Fish

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Overview

Gallery

Fish (specifically goldfish) are a running gag in the Garfield comic strip. Often bought by Jon Arbuckle to bring a third pet into the house, they are inevitably consumed by Garfield, with the exception of two who are stated to have died of natural causes. Garfield considers them to be a pizza topping.

Jon often buys fish to keep as pets, and Garfield often tries catching them, with various levels of success. Sometimes he gets and devours them without much difficulty, much to Jon's frustration. Other times, he is not as successful, and that is for a variety of reasons: Jon catching him in the act, the fish fighting back, or the fish alerting Jon is some way. On occasion, it is unclear whether Garfield gets the fish or not, as the strip stops with him reaching for it.

Sometimes, Jon goes fishing and brings Garfield with him. Jon is not a very good fisherman, as he considers guppies as a catch worthy of a net, and Garfield has a mixed opinion about fishing. He likes being able to take a nap and call it a sport, but he hates Jon's rambling or singing.

For a gallery of fish, click here

Comics[]

Garfield on a Fish Hunt[]

Garfield hunting fish is common. His success, however, is mixed.

Fish Feeding Frenzy[]

Garfield is successful eating fish frequently.

11/10/1979 Garfield sees a fish-shaped sign for Fred's Fresh Fish. He eats it, leaving the sign looking like a fish skeleton.
3/23/1980 Jon gives Garfield a fish to eat. He throws it into his mouth, swallows, and spits out the bones thanks to his nimble teeth.
3/3/1993 Jon compliments Garfield's space helmet, but then realizes that his helmet is a fish bowl. The fish that was inside is now exploring the inside of Garfield's gut.
11/24/1994 Jon reads about the new fish he got, reading that it can expand like a pufferfish. Garfield experiences this firsthand, when he is bloated into a ball with limbs after eating the fish.
11/25/1994 Jon asks Garfield to think of the fish he wasted on fish that Garfield ate. Garfield ponders it for a moment and realizes that he could've bought him a trout.
7/26/1995 Garfield stands with a fish in a bowl, and instantly eats it after the reader blinked.
2/1/1996 Jon realizes his fish is gone, and has been replaced by a potato, which he has been feeding for weeks, as explained by Garfield.
1/22/1997 Jon asks Garfield what he's going to have for dinner. He sarcastically offers a fish skeleton, and Garfield feigns confusion.
4/30/1998 Garfield eyes a fish, who orders him not to eat it. Garfield does so anyway, noting that no one likes pushy guppies.
7/5/1998 Garfield sees a fish miming. He eats it, and Jon soon stumbles upon the empty bowl. He asks Garfield if he has seen the new fish, and Garfield claims to have seen its dinner show. Jon spots the rouge on his cat's teeth.
2/26/1999 Garfield sees a fish floating belly-up in a bowl. He fake sneezes and, after getting a response from it, eats it. Jon shouts at him.
2/27/1999 Garfield sees a fish sleeping in its bowl and chugs the water and fish in it. The fish does not even wake up, sleeping inside Garfield's bulging belly.
1/9/2000 Garfield licks his lips and steps toward a fish, who begs for mercy, claiming to have a wife and six kids. Garfield stares at it, unimpressed since the fish lives in a glass bowl. The fish tries to elaborate further, but Garfield eats it anyway.
4/3/2000 Jon shouts at Garfield for eating one of his fish, and now the other will be sad and lonely. Garfield quickly devours the other one, claiming that it will now be just sad. Jon is not amused.
4/4/2000 Garfield spots a fish, who tells him that eating goldfish is bad luck. Garfield promises to stay out of casinos.
4/5/2000 Jon and Garfield argue with each other about the cat eating Jon's goldfish. The cat is mortified to hear the fish agree with Jon from inside Garfield's tummy.
4/6/2000 Jon asks Garfield if he has any shame. Garfield ponders this, and then claims to not, proven by the fish skeleton floating in the fishbowl.
2/19/2002 Jon looks at a fishbowl with a fish in it, water spilled everywhere, and his cat with a smile on his face. He slowly puts the pieces together, while Garfield claims that Jon is taken by himself.
2/21/2002 Jon asks Garfield how many fish he has had over the years. Garfield guesses 321, but Jon had 323 fish. "Two died of natural causes," Garfield explains.
2/22/2002 Garfield sees a fish and pilfers it, replacing it with an I.O.U., which Jon finds.
2/23/2002 Jon congratulates Garfield for eating every fish. Jon wants to know what he has to say, and Garfield desires to keep the bowl.

Maybe, Maybe Not[]

It is unclear whether or not Garfield gets the fish at times, but he hunts for them regardless.

7/4/1978 Garfield says that he really shouldn't eat Jon's pet fish, but he goes for it anyway, because of "ethnic weakness".
5/16/1980 Jon asks Garfield why he wants to catch the fish. Garfield goes for it because he loves eating fish.
7/20/1980 Garfield dives into water and chases a fish. He quickly runs out of air and emerges, inside of Jon's aquarium.
4/15/1985 Jon brings a fish home and tries coming up with a name for it. Garfield is quick to call it, "Sushi."
4/8/2000 Garfield turns into a beast during a full moon, and realizes that the fish has done the same thing.
2/18/2002 Garfield drops a lemon wedge into a fishbowl. Jon sees this and demands to know who did this.

No Fish for You![]

Garfield is sometimes unsuccessful in catching fish.

8/5/1978 Garfield is reaching into the fishbowl when he sees Jon. He quickly plays it cool, but Jon is still suspicious.
5/31/1982 Garfield attempts to throw a fishing pole into a pond, but the hook attaches itself to his tail.
7/20/1984 Jon tells Garfield that he'll regret trying to eat his new fish. Garfield tries it anyway, and gets his finger bit.
7/21/1984 Odie grins at Garfield for having a fish biting his finger. As revenge, Garfield snaps the fish onto Odie's nose.
4/16/1985 Garfield walks by the fish bowl and returns with fishing gear, a rod, tackle box, and everything. Jon calls him out.
4/18/1985 Garfield reaches for the fish. Jon then sees him with the bowl on his face and calls him out for trying to eat the fish.
4/19/1985 As Garfield tries for the fish, he sees Jon holding a cage. He begs Jon not to cage him, but Jon locked up the fishbowl instead.
4/20/1985 Garfield decides to let the fish live, mostly because Jon locked it in a cage.
6/3/1986 Odie runs up to Jon after getting his head stuck in a cookie jar. Jon helps him, unaware that Garfield has gotten his own head stuck in a fishbowl.
3/2/1993 Garfield reaches for a fish in a bowl, but after lifting it out, it screams, startling Garfield and alerting Jon, who catches his cat in the act.
6/21/1994 Jon tells Garfield that he got him a seafood lunch. Garfield is pleased, until Jon shows him the ugly fish he bought. Garfield loses his appetite rather rapidly after this.
4/7/2000 Jon introduces Garfield to his new fish. Garfield claims to have met it previously and then spits out an underwater castle decoration.
2/20/2002 A goldfish begs Garfield to spare it, willing to do him a favor. When Garfield asks what the fish could do for him, the fish claims to know a lobster, which piques Garfield's interest.
6/22/2010 Garfield attempts catch a fish, but reels in a hot dog instead.

Gone Fishin'[]

Jon likes going fishing and bringing Garfield along with him. Other times, Garfield goes fishing himself.

10/8/1985 Garfield sees Odie drooling a puddle and goes fishing in it.
11/17/1985 Jon is fishing with Garfield and begins rambling. Garfield, unable to take it, leaps out of the boat and swims to shore.
7/27/1987 Jon tells Garfield that they're going fishing. When Jon shows the cat his fishing gear, Garfield is unimpressed.
7/28/1987 Jon and Garfield set out for a day of fishing, but Jon gets stuck to the curtains. Garfield figures it is going to be a long day.
7/29/1987 Garfield sees a can of worms and tries setting them free, but throwing them into the water did not have its desired effect.
7/30/1987 Jon tells Garfield the key to fishing: remaining motionless. Garfield has that market cornered, as he has already fallen asleep.
7/31/1987 Jon asks Garfield how he likes fishing. Garfield likes it, since it is essentially a sport that involves napping.
8/1/1987 Jon is asked if he caught anything, and he replies, "Yes, but we threw 'em back." Garfield adds that they had to, otherwise the bait would've eaten them.
7/16/1995 Jon is unsuccessful in fishing, so Garfield and Odie show him how it is done. Garfield uses Odie's tongue as a worm, and then the pets use corn for bait, make faces at the fish, and dance the polka together. Jon states how much he hates fishing in a comic strip.
6/3/1996 Jon asks Garfield if he's packed for their fishing trip. Garfield drags a large bag with him and confirms this as he recounts his tools and ingredients for a good fish fry.
6/4/1996 Jon tells Garfield to tell him when to stop as he reverses the boat into the water. Garfield stops him after the water engulfs Jon.
6/5/1996 Jon tries deciding which lure to use when he sneezes, getting them stuck all over himself, including his left nostril, as pointed out by Garfield.
6/6/1996 Jon casts his line out to fish, but throws his rod away in the process. Garfield thinks he hears a trout laugh.
6/7/1996 Jon struggles with a fish but finally reels in a fish that could barely pass for a minnow.
6/8/1996 Garfield notes how ugly Jon's lure is, and then Jon proceeds to catch an ugly fish.
6/9/1996 Jon lists off how much he likes about fishing, while Garfield complains about everything that Jon praises (The fresh air that smells like bait, for example). But when Jon pulls out a banjo to start singing, Garfield jumps ship and swims into the sunset. Odie watches him as he fades into the distance.

Sentient Fish[]

Fish often talk with Garfield through thought, or show other ways of life.

8/1/1980 Garfield catches a can of salmon that is heading upstream to spawn.
5/23/1997 Garfield hungrily eyes a new fish, but the fish claims it is a magic fish. Garfield is skeptical, but the fish sticks to its guns, so the cat wishes for tartar sauce. The fish realizes its ruse is not working.

Other[]

5/3/1980 Garfield sees a fish splash in his water bowl and decides to speak to Jon about changing his water.
7/5/1981 Garfield sneaks into a fish store and returns with a fish. He offers it to Jon, who is disgusted by it. Garfield whacks him with it and explains that the dead fish is an expression of love.
9/22/1982 Garfield watches Odie bounce on a puddle, and then is surprised to see a fish jump in it.
2/6/1983 Garfield walks by a fish and decides to stare it down. Jon tells him that fish don't blink, but Garfield's eyeballs have already dried out.
4/17/1983 While on the beach, Jon tells Garfield that the ocean is an excellent place to find fish. Garfield replies "Well, why didn't you say so?!", goes into the ocean, and brings back a shark.
4/6/1984 While on the hunt for a missing Pooky, Garfield decides to investigate a paper bag, noting that something smells fishy. He checks the bag, and finds a dead fish.
4/17/1985 Garfield lists off reasons why people don't like fish: they can not be hugged, go for walks, and all they do is eat and sleep. He then realizes he described himself.
1/21/1989 Garfield has his cheeks bulging with 119 sardines, because he's "playing fish hatchery."
8/22/1989 While stuck in the rain while camping, Jon tries to be optimistic, and he tells Garfield to have a sense of humor. Garfield responds by putting a carp in Jon's knapsack.
7/19/1997 Garfield stumbles upon a dead fish on the beach. He hides it in Jon's beach towel.
4/9/2000 Jon warns beachgoers about an incoming shark. The beachgoers run, and a woman slaps Jon, telling him "How dare you panic all those people!". The shark arrives, asking if anyone called for it.
10/8/2001 Garfield is in bed during a diet, thankful not to have any food fantasies until he sees a fish in a fishbowl standing before him.
2/26/2011 A fish cannot hold its breath any longer and pops out of the fish bowl to breathe, scaring Garfield, who runs away. Unimpressed, the other fish sarcastically replies "Nice move, Guppy Gills."
4/26/2011 Jon tells Garfield that big fish can be found in a lake, then a fishing pole pops out with a slice of pizza on its hook.
9/14/2017 Garfield tells a fish a joke about how a fish entered a diner and told the waitress it wanted water. Outraged, the fish who heard the story replies to Garfield "Oh, how sad! Go away!"

Fish in Media[]

Fish have occasionally appeared in Garfield's TV shows. Their more prominent appearances are in The Garfield Show.

Red[]

Red is a clownfish that Jon caught while fishing in the wharf. After Jon caught him, he put him in a small bucket of water, but Odie, seeing the sad expression on the fish's face, decided to let him free when no one is watching. Later, after Red's brother, Junior, unintentionally pulled Odie underwater, Red recognized him and got a friend of his, Bernie Blowfish, to blow an air bubble for Odie. The blowfish did so, recuing Odie.

Afterwards, Garfield noticed Odie gone and looked for him under the water. He selflessly dove in after him, and Red spotted him struggling for breath. Odie allowed his feline friend into his air bubble and Red and Junior took them on a tour of the reef. After the cat and dog duo saved the fish from a shark attack, they bid farewell to their friends and rose back to the surface. After reuniting with Jon, the pets were pleasantly surprised when the fish give them their picnic basket back.

Junior[]

Junior is a young clownfish that lives in the ocean. After mistaking Odie's tongue for a worm, he pulls the puppy under and presents him to his mom, unaware that he got a dog until his mom pointed this out to him. He and his brother, Red, would later guide Odie and Garfield on a tour of the reef.

Trivia[]

Garfield does not like coming across already dead fish, especially if washed up on the shore at the beach.