LESSON LEARNED - hollow ornaments :(

[joannde]

Well, it took me two hours but I found my poor little betta. He WAS lost inside an ornament The resin ornaments I have are hollow inside, and not the type that fish are supposed to go inside of .... instead they're supposed to hide behind or between the fake rock formations they form.

Elvis the betta managed to get himself UNDER the ornament and got lost inside. I had to smash the thing apart, all the while panicing that he was suffocating. But it was way too late - he had obviously been gone awhile.

I've since stuffed the inside of the remaining two ornaments with fiber floss (thanks to an AA member for that suggestion) so this never happens again.

Ultimately all of these ornaments are going to be replaced with a cave system that I'm creating out of clay in my ceramics class.

I hope others can learn from my mistake and Elvis' suffering.

 

[Thebluyak]

wow, how big was the ornament? Sorry for your lose, i know how you feel, id be torn if shniqua my veil angel died.

 

[rich311k]

I am sorry for your loss. That is terrible.

 

[Zagz]

Terribly sorry for your loss.

 

[joannde]

Thanks gang. The ornament was large - 10 inches high, 6 inches deep, 12 inches wide with an intricate formation. Lots of space (with twists and turns) to get lost inside of.

I only had Elvis for a week, but he was doing great in the community tank and we had already worked out the correct positions (both for him and for me) to get the pellets to float right to him in the current. I guess this "puzzle" was just a bit too much for him to master.

At least I know the Panda Cories are safe from this sort of potential disaster. I really should have thought of stuffing those ornaments sooner - I could kick myself.

 

[QTOFFER]

I'm sorry about your loss too. I once lost a cory to a hollow ornament.

 

[severum mama]

I once lost a gourami to a hollow ornament. Don't beat yourself up. We've been there before too and there's no reason you would have thought to stuff your ornament unless you had a problem with yours. So sorry about Elvis.

 

[Kilgore]

Hi There Joannde,

I am truly sorry for your loss. I too have lost a fish this way. It was horribly traumatic as I was only 13 at the time and very emotional anyway (teenage girls, you know). My beloved yoyo loach, the best snail eater ever, grew to large for his favorite hole in a piece of cave rock. By the time I realized he was stuck, he had worn away a lot of flesh around his body. My mom and I had to smash the rock with a hammer, but he did not last long after that. Now how's that for a fond childhood memory?! I believe my mom has tried to purge the whole thing from her memory.

Moral of the story: never keep anything in your tank with a hole smaller than your largest fish! I just wish I could have learned some other way.

 

[An t-iasg]

Joannde, I'm so sorry

 

[joannde]

Kilgore - I'm 43 and pretty upset - I can only imagine what it was like at 13. You have another valuable lesson to share - watch those hiding place sizes !

An t-iasg - Elvis never did get to try out his soap dish bed I still can't believe this happened

 

[OceanMaiden]

I'm so sorry to hear of your grievious experience, but just remember Elvis the betta will live on forever in your fond memories of him. I truly am sorry, and I feel deeply for your loss. :*( May your heart recooperate quickly, though I know this is a wound only time can heal. We've all been there Joannde, and understand completely. Here is a warm hug from me to you lass (((((Joannde)))))

 

[joannde]

Thanks OceanMaiden. I guess we all have to learn a lesson or two the hard way - I'm just sorry my poor little betta got the worst end of the experience. Everyone else is now protected from the same potential disaster - all the spaces where they could get stuck or lost in are stuffed full of filter floss now.
Elvis' legacy lives on in two replacement bettas I got (why stop at 1 ? LOL). Mr Piggy is a veiltail and loves his pellets. Mr Fussy won't TOUCH the pellets (except by accident). Each has a comfy 2.5 gallon tank with a silk plant, river rock substrate, and a ceramic cave I made in pottery. If it weren't for Elvis the betta these two little guys would still be stuck in a petsmart betta cup.

 

[fearlessfisch]

I am sorry to hear about Elvis. I know how guilty something like that makes you feel. I had a fish die in an old fish ornament, too. Drives me crazy that they sell them that way.


I love that you make fish caves in pottery. I have this picture in my mind of everyone around you making vases and pots, while you are sculpting fishy condos! Can you make them so they look natural, or does the glaze make them shiny?

 

[joannde]

I use shiny glazes so that they are more glasslike and the colors don't leach, but they're not too bad looking. I use greens and browns to give them as natural a look as I can but they certainly don't look like anything you'd find in nature LOL
You have the exact picture of my pottery class ! I got a good laugh out of them when I told them I was building fish habitats. I can't wait to finish the project and get it into the tank so the "kids" have it to play in and around.
Thanks for the condolences.