A Bowl of Fishies

[Murrmurr]

When Paxton was around 1 1/2, I set up a couple of bug houses for roly-polies/sow-bugs/Isopods and we made a hobby of them.

One of the bug houses was a fish bowl. After Pax was given back to his mother, I delivered all our roly-polies and their dozens of babies to my daughter's compost pile, but I kept the fish bowl.

Yesterday I went to PetSmart to buy catfood and, on impulse, 4 goldfish, a little can of fishfood, a couple of tank ornaments, and a bag of gravel. Paxton's foster mom finally agreed to bring him over to visit pretty much whenever he wants her to and whenever she needs to, without following the restrictions his caseworker is being a total turd about.

The rules right now are: outdoor visits in a public place only, two 1-hour visits per month, or one 2-hour visit per month. Restrictions like that are only imposed if I'm considered a "dangerous contact," and only by order of a family court judge. There's no evidence at all that I'm a dangerous contact and no court-order, so there's no reason for CPS to be so strict about Paxton visiting me/us except that his caseworker hasn't done the paperwork that would allow me to have liberal visitation.

Anyway, here's our fish....



And here's their permanent spot on a small table with a little faux-bronze statue of 2 cats watching over them (in the foreground)...

 

[Murrmurr]

To the previous post, I'll add that I found out that Paxton's current worker is a close friend of his previous worker who was fired after I filed a formal complaint against her.

 

[Magna-Carta]

I understand for the most part your post is about Paxton, although you did title your post regarding a bowl of fishes. The question I have, is the bowl a temporary location for the fish.

The reason I ask is because from the photos there doesn’t seem to be much water surface area for 4 goldfish. If I could politely point out that a general rule of thumb is 24 square inches of surface area per 1 inch of goldfish. As oxygen in water is absorbed from the water surface.

In a small bowl with minimal water and surface area the oxygen in the water will start to reduce, and ammonia and nitrates will increase. Eventually suffocating and poisoning the fish. The temperature of the water can also have too much fluctuation too quickly causing stress & illness in the fish.

A small fish tank of 24” x 12” x 18” can hold about 8 goldfish, depending on size of the fish. Less as the goldfish grow bigger.

 

[RadishRose]

When Paxton was around 1 1/2, I set up a couple of bug houses for roly-polies/sow-bugs/Isopods and we made a hobby of them.

One of the bug houses was a fish bowl. After Pax was given back to his mother, I delivered all our roly-polies and their dozens of babies to my daughter's compost pile, but I kept the fish bowl.

Yesterday I went to PetSmart to buy catfood and, on impulse, 4 goldfish, a little can of fishfood, a couple of tank ornaments, and a bag of gravel. Paxton's foster mom finally agreed to bring him over to visit pretty much whenever he wants her to and whenever she needs to, without following the restrictions his caseworker is being a total turd about.

The rules right now are: outdoor visits in a public place only, two 1-hour visits per month, or one 2-hour visit per month. Restrictions like that are only imposed if I'm considered a "dangerous contact," and only by order of a family court judge. There's no evidence at all that I'm a dangerous contact and no court-order, so there's no reason for CPS to be so strict about Paxton visiting me/us except that his caseworker hasn't done the paperwork that would allow me to have liberal visitation.

Anyway, here's our fish....

View attachment 273047

And here's their permanent spot on a small table with a little faux-bronze statue of 2 cats watching over them (in the foreground)...

View attachment 273049

How cute!

My old goldfish were named Cheddar and Pan Fry. What are yours named?

 

[Murrmurr]

How cute!

My old goldfish were named Cheddar and Pan Fry. What are yours named?

I'm going to wait until Paxton's next visit so he can help me name them. I'm really curious about what kind of names he'll come up with. It will say something about his imagination, word association, his general outlook.

Your fish's names say a lot about you. For one thing, that you're a lot of fun. Unsurprisingly.

I used to name my cars, which I always bought used. I named one of them Foregone Conclusion, and it totally lived up to it.

 

[Murrmurr]

I understand for the most part your post is about Paxton, although you did title your post regarding a bowl of fishes. The question I have, is the bowl a temporary location for the fish.

The reason I ask is because from the photos there doesn’t seem to be much water surface area for 4 goldfish. If I could politely point out that a general rule of thumb is 24 square inches of surface area per 1 inch of goldfish. As oxygen in water is absorbed from the water surface.

In a small bowl with minimal water and surface area the oxygen in the water will start to reduce, and ammonia and nitrates will increase. Eventually suffocating and poisoning the fish. The temperature of the water can also have too much fluctuation too quickly causing stress & illness in the fish.

A small fish tank of 24” x 12” x 18” can hold about 8 goldfish, depending on size of the fish. Less as the goldfish grow bigger.

Yeah, you know what? The bowl is already a bit cloudy-looking this morning, after only 2 days. So I'll change the water, clean the bowl, and refill it below where the bowl starts to narrow. Plus, I think I was putting in too much food. There's a lot of uneaten, swollen food pellets on the gravel.

Do you think I should get a couple of snails?

 

[Magna-Carta]

Yeah, you know what? The bowl is already a bit cloudy-looking this morning, after only 2 days. So I'll change the water, clean the bowl, and refill it below where the bowl starts to narrow. Plus, I think I was putting in too much food. There's a lot of uneaten, swollen food pellets on the gravel.

Do you think I should get a couple of snails?

Possibly, as the snails might eat any leftover food. But the fish really do need a lot more water.

Obviously, as you say you could change the water every few days, but in doing so you should really make sure the water you are changing it with is exactly the same temperature as what you are removing, as the thermal shock will affect the health of the fish.

A larger tank is less of an issue, as that would mean just changing between 20% to 30% of the water every week or a couple of weeks, and therefore less of a thermal shock. Or non at all if you get the temperature right – even for cold water fish. Obviously you should use a proper conditioner of some kind in the water, or at the very least let any fresh tap water stand for 24 hours so most of any chlorine evaporates. These are not special measures for keeping marine fish; it applies to troipical & cold water fish.

Goldfish, if looked after correctly can last for well over 10 years. They don’t tend to last very long in a small bowl. Where I live no reputable pet store will sell fish with a small bowl. They do sell larger bowls however, usually of 10 UK gallons or more, with a built in filter. The thing with a bowl is to never fill it with water to near the top of the bowl, as the more you fill it the less water surface area there is it absorb oxygen.

If you see fish gulping at the surface, it’s not because they think you are about to feed them, but because they are gulping for air due to lack of oxygen in the water.

 

[RadishRose]

Yeah, you know what? The bowl is already a bit cloudy-looking this morning, after only 2 days. So I'll change the water, clean the bowl, and refill it below where the bowl starts to narrow. Plus, I think I was putting in too much food. There's a lot of uneaten, swollen food pellets on the gravel.

Do you think I should get a couple of snails?

Maybe you need a bigger bowl and a filter? I don't know about the snails. Paxton is sure to have fun naming them. What a great idea!

 

[Murrmurr]

Maybe you need a bigger bowl and a filter? I don't know about the snails. Paxton is sure to have fun naming them. What a great idea!

Yeah, I don't want to get all that. The PetSmart *expert* told me these fish won't grow much because of the size of the bowl, but they'll be fine if I keep the water clean. I can do that.

I might go get some snails, though...the ones that eat algae and fish-crap.

 

[Magna-Carta]

I'm glad you put the word 'expert' in asterisks when describing the PetSmart employee. I think there might be hope yet?

I find it quite remarkable that the only professional advice an employee from a pet store can give is that “…they'll be fine if I keep the water clean.” Even when the bowl in the photo's is very significantly below the minimum requirement.

Here below is something from the ‘Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (RSPCA):

"Unsuitable aquariums

* Decorative or fun tanks, like goldfish bowls, jars or children's tanks, have not been designed with fish welfare in mind:

* Their small size isn't big enough, for example, goldfish require at least 60 litres of water each. Small volumes don't provide a stable environment for the fish to live in.

* There isn't enough space for an efficient filter, so waste products can't be removed.

* The low surface area means that not enough oxygen will be absorbed into the water.

* Temperature levels can alter rapidly, which can cause stress and even death."

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/fish/environment

 

[Blessed]

I can't say I know a lot about fish care and a proper home for them. I can tell you my 5 year old son won a goldfish at the school carnival. He choose to name him Pumpkin. Let's just say there were many days of stopping by the fish store and buying a new Pumpkin. My son never knew, we did not want to teach him about death until he was old enough to understand.

 

[Murrmurr]

I'm glad you put the word 'expert' in asterisks when describing the PetSmart employee. I think there might be hope yet?

I find it quite remarkable that the only professional advice an employee from a pet store can give is that “…they'll be fine if I keep the water clean.” Even when the bowl in the photo's is very significantly below the minimum requirement.

Here below is something from the ‘Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (RSPCA):

"Unsuitable aquariums

* Decorative or fun tanks, like goldfish bowls, jars or children's tanks, have not been designed with fish welfare in mind:

* Their small size isn't big enough, for example, goldfish require at least 60 litres of water each. Small volumes don't provide a stable environment for the fish to live in.

* There isn't enough space for an efficient filter, so waste products can't be removed.

* The low surface area means that not enough oxygen will be absorbed into the water.

* Temperature levels can alter rapidly, which can cause stress and even death."

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/fish/environment

Thank you, Mag.

I've kept fish before. I had a few aquariums during the years my kids were growing up. The last one was pretty large (fresh-water, tho). I don't want to keep an aquarium, just the bowl. I don't want a job, just a few goldfish.

And I do realize goldfish are one of the filthiest fish a person can buy, but they are hearty. The ones I bought are feeders... you know, the ones pet stores keep for feeding larger fish and the iguanas and whatever...so it's not really going to be a hobby, either, just interesting little living things for Paxton and the twins to enjoy when they're here, and help care for if they're inclined.

Paxton and I kept a colony of isopods when he lived here and he really enjoyed them. (tho they aren't as entertaining as fish)

I'll be the primary fish-carer, of course. I'll keep their bowl clean (probly 2-3X/wk), keep their water a comfy temperature, and feed them their little fish-kibbles. But it's not going to get more serious than that.