Rip Miny

[fourthtimelucky]

Well, my littlest gup went to the big fishbowl in the sky today. He has been "failing to thrive" since I first got him... the other three all grew between 3 and 6mm since i brought them home and he was always a little runty. My mate was looking after them last week and said he was "swimming funny" but by the time I got back three days ago he was looking very starved but swimming okay, quite slowly but otherwise normally. He had a little nip on his dorsal fin (which I have been treating with Melafix) but no other signs of bullying and the others were leaving him alone, but he was just not eating much... nibbling the odd flake, spitting bits out, but generally not showing much interest in it. Last night I decided to give him another 12 hours in the main tank before deciding whether to set up a hospital so I could feed him on his own, but this morning he was just lying dead on the gravel.

I am going to run water tests later. I suspect that there are a number of contributing factors e.g. possible overfeeding / melafix sending my tank into a mini-cycle etc and he was just not as strong as the others. I feel so guilty. I should never have left them with someone else looking after them when he was poorly.

On top of that, I managed to lock myself out of my flat this morning and had to climb back in through a window. My cat took fright, sprinted outside and hid under a bush for three hours. In the rain. Trying to explain to various kind neighbours that yes, I am okay, I'm just sniffling over a dead guppy and yes, that is my cat under the bush and no, I don't know why she won't come back indoors... what a terrible day. I'd just give up and go back to bed, except I still have half a living-room's worth of wallpaper to strip... my least favourite activity in the world.

This may have put the kybosh on my plans to get a bigger tank set up. I didn't expect to feel this sad about the little guy dying. At least when my goldfish died he was well into his teens. I've only had Miny since May. I don't know if I want to get more fish if I'm going to feel this upset when they die.

 

[syntax_error]

Sorry to hear about your loss I get the feeling he had an internal parasite from the beginning because you'v said that he never did develop well and not eating much later on. We've all lost a fish at some point, these things happen. Instead of giving up what you should do is find the reason why it happened and avoid it in the future. You'v just gone through those one of a kind days where nothing seems to go right. I guess that made you feel even more bad about loosing the fish. Give it some time.

didn't expect to feel this sad about the little guy dying.

I'v been there. Once I lost a goldfish which I even wasn't interested much because buying him wasn't my idea. Nevertheless he wasn't treated differently. He grew old and eventually one day I found him lying on the gravel and I felt bad..something I did not except. When you have a loved animal you naturally bond with it and when you no longer see it your going to feel bad about it....it happens.

I don't know if I want to get more fish if I'm going to feel this upset when they die.

Well, fish keeping is a hobby that you should be happy about. However, it does have it's ups and downs like any other hobby. Now and then you will lose a fish. It's not very different from keeping a cat or a dog with regards to loosing a loved pet. As for whether to go on or not that's obviously solely your decision but I would suggest not to give up as this is a very rewarding hobby. Whatever said and done in the end it comes down to one thing, as I said, this is a hobby and you should be happy with it. There's no point in going on if you wont be satisfied with it but from what I can see even though your having second thoughts right now you do love the hobby.

It's your call.