Against all odds, nine goldfish survive the Rolling Fork tornado

Against all odds, nine pet goldfish whose pond was destroyed in the tornado of Rolling Fork survived and found sanctuary in a new home.

Kathy Barlow and her husband lost almost everything in the tornado that recently decimated Rolling Fork. As she recalled events that took place the night of the storm and the aftermath that followed, her focus was set on what she remains grateful for. Nine out of her twelve giant goldfish miraculously managed to survive the fallen debris and were adopted by another couple to carry out their days in a new pond.

The fish was originally going to be used as bait by her cousin to go fishing with. The tiny goldfish were purchased in Vicksburg. But, as Barlow stated, she and her family are animal lovers, so her cousin thought it might be a good idea for the fish to have a different fate and enjoy their lives in a pond. “That was two years ago,” she noted, “they have gotten humongous and they are so pretty.”

Following the tornado, Barlow’s home was left in a condition that she described as “totaled.” She said that the back of her house was being held up by a tree. The pond that she kept her goldfish in was completely covered in wreckage and debris. She was certain they were all dead. As she and her family went about rummaging through the remains of her property, her brother-in-law pulled debris from the pond and she discovered a moving fish. The surviving nine fish were huddled together with barely any room to swim. “I don’t know how they survived because they didn’t have any room to swim around. They were just stuck in one spot with no air, no nothing.”

Pond after the storm

Barlow’s brother-in-law cleaned the air pump and managed to capture the fish by hand. They moved them into an aerated cooler with fresh water that they mixed with some of the water from the pond. Barlow then made a Facebook post searching for a place to rehome her pets. That’s when Heather and Daniel Goss contacted her and agreed to take them that same day. “They had one goldfish that they had named Clark,” Kathy said. “When they stuck them in there with him they started swimming all around and he was just so excited. They’ve all just been swimming around together ever since!” Clark was happy to have friends.

Barlow said that on the night of the storm, her husband was watching the news and by the time he said they needed to take cover, everything happened so fast. She, her husband and one of her daughters took cover in a central location within the home. Within less than a minute later, the destruction began. “We huddled up in the hallway and covered each other’s heads with our arms and hoped for the best. I was just glad I had closed all of the windows or who knows what would have happened.” Barlow’s other daughter wasn’t far away in her own home and Barlow noted that she was worried about her other daughter and her two young grandchildren. In the end, the neighborhood took a good deal of damage but Barlow, her family and nine of her pet fish lived to see another day.

Barlow even mentioned that while some people lost everything, she was grateful to salvage family photos and cherished memories. Her husband hung a new American flag on the remains of their house after the tornado. Together they are working hard to go through and recover what is left of the damage that was done.