Animal cruelty :(

[ollief9]

Ugghh, I found a pet shop locally, it's only a little store, but the way it cares for it's fish is diabolical.

The worst bit is the 2.5 gallon display tank on the counter. Apparently, it has been there for three years. I don't know how the fish have lived that long.

In this puny little tank is three common goldfish. Yes, THREE COMMON GOLDFISH :e vil:
It obviously hasn't been cleaned for months; the insides are caked in algae, the water is dark green, and the fish are gasping at the top desperately. They are only two inches long.
The tiny filter is clogged and a little dribble is coming out of it.
The worst thing, however, is how the girl at the shop feeds them. She has this can of cheap 'goldfish food', made by Gussie. Just to fill you in, Gussie is cheap stuff which is hard to digest for fish and badly pollutes the water.
She put in a MASSIVE amount of food in the tank, which the fish completely ignored (they were probably thinking about if they were ever going to be free from this horrible place). I asked her is that how much you feed every day and she said yes, three times a day. ohmygod.
I then went on to tell her that three common goldfish need a 100 gallon tank with double filtration and you know what she did? She laughed.

Some people...

Anyway, I reported it to the RSPCA, so hopefully this horrible shop shall be diminished

[laughing]

Oh my goodness...

I wish people knew the difference. If someone wants a Goldfish there are SO many varieties. In a 2.5 gallon a Popeye, Comet, or Fantail Goldfish would be suitable. NOT A COMMON! My old school bred these guys as aquaculture and they got HUGE.

Ahh... Poor fishies >.<

[ollief9]

:/

I really don't want to be rude but one fancy goldfish (fantail, popeye etc) needs a 20 gallon tank - they grow over 6 inches.

[1fish2fish]

Uh... yeah... there is NO type of goldfish that is suitable for a 2.5 gallon tank. Heck, Comet goldfish can grow up to a foot long or more!

Anyways.. good job OP. Hopefully something is done although I wouldn't hold out hope that the RSPCA will do much. I doubt those fish have been their for 3 years... they probably replace them every few weeks or so.

[Jupiter]

Originally Posted by laughing

Oh my goodness...

I wish people knew the difference. If someone wants a Goldfish there are SO many varieties. In a 2.5 gallon a Popeye, Comet, or Fantail Goldfish would be suitable. NOT A COMMON! My old school bred these guys as aquaculture and they got HUGE.

Ahh... Poor fishies >.<

Actually, I'd say no goldfish is suitable for a 2.5 gallon.

I bought a fantail in March and people on this site advised to me get (at the very least) a 25 gallon tank for him.

[ollief9]

This is a bit irrelevant but BIN LADEN IS DEAD?!

And to everyone else, the rule for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first fish and an additional 10 gallons for every extra fish.
The rule for common goldfish is still a bit obscure, although I'd say you could keep 1 or 2 in a 50 gallon. Some common goldfish grow gigantic, some don't, it all depends on their first 120 days as fry. If they are taken care of really well and kept in clean water, the result will be a big goldfish.
It also depends on what you feed them. Sadly, our two goldfish passed away a couple of years ago but their life was rather spectacular. My mum won them at the fair and they went straight into a fish bowl. My parents found a gigantic tank in their attic and used it for the two goldfish. They then went on to add a decent filtration system and they took care of them like no ordinary goldfish (I wasn't born then; so I don't know whether this is entirely true!).
When I was about 3, I started to become quite interested in the goldfish. They were, at that time, 13 years old. My mum helped me feed them, but doing a water change on a 200 gallon fish tank isn't exactly recommended for a 3 year old
When I was, like, 7 I remember boasting at school about the age and size of my goldfish (cus I was cool like that lol)
From the age of ten onwards, I started to take care of the tank: 50% water changes weekly, algae scrub, filter clean etc. I fed them a really balanced diet, always eager to go to the aquatic shop and buy them bloodworms and brine shrimp for treats. We fed them peas, pellets, flakes, a really balanced diet.
Unfortunately, back then they were 20 and I didn't know they only had less than a year to live :(
I remember them being 14 inches long.

[Neil D]

I thought for fantails it was 10 g per fish....anyways, I hate how people think the know better, AND LAUGH! I've heard two+ stories here like that....

[laughing]

I didn't know fantails got that big. 0.o I've seen them stay soo small.

This makes me feel even worse, then! My teacher has a minibowl, assuming 2.5 gallons, with a comet and a fantail. I always felt bad for them. Light on constantly, no heater, doesn't even have a thermometer, and hardly gets their tank cleaned out. What really irks me? The fact that there is just substrate and a little ball thing in the tank, nothing else. No plants (real or fake), no hiding spots, NOTHING.

Wow, poor fish...

[Neil D]

Goldfish do not need heaters, but for a comet and fantail, should be at least 40 gallons. They shouldn't even be together, as the fantail will have trouble getting food.

[laughing]

The comet already killed the first goldfish because he ate all the other one's food.