Fish Hell

[LadyVictorian]

So while I was in MN I visited my real dad and my step sisters and half brother. I mainly went there to see the new cat they just rescued from the shelter but since I am such a big fish freak like my dad my stepsisters decided to take me on a tour of their fish (after oogling the new guys in the saltwater tank.) First off I have NO idea how this happened but I guess my sisters are not ACTUALLY allowed to have fish which is why they are hiding them but here it goes.

My younger sister about 16 showed me her black mor and her comet goldfish she had gotten from walmart. The black mor was in a 1 gallon bowl of GREEN water with scum along the top, thick with it. She said it hadn't been cleaned in two months and that the comet had been in the bowl with the other fish until they started fighting. NOW the sad part is next. I asked what other fish and she opened a cabinet to reveal a pickle jar, an actual pickle jar like you get in stores and there was the goldfish inside...sitting in the dark. He was skinny and sick looking, not even moving. She said she had forgotten to feed him after a while but now that she fed him he refuses to eat. Same thing over the cleaning of his JAR too, hadn't been touched in a month. Poor guy.

Then the older one (18) took me into her room to show me her betta. He's in a tiny tank where he can't turn around, it's just a decorative cube with no heater and no decor.It's about 60 degrees in the basement right now and it never gets much warmer...being winter it's going to drop to about 58 or lower down there too. Same story, fish eats once a week and the dinky tank is cleaned once a month. He is a beautiful half moon elephant ear multicolored. I just about screamed at them and almost told my dad since he's a big fish guy but I'm not sure if I want them to get into trouble (he is not a fan of freshwater fish only his salties and doesn't like to keep freshies in his home at all) I partly want to protect the fish though and am thinking of what I can do, buy them setups or something for the fish but i just don't know. I feel so bad for those fish, I wish I could have taken them with me but neither wanted to give them up.

[prosthetik]

That's so sad! I dont know how you managed not to tell your dad, I would of gone nuts!

I just dont understand why people think fish can just be left to fend for themselves in a tiny bowl. Its not like they have a voice like a cat & dog who let you know when somethings wrong.

[LadyVictorian]

Oh trust me those fish were telling me something was wrong. I wonder if i told my dad about it what he would do. I know they would both be grounded for going behind his back but also I am more concerned for the fish. They don't have any freshwater setups and betta and goldfish don't mix. I wonder if he would let me have them knowing i keep freshwater fish? He wouldn't buy them anything because his fish cost too much to upkeep.

[prosthetik]

Maybe you should tell him then. He has fish so he knows how they should be looked after & Im sure he wouldnt appreciate them being so poorly treated.

Im kinda glad I have no siblings or relatives that are into fish keeping cause I can see myself being paranoid about the way they look after things lol.

[LadyVictorian]

My dad use to ground me if I didn't clean my betta tanks every week and tell me I couldn't have any pets if I couldn't take care of my fish. He's very hard core on animal care and I was very hard core on animal keeping xD

I'm going to try and buy them all setups too but i am better on the betta setup since my guess is the goldfish need a 50 gallon tank o.o

[prosthetik]

Do you think if you got them better tanks that your siblings would start taking better care of them?

[LadyVictorian]

Well if I told my dad they would have to take better care of them or he would give the fish back to the stores which isn't the best idea either since they are walmart fish (aside from the betta, my sisters boyfriend got that for her.)

[pittipuppylove]

No animal deserves to be treated like that, fish or otherwise. In my opinion, buying them a setup yourself treats a symptom, but not the whole issue. Could you offer (possibly with the knowledge of your father) to teach your siblings proper care, help them pick out a good habitat, etc., with the other option that the fish are rehomed (to you or some other person who knows how to properly care for fish, not back to Wal-Mart)? It doesn't seem fair to me that you got in trouble if your fish weren't taken care of while your siblings are getting away with treating their fish cruelly.

[BettaQi]

I agree with pittipuppylove.

[Thebettaqueen]

This...This is awful! D: Tell your father, and then smack the two girls in the back of the head! Inform them on how to properly take care of an animal D:<