My college is giving out gold fish in the world's tiniest bowls!

[kpullen89]

So my school does this every year, and it annoys me SO much. I've never fallen for this crap, but lots of students do. They think its cute to have a booth set up where we can design our own fish bowl and then they give us a gold fish. This bowl seriously holds about 3 cups of water. Every year I hear people saying how their fish died after a week or a day even. Yet, every year people go and get a darn fish just watch it die. Ugh, I hate it.

I don't know much about goldfish, but I still feel sorry for them! I read that there should be 7-10 gallons per gold fish. I also read that they produce large amounts of waste so they definitely need a filtration system. I'm going to post a link to a goldfish care website on my facebook to try to convince my friends that they need to go out and get tanks for those poor fish if they want to be responsible and actually care for them.

I'm pretty proud that I convinced 2 of my friends not to adopt the fish and those hideous bowls.. Instead I convinced them to get tank setups and bettas. :P

[kpullen89]

It's kinda funny how this post looks on the main page.. The angry face next to "My college is giving out gold--" (then it cuts off). I just wanna be clear, if my college were giving out GOLD, I would be one happy camper. :P

[lilchiwolf]

Thats so mean! Thats like cramming a goldfish into a betta cup. I breed gold fish and yes, they need a lot of care cause they are so messy. THe GF rule is 1 goldfish per 10 gallons. People always wonder why they die so quickly, yes they adapt to their tank size, BUT their insides are still growing. They basically explode inside themselves when they are kept in super small tanks. I tell everyone I run into at a store that is looking to put a GF in a bowl about that. Most of the time they don't bother getting it or some will buy a 10gal.

[kpullen89]

Oh no! That's so sad.. I know goldfish and bettas are being labeled as the best 'beginner fish' but they require so much more care (and SPACE) than the petstores let on..

[lilchiwolf]

I know. They do that cause they know if they say "THESE FISH NEED SPACE" then they would not sell as many. Its funny when you go to pet stores and people always buy the baby GF and ignore the big ones. I always tell them "You know your fish will reach that size right?" They just look at me like I am stupid. One guy argued with me and said those big ones were not the same kind of fish as the one he was getting, as he holds a baby blackmoor and I am pointing to a full grown one. Stupid man.

[Aluyasha]

My aunt is convinced that Goldfish will only grow the size of the tank they are in. I am like "If that was true, then why would some people bother paying tons of money getting 55 gals if you could just use a 5 gal their whole life?" Besides, does she not ever wonder why her Goldfish only live a few months tops?
A Petco employee overheard me talking to my mom about this matter, and he butts in to say "well, they only live like a year anyway.". I should have told him not to put himself in other peoples conversations if he has no idea what he is talking about. But I just told him that they live more like 20 years and he just ignored me.

[kpullen89]

Aluyasha - That is so frustrating! Petstore employees know NOTHING 9 times out of 10.. just random teens that need a job and could care less about the animals enough to actually learn about them. It angers me!

lilchiwolf - Don't you just love when people act like they know everything about a fish they haven't even purchased yet? lol I'm glad you corrected him!

[Sweeda88]

That makes me angry. I have a goldfish, currently in a 5 gallon that I plan to upgrade to 10. It has been so much fun watching her grow. She is such a cute, happy little fish. I can't imagine keeping her in a filthy little bowl.

[kpullen89]

Well I'm glad you take good care of her! They must be fun fish. It's a disgusting shame that my school does this because students get these fish EVERY year and they die EVERY time. Ugh.

[Aluyasha]

Originally Posted by kpullen89

Aluyasha - That is so frustrating! Petstore employees know NOTHING 9 times out of 10.. just random teens that need a job and could care less about the animals enough to actually learn about them. It angers me!

lilchiwolf - Don't you just love when people act like they know everything about a fish they haven't even purchased yet? lol I'm glad you corrected him!

You know what is even more frustrating? It was not a teen employee, he was like 40! And, he was one of the higher ups too.