

Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.