Talvari
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2011
- Messages
- 732
Now before everyone gets up in arms about the term 'rescued', I did not pay for this guy. I took him home from a bad situation and have since been working hard to get him healthy again. Let me tell you a bit about Odi, and then you can decide if it was a rescue or not.
First thing in the morning when I turn on the lights: "Do I HAVE to get up?"
As most of you probably know by now, I work at a pet store, in the fish department. I do my best with what I have given to me, and I like to think that I make a big difference in the day to day lives of the fish under my care just by taking extra time to clean tanks, feed them thoroughly so that everyone gets their share, taking out and quarantining sick fish, etc. I enjoy my job for the most part, and enjoy teaching people about the hobby and helping them get on the right track. I can only do so much, however, because it is a corporate company and they have their own way of doing things.
So here is Odi's story. One day a woman comes in and decides that she wants a goldfish for a quarter gallon bowl. I must have spent half an hour with her telling her that's not a good idea and the only way that I managed to convince her not to do a goldfish may have been me exaggerating how bad the bowl will smell unless daily water changes were done. She decided she didn't want to deal with that much work.
On to betta fish. I tried to get her to buy a 2.5 gallon glass top aquarium since it was only $14 - im sure most of you know what one Im talking about- but this was "too expensive" and she ignored my warnings that the tank she had was too small, etc. She got irritated with me rather quickly when I tried going over water changes and stuff, repeatedly telling me that it was too much work for "just a stupid fish" and she'd just "get another one if it dies". She picked up a small half moon male and left for the register. Unfortunately, I'm really not allowed to do much if someone really decides to get a fish and ignores my warnings. The best I can really do is void their receipt so that at the very least, they cant keep getting replacements if their fish dies, which I did immediately.
A few weeks later, the woman comes back in, bowl in hand. She immediately goes on a tirade about how we sell sick fish and how shes never coming back. She storms off, leaving this little bowl and a -what I thought- dead betta on the bottom of the tank.
I look a little closer. The smell is disgusting. The water is brown. There is a good layer of poop and left over food at the bottom. And then the little betta, who was, in fact, still alive. His breathing was shallow. He was thin. His fins were shredded- if I had not known better I would have thought he was supposed to be a juvenile crowntail.
Immediately concerned for the poor little guy, I found one of our old "display" tanks - only a half gallon, but the only thing I could really use at that point in time. I cleaned it out, put fresh water with some stress coat in there, and then, after a bit of acclimation, moved the little guy over.
He hung in there for a bout a week without much improvement. I did daily water changes. We tried getting him to eat. There wasn't much else we could do- technically, we weren't supposed to have him at all. We don't take fish unless they are returns. At this point, at least he was moving. At least he was eating a pellet or two, but it was obvious he wasn't thriving. His fins, if possible, were worse. They were down to stubs. He had small patches of ammonia burn around his face.
After having him around on our podium - to keep a better eye on him and to ensure that people remember to give him water changes and such- for, I think, two weeks at this point, our manager finally said he needed to go. We weren't supposed to have him up there and it looked bad having a sick fish for everyone to view.
Around this same time, I lost my halfmoon, Phineas, who looked very similar to this little guy. After determining there was nothing wrong with my 10 gallon, I decided to take the little guy home.
I really thought he was going to die. No fins. No appetite. Pretty bad ammonia burn around his face. Lethargic. But to my surprise, he has bounced back nicely. He eats now and actually has a full, round belly - flakes and a treat of bloodworms/brine shrimp twice a week, plus fasting on the weekends. The 10 gallon gets water changes done every 10 days. He still has long moments of inactivity (he loves to lay in the hornwort) but he is getting stronger every day, and swims just a little more as the days go by. Best parts- his ammonia burns are nearly gone, and his fins are nearly twice the length they were. So here is Odi (since he was on our pODIum), in all his glory.
First thing in the morning when I turn on the lights: "Do I HAVE to get up?"
As most of you probably know by now, I work at a pet store, in the fish department. I do my best with what I have given to me, and I like to think that I make a big difference in the day to day lives of the fish under my care just by taking extra time to clean tanks, feed them thoroughly so that everyone gets their share, taking out and quarantining sick fish, etc. I enjoy my job for the most part, and enjoy teaching people about the hobby and helping them get on the right track. I can only do so much, however, because it is a corporate company and they have their own way of doing things.
So here is Odi's story. One day a woman comes in and decides that she wants a goldfish for a quarter gallon bowl. I must have spent half an hour with her telling her that's not a good idea and the only way that I managed to convince her not to do a goldfish may have been me exaggerating how bad the bowl will smell unless daily water changes were done. She decided she didn't want to deal with that much work.
On to betta fish. I tried to get her to buy a 2.5 gallon glass top aquarium since it was only $14 - im sure most of you know what one Im talking about- but this was "too expensive" and she ignored my warnings that the tank she had was too small, etc. She got irritated with me rather quickly when I tried going over water changes and stuff, repeatedly telling me that it was too much work for "just a stupid fish" and she'd just "get another one if it dies". She picked up a small half moon male and left for the register. Unfortunately, I'm really not allowed to do much if someone really decides to get a fish and ignores my warnings. The best I can really do is void their receipt so that at the very least, they cant keep getting replacements if their fish dies, which I did immediately.
A few weeks later, the woman comes back in, bowl in hand. She immediately goes on a tirade about how we sell sick fish and how shes never coming back. She storms off, leaving this little bowl and a -what I thought- dead betta on the bottom of the tank.
I look a little closer. The smell is disgusting. The water is brown. There is a good layer of poop and left over food at the bottom. And then the little betta, who was, in fact, still alive. His breathing was shallow. He was thin. His fins were shredded- if I had not known better I would have thought he was supposed to be a juvenile crowntail.
Immediately concerned for the poor little guy, I found one of our old "display" tanks - only a half gallon, but the only thing I could really use at that point in time. I cleaned it out, put fresh water with some stress coat in there, and then, after a bit of acclimation, moved the little guy over.
He hung in there for a bout a week without much improvement. I did daily water changes. We tried getting him to eat. There wasn't much else we could do- technically, we weren't supposed to have him at all. We don't take fish unless they are returns. At this point, at least he was moving. At least he was eating a pellet or two, but it was obvious he wasn't thriving. His fins, if possible, were worse. They were down to stubs. He had small patches of ammonia burn around his face.
After having him around on our podium - to keep a better eye on him and to ensure that people remember to give him water changes and such- for, I think, two weeks at this point, our manager finally said he needed to go. We weren't supposed to have him up there and it looked bad having a sick fish for everyone to view.
Around this same time, I lost my halfmoon, Phineas, who looked very similar to this little guy. After determining there was nothing wrong with my 10 gallon, I decided to take the little guy home.
I really thought he was going to die. No fins. No appetite. Pretty bad ammonia burn around his face. Lethargic. But to my surprise, he has bounced back nicely. He eats now and actually has a full, round belly - flakes and a treat of bloodworms/brine shrimp twice a week, plus fasting on the weekends. The 10 gallon gets water changes done every 10 days. He still has long moments of inactivity (he loves to lay in the hornwort) but he is getting stronger every day, and swims just a little more as the days go by. Best parts- his ammonia burns are nearly gone, and his fins are nearly twice the length they were. So here is Odi (since he was on our pODIum), in all his glory.
does he have any tank mates in his 10 gallon?
