Elvishswimmer

I'm part of a different forum that is part of a horse game I play.

Much like this forum that other forum has places for people to talk about their pets.

There is a person on there that has posted about her struggles with her fish.
At the time when she started the post this is what her fish situation looked like:
A betta in a 1G goldfish bowl
2 Goldfish (common from the looks) in a 1.5G filtered tank.

She says that when she gets back to school she has a 1G tank with a filter for her Betta.
This was on the 14th.

As of now the one goldfish died. She said that the people who had the fish before her did not treat the fish very well and so she probably thinks the stress from them shortened his life.

I wanted to post saying "Get them in a bigger tank now!"
But rather than do that and have them get defensive I gave them links to both the Betta and Goldfish care pages from this site.

I told her that Goldfish can get very large and have no place in a 1.5 G tank. And that most can't even keep one goldfish in a 20G

She replied to me saying that she has been keeping a close eye on her fish and that if they get too big she has a friend with a pond that she can give them to later.
I haven't replied to this yet.


She has just now posted that her last goldfish has ICH, and that she is treating with medicine, but asked if there is any other treatments for it.
I told her about the 82+ method, and added at the end that the reason he is sick is because of his living conditions.

I'm not sure what else to say! I don't want her feelings hurt, and I can tell she wants to care for these fish well, but I don't know if she understands that she has the wrong type of fish.

What do you think I should tell her to do that I haven't already?

rt12

Two fish in a 1.5 gallon tank will cause them to die off soon just due to toxic level build up in the water. The treament may just prolong the death of the goldfish unfortunatly. They really should be moved to a new home soon. A betta can however live in a 1.5 gallon filtered tank as long as the temp doesnt get below 70 and water changes are done about every week.

Nutter

I'm lacking in the sensitivity department according to my missus, so I would just tell her straight. Tell her straight up that she either needs to get a bigger tank immediatley or she needs to get rid of the fish immmediatly. Tell her about the pain & discomfort that the fish is going through & paint a detailed picture of the inevitable outcome. IME some people just don't get it & you need to hit them over the head with the info before they understand. Even them some people still don't get it.

bolivianbaby

Show her the picture that Gremlin posted of the goldfish in the betta bowl that he barely fits in.

Other than that, I think you're doing all you can. Some people have to be approached differently. If she's really sensitive, she won't deal well with "strong remarks".

I hope this helps, good luck and please keep us posted.

Lucy

I agreee with BB.
There's not much you can do other than what you've done.
You can only point people in the right direction. In the end, it's up to them to take the information and act on it or not.

Elvishswimmer

Thanks guys.
I'll try posting to her again.
I did search out the picture of gremlin's fish to show her...

I'll keep trying for the sake of her fish.
If I do convince her to rehome her fish what can I recommend to her? She seems to really love the fish and I would love her to enjoy the hobby too once she is going in the right direction.
I know a 1G tank really can't hold anything, but she said she was considering a 5 or 10G in the future some time.
Should I recommend she get the 5 or 10G and put some guppies or danios in it? Or what would be a good beginner stocking for such a tank?

What about her betta in the filtered 1G? I don't really know much about bettas so I didn't know what to say to her about that.

vintagetankgirl

Elvish I feel for you. I am going through a simular situation with some friends. They've known me for 2 years and have heard countless rants about Betta care and how they are mistreated. The other day they impulsively bought a Betta and listened to the Petsmart employee that said a 1 gallon bowl with no heater or filter would be great. That they didn't need those things and that "bettas are made to live in small aquariums." I almost died from trying not to scream!

Needless to say I have tried to help them and one said she would do some research. I think they are now trying to upgrade the bowl to a tank and I know they are getting a heater...

Things like this happen all the time. People think they know best or know what they are doing without proper preparation and research. Maybe you could send this girl a link with a discussion from this forum about someone else with a similar situation. Then she won't feel alienated because she'll know she isn't alone and she will get all the advice from the post. You can also assure her that most fish keepers started out wrong or without enough knowledge, this hobby is all about continued learning. Twenty years ago it was unheard of to do a water change and now they are heavily recommended!

Good luck!

chrisb01

Nutter is right.

Elvis, just tell what you're thinking.

jdhef

She should get a five gallon tank and put the Betta in it. The minimum tank size for a Betta is 2 1/2 gallons while 5 gallons is the prefered minimum.

Since you friend likes forums, have her join FishLore.

gremlin

I would say to suggest a 5 gallon filtered/heated for her betta and just stay with that for a while. The goldie that has ich needs to be in a minimum of 29 gallons all by itself. Ich Attack is a good medication for goldies with ich.

Here are a few more pictures that may help - the tank is a 2.5 gallon that I use for pictures only. It lets me get good pictures from the side that I can't get when they are in the pond - although, I may have to find a 5 or 10 gallon soon.

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	black male and offspring 09 05 08.JPG (206.1 KB, 19 views)
	DSCN0021.JPG (224.7 KB, 19 views)
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	DSCN3229.JPG (226.4 KB, 19 views)