So I was looking at this....

Click here.....

And i thought that it was a inappropriate home for 3 GOLDFISH!!!! I sent an email to Interpet, the manufacturer to tell them of my concerns and this is the reply i received.....

Dear Mr Spanky_[/color] Thank you for your recent e-mail expressing your concerns about our Vivo aquaria.



Firstly, we would like to reassure you that as leading manufacturers in the aquatic industry, we take very seriously our responsibility to provide products, which are suitable and safe for their intended purpose. All our products are extensively researched and tested and only launched on to the market, when all our criteria are met.

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Our research has shown that goldfish are the second most popular family pet after dogs. However, we know that many thousands of goldfish perish every year for the following reasons:

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· People keeping them in wholly inappropriate bowls and aquariums, mostly completely unfiltered, many being significantly less than 10 litres in size.

· People not knowing the simple routine which is essential to keep fish successfully, ie: appropriate feeding, water changing and cleaning schedules.

· Children losing interest in their "wet pet" and so fish suffering from neglect.



Vivo has been specifically designed to overcome these problems:



1. The 25litre Vivo has a complete filtration system, which turns over the volume of the aquarium up to 8 times per hour, aerating the aquarium and carrying out mechanical, chemical and biological filtration. Vivo is supplied complete with a bacteria and enzyme culture to mature the filter. The filtration unit is actually capable of filtering an aquarium of twice this capacity (this excess capacity is built in as a safety net for inexperienced owners) and supporting a significant biomass.



2. The Digi Care guide is built into the front of the aquarium to ensure:



· The filter is checked and the fish are fed twice a day and, more importantly, no more than that, since most goldfish die from overfeeding because everyone in the family feeds them twice a day!

· A water conditioner, which stabilises pH and adds essential electrolytes, is added every 4 weeks.

· Every 4 weeks the owner carries out a 10% water change (using a tap water conditioner), a filter clean (the filter has a disposable chemical and mechanical cartridge which is separate from the biological filter so this is not damaged) and a nitrite test to check the filter is working correctly. Most goldfish either never get their water changed or have to survive a 100% water change and "scrub out" routine, usually with ice-cold chlorinated water!

· A 6-monthly filter service.



3. The décor is only changed once every 4 weeks during the water change process. This is no more stressful than a monthly gravel clean, gardening in a planted aquarium or the reorganisation of rockwork in an Mbuna aquarium. This element is what retains the interest and attention of the children. This sustained interest is essential if the undoubted popularity of fish as pets is to translate into equal success by keeping them alive and enjoying the achievement of watching them thrive and grow. With Vivo, fish keeping is playing a more useful, if inadvertent, role in children's development because it rapidly introduces them to dealing with bereavement!



4. With the filtration, the 25litre (5gallon) aquarium has a water surface area of 55cm (22") x 25cm (10"), which equals 1375 sq cm (220 sq in). The aquarium is therefore more than capable of supporting up to a maximum of 2-3 x 10cm fish. Once the fish exceed this size, Vivo owners are told they will need to move them to a bigger home.



We trust that the above reassures you of our commitment to supply high quality products.

Yours sincerely

Donna Townsend

Senior Administrator

Customer Support

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I want to reply but i am very very lazy. Does anyone want to pick apart the above points one at a time and i will copy and paste them into the reply i am going to send. Scientific examples of why they are wrong would be appreciated.

Thanks

well i cant come up with a reply but they are defianently wrong about keeping 3 goldfish in a 5 gallon tank! And with only 8x filtration and 10% waterchange every 4 weeks that is even worse! Their intentions are good but they need to do a little more research.

the link didnt work but i googled it and looking at those pics there is barely any space for the fish with their strange decorations

hmmmm i cant edit the original post but here is the link...

http://www.interpet.co.uk/Interpet%20Cat%2...ctions/Vivo.pdf

Yeah, the concept seems good and as the mom of three small kids I can see how those bells and whistles and reminders could help to keep kids interested. But it's too bad that 1) it's so small, 2) it recommends only a 10% water change every month, and 3) it recommends keeping 3 goldfish in it. It comes with a nitrate test, which is good, but why not make it bigger, with reminders to change water every day or two at first, and tests for ammonia and nitrite too? That would be a truly educational experience for a kid, but probably more work that most parents would be willing to put up with. A missed opportunity. Too bad.

How about a short. You are wrong and a link to Koko's? Good grief what are those people thinking. ya that about covers it.

They think that they are experts while it looks like they don't know a thing about goldfish...

Trying to see what I can come up with here....I'm not a pro, so someone can add/subtract to what I've got here to help out.



1. The 25litre Vivo has a complete filtration system, which turns over the volume of the aquarium up to 8 times per hour, aerating the aquarium and carrying out mechanical, chemical and biological filtration. Vivo is supplied complete with a bacteria and enzyme culture to mature the filter. The filtration unit is actually capable of filtering an aquarium of twice this capacity (this excess capacity is built in as a safety net for inexperienced owners) and supporting a significant biomass.

While I admire the fact that you include a bacteria and enzyme culture, a 5 gallon tank is not suitable for a single goldfish, let alone three. Goldfish are large producers of waste, and waste means ammonia. In order to counteract this, the rule is 10 gallons per fancy goldfish (i.e. goldfish with double tails and large, round bodies) and 20 gallons per common goldfish (what you would call "feeder" goldfish and any other single tailed, long bodied goldfish). In order to deal with the waste produced by the fish, a filtration rate of 100 times the gallonage is required. This means 100 gallons per hour for a 10 gallon tank, and 200gph for a 20 gallon.


2. The Digi Care guide is built into the front of the aquarium to ensure:

· The filter is checked and the fish are fed twice a day and, more importantly, no more than that, since most goldfish die from overfeeding because everyone in the family feeds them twice a day!

· A water conditioner, which stabilises pH and adds essential electrolytes, is added every 4 weeks.

· Every 4 weeks the owner carries out a 10% water change (using a tap water conditioner), a filter clean (the filter has a disposable chemical and mechanical cartridge which is separate from the biological filter so this is not damaged) and a nitrite test to check the filter is working correctly. Most goldfish either never get their water changed or have to survive a 100% water change and "scrub out" routine, usually with ice-cold chlorinated water!

· A 6-monthly filter service.

Your first two points are fine. The third point, though, is a problem. Since goldfish are such large waste producers, they require 25-50% water changes bi-weekly, if not daily. With a 5 gallon tank, you would need to do 75-100% water changes at least twice a day. The real reason so many goldfish die is because people do not test their water and change it accordingly, the goldfish end up dying literally in a pool of their own waste.


3. The décor is only changed once every 4 weeks during the water change process. This is no more stressful than a monthly gravel clean, gardening in a planted aquarium or the reorganisation of rockwork in an Mbuna aquarium. This element is what retains the interest and attention of the children. This sustained interest is essential if the undoubted popularity of fish as pets is to translate into equal success by keeping them alive and enjoying the achievement of watching them thrive and grow. With Vivo, fish keeping is playing a more useful, if inadvertent, role in children's development because it rapidly introduces them to dealing with bereavement!

[color="red"]The decor should be washed with every water change, bi-weekly. I am not even going to touch on the part of you approving of killing a goldfish to develop a child's "dealing with bereavement".



4. With the filtration, the 25litre (5gallon) aquarium has a water surface area of 55cm (22") x 25cm (10"), which equals 1375 sq cm (220 sq in). The aquarium is therefore more than capable of supporting up to a maximum of 2-3 x 10cm fish. Once the fish exceed this size, Vivo owners are told they will need to move them to a bigger home.

As stated before, a 5 gallon tank is insufficient for one goldfish of any size. It is more appropriate for four to five guppies, danios, tetras, mollies, or any other such small community fish. Goldfish can grow from 1 inch to 8 inches over the course of a year in ideal conditions.


That's all I can add now. I have to head to work X.X

Sounds good!

sounds great! Except didnt u mean 10 times filtration not 100 times per gallon?

The sad thing is, it's pretty clear that they DO know what they're talking about, but they're not actually employing it into their product and, instead, are just using all the right jargon to lure ignorant buyers into thinking that, because they can speak so well to (most of) the facts, then they certainly must know what they're talking about, riiiggghhht? AND... how much of what they imparted to you, flawed though it may be, actually even gets to those ignorant first time buyers? <sigh...>