Secret Santa gift from hell.

[Navfish]

my roommmate got me 3 peppermint serpae tetras for my fish tank (5 gallons) for my betta to have friends. I immediately panicked and ubered to the petstore to return them. THEN told me to venmo her the money she got for the fish. It confuses me how some people get fish for a gift

 

[fishorama]

I sometimes adopt club friends' fish, but only if I have a suitable place for them. This is almost worse than a cat or dog "gift". Hard to say " no thanks" to a well-meaning friend, but you need to go there or it will get worse. You don't have to pay for fish you didn't ask for or house fish you don't want. Time to lay down some "rules" & let them know this is NOT acceptable, now or ever....as politely as you can

 

[GaryE]

It's well meant, and be kind. This person saw that you care about your tank, but they went in blind and it went very wrong. I fear to find out what a "peppermint" serpae is -- that's a new trade name to me. But the fact he or she bought three suggests the store tried to help make up a group for a social fish, and that also goes in the direction of people owning stores who shouldn't. Staff should be far better trained than that.

It takes brains, curiosity and ethics to run a store, as well as number crunching skills. Too much of the latter and not enough of the first three and you get chain stores.

Your friend bought fish like we buy flowers - as objects. Buying living creatures as "things" almost always goes wrong. Those poor serpae had a bad day.

 

[gimme30]

A friend of mine gives me fish all the time. Delicious rainbow trout. I just hate it when he leaves them on the porch and doesn't bother to tell me. In the summer it can get pretty stinky.

 

[Innesfan]

I fear to find out what a "peppermint" serpae is -- that's a new trade name to me

I scratched my head on that one too. I'm wagering they are Megalamphodus sp. 'Candycane' which, as most of the members of the Rosy Tetra clade do, bears a resemblance to Serpae but is better behaved. That said, the OP made the right call. Just three of them in a too-small 5 gallon with a betta would have been fraught.


Here's a pic. This is not a man-made variant but a yet undescribed species.

 

[Navfish]

I scratched my head on that one too. I'm wagering they are Megalamphodus sp. 'Candycane' which, as most of the members of the Rosy Tetra clade do, bears a resemblance to Serpae but is better behaved. That said, the OP made the right call. Just three of them in a too-small 5 gallon with a betta would have been fraught.


Here's a pic. This is not a man-made variant but a yet undescribed species.

View attachment 374574

yes these are the ones! I am so used to calling them peppermint tetras as that was the name I bought them under! I had a couple of these guys for about 3.5 years back at home in my 40 gallon! Another reason why I was suprised and frustrated that my friend got these guys for my 5 gallon.

 

[gwand]

I posted a few months ago that a “friend” asked me to babysit a pair of j. transcriptus Gombe for three months while he traveled. In the meantime the Julies have spawned three times in my African tank. The water in the tank has a GH of around 200 ppm and a pH of 7.0. Being lake Tanganyika fish, Julies should not like this water but this has not prevented them engaging in a spawning frenzy. My “friend” returned from his travels but doesn’t want his fish back. Idiot! I have been rehoming the Julie juveniles ever since.

 

[emeraldking]

I got a koi as a gift for my birthday once by my brother. Unfortunately, it was sick but I found out a bit too late. Its illness was passed on to some other koi of mine which caused some deaths. When my brother told me where he got it from, I told him not ever to buy any fish from them. For I knew this store. And I was already aware of their bad conditions on fish.

 

[sharkweek178]

A pet is such a big responsibility. I wouldn't give anyone an animal for a pet unless I knew they were able to provide a good home for it and 100% willing.

 

[emeraldking]

A pet is such a big responsibility. I wouldn't give anyone an animal for a pet unless I knew they were able to provide a good home for it and 100% willing.

I get that... But there are enough people who would and a lot of them think that it's a cute gift... I'll give a hamster, I'll give a puppy, I'll give a kitten... Cause, they're so adorable... Not really thinking what goes with it...