My DD is crushed!

[always quiet]

I decided that I will be replacing Jeana's with a betta. I don't want to put her through another morning like today nor do I want to be cleaning out a fish tank on a daily basis! She might not be too pleased with me since she had her heart set on another 'airbag' but at least she won't be crying in the morning again!

The fish we have now (the black moor and the caleco telescope) are in a 5 gal tank with a filter. They were doing great in the 2 gal tank but it started to leak!! Here's a picture of the tank and the Herhsey and Nemo.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I know how you feel!

We bought Madison two goldfish a few weeks ago...she named one Smoothie, we named one Connor. Well, Connor died last Sunday night when she wasn't there. I felt so horrible about it, but did NOT have the time to run up to Petco and buy another goldfish. I didn't want to tell her that Connor died (she's only 3...I really do not think she'd understand it), so I told her that he went back to visit his Mommy and Daddy for a few days.

We haven't had a chance to go back and "pick Connor up" but it's a little annoying knowing that goldfish have such a short lifespan. Sigh!

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

My daughter won a goldfish at a local school fair when she was 2. She is now 8 and Anastasia (yep, big name for little fish, but hey- that's when the movie had just been released) is still around. She is 5 times the size she was when we got her and she lives in a regular fishbowl. I know I'll get slack from this, but all we do is wash the bowl and stones with some palmolive dish soap, rinse it, fill it with tap water and put her back in. Seems to me she has probably built up some immunities and is likely to go to college with my daughter when the time comes LOL!

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I have to admit that Smoothie isn't looking too well right now. He has a 5 gallon tank all to himself and he just doesn't seem happy. I have to clean his tank every two weeks (he's one dirty little fish!!). Is this normal for a tiny little fantail??

 

[Melora]

it's a little annoying knowing that goldfish have such a short lifespan. Sigh!

They don't! They can live longer than most pets..as much as 20 years. Its the conditions that they get kept in that causes them to die so quickly.

And feeder goldfish (the kind you win at faires etc) can live in much worse conditions than the fancy ones.

Some people are lucky enough to be able to use plain tap water because the areas they live in have water not filled with chemicals (like where we live).

Some of those little guys are just much tougher than others too!

 

[Melora]

Originally posted by Stepharoonie!
I have to admit that Smoothie isn't looking too well right now. He has a 5 gallon tank all to himself and he just doesn't seem happy. I have to clean his tank every two weeks (he's one dirty little fish!!). Is this normal for a tiny little fantail??

The size of the tank is probably fine for him right now. Make sure you are using water conditioner and make sure when you change the water you are using the same temp water when you put him back. Temp changes are very hard especially for fancy goldfish . Do not overfeed him..thats probably what is making the water dirty. Goldfish do very well only being fed a small amount every other day. They can be overfed and the food not eaten will foul the water and them sick. If they finish all the food in about 5 minutes, thats enough.

Its best to do a partial water change instead of a whole water change each time. Scoop out about a gallon of water every 2 weeks and condition the new water and pour it back in.

Just a note... fancy goldfish often dont live long because most of them are "culs" from the wholesale houses that pick out the best fish and sell them separately or to high end fish stores. The little guys who end up at Petsmart or Petco have been rejected as "not as good quality". Now don't get me wrong..you can get good fish from these places, you just have to know what to look for when you are choosing them... I actually have 2 fantails from Walmart (of all places) that have blossemed into beautiful fish with gorgeous tails, but I have to keep up with my tank often!

 

[Sleepy]

Originally posted by Melora
Just a note... fancy goldfish often dont live long because most of them are "culs" from the wholesale houses that pick out the best fish and sell them separately or to high end fish stores. The little guys who end up at Petsmart or Petco have been rejected as "not as good quality". Now don't get me wrong..you can get good fish from these places, you just have to know what to look for when you are choosing them...

Believe it or not, even the wholesale warehouses are sold fish that way. I used to work for one and saw first hand some weeks we got really good stuff and the next week it was crap. There is more than one tier to the fish wholesale business. makes you wonder how in the world the fish survive so many shipments. If you could see how many fish were packed in a bag and with the small amount of water......you would be amazed! Bettas are shipped in a small bag appx less than 2 in X 2in triangular in shape (giving less room in the bag)...with enough water to submerge their body....equal amount of air. They can last like that with no food or fresh water for longer than a week. The females can last longer....given the right temperature.

 

[Melora]

The breeders (pre warehouse) are the ones where my husband is looking at buying the goldfish from. Their small goldfish run $30 a pop....

But they are gorgeous! They take so much work to keep them in good shape and protect your investment.

 

[Pembo]

"Flippy" was scooped out of the swimming pool we belonged to 21 months ago. They had "Goldfish Day" at the pool. They dumped McD's coolers full of fish into the main pool and the kids went in after them. I thought it was disgusting. Dh took the boys!

Anyway Flippy lives in a bowl from Walmart on our TV. We've tried to kill him. Dh forgets to feed him, doesn't change the water often enough and he lives on........His counterpart, Swimmer, only lived a few days. The boys still talk about him. He got flushed before they could see him floating.

Now I have a really important question...........how do you know if it is a boy fish or a girl fish????? I posed this to ds last night and he said he just knows Flippy is a boy. The logic of 8 yo.

One more thing, we know Flippy's exact adoption date because my dd was just 4 days old when Daddy took the big brothers to GoldFish Day.

 

[always quiet]

Well, we're back from Petsmart.....with a red Betta in bowl! Seeing how he went from an approx. 4 oz to a gallon and a half size bowl, I have to wonder what he is thinking! I hope he doesn't make the bubble nest that my son's betta did for awhile. Looked neat (the whole top of the tank was full of bubbles, but it made the tank stink to high heaven!!!! Imagine an outdoor porta-potti in the middle of July. Ick! When my son would clean the tank, we'd make him close the door and open the window in whatever room he was in. Horrible smell.

Now as far as telling boys from girls....I thought I read someplace that the males have what look like 2 small pimples on their 'nose'. Both Hershey and Nemo have these bumps so I guess they are both males. Airbag didn't have any bumps and Jeana was already planning "date night" so she would have baby fish! (don't know if they would of bred since they are different types of goldfish).

Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow!

 

[always quiet]

Ok every one this is the daughter who lost her fishy I want to thank all og you for your wishes to me Yes I got a new little red betta that I named fire ball. I don't think he will die because he is swimming just heavly. It was a hard day at school because I just wanted to go home and lay in my bed and do nothing. Withfriends talking about their own gold fishies it's very hard So once again I want to thank you. I'm feelig better so... hopefully it will be a better night for this fish.

 

[Micca]

I'm so sorry to hear of the loss On the other hand, "Airbag" is a brilliant fish name, I think you should use it again

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I'll be thinking good thoughts for Fireball. I bet he'll do just fine!

Good luck!

 

[Stepharoonie!]

Well, sadly, Smoothie died last night I have no idea why he did. He seemed pretty happy and healthy a few days ago.

Should I be honest with Maddy and tell her that her fish died, or replace before she comes back on Thursday? I'm not sure which to do....

I'm also going to go to PetSmart this time. Both of the fish from PetCo died pretty quickly!

 

[always quiet]

Oh I am so sorry! Seeing how young your DD, I think I would fib a little....actually, you wouldn't even be fibbing....just don't mention it and try to get a fish as close to the size at Smoothie! She probably won't even notice.

Back in 1997, we had a pretty rough week here, the day that we buried my mother, my DH was rushed to the hospital with a collapsed lung. My kids were 7, 5 and 3 at the time. My DD hamster (same DD who lost Airbag yesterday) was getting pretty sick and I was 99% sure it was not going to make it. Since it was May, I told her I thought he would enjoy the warm weather outside so we placed his cage on the deck. I kept an eye on his and he did die. I knew she was at her emotional limit between losing her grandmom and her dad being in the hospital that I didn't think a hamster dying would go over well. I removed the body, left the lid slightly ajar and later in the day, told her the hamster got loose. Yes, she was mad at me for suggesting that the cage be placed outside, but I felt that she would be able to deal with that emotion and not the sadness she would feel with yet something else in her life dying. Years later, she was still yapping at me for leaving the cage outside. I told her the truth (she was about 10 or 11 at the time) and boy did the tears flow!! I still think I made the right choice for that roller coaster of a week.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Stepharoonie!
Well, sadly, Smoothie died last night I have no idea why he did. He seemed pretty happy and healthy a few days ago.

Should I be honest with Maddy and tell her that her fish died, or replace before she comes back on Thursday? I'm not sure which to do....

I'm also going to go to PetSmart this time. Both of the fish from PetCo died pretty quickly!

I'm sorry I'm not sure what I'd do if I were you. I would probably be honest, but you know your child best and how she'll react.

My problems with PetCo stem more from the lack of training of the employees. I was trying to ask one employee questions once and she wouldn't even look up from the photo album of her prom pictures she was flipping through as she was ringing me up! Other employees have been rude, given me wrong info, not known they had things in stock that I asked for (I found them on my own eventually) and just generally been terrible.

I got some attitude from one of them once when Monty (my dog) was 4 months old and he got excited and peed on their floor. I went up to ask the girl for a towel so I could clean it up and she actually rolled her eyes and told me that I should have brought him outside. When I explained to her that he was a baby and he was excited she just shoved me a towel and walked away.

I also bought a baby ferret from there once, years ago.

I paid for him and was coming to pick him up after dinner.
While walking him back to the "holding area" the employee picked him up (Xavier was 6 weeks old) and when Xavier squirmed, the employee screamed and dropped him 6 ft to the floor. He landed on his head and stopped moving. When I tried to pick him up the employee told me I couldn't touch him again until it was time for me to bring him home.

Xavier seemed okay but the first several months of his life he was terrified of being picked up. The employee never even apologized.

I have also seen/heard employees at Petco telling customer it is okay to "whack" ferrets on the nose when they misbehave. I have stepped in and interuppted them and informed the people it is never okay to "whack" an animal. You may give them a slight tap or touch on the snout if they nip to get them to look at you but no more than a light tap.