Woman goes viral after accidentally freezing her pet fish alive

A woman has gone viral after documenting the tumultuous life of her fish after waking to find the bowl had completely frozen over.

Fish are sensitive animals when it comes to changes in their water temperature, with just a few degrees sometimes meaning the difference between life and death.

To survive cold winters, some species enter a state of “torpor” — similar to a deep sleep or hibernation. But what about being frozen?

One woman who woke to find her fish bowl had been completely frozen solid overnight has now gone viral on TikTok after sharing her pet fish’s unexpected recovery… only for tragedy to strike.

Going by ‘santanaaza’ on the social media platform, the first video in the series showcased how her fish, Greg, had frozen overnight in his bowl. Text overlay on the video read, “Ya’ll I just woke up and my fish is frozen!?”

Despite her certainty that Greg had not survived the experience — the video’s caption listing the fish’s lifespan as 2022-2024 — Santanaaza revealed in a follow-up TikTok that Greg was back to swimming circles after the bowl had thawed.

“They could never take Greg out,” Santanaaza wrote, with viewers cheering on Greg’s survival and joking that the fish was making “victory laps.” However, Greg’s win was short-lived.

“It brings me great sadness to inform everyone that Greg has succumbed to his injuries this afternoon at around 4:23 PM. After repeatedly circling around his tank for over an hour he unfortunately could not keep pushing any longer,” Santanaaza said in another update. “He was a warrior, but all warriors must fall.”

She went on to hold a funeral for Greg, putting together a DIY gravestone for the fish and lying some yellow flowers on his grave. For viewers invested in the fish fiasco, Santanaaza bought a new pet replacement — Fred — and this time around she’s equipped with a heater and a bigger tank.

Though not everyone was stoked to see Santanaaza continue to own fish; “Please stop buying fish. You’re too irresponsible to take proper care of them. Horrible.”