Feeling Really Mad, Advice Needed Please!

[sussexgirl]

My neighbour Karen knocked on my door yesterday and asked me to look after 5 goldfish for her. She was actually looking after them for another neighbour (16 year old girl) who's gone on holiday. Karen has to go up to Scotland to her grandmother's funeral so because she know's I have 2 tropical tanks she asked me to temporarily 'fishsit' for the young girl until she gets back and is able to take over fishsitting again.

So, she turns up at the door with two of the most tiniest tanks I've ever seen. The biggest is no bigger than 11 litres and currently houses 4 large goldfish. In addition there was a revolting huge ornament that took up at least one third of the fishes swimming space. I've taken that out obviously. The second tank is half the size of the first and houses just one goldfish with a supposed lump on his body. Apparently the girl has separated him in case he infects the others. To be honest I can't even see a lump on him. I've been given a margarine tub and a plastic sieve which I'm told is all part of the cleaning out process. Karen said she had just cleaned them out the way the young neighbour had told her to. This apparently involves putting the fish into the margarine tub with a bit of tank water and then rinsing the gravel under the tap in the sieve and then topping the tank up with tap water. No dechlorinator or anything. There's only one big tub of flake food too. There is obviously no filter in either of the 'tubs' and the water looks filthy.

What I want to know is how on earth should I go about educating someone that I haven't even met?! How do you think I should handle this because as far as I am concerned it's just plain cruelty. Thanks

 

[black angel]

Thats a tough one as its so easy to offend someone you dont know about how they care for their animals.
Maybe just point out that it would be so much easier to look after them if they had more water to swim in and a bigger filter and so would be less work in keeping them clean.

Get some info on proper care of goldies and print some things off about housing goldfish properly and say you wanted to know how to care for them and found all this usefull info.

www.kokosgoldfish.com is an excellent resource for goldfish.

 

[oneponygirl]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing, maybe write the owner a letter and just say nicely that you have some information that will help her to be a successful fish keeper and include care and information. After that it's up to her, or probably more accurately, her parents.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would say it all depends on whever you can either;
a. Convince her that her current setup is very cruel for the fish an she is permanently damaging their natural life expency and quality of living- convince her to get at the absolute minimum a 40gal (what sorts of goldfish does she have?) and suitable filtration.
b. If she doesn't want to fork out money for a new bigger tank, try and find a second hand one thats on the cheap.
c. Buy her a tank and filter set up for her.
d. Convince her to rehome the goldfish to a pond (if they are the right types) or rehome them to someone who can look after them properly.

What are you currently keeping them in and how big is it? Do you have any filtration for them?

 

[black angel]

Or alternatively, tell her they all died and rehome them before she gets back

 

[sussexgirl]

I've no idea what type of goldfish they are but one is white, 4 are orange and they all have increadibly long tails! Sorry but my goldfish types knowledge is limited.

Here's a picture of what they are currently homed in.

Breaks my heart.

Have printed off loads of information and will try and persuade her to buy a bigger tank. I can't afford to treat her to a tank the size that she needs. I'm just trying to look after them the best I can while they are with me.

 

[black angel]

Cant see the tail of the white one but the others are comets and need a pond to grow happily.
Such a shame.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I agree, comets really need a pond to grow out in as they can grow to 10inches+ and are very active goldfish in comparison to many other goldfish types, to keep comets permanently in a tank you are looking at atleast a 75gals due to their size and activity levels. She should find someone with a pond for them to go into, they are really pond fish in the same sense that koi are.
The other goldfish looks like fancy one of some sort like a fantail, they cannot tolerate freezing temps well so are not advised for ponds in countries where the winters can be harsh or long- thankfully though most fancy goldfish only require 20-30gals, so they are not difficult to keep in tanks .
Filtration is nesarsary for all goldfish to help improve their quality of living and life expectancy.

 

[GoinNuts]

Poor little fishes. To be fair, though, most newbies wouldn't know that keeping goldfish in a bowl (or the equivalent) is a no-no. Heck, they are promoted as 'bowl fish' everywhere you look. So, give the girl a bennie and try to approach it as if you know she wants to learn more.

I used to work with a woman who, whenever she had to tell someone the RIGHT way to do something they were currently doing wrong, she'd start the conversation off with, "Can I share something with you?" I always thought that was so great. It set the tone, in a way, of allowing the other person to avoid becoming defensive and being open to whatever this woman had to tell them. More receptive.

So, you could start a conversation with this girl that goes something like this:

You: "Can I share something you?"

Her: "Sure!"

You: "I used to keep goldfish and you know what I learned?" (This may be a lie, but it's for the greater good. )

Her: "No, what did you learn?"

You: "They can get really big and need lots of room. I'm afraid the ones you have now have already outgrown this tank they are currently in."

And then proceed to impart your knowledge on the willing. Oh, and give her the link to this site.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Lisa

 

[cs091]

Good Luck but Be prepared for rejection though.

Last year my nephews won 5 goldfish at a fair and had all 5 in a bowl about 8 inches in diameter.

I offered to put them in my 1000 gallon pond as they didn't have enough oxygen - they were all gasping at the surface. The offer was rejected as the boys didn't want to part from 'their' new pets and thier dad had bought some oxygenating tablets.

Two weeks later the bowl had diappeared from the kitchen table and I just couldn't ask.

I know fair goldfish don't stand much of a chance but their chance of living was zero.