FORGET THE GOLDFISH!!!!!!!!!

[Roan]

[QUOTE=harveyhorses;4260975]
. . .
So here is a question, FEEDER fish, isn’t that what other fish eat? So perhaps living in a huge ‘aquarium’ is better than no life? . . .[/QUOTE]

“Feeder fish” is a misnomer. They really aren’t a healthy diet for any fish. Most are poor and sickly – not something you should feed to healthy fish.

Would it be better to stick a horse in a 12 x 12 stall with no turn out for its entire life? From the day it is born? A dog in a crate, even a “large” crate? From puppyhood?

Not many people would even think of doing that to a mammalian pet, yet we do it for fish all the time.

Even my bettas, which most people stick in little glass jars or bowls, live in 75g tanks. They live 3-5 years for me.

Eileen

[Huntertwo]

@Aussie_Dog;4260565

Okay, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find this thread very sad. Believe it or not, fish ARE living, breathing creatures who actually DO deserve proper living conditions. Yet people are making jokes about abuse and making flippant remarks about their past fish. Granted, this is a common way to think about fish, because they’re “only fish,” but personally, that needs to change. If you buy a living creature, it’s your responsibility to take care of it properly. If anything, if you have fish in horse troughs, get some water testing supplies. Make sure Ammonia and Nitrite levels never raise above 0ppm, and you’ll have to change out some of the water if Nitrate is over 120ppm. If your fish requires a certain temperature, for God’s sake, just go buy a heater or a cooler. Just because a fish is still living and seems happy, doesn’t mean it’s thriving. Same as putting horses in cramped, filthy stalls 24/7 or dogs on chains won’t necessarily kill them, but they’re certainly not thriving.

I won’t tell you what to do with your fish, but seriously, this thread is really bumming me out. Fish still deserve some respect, regardless of what they cost or how “stupid” and “lack of personality” they are. Nothing will ever change for them if this attitude continues to exist.

I don’t think anyone here would intentionally hurt or thinks it is funny to hurt or kill a fish. I know I wouldn’t. I DO respect all life and agree with you that is is the owner’s responsibility to take care of it, regardless of how small.

The thread started semi-seriously then morphed into…well… I dunno:confused:

[Roan]

@Huntertwo;4261129

I don’t think anyone here would intentionally hurt or thinks it is funny to hurt or kill a fish. I know I wouldn’t. I DO respect all life and agree with you that is is the owner’s responsibility to take care of it, regardless of how small.

I would agree. It’s just plain ignorance – lack of education. Most of the “information” out there on fish-keeping is garbage. Full of misconception and misunderstanding and lack of scientific basis. People don’t know this, however, and figure that if “Joe Blow” kept a goldfish in a glass jar for 10 years and only changing the water once every blue moon – and it lived – they can do it too. Any fish that lives under those conditions is abnormal.

People don’t understand exactly what a “stunted” fish is: when a fish is stunted because of space restrictions, it does not just stop growing. It does not “grow to meet the space available”. The outside of the fish stops, the inside does not. Most of these fish die because there is no more room for their internal organs to grow

It’s usually just lack of education and not any desire to hurt anything.

Eileen

[M_O_Connor]

[QUOTE=jilltx;4057754]
Read above…NITRIFICATING process. Bacteria (that do not harm horses) EAT the waste, and YES they do eat some algae, but not algae is bad. I but barley mats in my tanks to help with the algae, anchored to my bricks about half way down in the tanks.

Most people put too many fish in that results in fish loss and dirty water. It’s not in balance. If you’re cleaning your water too often you’re killing the natural bacteria, and the process breaks down resulting in…once again…fish loss and dirty water.[/QUOTE]

What is a barley mat?

[TheHorseProblem]

Welcome to COTF forums!:lol:

[Foxtrot_s]

Chronicle of the Fish??? Just guessing.

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

Chronicle of the Foolish?

[kellidahorsegirl]

Chronicle of the Fruitbats

[Roan]

[QUOTE=M. O’Connor;4261407]
What is a barley mat?[/QUOTE]

It’s woven barley straw, but the commercial ones may have other things in them. You can buy them specially made from from koi shops. They’re really good at keeping blue-green algae (BGA, cyanobacteria) and green water away. I’ve not tried them as I don’t do ponds, but if you are interested Vienna Fish and Pets probably has some in stock.

Vienna is worth a visit, even just for a quick-see. They have huge koi vats in the back of their shop that will “boil” when you walk by. Pretty neat stuff

http://www.viennaaquariumandpets.com/

Me, I would just find some barely straw and float it on the pond. I’m too cheap to spring for a mat.

Eileen

[511]

Anyone in the LA Area want a half dozen fish for their tanks?
Only one of the bunch is pretty enough right now to name or keep - Floyd ‘the pretty boy.’ The rest are silver/gray but will turn at least gold but probably gold/white possibly with a few black spots. Common/Sarasa Comet/shubunkin cross.

Plus how much does it cost to spay four goldfish? I don’t want to use mosquito fish that IMO is cruel.

[grayarabpony]

[QUOTE=Risk-Averse Rider;4262217]
Chronicle of the Foolish?[/QUOTE]

I think it’s that one. :lol:

[511]

Surreal.

Year of the fish
A movie about humans narrated by a fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0T5AWYfJs8

[Zu_Zu]

I loved this thread back when … always referred to ,

“just forget the goldfish and snaps …”

[whitney159]

[QUOTE=Cielo Azure;4058648]
What wrong with all your horses? Mine “swim” in the tank on almost a daily basis in the summer. Keep goldfish? Only if they like to be tossed out to sun bath in the Georgia clay.

Biggest mistake I did in 2007 was buying one of those 350 galleon tanks. My three horses take turns trying to LAY down in it. I have to refill almost daily. It is too big to cover the top with ply and was too expensive to make into a hot tub!

Nothing like watching 350 galleons of water being splashed about by a ninteen hand, one ton horse! Whee!

(Splish, Splash, I am taken a bath).

(when I empty my tanks and kill all those mosquito larva, is that abuse too? Or does not that not count, because they haven’t actually been born yet? I woudn’t want to be abusive.)[/QUOTE]

HA! THIS exactly! I have a 100 gallon tank and a gelding that climbs in the darn thing as soon as the weather gets even a little warm and splashes like crazy. You can hear him from inside the house with his hoof banging around in the Rubbermaid tank like a bell. I thought about buying a 350 gallon one so he could lay down and just take a bath, then maybe I could keep the water tank clean and he could just have his bathtub for fun, except I was worried his feet might just rot right off. Can mosquito larvae survive in a tank that is mixed daily by horse feet? I just couldn’t let goldfish take his kind of abuse!

[2DogsFarm]

Zombie thread!
I posted on it waaaay back (P.3) & seeing my post made me realize Survivor GF #1 is now 10yo :eek:

For the last 4 or 5 years he/she & 2 friends have lived in a 44gal galvanized stock tank in my back yard.
In Winter I put in a floating de-icer, cut back on the flakefood & so far, so good.

Survivor #1 (named Alevah for the Hebrew Alevah Sholom = Rest In Peace) is the smallest at ~8" long w/o his tail.
Largest - Charger - is the now-mostly-white one a friend gave me when it was anchovy-sized, 3yrs ago.
Takes both hands to get this one out when I do annual Spring Cleaning of the tank. Guesstimate: close to 10".
Priciest tricolor #3 - Shaneleh - is somewhere between these 2 in size.

How long do these fish live?
If it’s as long as koi I better put them in my Will!

[merrygoround]

:lol: We had a round wooden tank, and “Jaws” lived in for many summers but he passed away one winter, in winter quarters ( inside) , and was never replaced. He did a good job with the baby skeeters.

[invinoveritas]

Egrets eat the gold fish out of water tanks at a lot of barns.

[SuzieQNutter]

Another trick is to put some oil canola or grape or olive or whatever. It forms a film on the top of the water. The larvae cannot breathe air through it.

The horse’s muzzle breaks the film to drink.

[Albertabound]

[QUOTE=sheltona01;4058193]
I think this thread is absolutely hilarious! How many thousands of years did horses drink out of rivers and ponds? I am sure there were far worst things in those than a few goldfish, but each to their own.[/QUOTE]

This reminds me of one time when I was hand grazing my horse. There was a loud SQUEAK! He lifted his head, dropped his jaw and out jumped a mouse! We looked at each other in astonishment!

Weird things can happen when you eat your food off the ground. :o

[Minerva]

I have saltwater fish and you bet your butt they get dewormed with two courses of liquid praziquantel before going into the display tank with the other fish. If I lost thousands in fish because I tossed one in without treating it I would be pissed at myself. :lol: