Convincing The Unconvincable

[catxx]

is it possible? care to share experiences?

i was chatting to an old school friend over the weekend and the topic got onto fish. she said she has fish i was like "oh? tell me more"...2 goldfish of course, about 2" each. Don't know what kind "orange and multi-coloured" in a 4 gallon tank (with sponge filter) on the windowsill in her bedroom.

unsurprisingly she had an algae problem. i said it was the window, she has nowhere else (in her 4 bedroom parents house) to put it. gaaah. and no room to upgrade.

"but they're eating and their healthy and happy" of course.
and she's a stubborn girl at the best of times.
because she's with her parents, they refuse to let her have tropical. her dad hates the idea of cooped up animals. (ignoring the aviary in their back garden then...).

there's nothing i can do for those poor goldies. their gonna pop out of that tank!
i feel helpless. there's nada i can do.

 

[wendywc]

I empathize, catxx. It does seem pretty ridiculous that the only place she can put a tiny 4 gallon tank is on the windowsill. Wonder what the temperature of the tank is too. Maybe you can come over and give her suggestions of other places to put it than next to the window. Maybe not though; at least you tried talking to her.

I blame the stupid companies for making these small "goldfish" starter kits and bowls or advertising/packaging these small setups with goldfish pictures on the front.

 

[Teelie]

She lacks creativity. I have 4 aquariums running right now (two 30's, a 55 and a 10) and could run two more (a 5 and 10) if I had the time, patience and insanity to maintain six aquariums. Of the four running, one is on my dresser, another is next to the dresser situated between two closets (literally a perfect fit) and I used to have a 5g running on top of my mini fridge. I could stick the spare 10g on my desk or on my entertainment center (either half-full or as a vivarium I'm planning) and these are just in my bedroom.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Sooo...these two goldfish are living in a 4 gallon tank because her dad can't stand cooped-up animals...

trying to get my head round this one.....no, it's too early in the morning

 

[SamUK]

i agree with the no imagination thing.


i have my 5ft, 4ft,3ft, hex and betta tanks all in my room and ive jus figured out how i can get my 5ft Oscar tank in when i have the cash.


u jus gotta move stuff around lol.

 

[silver tipped]

Hi,

I agree with wendywc, the companies that make these tanks don't help at all. I have just bought a 5g tank, which is meant for goldfish (I am going to use it as a fry tank or maybe a quarantine), On the front of the box are the words, 'just add water, goldfish and decorations'. The picture shows the tank with 4 goldfish in!!!!!

To a complete beginner or perhaps young children looking to keep their first fish this implies that its ok to go ahead and just set everything up straight away with 4 fish.

It does mention though inside, on a leaflet that you should run the tank for 10 days before adding fish and a breif explanation of ammonia and nitrites. Also a suggestion of the amount of fish you could have. Of course by the time anyone reads it they have already got their hearts set on the 4 fish, just like the picture, because thats what attracted them to it in the first place.

 

[catxx]

Sooo...these two goldfish are living in a 4 gallon tank because her dad can't stand cooped-up animals...

trying to get my head round this one.....no, it's too early in the morning

she got the fish at uni
he didn't have much choice when she came back with them (and her rats)
they're a very animally family, and yet don't seem to be able to get their heads around fish

very frustrating!

i would visit but i don't have much time to go back up there (she's in essex where i used to live until i moved to london). trying to get her to come down to me so i can show her my tanks.

 

[juliehainsworth]

That is a great idea to get her to come down to you to show her! You could get her to join here too and go to the cold water section! I'm sure she'll eventually realise what she is doing!

It's a shame she cant find somewhere other than the windowsill for them though, does she not have a dresser or anything! I have two ten gallons and a two gallon tank on a PC desk, got rid of the pc of course didnt really use it much in my room!

 

[Jules H-T]

My friend Lucy had two goldfish, living in a small tank on the window sill. One bright sunny day she came in to find the pair of them floating on the surface, literally split open like sausages from the heat. Tell your mate that if that's what she wants, that's what she'll get.

Lucy never kept fish again, so perhaps it was all for the best.

And to answer your question, no, in my experience it is not possible to alter the behaviour of someone who is determined that they know best, or doesn't care.

 

[Nevergone815]

... You could get her to join here too...

that would be a great idea! in the couple of months that i have been a member i have learned so much. i knew nothing about fish when i started. i admit that i was one of those who thought you just add fish and water to a tank and viola you had a tank. i didn't know about ammonia, nitrites or nitrates at all, but did know about pH and hardness.

now i am teaching inexperienced people myself. wow what i have learned in just a couple of months...

 

[Bloo]

Been there, done that just stay out of it now and avoid the topic.

A thread about my colleague's 10 gallon tank