They’re Just Fish But…

A

Aunt Mavis

I have met the enemy and he is us. Pogo
I took over my Mom’s fish tank and fish after she passed almost two years ago. There’s a bit to learn about proper care including cleaning the tank. I’ve lost three total now, 2 after I’ve added clean water and changed filters. Gone are Swimmy the 2nd, Swimmy the 8th and Swimmy the 10th. RIP.
 

You have my respect for trying, Aunt Mavis.

My son embraces the Jainism beliefs and literally won't even kill a fly. When he catches me doing it, I tell him that I felt sure it's natural lifespan was almost over and I was making it's end easier. That was probably the case with the Swimmys.
 
I had an aquarium years ago. I remember having to change the water, check the ph, add whatever chemicals were required, turn the heater on and let it circulate for a certain amount of time (I forget) and then place the fish back in the tank.

Every now and then, I would lose a fish, but didn’t know why. I never bought any expensive fish, but I did like having different colors.
 
Never change all the water at once.
Change 25% at most of the water each time.
Make sure the water is the same temperature. Never use soap or any detergent
Let tap water sit for a day or two before adding ( chlorine and water chemicals can kill fish )
 
They may be "just fish" but you do get attached. Our fish are outdoors in our goldfish pond. The pond was here when we bought our home 3 years ago and we knew nothing about caring for it and the fish. There were about 30 or so fish in it. The first winter all went well,but the net winter was quite a bit colder and we lost all the fish. DH was heartbroken.

We replaced the fish last summer and purchased a heater for the pond. We had a very old winter this year and all 8 survived. We did lose one, however,to Betty our cat. I will post a pic of our pond-if you zoom in you can see that there are Christmas lights all around the pond.This tells us if the circuit breaker "pops" for some reason and the heater goes off. Pond is not a large pond but looks even smaller in this pic....
 

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PeppermintPatty said:
Never change all the water at once.
Change 25% at most of the water each time.
Make sure the water is the same temperature. Never use soap or any detergent
Let tap water sit for a day or two before adding ( chlorine and water chemicals can kill fish )
Click to expand...

Excellent post @PeppermintPatty ... and a question.
What about using filtered water like from a Brita pitcher or PUR facet attachment.
I'd still absolutely let it sit for a day or two as suggested, just seems like filtered water might be better than tap. Dunno
 
Naturally said:
Excellent post @PeppermintPatty ... and a question.
What about using filtered water like from a Brita pitcher or PUR facet attachment.
I'd still absolutely let it sit for a day or two as suggested, just seems like filtered water might be better than tap. Dunno
Click to expand...
That’s actually a great idea. Putting the water through a Brita pitcher or PUR facet attachment would neutralize the water effectively. Letting water sit is the safest way I know. I’ve never used either system for an aquarium but do have a brita system and it works incredibly well. Good thinking.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
That’s actually a great idea. Putting the water through a Brita pitcher or PUR facet attachment would neutralize the water effectively. Letting water sit is the safest way I know. I’ve never used either system for an aquarium but do have a brita system and it works incredibly well. Good thinking.
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I have a PUR Plus faucet attachment and it is said to induce minerals into the water as well as filter it.
It sure does taste hella better than municipal water ... even though ours is tested to be of good quality.
Then too, Walmart sells Spring Water by the gallons on the cheap.
Only time I had an aquarium was as a kid and used well water way out there in the country. That worked okay.

Of course, mineral deposits leave a ring about the top of the aquarium during evaporation.
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
They may be "just fish" but you do get attached. Our fish are outdoors in our goldfish pond. The pond was here when we bought our home 3 years ago and we knew nothing about caring for it and the fish. There were about 30 or so fish in it. The first winter all went well,but the net winter was quite a bit colder and we lost all the fish. DH was heartbroken.

We replaced the fish last summer and purchased a heater for the pond. We had a very old winter this year and all 8 survived. We did lose one, however,to Betty our cat. I will post a pic of our pond-if you zoom in you can see that there are Christmas lights all around the pond.This tells us if the circuit breaker "pops" for some reason and the heater goes off. Pond is not a large pond but looks even smaller in this pic....
Click to expand...
That’s a lovely pond Mrs. Robinson. It looks well thought out.

We rented a house that had a huge backyard pond. We bought 100 small gold fish and put them in the pond. Blue and grey herons had some for a meal but many lasted. In two years they grew about 10 to 12 inches and looked like huge koy fish. It was fun
 
Aunt Mavis, I kept fish for a while, too....mainly for my foster son. When he went to a foster-to-adopt home, I gave the fish, tank, and all to a neighbor who keeps several tanks successfully.

There are lots of YouTube channels with really good advice and instructions on how to keep a healthy tank. I watched a lot of them while I had the fish, and I believe those YouTubers saved lives that were under my care.
 
I’ve kept fish since I was a kid. My best friends mom had a pregnant guppy she gave me and fish keeping became my hobby. That pregnant guppy inherited our big glass cookie jar. Then it went from that to a 10 gallon aquarium. Later my parents bought a 30 gallon aquarium cause they got into it. They bought angel fish that grew really big and bought cat fish and plecotomus to help keep the tank clean. It became a family hobby.

Later as a teen when I left home (16), I worked in a pet smart shop in a big shopping mall and loved it. Most of my work was in the fish department . I worked there for 3 years so learned a lot about taking care of tropical fish. Salt water fish I don’t know as well but the guy who worked there did. I learned a lot from him.

I had a fish tank for a good part of my life and enjoyed caring for them and helping others. It was fun seeing kids picking out their fish for their new family hobby and there was nothing more special than seeing their smiling faces when they’d leave. I kind of had a following. Families whom I helped would come back to the store and personally ask for me.

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Aunt Mavis said:
I took over my Mom’s fish tank and fish after she passed almost two years ago. There’s a bit to learn about proper care including cleaning the tank. I’ve lost three total now, 2 after I’ve added clean water and changed filters. Gone are Swimmy the 2nd, Swimmy the 8th and Swimmy the 10th. RIP.
Click to expand...

Awe, I'm so sorry to hear your mother had passed away. Also, the difficult time you are having with the fish as well. Fish can be a lot of work to take care of them. I've experienced this with my daughters while they were growing up. And believe it or not, some can be somewhat intelligent. I've seen this with one particular fish that one of my daughters had. This fish would let you pet him. And I'm not kidding! And this happened on a regular bases.
 
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