Should Have Seen It Coming...

njstockley · Mar 6, 2011

i've had a disastrous couple of weeks...

my landlord came round to do a flat inspection a couple of weeks ago, and although the flat was pristine, he was less than impressed by the 2 tanks i had set up...in fact he keeps sa cichlids too and thought they looked great, but pointed me to the contract where it says having them is a no go...i had actually read this but never thought it would be enforced! how wrong i was..!

well i can stay in the flat, which is good, but sadly my fish cant. i'm really gutted, as i was so happy with both tanks, but now they've been listed and sold... thankfully friends have taken the fish, so they are well homed, and looked after.

its a real shame, as i only got into keeping fish last september, and was really excited by my new tank, but i guess i will have to wait a while until i can set up a large tank...

in the mean time i have agreed with the landlord on a nano tank (he actually suggested it). still unsure what i'm going to do with it, but as always will keep you guys in the loop, and maybe write a proper journal on it this time.

anyway, its not quite goodbye from me, just taking a short leave of absence, and wanted to say thanks to anyone thats given me advice etc over the last 6 or so months.

Monty-2010 · Mar 6, 2011

I'm sorry to hear that. i hope the set up with the nano tank goes well

Jamepsss · Mar 6, 2011

That's terrible and very suprising considering he's a fishkeeper himself. If I was in your situation I would definitely move, couldn't bear to give up my tanks.

Nano's can be good projects though, good luck with that.

N0body Of The Goat · Mar 6, 2011

I'm sorry to read your tale, its something that concerns me at our rented flat, as I have three (240l; 130l; 54l) tanks indoors without official concent from the landlord! Having said that, we have never met the landlord in almost five years now and the independent inspection company has only been round twice in this time, but upon a 24-hour notice visit we would have to ferry the indoor trio of guinea pigs up the road (literally) to my better half's mum at the very least. The only pets we officially have permission for from 2006 is our hamster.

It was only this week that I mentioned to my better half about whether we should make plans to at least move the Rio240 into the garage alongside the 5-footer (which would mean a major tidying of garage and setting up more Blagdon Powersafe junction boxes for the electric extension), possibly even moving the pigglies down there too, just in case we get that call this spring...

At least we have Marks & Spenser home insurance that includes £40000 of tenants cover against damages, if the worst happened and a tank cracked and/or caused floor damage to this first floor flat.

Has your landlord given you a definite maximum size tank for this "nano?"

KittyKat · Mar 6, 2011

My ex-housemate and I both kept fish and made sure the landlord agreed to let us keep "fish" in writing, with no number specified: that covered my fishroom from a legal point of view.. worth just asking about "fish" in general if you plan to keep them.. I'm sure most would imagine a 5 gallon goldfish bowl and say yes! But proof in writing is proof in writing.

njstockley · Mar 6, 2011

i think had i asked in the first place i probably could have kept the 90 litre, but the larger one was always pushing it! in terms of tank size, he is saying nothing that requires a separate stand - i know thats all pretty vague, but i think he means something that isnt going to strain the floors! which i guess is sensible, if not a little over cautious.

i think i can probably set up something up to about 60 litres. to be honest, from the articles on nano tanks i've read today, im quite excited about starting this (although still keep expecting to see my tanks when i go to the living room!).

i am going to try and get a cube, so it can all be set up in my bedroom, but its all on hold for the next couple of weeks as im off skiing!

stuuk1 · Mar 6, 2011

Being a landlord and owning fish aswell.... I dont let my tenant keep any pets, especially fish as dirty water and carpets dont go well together. Harsh I know!

angelfishguy · Mar 6, 2011

stuuk1 said:
Being a landlord and owning fish aswell.... I dont let my tenant keep any pets, especially fish as dirty water and carpets dont go well together. Harsh I know!

As a landlord myself i dont see it as my house. To me its the tennants house and thats what theyre paying for. I dont mind what pets they keep or how they decorate the house. All i ask and expect is that the look after the building as if it was there own and just run things buy me before hand

jkilby · Mar 6, 2011

I am a landlord as well and I don't mind if my tennants have fish as long as they are upfront with me beforehand, as long as they are aware that ANY damage that may come from a failure in their tank or maintenace regeim comes at their cost. If someone put one in without telling me about it, then I would be miffed and say no, yes they are renting the house, so they live there, but at the end of the day they don't own the property, the landlord is responsible for it's upkeep, so are entitled to know of any potential risks and make a sound judgement on those risks. Boring landlord rant out the way ..... yay for fish, no matter what I still think they are cleaner than cats & dogs, fish don't shed on the carpet and nothing smells as bad as a wet dog!, my ex came downstairs to find her cat had been sick off of the top of the open staircase onto the carpet 10 foot below!, now that is not a nice thing to wake up to.

BeckyJay · Mar 12, 2011

I'm so sorry to hear that, I hope you have better luck with your next tank.

Danbarb · Mar 13, 2011

Am sorry to hear that as well. Good luck with the new fish tank.

Gvilleguy · Mar 13, 2011

I've been on this forum for almost a year, and have never asked: what is a "nano tank"? Does that just mean a small tank? Any certain size define a nano? Thanks!

Sorry, Stockley, that you had to get rid of your tanks. I would be very unhappy if that happened to me.

Carlovel1 · Mar 13, 2011

A nano tank is a small tank. Usually they are cube, open top aquariums and I would say anything under 50 litres is nano.

Thats a real shame Nick. :sad:

Never mind, one day you will have a house with hundreds of tanks...

coldcazzie · Mar 13, 2011

Yeah, that's one definite advantage to owning your own house. Although our house has a covenant in the deeds that states that we are not allowed to keep pigs in a way that is offensive to the neighbours (brings to mind images of a gang of pigs riding around the neighbourhood on motorbikes, having loud lewd parties and smoking drugs on the front lawn LOL :lol:

), and also that if we keep poultry then we have to fence them in so that they don't escape onto anyone elses land. And then later in the deeds there is another covenant which states that we are in fact not allowed to keep any kind of animals on the property except 1 cat, 1 dog or 1 caged bird. :blink:

so owning your own house is not neccessarily a guarantee of "being allowed" to keep fish!

We asked our solicitor about it and after investigating they said that the company that put it in place doesnt exist anymore and they'd be the only ones capable of enforcing it, and only if we were complained about by the neighbours. Now considering our next door neighbours are rental tennants, I doubt they even know about it, and I can't see anyone else complaining. I imagine the next door neighbours would only complain if we broke the tank and it soaked through the wall and into their house (have to be pretty bad for that to happen). Anyway, the tank has been strategically placed on the other side of the room from the adjoining wall :lol: