fishtroy

Hi! I apologise upfront, here comes another one of my marathon posts but lately Fish Troy has been like a soap opera!

You may or may not have noticed that my sig is welcoming in new additions. One of which is a little girl name Andromeda.
What a story do Andromeda & I have to tell!

I got her this afternoon. I went to my local Aquarium (I got fish money for my birthday, yay!) to find myself some beautiful bettas.
They are still I am sad to report all in death cups. Today the cups were reasonably clean but still the misery of the fish was evident on all their faces staring at me from the shelves. I noticed, on a bottom shelf in a cup this girl. Her mouth appeared to be open. On closer inspection I discovered that she has a small tumour on her chin/bottom lip. It is preventing her from closing her mouth so it is permanently open. Otherwise she is perfect, a vibrant pretty blue/green colour, perfectly shaped fins and as lively and temperamental as any other betta. Poor little girl I think. I was (yes, I do this) talking to her and decided I would try to get her some help, we discussed it.
Up until this point I thought that the Aquarium were just lax a daisy and kept the bettas in their cups for convenience sake. It was not until I met Andromeda that I realised how heartless they really are.
With my chosen boys already on the counter I approached the female owner/staffmember with the little girl in hand. She is darting around her cordial cup happy as can be in spite of her tumour. These people have unlimited fish medicines and products everywhere. So I thought I would talk to the lady who had been friendly to me. I told her that I noticed this little girl had a small tumour and would perhaps benefit from some medicine being put in her water to shrink it back up. Nip it in the bud. The lady asked to have a look and took the cordial cup out of my hand.
'Oh yes, she does' the lady remarked at which point she walked over to their small sink (far out of my reach) poured every bit of water out of the cordial cup catching the fish in her hand and went to, for lack of better phrasing, crush the fish to death in her hand. It all happened so fast, (when she approached the sink I thought she was going to treat her with medicine that they had there). Already smitten with this little girl of course I shrieked out for her to stop. As coldly and callously as she threw, and I mean threw Andromeda into the totally empty dry cordial cup out of her clenched fist. Luckily the little girl had not been crushed, I had stopped her just in time. She walked over without batting an eye with the little girl flapping for dear life, clearly petrified in the dry cup. The lady told me that the fish might as well be killed as they are not going to spend the time treating every fish that gets an ailment with medicine, so just kill her.
At this point my protective fin mother instinct was on overdrive watching her flap there. I said to the woman, don't kill her, I will take her, I rescue sick bettas I can try to treat her. Believe it or not, she still did not relent. She said I wouldn't feel right doing that, (she doesn't feel right giving the fish to me but she is alright with crushing her to death go figure?) Besides fixing her wont work. No.' Meanwhile Andromeda is still flapping.
I could have lost my temper but I wanted to save her, I felt that this woman would have killed her to spite me if I had reprimanded her, so instead in sheer desperation I said, 'Please, if you kill her when I showed you it would be my fault, I'll take her, I will buy her for $1 if you feel more comfortable with that. Don't kill her.' 'Hmmm' was the answer I got, she put the tap on high pressure on top of my girl squirted some ager in and practically threw Andromeda on the counter in front of me. I don't know if I made her feel guilty as she gave me a severe discount on all my other fish but the important thing is I got Andromeda, she did give her to me for free no matter how begrudgingly.

I must admit I had the fright of my life when she nearly crushed her, what kind of a person could do that?
Now she is home, she swims and breathes just fine, I'm not sure about eating though. She has a bit of a method but she spat out the only bloodworm she could catch. But she is quite tubby so she must be able to eat somehow.
I want to help her. She is a strong willed little thing. She has shaken off todays ordeal. She is swimming about happily. I want to try and cure her tumour or growth or whatever it is. I have attached a pictue. It is not very clear (I took it through the cordial cup she was in) and I don't want to stress her further by picture taking today. She is funny though, she is a self conscious due to her lump. She hated me trying to take a picture and tried to hide from the camera crankily.

Any tips on shrinking this thing or ideas on what it is would be a great help, I want Andromedea to live on healthy and happy to spite those who would have killed her.

Rhan

Oh my god, that is just so heartless and cruel and oh I feel tears coming now I can't believe some people put so little value on life. It is just so disgusting, I can't believe it.

Thank god for people like you who understand the value of a life, and want to help it.

I wish you all the luck in the world in helping your new girl.

Tigerfishy

YAY!!!!!!! But horrible woman, I would have been a bit more forceful than you, but I am a mouthy person haha! You just asked for what to do to treat it as you were taking her, in no way did you ask her to treat it and keep it in the shop.

She looks lovely despite her torment, and looks all sparkly!!
Now there are more names, we want more pics to go with them

jgon_

Good grief! What the heck is wrong with some people!?

I have to say though, her color looks nice and dark and not washed out at all, guess she is a fighter.

Prince Powder

Hello fishtroy! We don't mind your long stories, some things just can not be said in a few short words. I have to admit, I would have pushed the woman out of the way, snatched the fish, filled the cup, slapped money on the counter and walked out. I would have also made it a point of repeating VERY loudly what she had said about not bothering to treat the fish. It might have changed a few minds for other people about going there. I would also make it a point to "review" the LFS in every website I could find citing my experience. And yes, I WOULD name names! But then again I'm a (w)itch. I'm glad it was you that noticed it. Most other people would have walked right by her due to her condition. And it is quite clear what would have happened to her if the LFS lady had discovered her ailment first.

Her color does look good despite her obvious eating difficulties. Perhaps chopping up her food into really tiny pieces, about half a pellet size, and soaking it in vitachem to supplement anything she might be lacking will help her with her eating. As far as treating the tumor, I'm afraid I can't help there, but perhaps someone with tumor experience can give you some suggestions. Kudos to you fishtroy. I wish more people cared about fish the way you do.

bolivianbaby

Great work, Fishtroy! Glad she's safe with you now. Best wishes for a full recovery.

CDA

What a beautiful baby girl you have there fishtroy! Thank goodness for people like you. These cold heartless people caring for living breathing creatures makes me sick to my stomach. I am sure being there with you will make her comfortable and strong. When I see those cups stacked three and four high,I just want to bring them all home with me knowing I could bring comfort to them. I have had my rescue (stormy) for 2 weeks now and he is a part of the family. Bettas are the wisest fish with such adoring personalities. Good luck with her, I know she is in very capable and caring hands now. Keep us up to date on her progress.

rae64

Oh my gosh! Poor darling! Glad she is in safe hands now, poor thing. I can't believe they were just going to CRUSH her!!! How horrible!

Martinismommy

I had a little fish with that deformity that lived to be 1 year old...His mouth was on sideways and that's what it looks like she has.....She should be able to eat as long as you keep her food small and not hard......

Good job on the rescue but I agree with prince I would have taken her left the money, walked out and never returned....

critter_fritter79

I think it is a very good thing I haven't had to personally face that kind of attitude...I don't think I would have reacted well to that at ALL...honestly I am thinking everyone would have heard about my reaction on the news at 10! Thank goodness you have a cooler head than I do! She is a gorgeous little girl..I am glad she is going to be loved and have a good Mommy now!

hooxeii

Fishtroy, I have to commend you for doing this for the dear little girl. She's a darling and deserves all the chances she can possibly get to live. Some people don't understand that while some things can't be gotten rid of, per say, the animal can be made comfortable and have a good life for the time it has. Pets with deformities can be just as good as healthy pets.

I can't believe that the woman would have crushed her right then and there. That just...you wouldn't put a dog down just because it looked a little different. Heck, look at all the help they have for animals these days. As a future vet, I support humane euthanasia when it is better for the animal, but other than the slight deformity, this girl may well live a normal happy life. No need to kill an otherwise happy animal.

You're her hero, Fishtroy. You did a good thing today, and if I were you, I'd not give that store any more of my money if at all possible.

Algae Eater

WOW! What an incredible story. Good job! I hope she lives a long comfy life with you.

uprightandlocked

That woman is lucky. If I had been you I would have crushed HER.

You're a better person than I am. :-) Welcome to your new girl!

COBettaCouple

I'd report that shop and that heartless person to the authorities.. the place should be closed and she should be thrown in prison.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to treat tumors in bettas. We've had a few with those who lived a happy life for over a year.

fishtroy

I'm not sure that she's eating. I try to watch her but she doesn't like me to be close and waits until I go before she makes a move. She is still bright, happy and swimming but I would be happy if I saw the little darling swallow something.

Thanks everyone for your support, although I used calm words I can assure you all in my mind I was saying differently!
It is my unfortunate fact that it is one of the only aquariums in the area.
It is a continuous circle of cruelty, the forms were on the counter for her new shipment of bettas she was ordering in. If I thought about it for too long it could really get me down.
At least I can tell myself that Andromeda is one girl who will be not become a betta fatality statistic.

Deeps

wowww... thts an amazing thing that u did fishtroy.... kudoos... all the best... hope she recovers soon somehow..

Prince Powder

Perhaps it would be easier if you put her in a bare bottom tank for a while so you can be sure the food is going in her and not the gravel.

Shine

I can't say that I have any personal experience with bettas, but if she has grown to adult size I would assume she has her methods for getting enough food

And congrats on the rescue! I would have been about ready to kill that pet store employee

fishtroy

I was just thinking this while I fed her this evening.

aquarist48

Best wishes FishTroy. Great rescue!
Ken

shellbell4ever

what an amazing story I hope little andromina has a long healthy life I also second the bare bottom tank idea at least for a bit to see how she's doing with the food intake

Heather M

How heartless of her! When dealing with people like that, don't you just have the urge to grab their neck and squeeze! I would seriously complain to the authorities. There is absolutly no excuse to treat an animal like that. Thumbs up to you for saving the poor little betta girl. Good luck with her!

fishtroy

Positive news, I actually saw my Andomeda eat a little something last night. It was not much but anything is promising!

Elodea

Andromeda...fitting name for such a beautiful betta girl! And you're just like Perseus (I know, he's a boy) saving her from Ceto, the sea monster (perfect analogy for that evil lady)...though it would be more interesrting if you turned her into stone or something...

Fishtroy, you're becoming more and more of my role model every second! I had to read the post five times before it really sunk into me that she was trying to kill the betta on purpose...some people...

fishtroy

Hey you picked up on my reasoning behind her name! That is exactly what I said when I named her it, I thought the lady was a bit of a sea monster! I am thinking that a Betta male in the future will have to bear the name Perseus just to get some rhyme and reason to my unruly naming patterns.
It is very kind of you to say I'm a role model, who me? I'm just the nut that talks to her fish! LOL

Elodea

A bit of a sea monster? She would've scared the wits out of Ceto if they met! Oh, and she'd probably turn Medusa to stone.

fishtroy

You should of seen her, perhaps she was a cross of the two, part Gorgon, part sea monster. (Did I type that? )

There's a labour that Hercules was not given, saving the betta from the fish store. LOL.
Do you know your Greek Mythology?

GoGreen

Wow. That story of yours is quite something, I can not believe what someone like that women is doing working in a fish store, how anyone can be so heartless and cruel is beyond me. That poor little fish-I was screaming inside reading that! I am so glad that you saved her, at least the rest of her life will be in comfort and happiness.

You may find that she will be okay anyway, perhaps it is just a deformity and with small food pieces she will be fine.

Such a little cutie in that picture, how could a person just crush that little life away?

10gallonmadness

Oh my god. That TERRIBLE women is lucky had to deal with you instead of me. I would have flipped on her. Let's just say if that was me in that situation that women would have a very bad day.

But on the brighter side of thing's I'm glad she's recovering well.
It's a shame that isn't considered animal cruelty to PETA. But if someone did that to a dog (god forbid) PETA would have been ALL over their case. It's a shame the world works that way, isn't it?

fishtroy

It is sad isn't it. I follow my own philosophy (though many think its strange) of
'a life is a life'. It doesn't matter if it is a dog or a fish or a bird. That little creature has a life, the right to it and the right to fight for it and it was evilly wrong of that lady to decide to take it away.
I wish the animal cruelty people did cover fish especially the bettas. If only they knew what personalities these little creatures have surely they would appreciate their value more and protect them as much as they do the other animals.