My MIL bought a goldfish. She bought a common. She was very proud that the fish was not a feeder, because feeder fish are always sick and die right away. I told her that it was the same as the feeder fish, because the store has the same supplier as the shop across the road, they just choose not to sell feeders, and these fish actually came from the same tank.

THe fish jumped to it's death from it's bowl.

She bought a paradise fish. Much better suited to a bowl than a goldie imo. Then she bought a fantail and for awhile kept it in a seperate bowl, then she must have decided that was too much work, and added the goldfish into the bowl with the paradise fish.

Of course the fish started fighting.

So she gave the paradise fish away.

She knows better, to keep a goldie in a bowl. I'm am her DIL for heaven's sake. She's heard the 10 gal rule from me like a jillion times, but for some reason I must talk crap. It's very frustrating.

Today she called to talk about Christmas and told me that her fish's fins and it's tail are starting to dissappear.

So I told her it was fin rot and was due to dirty water. I actually used the term dirty water rather than poor water quality because I think it has more of an effect on her.

I told her to change the water EVERY day, and to make sure it was dechlorinated. She lets the water sit out to dechlor, so I told her to make sure that the city water does not have Chlormine in it, in which case she will have to buy the chemicals to remove it.

Then she told me how her old fish could go 3 days before a change and the water was like crystal, but this fish the water clouds up. So i told her that the water clairty has nothing to do with dirty water, because goldies produce ammonia not only in their wastes, but also through respriation, and maybe the cloudiness was due to feeding flakes in excess.

So bottom line, a cute, but now really stunted fantail has finrot, and is living in a bowl. She wants to heal it, so I told her water changes each and every day, but is there anything else to do? I told her that you couldn't add meds to a bowl, I don't think you can, can you?

I wish she would just get a tank. I think keeping goldfish as bowlfish is animal abuse.

Watch her find this site and read this. oh well! I am really upset. I love my fish as much as my dog, and horse. They are pets just like the other ones, and members of my family. Maybe I am weird! But I just don't see why people who SHOULD know better, insist on keeping poor defenseless pets in inadequate living quarters.

MY VENT OF THE CENTURY.

sorry.


Jessica

I had a lot of trouble with my baby moors and finrot. As a last resort Toothless told me of someone who claimed to heal finrot by putting the fish in a bowl and changing the water daily.

So I did 50% water changes daily in a 3g tank and rinsed the gravel once a week. I also used .1% salt and half strength Melafix. I followed this routine for six weeks and the fins grew back very quickly. I would recommend this proceedure, my fish had finrot for 3 months and nothing worked until I tried this.

Somehow I don't think your MIL will try this - too much work and expense of medication but I wish you luck.

Its funny when i started, i never really realized how much they may need looking after, i suppose though if looking after them is a problem, effort-wise you shouldn't get any more, not meaning to rant but perhaps keeping things simple might work. Water changes though will be a must, and perhaps if you can persuade her to buy salt, half way there is better than doing nothing, though if she is doing water changes salt will need to be re-added. Is there gravel in the bowl, perhaps removing that too will help.

Also have you seen the fish, because if she told you about the finrot, perhaps there are other signs of ill health that she missed..