Unlike Spirit Airlines the TSA apparently doesn’t require flushing emotional support animals down the toilet. Leaving behind the goldfish may have been done in hopes of finding them a new home if the passenger was flying United or Delta amidst their crackdown.
Want I want to know though is how this passenger managed to get the goldfish through the checkpoint in the first place in more than 3 ounces of water that would have been necessary to keep them alive.