Damn fish
September 10th, 2007Those fish?
Ugh.
You couldn't imagine how much money we've spent in the last week on this aquarium. Maybe you can. It would be really helpful if we got all of the right information at one time. But its like trickle here, trickle there. Go to the pet store, and they seem to tell you HALF of what you need to know, and you don't figure out that you only got half of it until you get home and realize you have a problem. Even on the web, I've found, that on one web site, they tell you one thing pertaining to goldfish, and a totally different explanation/set of directions/diagnosis on another.
To backtrack a little bit. Remember, Marina went on a one way trip down the porcelain express on Friday morning. So Friday night we took Cassidy to pick out a new fish. She chose a very pretty Black Moor. Within 24 hours, "Emily" stopped eating. Within 48 hours, "she" was a goner. Our tank's water tests fine, with maybe the exception that it still hasn't built up the required "good bacteria" (yeah theres a chemical solution for that.. more cha ching!) pH is fine, no excessive nitrates, or nitrites.. hardness fine. Blah blah blah.
Today when I returned the belly up "Emily" (Petco has a 15 day live pet guarantee), I was razzed because I didn't bring in a water sample (though the section of their website pertaining to the 15 day guarantee on fish says nothing about a water sample!) Besides, the tank water tests fine. I pointed out the lack of clarification on the website, and she agreed to replace the damn fish anyway. She then goes on to criticize the fact that we started a new tank with more than one fish (the theory that you should only start a tank with one fish and add a fish once a month or every two months.) It would have been helpful if her co-worker had told me that when she sold me the other fish, knowing full well that it was a new tank.
Damn you fair fish. You started this!
Oh and Optimus Prime is now missing a good chunk from his fan tail. Color me confused as to how THAT happened.
At this point I'm thinking a puppy would be easier and cheaper.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Sorry to hear about the fish difficulties. Just FYI, goldfish are the *worst* fish to start out with. They poop ALOT, fouling the water and making for maintenance, they eat ALOT (see poop problems) and they are actually quite fussy about water.
Can you find any Siamese Fighting Fish/BEttas? They are wonderful beginner fish- you can only keep one male per tank but they are practically bulletproof. I’d also recommend some fish like guppies, swordtail mollies and neon tetras. Those are all inexpensive, hardy fish with good looks. The tetras have to be kept in groups of 5-10, but they are less than 1 inch long so you can have a lot in a tank. Guppies and mollies look just as pretty as goldfish but don’t take as much work.
Good luck! Fish tanks are fascinating for littles!
September 10th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
No, no, no… do not deceive yourself. A puppy would not be LESS trouble - except perhaps it would make you feel better about the trouble you take forit. I’m sorry to hear you had more fish problems. I am always suspicious of the health of fish in large chain stores. I hope you find a keeper!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
We had a horrible time with a fish tank. I think they are beautiful if someone else is funding it and doing all the work. I will never do another one (and we just had a small one). Guess I shouldn’t say that completely as we have a current science experiment of triops ( http://www.triops.com ) from a Smithsonian science kit. We’ve done them before with the HP Club. Unfortunately this time I’m trying to keep the kitten from eating them! LOL! I’ll take a mammal any day.
September 10th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Yep, good advice…. start with Guppies, Mollies and Tetras to get that nitrogen cycle going. We have a host of fish books and encyclopedias here if you need to borrow one.
September 10th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
I am in no way an expert, but we used to have MUCHO tanks, salt and freshwater. DO you have goldfish in with others? It’s not really a good idea to mix goldfish with other types. Now if you ask me why, I can’t tell you. I just can’t remember. But I do know that I one knew
September 11th, 2007 at 5:49 am
This year at the fair, when I left the family for five minutes to pee, my husband let my daughter win a damn fair fish in a baggie, and we went home at 11 p.m. with a fish and no fish food, aquarium, or anything. I could have killed him.
We got to watch the fish slowly die over the next 36 hours, rejecting the food we gave it and generally making me feel like a cruel person. The fish didn’t have much fun either. My daughter was okay.
I hate fair fish.