My friend is giving up fishkeeping

[Samage]

Maybe your friend should consider African Clawed frogs!

Interesting, easy to feed (bloodworms or even special pellet food will do nicely) and best of all, they're one of the hardiest amphibs going, second only to the Axolotl (hey, maybe he could keep these instead).

Just a few pointers - they do need water changes slightly more frequently than fish, and the tank must be made escape-proof. Also never place anything metallic in the tank, these frogs are very sensitive to metal ions.

Other than that, they're easy as anything to keep, different, original, and really fun to watch! Can be had cheaply from scientific lab suppliers (don't be tempted by the cheaper, genetically imperfect ones )

 

[petitericeball]

all his fish died?? im sure there was some alive afterwards... yeah i agree i had my filter go off for like 2-3 hours yesterday because the impeller was stuck so i had to move it... was he home when the power went out?? he could tried like swirling the water around a bit or something... but im sure there was something in the way of him doing so... another thing you could do is give him like a preg guppy or something and say you cant handle the fry or something like that and make him feel that its his fault the fry are going to die B)

 

[does anyone know where nemo is?]

One of my friends just had $50 worth of fish die, and now he wants to give up fishkeeping

What should I do? I know it's his decision, but it's such a relaxing hobby. . .
and he's invested so much money in it

such a shame

*shakes head in disbelief*

 

[cutechic]

Wow guys, I never figured I'd get such a response. Thanks

I don't think the filter not running for 5 hours would do that much damage.
My filter has not ran for that long once and no harm done at all, not even a little. I think the problem was something else. Maybe the temp dropped way too low or something. Maybe it was a really cold night outside as well!?*#@I$!

Maybe it wasn't just that the filter stopped working that the fish died. It very well could be that the temperature dropped too low. Especially since he was keeping the temperature higher than usual as he had pregant livebearers and fry in the tank.

Before he takes his tank down buy him some extremely loveable fish as a present that he won't have the heart to let go of,

His tanks were overstocked because of all the fry he hadn't had a chance to sell to the lfs. They're still overstocked now, so I don't think buying more fish would be a good idea. He was actually thinking about buying another 30 gallon before the power went out. What lovely fish would you recommend, if he sells all the fry to the lfs and has more room in his tanks?

Some weaker fish can actually die at about 4 hours of power outtage. What fish did he have?

The fish he has in his tanks (he has three tanks ranging from 10-30 gallons, and some fish in each tank died) are gouramis, platies, swords, and corys.

Why don't yu take the fish and the tank etc and tell him he can cvhange his mind when/if he wants to. Then you get the tank all nice and healthy (not getting too attached!!) and then he'll not be able to resist!!

I would love to, but my parents won't let me have any more tanks! Well, I could probably talk them into a second 10 gallon and then just get a stand for them. But I'd rather he keep his tanks and get back into fishkeeping.

Maybe your friend should consider African Clawed frogs!

He had frogs before (I'm not sure if they were ACf's or ADF's, but they all died. He definitely preferred fish, but maybe he would go back to frogs now.

all his fish died?? im sure there was some alive afterwards...

No, not all his fish died. $50 worth of fish died.

was he home when the power went out?? he could tried like swirling the water around a bit or something... but im sure there was something in the way of him doing so...

He was home, but it was at night so he was sleeping.




I am thinking of suggesting to him that he should sell/trade a lot of his fish to his lfs, and then get a puffer tank! I've heard only good things about these little guys, and I'm sure they'd amuse him and get him back into the hobby.

 

[keith]

tell him to go with something cheap and fun like guppies or mollies that replace themselves with breeding

 

[Samage]

For originality, he could go for another type of amphib - an Axolotl!
It's much easier to keep than it is to pronounce, in fact it's just about the hardiest amphib going. It's a salamander which never gets past the aquatic larva stage, just grows into a great big semi-larva with legs!

Behold:

They come in white, or a mottled green, and several other varieties. The only real thing to look out for is the size....some breeds can get quite hefty...


PLEASE NOTE: This Axolotl is not mine. I took the pic from a website. I currenlty don't have one, although I would like to acquire one at some point...

 

[cutechic]

For originality, he could go for another type of amphib - an Axolotl!
It's much easier to keep than it is to pronounce, in fact it's just about the hardiest amphib going. It's a salamander which never gets past the aquatic larva stage, just grows into a great big semi-larva with legs!

Wow- never seen one of those before. I'll mention them to him and see what he thinks

 

[cutechic]

Update: I just talked to him and he told me there was no way that I could convince him to keep fishkeeping. He said he's tired of trying to control algae and snails, and all his plants keep dying. . . I made every argument I could think of, but to no avail

 

[Samage]

In that case, offer to take his equipment off his hand for a reduced price...


Every cloud has a silver lining!

 

[cutechic]

I guess so. I still feel bad that he's giving up this amazing hobby, but I would love a tank for puffers

 

[Adrinal]

Shouldn't force folks... or even persuade them to keep animals.
If the passion comes back he will overcome the difficultys.

 

[cutechic]

I know I can't force him, but I can give him a gentle nudge in the right direction!
Just kidding. I know it's his decision, which is why I'm not going to keep pressuring him to keep fishkeeping. I've told him what I think, and he's made up his mind.