Goldie is an office fish with attitude.

Not content merely to float about placidly amid aquarium air bubbles and rocky decorations, Goldie has her own ideas about feng shui and the underwater environment, which she rather rigorously applies at the law offices of Corinne Miller in downtown Casper.

Goldie is a Gold Cichlid, an African fish common to Lake Tanganyika. One Web site describes the species as "an inoffensive fish" that grows to about 4 inches in length and likes well-planted aquariums. "They will not harm plants," it reassures.

Yeah, right. So welcome to Goldie's world.

By any measure - and Goldie measures about a foot long by 7 inches wide with a rather stout girth - this is not your average example of her species.

"We can't put plants in because she dive bombs them and rips them up," says Dawn Peterson, Corinne Miller's administrative assistant.

As for being inoffensive, it may not look like there are many teeth buried in that piscatorial kisser of hers, but don't be fooled by appearances. Miller remembers when Goldie bit her finger hard enough to draw blood.

"She's a pretty aggressive fish," Miller says. "She has her own personality."

Goldie also won't tolerate aquatic company, as a forlorn fellow Cichlid learned once upon a time. And she can open the top to the tank by banging against it if the water level is high enough and she musters sufficient, fin-propelled force.

Then there's the matter of Goldie's gender. Miller is not certain if Goldie is male or female. The aggressiveness, and some of her anatomical characteristics, argue for male. But Goldie also digs in the sand and spits rocks as if trying to build a nest.

Male or female, Goldie is one fish that appreciates being petted. Peterson uses a cleaning brush - one with the evidences of frequent Cichlid attacks - to rub Goldie's head. "I usually rub the brush on that ball thing," she says, referring to a prominent cranial hump on Goldie's head.

Goldie likes the color red, but might actually prefer pink. If someone in the office is wearing red, Goldie directs her rapt attention to the color's source. But when her tank is dirty, Peterson says, her face turns pink. And she definitely would rather have a dirty tank.

"She gets angry when the fish tank is cleaned," Miller observes. "She gets mad and has a fit."

Goldie is 12 years old, a fact that might be attributed in part to diet. She subsists on pellets loaded with ingredients one might find in a health-food shop, including wheat-germ meal, brewers' dried yeast and soybean meal fortified with loads of vitamins, minerals and carotene.

Goldie is definitely hard to ignore: "Clients always ask about Goldie," Miller says.

While it might not be typical, Melissa DeSersa, a salesperson at Aquatics and Critters in the Eastridge Mall, says it is not unheard of for a pet fish to live as long as Goldie.

"It just depends on how hardy the fish is," she says. "We've had a couple fish up here that were, I think, close to 16 years of age."

Business Editor Tom Mast can be contact at 307-266-0574, or email at tom.mast@casperstartribune.net