English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

1. Keep goldfish in bowls
2. Keep bettas in betta vases under 1/2 gallon
3. Overcrowd their tanks
4. Put oscars in tanks under 100 gallons
5. And most importantly, WHY do people think fish are just disposable pets? They might seem that way if you do the above. Fish have feelings too. Imagine if you were a goldfish that wants a big nice pond and you live in a puny bowl and die in 2days of ammonia poisoning!? How'd that feel?

Does anyone agree with me on this? DON'T get a fish if:

1. You won't keep it in a proper environment
2. Under or overfeed it
3. Won't care about it

WHO agrees? Come on peeps!

2006-11-30 12:58:02 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets Fish

14 answers

1. In theory, you can. You'll have to do daily water changes to combat ammonia levels. And you'll severely stunt its growth and you won't see it live to its full lifespan. So, really, you *could* keep a goldfish in a bowl. However, I have to fight the urge to beat the crap out of people that do.
2. This is possible - in fact, many breeders do this. You'll have to do water changes every couple of days to combat ammonia levels. And the fish will not be a happy little guy. But as long as it's a temporary situation, it's ok to put them in smaller containers.
3. I have my 55-gallon slightly on the overcrowded side. But I do weekly 40% water changes, so I don't see the ill effects of nitrates like most people who commonly overcrowd their tanks do.
4. You can keep a single oscar in a 55-gallon tank with no ill effects. In fact, I believe Live Aquaria recommends a 70-gallon tank for a single oscar (and I believe they know their stuff about fish). And That Fish Place (where I usually get my fish from - they are a very reputable place) recommends 55+ gallons. So it is possible.
5. I don't. I name my fish like I name any other pet. I tend to get quite emotional when we lose any of them (you should seen me when I accidentally lost a shrimp...). I think, maybe, if fish were as expensive as puppies and kittens, people would actually take good care of them. And if people would take the time to educate themselves on proper care, they'd see that fish are not as disposable as they originally thought.

I agree with you on your last three points. My other half has a cousin who does water changes on his tanks every month or so - I had to bite my lip just to keep from yelling at him.

*sigh* I tend to get a little reactive when people abuse their animals.

2006-12-01 15:31:03 · answer #1 · answered by birdistasty 5 · 0 0

I don't know why people consider fish "disposable" (perhaps because they get a feeder goldfish for fifty cents and don't feel it where it hurt$ when the critter dies of ammonia poisoning??) but I am pretty sure that most people keep fish in too-small tanks, under filtrate, and feed improperly simply because nobody at the pet store bothered to educate them. You can't buy a puppy without getting a list of instructions on how to feed, paper train, when to get shots, etc, etc. But you can go in and buy a fish tank and fish all in the same day and nobody in the store bothers to mention cycling, or if the fish are too many or too big for the tank.

I think most people who get a fish INTEND to keep it in a proper environment, they just don't know what that is.

I find that if you buy fish from a pet store that sells all kinds of pets, the employees really don't know much about fish. I think if a person is contemplating keeping fish, they need to research first, then go to a store that specializes in fish where they are more likely to get advice from knowledgeable people.

2006-12-01 02:44:13 · answer #2 · answered by Lady G 4 · 0 0

As a fish lover, I agree with you in a few areas of your statement and among those which i don't agree with, number 2 is the one I disagree with the most.

Here's why.
I believe that people who buy bettas by the impulse but can only do as much as give it a new home which is about only 1/8 of a gallon is doing the fish good. These people are normally 1st time fishkeepers who stumble upon the bettas in places like Wal Mart and buy them because they think that bettas are easy to keep and look very beautiful. By providing them a home like a vase or a used jar, they are breathing in new life to the bettas which were initially wasting their lives in a 0.05 gallon plastic cup! Is it even possible to give a fish a smaller home than one of those cups? How can these people be doing anything bad if they're gonna give the betta a bigger home and possibly better care?! Of course, this situation only applies to bettas which are sold in stores like Wal Mart. If you spend a bundle buying a specimen spawned to near perfection, will you have the heart to put it in a small bowl? Definitely not.

Btw, I really like Accelerated Catalyst's answer! That's the one answer you should read and understand!

2006-11-30 22:21:22 · answer #3 · answered by Mafia Agent 4207 5 · 0 0

I cant agree fully with everything above listed. Oscars live quite happy lives in 4 foot long aquariums (thats fifty five gallons, not one hundred.) if you ever took a class in geometry you can learn why quite easily. Bettas do live in bowls adequately aswell and do not require a heater. Siam fell victim to a 59 degree low about a decade ago which did not evicerate the world of all species of Bettas.

I guess overcrowding your tank isnt the brightest idea but argument would be that many fish require less space than others, and there are no general rules of thumb that you can truely follow. An inch of fish per gallon is a joke. some fish hardly move around and dont fall under the 4 times their body length for a tank. Stingrays need substancially more space than 4 times their length.

People think fish are disposable because this is what we are taught by those who provide them for sale to the public. If you go today and but an aquarium, they will try to send you home with fish to put in it, while both of us know the tank needs to be cycled.

If they'll let you take fish home on your first day, this suggests to me that fish must be disposable. You cant go through dogs like this without the humane society getting on your back. So perhaps we need some rights activists around... But at this rate, along with the amount of people who keep fish compared to the amount of people who breed them commercially isnt a very humane ratio.

So... This is all because of the breeders and providers...

Stop providing fish under misinformation, misinformed people will cease to buy them.

This is no different than buying a dog or a gerbil or a cat.

We dont give dogs, cats, or much any other mamillian form of life "proper environment". Gerbils dont live in metal wire cages, nor do birds or hamsters. Dogs dont live in a house! and Cats dont have carpteted trees to scratch their claws on! On rare occassions we adequately supplement our family pets diets, while feeding them table scraps we'll deny ever giving them. More often than not they are generally unloved by someone in the family.

Fish arent the problem...

People are.

2006-11-30 13:10:00 · answer #4 · answered by Accellerated Catalyst 3 · 2 0

I agree with you. I have 12 bettas. The one with least amount of room is my smallest female in a gallon. I also have a 6 inch goldfish with a clawed frog and two algae eaters in a big tank. I love them all to death and they are spoiled rotten. I also have other frogs, toads, a hamster and snails. My little brothers and sisters also have bettas of their own and they care for them better than some irresponsible adults and teens I know.

2006-11-30 14:19:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Amen! You are totally right on. I completely 100% agree with you. People need to learn that fish aren't disposable pets. If people did a little bit of research on any animal including a fish, we'd all be in better shape.

Kudos to you!

2006-11-30 13:25:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I agree 100%. I have a 55 gallon tank with some beautiful fish. I even hand feed my parrot fish, he comes to the top and eats right out of my fingers!

2006-11-30 13:11:29 · answer #7 · answered by prettysmilz4you 2 · 0 0

I agree 100% but this is the same for all animals kept as pets.

2006-11-30 13:02:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

i know i seriously agree with this.
a fish is an aniamal ust like anything else and should be treated like it.
they have a mind and everything even the retention level isnt very high but still.
i 111% agree with you

2006-11-30 13:01:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I so agree. I think any pet even if it's an ant you should give it the proper respect. I should know I'm a member of PETA .

visit:

www.peta2.org

2006-11-30 13:11:54 · answer #10 · answered by angelrock200621 1 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers