TISH the fish from Thirsk could be about to lose his title as Britain's oldest goldfish.

The underwater wonder, owned by Gordon and Hilda Hand, swam his way into the Guinness Book of Records when he reached 43 years old before his death in 2000.

But now a new challenger for the position has arisen in the shape of Goldie.

The fish is still swimming strong in his bowl in Devon despite being at least 43 years old, according to his owners Tom and Pauline Evans.

They say he could be even older, as Pauline's father bought him in 1960 when he might already have been a couple of years old.

The Hands have said previously that the secret of Tish's long and healthy life was a lean diet and a nice, quiet goldfish bowl.

Mr Hand said of the latest news about Tish's possible disappearance from the book of records: "It's just one of those things. There are more important things going on."

A Guinness records spokesman said Goldie could be considered if firm evidence of his age could be produced.

But how can you tell how old a fish is?

A goldfish expert at Tetra, the fishfood company, said it was possible to tell a fish's age by examining one of its scales under a microscope.

She said: "You can count rings, in the same way that you can find out the age of a tree."

The oldest goldfish in the world is reported to have lived for more than 50 years, in China.

Updated: 12:00 Saturday, January 25, 2003