Need Help With My Fish Tank :/

[biokid101]

no my moms fiance is not letting me test the water cause he says everything is fine.i wanted to buy a 5 in 1 test kit but i wasnt alowed to even with my own money.
my females r getting old and one is about to die and the other is getting ready to give birth again.but i wont keep all the babies.i might release the bigger ones into the tank and keep the small ones in the net. i have already released 12 fy into the 5 gal and they seem to be doing ok.one of those 12 is a very small one and it didnt get eaten...yet.
if i tell her that the water will get polluted and its bad for them then she wouldnt care she doesnt want the fish anyway.but the 5 gal is in my room.if i get another tank its more electricity and stuff and thats why im not alowed to get two tanks.

 

[Assaye]

no my moms fiance is not letting me test the water cause he says everything is fine.i wanted to buy a 5 in 1 test kit but i wasnt alowed to even with my own money.
my females r getting old and one is about to die and the other is getting ready to give birth again.but i wont keep all the babies.i might release the bigger ones into the tank and keep the small ones in the net. i have already released 12 fy into the 5 gal and they seem to be doing ok.one of those 12 is a very small one and it didnt get eaten...yet.
if i tell her that the water will get polluted and its bad for them then she wouldnt care she doesnt want the fish anyway.but the 5 gal is in my room.if i get another tank its more electricity and stuff and thats why im not alowed to get two tanks.

Ah.

That's a really tough one. Some people simply don't understand how hard fishkeeping is and that you need to test your water and that you can't just put every fish you want into your tank without thinking about it. And some people just don't care about fish - they don't see them as real animals that have needs and can suffer.

I'm really sorry =( we really want your fish to do well and for you to have a well stocked, well balanced tank that you can really enjoy but if your family won't let you do the things you need to do then there is very little you can do.

Have you asked them why they won't let you? Maybe if you got them to think about it a little bit they might come around to letting you test the water and stuff? It's not fair on the animals for them to tell you that you can't even test the water - how do they know the water is fine? You can't tell just by looking at the fish, trust me!

If you can't buy a test kit, see if your local pet shop can test your water for you. It's not ideal but it will at least give you an idea of how your water is looking. If you do decide to buy your own test kits you should by some liquid tests that use test tubes. The strip tests are generally conidered a bit of a waste of money.

See if you can find a bigger tank and move all the fish across. A bigger tank (about 20 gallons) won't take up much more energy (a heater takes up about 100 watts when it is on, which is not all the time as they turn themselves off when the water is warm enough, and a filter could be as little as 5 watts). Did you know that one cup of coffee costs more than having a filter on for the entire day? This is because the kettle is very expensive to run!

Let us know how it goes.

 

[biokid101]

very interesting i will try it out and i will crack them to see if they let me

 

[waterdrop]

You also might try writing an essay (complete with diagrams) (yes, just like schoolwork, only you'll work even harder because its something you really care about!) If you wrote up the story of the Nitrogen Cycle (sure, a lot of it will end up looking like BTT's article here in the Beginners Resource Center, but you'll want to say it in your own words) and then set up a meeting with both parents (at dinner or something) you might find the would grow more interested in your testing after they understood it and the seriousness of your interest in it. You can explain that your interest in the hobby is -not- just about having every decoration or gadget but that you are truly interested in understanding the science. You could explain that when you know about the nitrogen cycle and the chemical tests involved it will allow you to use simple water changes to avoid ever having to pay the LFS for expensive chemicals unless they are really needed (explain that many people end up buying chemicals they don't need because they don't understand and don't test.) Anyway, good luck - as a parent I pay a lot of attention when my kids show an interest in understanding something.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[biokid101]

well i will try explaining that to them and i will when they r in a good mood(they r never in a good mood)

 

[stuuk1]

#40##, I feel for this kid! Im 23 and brand new to keeping fish (as waterdrop knows too well...) but I love it! I seriously wish I had discovered it at the age of 14! But I know where biokid is coming from, I doubt my parents would have let me have a fish tank...

Biokid, keep trying with them dude! It'll be worth it in the end, nag nag nag, they'll give in

 

[Assaye]

I think part of the problem is that when people are used to fish being short-lived, easy to care for and fairly disposable they don't understand why someone would want to cycle their tank or test the water or even buy water conditioner (the number of people who insist their fish are fine in the local water without water conditioner, arg!). It just seems like a waste of effort and a money-making scam to a lot of people because they don't know any better and all the evidence (that they've been exposed to and probably failed to appreciate) seems to validate their opinions.

It's really, really sad that these animals have to suffer because some people are used to goldfish + bowl.

 

[walkers101]

i feel for this kid i really do i never had any fish when i was that age my dad had discus and oscars and marine when i was that age beg borrow and steal mate then when you get to my age you can have the lot im getting my first pair of oscars today