Retrieving

[farla]

School's over where my mother works, so I finally got my beta back. Poor thing. I think he's got a mild case of velvet. His head has discolored spots and his neck is almost white. His tail has rotted, his colors are dim, and his side fins are translucent. They took horrible care of him. Even the plant that was in there was sick. He's in with my baby goldfish now, so he finally has a warm temperature and room to swim. If he gets worse, I'll take him out and put him in a separate tank for treatment.

My mother said she saw a beta at another pet store. They're kept in tiny cups, and always sick, but this one was fine and perked up when he saw her, like he wanted her to buy him. She almost did, but stopped. It's so depressing. I hope he doesn't die, but I kind of hope he does too. Unless someone buys him for a community tank, he's just going to suffer for the rest of his life, however long that might be.

Comments

[katei3.livejournal.com]

*sniffle* yes. Just yesterday, my little sister got one of those goldfish-in-a-bag prizes from a carnival (keeping fish in bags is inexcusably cruel), and she is keeping it in--would you believe--an oversized *pencil box.* You know, the large tanks for markers or whatnot that look remotely like fishtanks but are not actually suitable for fish? Ugh.
I've just gone downstairs to look at the fish and its sitting at the bottom unmoving. I hope it dies soon because it really does look absolutely miserable. If this keeps up i am just going to *buy* her a tank.
:(

(Btw I just looked up beta fish on the internet and their tails are SO BEAUTIFUL(!!!). But...why did you get one if youre anti-keeping-fish?)

--Katie. You don't know me, but I read your fics (im the earlier anonomous poster). If you'd prefer to not receive any more comments, please do tell me so (and im sorry)

[farla.livejournal.com]

If you can't get the goldfish a tank, please, kill it. Put it in a bag with water, add clove oil to knock it out, and then put the bag in the freezer. That's better than letting it have its internal organs destroyed by acid. Don't flush it or just put it in the freezer, though, that's just as cruel.

::sighs:: Goldfish are supposed to live ten years and grow to be a foot long. They require a minimum tank size of sixty gallons (yes, that's for a single fish) by adulthood, although they can be temporarily kept in smaller tanks while growing. Small tanks will destroy their spines, assuming they don't die of complications. Why people think it's a good idea to give them out as prizes is beyond me. A girl at the school did the same thing at the Science Fair, and I had to run around telling the parents this to scare them out of it.

I'm not anti-keeping-fish. I just hate how they're treated. People starve them to death, boil them, freeze them, let them be eaten by acid, suffocate them...Betas and goldfish have it the worst, because they can take more abuse before they die. Christ, they sell a spongebob squarepants beta tank (guaranteed to kill your child's fish so you don't need to get that puppy!). And what people think...goldfish don't grow beyond two inches, goldfish shouldn't be kept in tanks with a large area exposed to air, betas don't like to swim, betas will drown in a large tank, betas are too stupid to realize their tank is so small they can't move, goldfish have a memory of five seconds and don't realize their tank is tiny...it's amazing how 'knowledgeable' people are sometimes.

And sure, comment away. It's fine.

[katei3.livejournal.com]

*is horrified*

SIXTY gallons? As in 60?!! aaahhh!!
But acid? How can you get rid of acid? My sister used bottled water so it at least doesnt have chlorine. And its an open "tank."

It's not a regular "goldfish" though--its one of those small ones. Even so, it spends large amounts of time sitting at the bottom of the tank looking pathetic.

RRGHHH. and the most frustrating thing is that my mother a)wont buy a tank for my sister b)wont let *me* buy a tank for my sister (long story). I guess the one she has now is okay temporarily (its just larger than one handspan by two handspans...erm...i guess just hold out your hands to see how big that is or something...)

I'll see if anyone we know has a fishtank we can have. So if what everyone tells you is wrong, what do goldfish actually need then? (my sister's is the size of my pinky but im guessing it is very young)

Also how big exactly is your beta tank?! ::imagines farla in full scuba gear cleaning walls of ridiculously large walk-through-aquarium sized tank::
:)
-katie

[farla.livejournal.com]

The acid is generated by the fish itself. Extra food and waste decay. If there's enough water, the tank cycles itself, with bacteria breaking down the waste and cleaning the water, but this requires a very, very large tank. Plants help, but you need a filter and water changes. There's also no telling what the PH of the water in there is, and that could have started out acidic.

It sounds like a regular goldfish. My feeder goldfish were that size when I got them. They're currently seven inches.

Check to see if the bottled water is distilled. Fish can't survive in pure water for too long, so distilled water shouldn't be used. Since it isn't dead, the water probably wasn't chlorinated, but bottled water sometimes is. I'd suggest buying water conditioner to be prepared, it's very cheap.

The surface area of that sounds okay for a fish that size, but the volume is the real issue. How deep is it? Goldfish require more space than most tropicals. I think it's ten gallons an inch, and that's with a filter running. Goldfish also require more oxygen than many fish, and without a filter, powerhead or airstone running, they need more room

A good way to find out what animals need is to find a source that isn't trying to sell you anything. http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/fishcare.htm is a decent resource. Basically, goldfish need space. They dirty the water more than other fish because they have more body mass. They need a certain minimum not be stressed, and they need room to grow. They also don't like very cold water, or temperature fluctuations.

My beta tank is just a small one, fifteen gallons (He was in a two gallon bowl-like tank with almost no surface area before). My baby goldfish are in there waiting for the thirty-gallon tank to be set up, where they'll wait for the pond to be built this summer.

I'd really advise that whatever you do, do it quickly. Even if the goldfish is still technically alive by the time it's transferred, permanent acid damage may kill it afterward. Fish often live a few weeks before dying from internal damage.

[katei3.livejournal.com]

Is purified water (aka dasani) the same as distilled? And is it ok if it is "enhanced with minerals?"
And what is water conditioner and where can i get it?

for the meantime, would you recommend changing the water very often?

Sorry for all these questions. I will stop them soon.

[farla.livejournal.com]

Yes, purified and distilled usually are the same thing. The fact there are some minerals added should be good, but there's no way of knowing what those are. The water is probably very soft, which means it's also probably acidic.

Water conditioner can be bought at pet stores. If you buy it, make sure it's an easy to use kind. Anything that requires measuring is bad. Get the kind that says something like one drop per gallon.

Water changes should be a good idea, but be sure not to change too much. Water changes are themselves stressful on the fish, so it could just make it worse, especially if the water you're using isn't good. Maybe change a very little daily. If your local water is of reasonable quality, you could fill up a jug with tapwater and leave it to sit for a day to settle the chemicals out, then try that.

[katei3.livejournal.com]

Good news!
I scared my mom and sister into buying a tank. :) They're setting it up right now :) The tank is 10 gallons ^o^ Thanks for the help! It has a filter, oxygen thing for bacteria growth, a plant, rocks, and water conditioner.

On the sad side, when i went to the pet shop today i see what you were saying about betas. they were keeping them in absolutely tiny bags that had about 1 cm of dirty bluish water on the bottom and the broken spines of the fish (and sometimes part of its back)were sticking up out of the water. They looked ill (even to the untrained eye) and it looked like someone had mauled their spines with a razor. It was *horrible* :(

::sigh:: well, anyway, thanks for your help. My fish will be happier now at least.

-Katie

PS-i sent you a drawing of eon. haha enjoy.

[farla.livejournal.com]

Well, that's progress. The goldfish should be okay in there, at least for a while. It will grow, though.

Yeah, betas get the most abuse because they can't die of stress within a day like other fish. And it's legal to do that because they're lower animals and despite obviously possessing a nervous system, can't feel pain or otherwise suffer.

And thanks again for the picture, it really was great.

[(Anonymous)]

10 gallons is okay too!!!

- just guess