Fish "rescues"

Rosy Reds are a cool water fish (usually kept on a separate system in fish stores with the goldfish, from the tropical fish.) They prefer their water from about 60/63 degrees F to around 75ish. I wouldn't keep them with any fish that prefer water temps in the 80's F, as the warm temps can make cool water fish more disease prone. You can lose them to heat stress the closer you get to 80 degrees, for various reasons. If you notice them gasping at the surface, the water is probably too warm and doesn't have enough dissolved oxygen in it. Just something to be aware of and keep an eye on. There can be many other things going on with any fish species from illness to parasites to poor water quality. But typically the warmer the water, the less the oxygen for the fish to breathe is in it and warm water fish need fairly warm water ( with more water circulation to grab oxygen from air and dissolve it in water) and cooler water loses less oxygen from evaporation and can sometimes tolerate less agitation of water in general. Where I live in SD, farmers will buy rosy reds/ goldfish/feeder guppies and toss a bunch in livestock ponds to eat algae and mosquito larvae, so their cattle/sheep or horses have few mosquitoes preying on them. Obviously these ponds are at whatever the ambient water temperatures are at and some live/some are prey to frogs, turtles, birds etc. Sometimes pelicans drop larger fish like bass or sun fish in the same pond. Nature balances it out and hopefully you have fewer mosquitoes biting people and livestock, spreading mosquito borne diseases.

Rosy reds are temperate, not cold water, so they're good at most temperatures (50-85 preferred, survive 32-100). Good things to address about keeping fish at the wrong temperate though ):

 

I said cool, not cold and the temps I gave were between yours. Can they survive colder and hotter, probably so. Will they be stressed by hotter or colder, most likely. Where is the fish most comfortable with the temperature somewhere in the 60's to 70's, comfortable fish thrive and very stressed ones usually don't or you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get them health again or deal withthe human heartache of loss factor. If you are type to grieve you fishy friends when they pass away, you learn to keep them in conditions that they are most happy in and everybody in the family wins, whether they have gills or not.

 

I said cool, not cold and the temps I gave were between yours. Can they survive colder and hotter, probably so. Will they be stressed by hotter or colder, most likely. Where is the fish most comfortable with the temperature somewhere in the 60's to 70's, comfortable fish thrive and very stressed ones usually don't or you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get them health again or deal withthe human heartache of loss factor. If you are type to grieve you fishy friends when they pass away, you learn to keep them in conditions that they are most happy in and everybody in the family wins, whether they have gills or not.

Hi! I understand the temp range of these feeder fish. I keep most of my aquariums at 76 degrees as it is a generally good temp for most tropical fish (which is the main kind of fish I own). It may be on the higher range for these minnows but I do treat ALL my fish as family. I will ensure that the fish is happy, healthy, and is thriving, if they aren’t doing well I will adjust so they can thrive

 

I said cool, not cold and the temps I gave were between yours. Can they survive colder and hotter, probably so. Will they be stressed by hotter or colder, most likely. Where is the fish most comfortable with the temperature somewhere in the 60's to 70's, comfortable fish thrive and very stressed ones usually don't or you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get them health again or deal withthe human heartache of loss factor. If you are type to grieve you fishy friends when they pass away, you learn to keep them in conditions that they are most happy in and everybody in the family wins, whether they have gills or not.

Cold water fish and temperate fish experience health issues when kept outside of their preferred temperate ranges, which are very limited. "Cool" water fish are not really a thing. Temperate fish have a very wide range that they thrive in, such as Rosy red minnows and goldfish. Both live perfectly fine up to 80-85 and will not have increased disease succeptibility or discomfort. They will have higher metabolisms, and that is all. Same goes for keeping them in cooler water, no increased disease succeptibility, and no behavioral changes. I would not have mentioned it if I had not kept Rosy reds at those temperatures and observed no increase in disease succeptibility and no behavioral changes. They literally do not care and still thrive. They can survive colder and warmer, but they will have increased disease succeptibility and behavioral changes outside of 50-85, not outside of 60-70. Don't get me wrong, I love my fish, but they couldn't care less if they were at 70 or 80.

 

Don't know if this book is still in print or not (perhaps people can find it at local libraries if it isn't or do inter-library loan to find it or find a copy on ebay or amazon.) Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes by Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod and Dr. Leonard P. Schultz is an excellent information resource for anybody who keeps fish and wants to learn more in depth about fish. I bought my copy 20 or so years ago (it was originally published in 1955 and my copy is a 1990 revised copy) when I was in my early 20's and still in college, working at what was then my local PetSmart (Independence, MissourI and PetSmart was fairly new as a company and pretty focused on employee education and having team members on staff that actually cared about their fish hobbiest/fish keeping customers... not just getting a bunch of $ out of newbies and moving on.) I was among the group of first hires while they were still physically building that store (concrete and bricks). It was a book my dept. manager (who also kept fish and was over the whole fish, reptile, bird department) recommended for me to nerd out on. Some of the feeding info in it was way out of date then, and the hobby has certainly come a long way since it was originally written, but the latter half is mostly an encyclopedia of fish species and their care needs which is helpful.

I was working on becoming the store aquatic plant expert and go to person for fish at that time and becoming a dog trainer (which is one of the things I now do at home, raising and training service dogs for people with autism and other disabilities. While raising sheep, horses chickens/ducks, a big garden and homeschooling 3 kids.)

 

Hi! I understand the temp range of these feeder fish. I keep most of my aquariums at 76 degrees as it is a generally good temp for most tropical fish (which is the main kind of fish I own). It may be on the higher range for these minnows but I do treat ALL my fish as family. I will ensure that the fish is happy, healthy, and is thriving, if they aren’t doing well I will adjust so they can thrive

That's great! I am wishing you all the best in this. I have often considered getting some myself, but decided against it because they love a large school and I don't have aquariums for that, since I moved from home after college and my baby brother stole my big tank for his snake. Haven't gotten them for our natural farm pond because I'd feel horrible if they couldn't over-winter in our -20 F South Dakota winters. Glad you took them home and are making a real home for them. So few get that opportunity.

 

Just so you're aware, these guys can get fairly large, 4-5", and have the same voracious appetite as their larger cousin, the goldfish.

As far as temperature, they should be fine. They're native in my area (probably most of the east coast), and see them a lot.

 

I wanted to make this thread because I keep an eye on my local Gumtree ads (UK equivlent of Craigslist i think?) and someone literally 3 miles from me posted up a tank that looks to be exactly the same one as my 37 gallon with a full set up plus fish...fish that include tetras, guppies, mollies which is fine until they hit up the pic of a common pleco so big he looks the width of the tank already **crying intensely**

Some people might know but plecos are my all time faves (dont tell my betta boys...shhh) and my dream would be to be able to comfortably house a common pleco of my own. I would most likely need a pond as im not sure im comfortable with a huge 100g plus tank weight wise etc. So i suppose knowing this poor soul is only 3 miles away hurts a bit. Or a lot.

gotta keep repeating to myself, "setting up a temporary swimming pool is not a good idea nor is it responsible, do not do it" XD forgive me, i wouldnt be so foolish.

I dont want this to just be a random rant tho so I want to hear any happy fishy rescue stories you might have to cheer me up

 

I did see a video on youtube pf some local guys to me that went on 4 or 5 hr drive to rescue about a dozen big fish from a fish rescue place that was shutting down. Included 3 huge plecos, a big pacu, a couple catfish and shark that were pushing 3 ft each and a big ol' dovii.

 

I did see a video on youtube pf some local guys to me that went on 4 or 5 hr drive to rescue about a dozen big fish from a fish rescue place that was shutting down. Included 3 huge plecos, a big pacu, a couple catfish and shark that were pushing 3 ft each and a big ol' dovii.

Thats a lot of big fish! Where did they house them all? :0

 

I wanted to make this thread because I keep an eye on my local Gumtree ads (UK equivlent of Craigslist i think?) and someone literally 3 miles from me posted up a tank that looks to be exactly the same one as my 37 gallon with a full set up plus fish...fish that include tetras, guppies, mollies which is fine until they hit up the pic of a common pleco so big he looks the width of the tank already **crying intensely**

Some people might know but plecos are my all time faves (dont tell my betta boys...shhh) and my dream would be to be able to comfortably house a common pleco of my own. I would most likely need a pond as im not sure im comfortable with a huge 100g plus tank weight wise etc. So i suppose knowing this poor soul is only 3 miles away hurts a bit. Or a lot.

gotta keep repeating to myself, "setting up a temporary swimming pool is not a good idea nor is it responsible, do not do it" XD forgive me, i wouldnt be so foolish.

I dont want this to just be a random rant tho so I want to hear any happy fishy rescue stories you might have to cheer me up

I dont have a rescue story but I literally have seen some close to me recently and the tanks looks so overcrowded!

I'm not expert enough to know for sure but the fish didnt seem to have a lot of space ☹

 

I dont have a rescue story but I literally have seen some close to me recently and the tanks looks so overcrowded!

I'm not expert enough to know for sure but the fish didnt seem to have a lot of space ☹

Yeah there seems to be a lot...this one looked as if the seller had maybe just made the mistake of buying a common pleco because they had a few bristlenoses and the big plec was the only thing out of place besides maybe the star wars decorations...not really my cup of tea there

I think if you're seeing the fish dont have enough space its definately not good. To me the tank has to be many times bigger than the fish type thing. It has to look in proportion if you see what i mean

Im going into town today and I'll be so close to the poor guy...must keep repeating that my family will kill me if i set up a paddling pool and bring home a huge fish...

I just can't help but want to rescue eveey poor creature I come across but you need to know you can handle it. Im definately not the only one

 

Thats a lot of big fish! Where did they house them all? :0

They had these i think the called them stand up ponds.

 

I rescued some African Cichlids from a a local keeper who gave up on them. I moved them into my setups until I felt they were ready for another keeper to enjoy them.

On the way to my LFS (Chain store sadly) with them as I speak!

 

My favorite fish shop here in Holland has a notice on their website (translating from Dutch): "We have made a clear decision to give honest advice in which the welfare of the animals in their new environment is central. That is why it has also been decided not to not to sell fish nor offer them at fairs that will never fit in an aquarium, such as Red-tailed catfish, Arapaimas and so-called shark catfish."

As long as greedy/mis-informed shops continue to sell inappropriate fish, the sad conditions will continue.

 

My favorite fish shop here in Holland has a notice on their website (translating from Dutch): "We have made a clear decision to give honest advice in which the welfare of the animals in their new environment is central. That is why it has also been decided not to not to sell fish nor offer them at fairs that will never fit in an aquarium, such as Red-tailed catfish, Arapaimas and so-called shark catfish."

As long as greedy/mis-informed shops continue to sell inappropriate fish, the sad conditions will continue.

I haven't seen many of these in stores much anymore. And when i do, there is always a "hold for john doe" sign on them, which often suggest a special order most likely placed by someone actually prepared for that fish. Never seen an arapaima in a shop, so i have no clue what area of the world is having brain lapse their.

 

I haven't seen many of these in stores much anymore. And when i do, there is always a "hold for john doe" sign on them, which often suggest a special order most likely placed by someone actually prepared for that fish. Never seen an arapaima in a shop, so i have no clue what area of the world is having brain lapse their.

I don't know if they're still being sold here in the Netherlands. I did see some about six years ago in very large aquaria in a large, popular fish shop. I was shocked!

 

They had these i think the called them stand up ponds.

So like planters for flowers kinda? I just made a thread about those

I rescued some African Cichlids from a a local keeper who gave up on them. I moved them into my setups until I felt they were ready for another keeper to enjoy them.

On the way to my LFS (Chain store sadly) with them as I speak!

That's awesome! Im glad you could help them and I really hope they can continue to have a wonderful life

My favorite fish shop here in Holland has a notice on their website (translating from Dutch): "We have made a clear decision to give honest advice in which the welfare of the animals in their new environment is central. That is why it has also been decided not to not to sell fish nor offer them at fairs that will never fit in an aquarium, such as Red-tailed catfish, Arapaimas and so-called shark catfish."

As long as greedy/mis-informed shops continue to sell inappropriate fish, the sad conditions will continue.

I wish all shops were like that :/ thats really cool of them to do that though, absolutely how it should be done!

 

So like planters for flowers kinda? I just made a thread about those



That's awesome! Im glad you could help them and I really hope they can continue to have a wonderful life



I wish all shops were like that :/ thats really cool of them to do that though, absolutely how it should be done!

Well, planters that have 1000+ gallons of water in them!

 

Well, planters that have 1000+ gallons of water in them!

Yep! They look pretty neat though! Im hoping to build one on a budget this summer

 

Ohio Fish Rescue has done a ton of great work rescuing monster fish. The owner, BigRich, is also a wonderful guy with a massive heart. He does all this rescue work while also caring for his wife, who's in a vegetative state of some sort. (I don't remember what exactly.) An incredible guy. This video is him going through the different tanks, it's so darn wholesome.

 

You could all ways set up the "temp." pond and put it in the 1000 gl. later.