Been To Lfs And Shocked At Sight!

[iluvguppies]

Hi,

Visited lfs and was shocked at the state of some fish (bettas kept in tiny 5-6" cubes) and a dragon goby (one of 3 in a tank) that i actually thought was a fake dried skeletal ornament it was so skinny..it was only when I saw it breathe that I realised it was alive..it was so sunken in I nearly cried to look at it.
I called the guy over and he said" oh, thats normal ..you'll always get one like that in a tank cos the other 2 are dominant and they bully him..he's fine though".
I would have took him home but i have no spare proper set up and no experience of them? surely this isn't ok???

any advice?

Nikki

 

[iluvguppies]

No one got any advice? Is this normal, then?

 

[fry_forever!]

That's not normal. He probably had an internal parasite or bacterial infection or something. I don't have any experience w/ dragon gobies, but I DO know that him being in that shape isn't normal. Though it won't do much good to complain, and you'd be supporting the store to buy him. But then again, you'd be saving his life.
If you were to buy him, make sure he's on his own for a month or so so he doesn't infect the rest of the fish.

Good luck!

 

[iluvguppies]

Thanks for answering. I'm considering going back to get him if I can get a small tank up and running for him. As I don't have any mature tanks yet would it be ok to change water fully every day instead? I need to research their care online first. Are they species only fish ? I will be getting 7ft tank in sept but it will be community tank so not sure he would be suitable but can't bare to see him suffer, although in my ignorance I don't want to make the situation worse.

Nikki

 

[RadaR]

Dragon Gobies can be hard to feed, therefore I doubt it was infected.

 

[indigoj]

Before you rush back to buy, you know they are brackish right?

 

[zuulan]

Visited lfs and was shocked at the state of some fish (bettas kept in tiny 5-6" cubes) and a dragon goby (one of 3 in a tank) that i actually thought was a fake dried skeletal ornament it was so skinny..
Nikki

You think that's bad? Pier Aquatics in Wigan, UK keep their Betta in a water cooler cup and hold sting rays in tanks that are physically smaller then the ray!

The council who granted the live-stock licence have checked this and believe it or not, they think the shop is fine and are not guilty of animal cruelty. I beg to differ.

 

[ILuvTropicalFish]

You can't save them all and unless the fish store changes their practices there will just be another one to take its place. Don't rush into anything. It is really quite sad.

 

[dave_oddballs]

bettas are often kept in 6"cubes throughout their lives, although i personally see it as cruel, a lot of people do not. it is not unusual for a male Betta to live a long and healthy if not happy life in small tanks.
fish stores buy bettas at cheap prices and they normally sell quick, fish stores are there basically to make money, in their eyes they ain't gonna make buckets of money setting up expensive tanks and feeding top quality expensive foods. it is possible for the fish to have come into the shop already infected by parasites or other internal / external infections and untreated any fish will deteriorate rapidly.
but on the other hand they could be kept in crap conditions for months on end leading to an extremely unhealthy and ultimately dead fish!
dragon gobies are brackish water fish, picky eaters and not easy for even the most experienced aquarists to maintain.
if the fish has been there anything more than a couple of days in fresh water and not eating it too will have deteriorate very quickly.
as mentioned, you go buy the fish, the fish store makes money, buys more fish in, and they are subjected to the same conditions.
everyone on the forum loves fish and hates seeing them being kept in crap conditions, but in the short term at least i think its something we have to learn to deal with, its something that happens wether we like it or not and wether we see it or not.

Dave

 

[zuulan]

its something that happens wether we like it or not and wether we see it or not.

Dave

I agree with anything you said and it is not a nice situation. It's such a pity the authorities are not interested either.

Maybe we could start a Naming and Shaming thing here on TFF. Like I always mention the Pier Aquatics situation. Hopefully people will stop shopping at the bad shops and they will eventually go out of business.

There's a RSPCA and a RSPCB, why don't we set up a RSPCF???

 

[natalie265]

I think the best thing that you can do is to quit giving this pet store your business, encourage your friends and acquaintances to not shop there and write a letter to the pet store informing them of the reasons why they lost your business. If you buy the sick fish, it will only encourage them to continue their inhumane practices.

 

[Harlequins]

i went to pets @ home a few weeks ago and they had huge fishes (not joking around 18-20 inches long) in a 3 foot tank,there was 2 around the same size in one particular tank,i don't expect the fish could turn around! and in another tank there was dead corys being eaten by other fish,i vowed never to buy fish from there!!

At least at maidenhead aquatics where i go they acclimatise all fish for a good week before they sale them,i did ask about my platy fry when they're ready but they won't take them has they don't like mixing breeders stock.He did mention singapore,so whether they import them i don't know.
But i do recommend them

 

[zuulan]

i went to pets @ home a few weeks ago and they had huge fishes (not joking around 18-20 inches long) in a 3 foot tank,there was 2 around the same size in one particular tank,i don't expect the fish could turn around! and in another tank there was dead corys being eaten by other fish,i vowed never to buy fish from there!!

At least at maidenhead aquatics where i go they acclimatise all fish for a good week before they sale them.

I made the mistake of buying some tropical fish from Pets@home once. No idea why but the guy who bagged them put the bag in an unheated tank of plants in order to tie the bag. Plunging the temperature of the water. As expected they died within a week! When I went back & complained he said it was fine to put them in cold water as they can stand temperatures below 20c. Obviously he doesn't understand fish are cold blooded and sudden temperature changes ain't exactly good for them. Idiot! I'll never buy from that store again.

I agree about Maidenhead. For me my local one is quite a treck away and they are more expensive then most other stores, but you do seem to get what you pay for. I've never had any problems from fish there. So I still always choose to go there for my fish.

 

[iluvguppies]

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies.

Just done some research online and found that they are peaceful community fish that can live for around 10yrs and grow to 20" although 15" is more common. Also, that altohugh they can be acclimatised to freshwater it severely shortens their lifespan if done long term and they should really be kept in brackish water, min 1 SG? (or something..writing from memory).

As it stands right now, I don't have a set-up that would suit him (they are very ammonia sensitive and my tank is still cycling) and I've no clue about brackish water (apart from what I just read).

I don't want to buy from a store that treats it's fish so badly but it's hard to see a fish in this condition. Unfortunately though, I just don't think I have the experience or suitable environment to look after this fish properly so if I bought it, it would be going from one bad situation to possibly another not great situation (although, I would obviously at least TRY my best unlike the shop). He looked so bad (severely sunken in flesh, huge head very skinny body) that he's probably already dead.

Anyway, thanks for all the help. The healthy looking ones were certainly beautiful fish...maybe when I have more experience and the right conditions...

Nikki

PS Can anyone recommend a GOOD lfs in or near to the medway towns in Kent as all the ones I've tried so far haven't been great.

 

[Truck]

dont buy anything from a crap store...it will encourage them to buy more!