How!?!?

[dbanner]

Ok this is not a problem as such that I have, more of a misunderstanding I would say...

My mother in law has had 2 goldfish tanks for longer than iv known my other half (which is well over 3 years). The tanks themselves have been home to 4 goldfish for a little over 6 years, 2 goldfish in one tank, 2 in the other... All sounding well and good so far I hear you say?? Hears where, for me, it starts to all go downhill...

One of the tanks is a "clearseal" tank and measurements are 18l x 12w x 15h inches, forgive me but I don't know what it is in litres (maybe someone could tell me for future reference?) and I know this site has a calculator but I'm using my phone so I can't access it right now. This is home to a goldfish at around 8 inches or so (not sure which as i have no idea about diff types of goldfish) and a black moor at around 3 inches (at a guess)

The other tank is a 30 litre bowl home to 2 diff types of goldfish.. All I know is they begin with S?? They are around 3 inches or so.

Both tanks have a little bit of gravel on the bottom and that's it... No filters, no lid/hood, no overhanging lights... Nothing! That's how they have been for the 6 years. They get fed flakes once a day and they get cleaned out when ever the tank water is turning green... Or has already turned green, around once a week, sometimes maybe once every 2 weeks. What my mother in law does is take the fish out of the tanks, empties all the water, rinses the tank and stones/gravel, wipes the tanks down, fills back up and puts the fish back in... That's it. No dechlorinater either.

Somehow the fish are still alive after 6 years?? How is this possible? Obviously there is huge amounts of ammonia and nitrites in the tanks. My other half has heard me go on and on about filters, general fish care like maintanence and feeding, she has seen the things I do for my fish but she doesn't say anything to her mam. It's frustrating. I'd say something to help out but I feel it's not my place and feel her mam would take my advice the wrong way and think I was just interfering. Iv even given her a filter for one of the tanks around a year ago but it's just been put in the cupboard.

Don't get me wrong the fish don't seem ill or anything and they always feed well and like I said they have somehow survived over 6 years but it can't be doing them any good like this? My other halfs dad used to have a 3 ft tank with tropical fish but he doesn't really talk about it much so I'm not sure what his cleaning regime and so was like on that but I can probably guess that tank was also never cycled and I have heard him say coldwater fish such as goldfish are easier to keep and don't need things like dechlorinater!?!?

I don't think it's a case of ignorance, I genuinely think they just don't understand fish and their true needs. It would be really good to try and get them into properly and explain to them for their benefit as well as the fish

 

[mbeer21]

We always had a goldfish or two in a little bowl when I was growing up. I didn't know any better, of course, and neither did my parents. We had one goldfish, a white and gold one, live for 10 years. He lived in what was probably about a 5 litre bowl with a bit of gravel, lived on flakes and dad cleaned the tank whenever it got too green. Cleaning procedure was just like you described; fish in a little cup, tank completely scrubbed out with completely new, non de-chlorinated water. He survived moving house three times, as well. No idea how he managed to live so long XD Once he died, when I was about 14 or so, we didn't bother getting any more fish right up until I was in college and by then I was, of course, old enough to do all the research and look after them properly.
I guess sometimes you get lucky and get tough goldfish that can survive that much poor care So many people do, unfortunately, keep goldfish in small bowls, and there must be quite a few who manage to keep their fish alive for quite a while.

 

[dbanner]

It's crazy isn't it how tough the little guys are to survive all that. I suppose it is just a case of being lucky like you said, although I do still feel bad for the fish and I wish there is something I could do to help without coming across as interfering.

 

[creeker]

I had a similar experience as mbeer. When I was about 6, I won a Comet Goldfish at a county fair. Kept it in a standard looking fishbowl, first a one gallon, and later as it grew, a two gallon bowl. That fish lived about 14 years in the bowls, until one day I moved it into an outdoor pond. They are resilient little fish. Unfortunately, with your Mother-in-law, I don't think she'll change, and if you try to tell her she'll just ignore you or get annoyed. You know, it's the old "they seem happy" line that we hear all the time.

 

[dbanner]

Yeah that's exactly what il expect to hear... The "they seem fine" line

I was the same the when I started the hobby though, well, I didn't keep goldfish in unsuitable tanks but I have had tropical fish that were in tanks not quite big enough for them, fish not compatible with each other and my first tank wasn't cycled but that was all when I 1st started and long before I found this forum.

This forum is where I learnt everything I know now and I'm so thankful for it

 

[PrairieSunflower]

My grandma did the same. She had a goldfish in a very large rose bowl for years! I loved seeing it when I was little but at this point am baffled how it survived... and when it DID die... it wasn't because of the rose bowl, it was because it jumped out of the salad bowl during cleaning and my grandmother didn't notice until she came back (probably got distracted and did something else mid cleaning) and found it dead.

 

[pablothebetta]

I've heard similar stories. Someone once told me how they'd kept a goldfish in a bowl for 10 years or so if I remember rightly. How can I then tell them that their 100L tank is too small for the 2 common/shubunkin/koi (can't remember quite what type they are now) that they keep in it? Even though those fish have stunted growth and would do much better in a pond, they still seem to be a lot better off than some other fish out there.

I remember when I was young having two fancy goldfish in a small hexagonal tank - we never did water changes and didn't really take much care of them at all. They (thankfully) didn't last long in those conditions.

 

[Aquascaper]

Surprised that one of them has got to 8"

Normally goldfish are stunted due to lack of tank space and die within a few years at best.

All these stories of 10+ years/large fish, etc. just goes to show that some fish are fighters and will prevail wherever they are kept. Be thankful they at least change the water once it starts to go green, i've seen goldfish in bowls on window sills where you can't even see through the bowl

 

[PrairieSunflower]

When I was in elementary school, a friend of mine showed me her goldfish... they kept their tank on the bottom of a book shelf (I'd say it was about a 2 foot tank).... she pointed and said "there it is".... and... I couldn't see it since the water was so brown... she told me they NEVER change the water and they just added more when needed. She told me the fish was big and she had it for MANY years... at least 10.

 

[dbanner]

Surprised that one of them has got to 8"

Yep, so am i. I really don't get it

Normally goldfish are stunted due to lack of tank space and die within a few years at best.

All these stories of 10+ years/large fish, etc. just goes to show that some fish are fighters and will prevail wherever they are kept. Be thankful they at least change the water once it starts to go green, i've seen goldfish in bowls on window sills where you can't even see through the bowl