Fin Pals ask Norman: How Old Are You?

View fullsize

There are three ways to tell how old a goldfish is:

1. Color: most goldfish start out brown. Their color changes to gold, orange, black, or other colors when they are older.

2. Fins: goldfish fins grow longer and more pointed as they age.

3. Size: Goldfish grow to about 5 inches long in their first 2-3 years. After that they grow about an inch a year. But, if they are in a small fishbowl, they won’t grow as fast.

Now that you know all that, how old do you think Norman is? How old do you think his human is?

Ready to read Norman’s answer? Scroll down . . .

Glug

Glug

Glug . . .

---

20 goldfish years? How many is that? Let’s see:

Neeness says “One year in a goldfish’s life is equal to five human years, which means one-fifth of a fish year equals one human year.”

So, if Norman is 20 goldfish year’s old, how old is he in human years? 20 divided by 5 equals 4. Norman is about 4 human years old.

For more about goldfish click over to this article on cuteness.com

Now, Norman has a question for you: Verywellfamily.com says Humans grow about 4 inches a year when they are about 2 to 3 years old. And then, when they are teenagers they grow about 4 inches a year again, for a few years. After that they stop growing taller.

So, how old do you think Norman’s human is?

Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter!