i work in the science dept. at a small university, and while we don't use them for any research or anything, we have two fishtanks that i take care of: a 10 gal and 55 gal.
the 55 is mainly home to generations of platies, while the 10 is used as a quarantine.
so, in april, one of my work-study students tells me that her mom has 55 that she didn't want to take care of anymore and instead of getting rid of the fish, she literally just stopped taking care of it. turned the heater and filters off, stopped feeding the fish, etc. they'd just throw the fish out as they died, but three were hanging on, and after months of abuse just weren't kicking it. she asks if i want her to bring the fish in for the school's tank; it was a community tank, so they should be fine with the platies.
she brought the fish in and i had her put them in the 10, which i kept them in for a month.
two of the fish, a rainbow and a black skirt tetra, looked healthy and acted healthy, so i moved them into the big tank, where they've been happy for three months now:
however, the third fish is an iridescent shark.
i know these fish can get very large (re: 'fish that shouldn't be sold' thread) so i feel awful that it's by itself in a 10 gal tank and it sits motionless on the bottom of the tank in the corner constantly. the only time i ever see it move is when i do water changes and it freaks out, swimming up and down and across the tank rapidly.
it's around 5-6 inches long, at least a year old (i really have no idea its age), and is very thin.
moving the other fish hasn't had an effect on its behavior.
i'm not sure what to do about this fish.
besides being so thin, it doesn't seem outwardly unhealthy (no physical deformities/parasites, no labored breathing), but i know this is not a good environment for it.
i've been wondering if euthanization would be ethical, given its present condition and past trauma.
what should i do?
the 55 is mainly home to generations of platies, while the 10 is used as a quarantine.
so, in april, one of my work-study students tells me that her mom has 55 that she didn't want to take care of anymore and instead of getting rid of the fish, she literally just stopped taking care of it. turned the heater and filters off, stopped feeding the fish, etc. they'd just throw the fish out as they died, but three were hanging on, and after months of abuse just weren't kicking it. she asks if i want her to bring the fish in for the school's tank; it was a community tank, so they should be fine with the platies.
she brought the fish in and i had her put them in the 10, which i kept them in for a month.
two of the fish, a rainbow and a black skirt tetra, looked healthy and acted healthy, so i moved them into the big tank, where they've been happy for three months now:
however, the third fish is an iridescent shark.
i know these fish can get very large (re: 'fish that shouldn't be sold' thread) so i feel awful that it's by itself in a 10 gal tank and it sits motionless on the bottom of the tank in the corner constantly. the only time i ever see it move is when i do water changes and it freaks out, swimming up and down and across the tank rapidly.
it's around 5-6 inches long, at least a year old (i really have no idea its age), and is very thin.
moving the other fish hasn't had an effect on its behavior.
i'm not sure what to do about this fish.
besides being so thin, it doesn't seem outwardly unhealthy (no physical deformities/parasites, no labored breathing), but i know this is not a good environment for it.
i've been wondering if euthanization would be ethical, given its present condition and past trauma.
what should i do?