I love to watch the ASPCA episodes on animal planet, and tonight the animal cops rescued an abandoned saltwater tank together with some reptiles. The tank was completely neglected, filthy and none of the occupants had been taken care of for a while. I can't remember what kind of fish were in there, but there were quite a few, plus soft corals and mushrooms and such, a crap I can remember as well.

Anyhow, the animal cops took hours to dismantle the tank, gave each species of fish their own bucket with salt water, took the rocks out into a bucket, and finally got the tank with the filthy filters and sand out as well. It had a happy ending when one of the officers "adopted" the fish tank after a few weeks' time in the shelter and took it home. Lucky for the fish the cycle hadn't been compromised, and everybody stayed healthy and happy. The officer's kids had a great time taking care of their fish and watch them eat...

Fist time I saw a fish tank involved in any rescue efforts...

I usually don't post in here, but I saw your thread and I had to say something! I think that's WONDERFUL! Most people don't think of fish as pets, like they do a dog or a cat. They see them as "just fish." I am very happy that a program like that would bring to the forefront that fish are living things too and deserve just as much care and love as any other pet!

That really is heartwarming. Over here the RSPCA doesn't include fish in it's charter - or at least that's what I assume after a member here made complaints and was told to contact the Fisheries Dept.

I saw the episode, I was excited to see fish get attension for once, Animal Planet (and all the other nature channels) seriously lack in fish programs.

talking about fish not being considered as pets think about all the tanks in the south that might have been affected in Katrina,nobody had said much on that.We have a guy at one of the places i work came up from new orleans.He said once he left that was it .fish had to fend for themselves so when he returned a month later of course lots of fish were dead,here is the kicker the ones that were still alive he left them came back to Va.I was floored

I saw that the other night!! Those are my favorite shows and I'd never seen fish on there before.

They were damsels in the tank, who are pretty tough and hardy. I was amazed about the corals being alive after that long. Also, Iwas laughing about the little starfish they kept talking about. Those are considered "pest" stars and most people dont really want them. I love mine though and would rescue them, too!

I think it's sad some people do not consider fish as pets. To me, any animal you take in and take care of becomes your pet. Lee didn't consider fish pets until about three weeks ago. He was watching Spotty one night when I had him in a hospital tank for Dropsy. He said felt bad for Spotty and the next day seemed troubled when I told him Spotty had passed. He is growing quite fond of them and he is beginning to admit it. He even think s my Oranda is cute now. His inital reaction to the little chubby face was 'Eew! How ugly!' but last night he admitted Ollie was cute, reminded him of a bulldog pup. LOL!

Thats a heartwarming story. Good for them for saving the fish! Thats great.

WoW! THanks for mentioning that - I wish I had seen the show. Yeah!

Wow I watch that station alot,but somehow managed to miss that one.Thank God for repeats!
That's so great that alot of the fish/Coral lived through it all,and very amazing that the cycle lived too.One lucky Officer for sure! I love Happy Endings!

Wow! A fish tank rescue is the last thing I'd expect to see on animal cops...
But I'm glad that they rescued the tank and showed it on TV, too. Like people have been saying people don't really think of fish as pets since you can't play with them and interact like a dog or a cat or a bunny. Hopefully people who watch it will think twice before stuffing their fish into a plastic fish bowl without doing any research now.

That is wonderful news! And great that it was shown on tv as well so lots of other people could see it.

I am embarrassed to say that I cannot even watch Animal Cops, it makes me so depressed that I am bummed for days. I know that is terrible, and I don't ingnore animal rights issues at all, but I just can't bear to see the neglect and abuse, somehow it is easier for me to see neglected humans than it is to see neglected animals. I know that sounds weird....

I know what you mean about Animal Cops being depressing... I saw an episode where a guy actually THREW his dog off a fire escape... I cried.

I love it when animals are saved from a life of cruelty.I remember seeing an episode on animal planet where a german shepherd pup had been left to starve to death in a back yard.I cryed as my shepherd pup was same age as the one on tv.