A Friends Horrid Tank!

[Paradise3]

So my friend has a 24"x18"x12" (LxHxW) tank and the stocking is horrible!
It has;
1x Common Pleco.
3x Black Widow Tetras
1x Female Guppy.
The pleco never get's fed algae wafers or cucumber or anything else except tank algae! The black widows steal all the food and attack the guppy! The guppy is so starving and thin, her gills stick out!
My friend needs help but she won't listen to me! I've took some algae wafers up for the pleco after she had told me too many times that she wasn't getting rid of it, ever, and she still said "He's fine! He get's plenty of food!" This is the pleco who sticks to the surface when the other fish get fed and eats the flakes.
I have a picture of the pleco's head.

A friends 7” Common pleco.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[Caprichoso]

Yeah, your friend needs "help" alright. Offer to look after her fish when she goes on vacation. Then take the fish out and give them to a good home. When she gets back, tell her a tragic story about how her fish died. Maybe you should crack the aquarium glass too so that she can't just run out and buy more fish.

I am joking BTW...well, kinda.

Just keep encouraging her to do the right thing, maybe she'll come around. I was going to tell you to sneak some food to the fish but then it would only validate to her that they get plenty of food.

 

[Paradise3]

Yeah, your friend needs "help" alright. Offer to look after her fish when she goes on vacation. Then take the fish out and give them to a good home. When she gets back, tell her a tragic story about how her fish died. Maybe you should crack the aquarium glass too so that she can't just run out and buy more fish.

I am joking BTW...well, kinda.

Just keep encouraging her to do the right thing, maybe she'll come around. I was going to tell you to sneak some food to the fish but then it would only validate to her that they get plenty of food.

Does the pleco look thin or deformed from being in such a small tank with little food? When you see it in person and it starts "Swimming"(more like shuffling) around it's stomach look slightly sunken in.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[redbug]

looks okay to me can you slip him some waffers when you visit...

 

[Paradise3]

looks okay to me can you slip him some waffers when you visit...

I can't because last time I did that, she saw the wafer before he even got to it because he's so slow from being in there. When she saw it she took it out and held it up to me saying "What's this? Did you put this in my tank?" and when I answered with "Yes I did. It's an algae wafer and it's in there because he needs food." she said "He doesn't need food! He has plenty! Don't put any of these in my tank again, they could be bad for him because they aren't natural!"
She needs help! She won't listen to a word I say or anything I do!

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[fluttermoth]

they could be bad for him because they aren't natural!"

Ask her how 'natural' it is for a foot long fish to be living in a two foot long tank Or is she one of the 'it'll only grow to the size of the tank' people?

 

[james_fish]

Just take her to an LFS and show her some more suitable pleco's. She may like the looks of a different speices that is more suitable for a tank that size. And then tell her she will need to replace her's for it.

James.

 

[Paradise3]

they could be bad for him because they aren't natural!"

Ask her how 'natural' it is for a foot long fish to be living in a two foot long tank Or is she one of the 'it'll only grow to the size of the tank' people?

She believes it will only grow to the size of the tank.

Just take her to an LFS and show her some more suitable pleco's. She may like the looks of a different speices that is more suitable for a tank that size. And then tell her she will need to replace her's for it.James.

She actually bought another common pleco to go with it, it was an albino one. The original pleco killed it because it was about 4" smaller than it.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[Baccus]

Have you tried making a "present" (birthday, christmas or any excuse you can find) of maybe some real plant life for the tank, some bog wood. Or even some algea wafers still in their original container so your friend can see how healthy it is and how good it is for the fish. If this doesn't appeal than maybe a fish keeping book that states without question the tank requirements and food types for the species of fish your friend keeps along with their eventual size. Even if your friend is visiting your place and you "innocently" do some species searches on the net with your friend and "oh so accidentally" find the relevant information so your friend can hopefully make better informed choices on thier fish selection and care.
If these are impossible then I'm sorry to say your next best course of action is to speak to your local RSPCA (animal rescue) telling them about the abuse/ neglect of the fish and see what they recomened. It is far better for your friend to learn/ realise how cruel they are being to the fish rather than have the fish whisked away only to have your friend keep buying more fish and just be more secertive about how they are cared for. Sadly because the fish can't escape (with out dieing) and can't howl like a dog to show their pain/ discomfort it is really hard to get the ignorant to see wt they are doing wrong.

Good luck on helping your friend and the fish

 

[Paradise3]

I was thinking of buying her some live plants but she won't accept them because last time she got live plants, she got them from a really bad pet shop and they were infested with snails. I might get some live plants for my tanks and if I have any spare take them to hers and tell her they are from MY tank so they have NO snails. Or I could just get some live plants, let them grow then take a few of them to hers. I might also give her both my tropical fish keeping books, I only have the 2 but they are amazing. They are 'A step-by-step book about tropical fish' and 'All about tropical fish'. I can't actually find the books right now as my bedroom is a right mess...
I'm having my bedroom re-decorated so everything is all over. I'll try and find them ASAP and I'll be getting some plants later this week, maybe tomorrow.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[james_fish]

To be honest Alessa if she won't listen, there may be nothing else you can do. It's just a sad fact in our hobby that some people cannot house certain fish, and others who choose not to listen to good, constructive advice.

I know you want to do well, but this is just one of many many cases that happens all the time

James.

 

[redbug]

Have you thought about looking through the older therads about housing a common pleco? print them off and show them to her.
Print off some info from planet catfish about her fish show her some pictures of a fat bellied healthy pleco to show her how it would look.
or as a last resort show them to her mom.. and hope that she does the right thing

 

[Paradise3]

Have you thought about looking through the older therads about housing a common pleco? print them off and show them to her.
Print off some info from planet catfish about her fish show her some pictures of a fat bellied healthy pleco to show her how it would look.
or as a last resort show them to her mom.. and hope that she does the right thing

her mum doesn't care about the fish. As far as she cares, the fish are her daughters responsibility and therefore nothing to do with her. My printer is broken right now.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[Verminator89]

Send her a simple text, stating the URL for this here exact thread

I know its infuriating, you can only do your best to make her see sense. I'm definately in favour of the idea to take her to a good LFS that sells plec's and make her see sense by choosing a more suitably sized one.

 

[Joshwainwright]

Some people's ignorance annoys me.