fish help?!?

Question

hnm... I have a 2 gallon bowl with 10 carnival goldfish and they're all at the top floating... why?

oh, I also had a male betta with my two female bettas and females killed the male then he big female killed the other female. why? can I put 3 crayfish from my backyard stream in with her now since she's aggressive and alone? she's in a bowl.

yeah. kidding. but honestly, why do people buy fish without doing a little research first? I'm getting really sick of STUPID questions that could have been avoided had they bothered to check the fish's needs BEFORE buying them. does anyone know what people just expect fish to be able to to live in anything with water they stick them in? please fill e in here, and research isn't that hard, why don't they do a google search first on the type of fish they want and check out a few pages?

added details in a sec...

I wish we could have like a side panel where we have care sheets and such for each fish, where people could look before asking a question, then we wouldn't get all the same questions resulting from poor care every five seconds. everyone who wanted to could write/contribute to the care sheet and we could all vote on the best ones to leave up.

anyway, just in case anyone reads this who is planning on getting a common fish:

round bodied goldfish need 10gallons of filtered water each. slim bodied goldfish (this includes carnival goldfish) should be in nohting smaller than a 40gallon.

bettas are tropical & should have a heater, poop like every other fish and deserve filters, and are aggressive towards EACH OHTER (not most other fish). females may be kept together in groups of 3 or more if each female has 2 gallons. males should not be kept with other bettas.

these are just a few of the common mistakes made with common "easy" fish. DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!

Answer 1

Hi Kylie!!

I hope you're doing better now. Why people do these things....I am sure there is many different reasons. I bet many of them just like to have a pet they don't have to take out in the middle of the night or need to bring to the vet, or it's something most rental places don't list that you can't have to move in. Others I bet want something for the kids to keep thier attention or teach them about life. It would be great if everyone read up on things they like to get into, but we all know we are in a less then ideal world. The only thing we can do is try to assist others in what we know and hope in turn they will pass that on.

Using goggle has been a good tool for me in my Datnoid tiger barb, and my Arowana's when I would see them do things I hadn't seen that species do in the past. I learned alot about the little in's and out's of water chemistry on here from Copperhead and Magic and Andy has helped out with solutions outside of the box. You even helped me once on the Bettas when I tried them out for the first time, and spent many hours reading up on thier neat things. Everyone is different I guess, and all we can do is just do our part to help make things better. Keep smiling, you look so much better thinking what you look like with a smile then a frown :)

JV

Answer 2

Girl I yell at my computer screen on a daily basis! Some of the questions are common sense if they just knew a little about fish. Like how in the world is a fish going to thrive in a small bowl that they clean once every month?? Gee I wonder why it is floating upside down and motionless! I did alot of research on each species of fish that I own because of one mistake I made when I first started my fish hobby. I bought some fruit tetra and I had no clue they had been injected with dye! Now I know better and I do better. Also alot of questions posted on here have been asked 100 times all the person has to do is look it up on this forum! Sheesh I could go on and on but I won't lol. Hope you are feeling better and know that you aren't alone!

Answer 3

ROFL at the first part Kylie! The point you make is well taken and it would be great if people woudl research adn care before buying fish. I have recently witnessed people wanting to buy a 2.5 gallon tank for their child and wanting to leave the store with it, a container of food and 5-6 feeder goldfish. Yep, I lost the sale and sent them packing when she listened carefully to my employee explain how large teh fish would get and how she might consider some other species to which she replied " They are just F&%$ing fish, I don't care if they die, I'll buy more." Such nice language in front of her preschool aged child. I offered her 10% off on the tank and a free betta if she would change her mind, to which she asked me if I was going to sell her the fish or not. I sent her to Wal-mart.

I teel the story not just to talk, but to illistrate the point that it's not just research, it's not caring at all either.

As for the care guides that anyone could write... consider some of the answers you see here and ask if you want them writing care guides LOL

MM

Answer 4

hey I resent that remark....this site is supposed to be for asking question.....granted that some are REALLY stupid...when I first started reading your question I was actually getting really mad wondering how you couldn't know these things...until I read a bit furher and realized the intent.

But for beginners, I would expect/hope that most have done research before buying fish but just missed some details....But I also have to say that most people as kids are taught that goldfish (for example), you can just buy fish and keep them in a container and as long as you feed them they should be okay...which is not the case for anyfish!!

But really I don't care how stupid the Question may be as long as people ask and get an educated answer from people then they will know for next time and hopefully they will not make the same type of mistake in the future.

Its better to be educated then ignorant!!

Answer 5

Hi Kylie Anne, you forgot to ask about putting your 18" Goldfish in the same 10" bowl as your Angel & Bettas!!!

You did make me smile but you are quite correct. I think the problem is often one of perception, fish are seen by the majority of people as a short-term, disposable novelty to be used & abused at a whim & this unfortunate situation will only be resolved when fish are given the respect they deserve as friendly, intelligent individuals who have feelings & needs like any other & perhaps we are swaying the balance in their favour slightly?

Answer 6

I think research is half the fun. All the new things out there to learn. I get really mad when people say things like" it's just a fish "or "just buy a new one", how about " a lot of care and a little research goes along way".

Answer 7

Thankyou so much for voicing my thoughts, and I'm sure, the thoughts of Magicman too. Some people are just too lazy to do any research (or too stupid) and, in my opinion, they just shouldnt have pets!

Nosoop4u