Pets' Corner

I know what you mean...have you thought about keeping an indoor cat? There are some great cat litters around now that will make sorting out the 'business end' less of a chore...especially if you use enclosed trays. My two cats are ten and have never been outside - I lost my beautiful 18 month-old cat after he was hit by a car, so when I got these two I decided to keep them in - they are happy as long as they have plenty of interaction, toys and places to 'escape' to away from each other - they never try to go out (touch wood).

I can understand some people thinking it's cruel to keep cats indoors but I love my cats and couldn't entertain the idea of knowingly letting them out to be potentially squashed flat - it broke my heart to lose Greebo - plus with these two I've never had to chase caught-but-released wild mice/birds around the house, or peel mouse-insides off my foot, or play 'hunt the source of the foul smell' from dead animals under furniture!

Or how about a couple of rats? I only chose guinea pigs over rats because my little girl was unfortunately bitten by a rat in a pet shop, so she's scared of them - I will get them if she's in agreement when she's older as they are wonderful pets - very intelligent, clean, and they actually want to be with you. They recognise their name and can be taught to do things - they're great characters.

Mine used to sit on my shoulder and groom my hair lol, they were lovely pets. They once chewed one of my curtains to pieces, but that was my fault for putting their cage too close!

Back to the topic of hamsters - another down side might be the noise they make at night - if you're in a studio flat you might not be able to shut yourself away from it - you can get 'quiet' wheels for them to exercise in, but in my experience they do tend to gnaw away at any available cage bars - Scoopy sounded like he was building a shed last night!

Ha - my rats NEVER did that!! They were very clean...but I can understand that seeing that would put anyone off!!

My guinea pigs on the other hand, are doubly-incontinent - sounds like you'd be better off steering well clear of those! Although the two male ones I looked after for a week were totally the opposite, so maybe my two aren't typical...

B13 or Pipperoo might have some advice.
They're fish people

Hi Wren!! Just read both your posts and hoo boy! well done for asking for help, you're gonna need it!! Fish keeping is hugely fun, but there is some hard work involved. It's gonna be a steep learning curve, but certainly not insurmountable.




First up, it sounds like your Dad passed away recently. I want to give you a ruddy great big hug right now because I know how devastating the death of a parent is. My deepest condolences and much love to you and your family. Seriously and very, very genuinely.

xxx

Rightyo, let's get you sorted out with your new fishy friends: fish-keeping is never as simple as bunging a load of water in a tank, throwing in some fish and leaving them to it - but it seems like you're willing to do it properly, so Pip and I will be more than happy to help!! It's a lovely hobby, fish are fascinating little creatures.



It's 05:30 in the morning as I write this, so to save you from a load of bleary eyed-mumbling, I'll write more later, but YES! read EVERYTHING you can, take out a subscription to Practical Fishkeeping magazine, go to their forum (they're lovely people there!!), nip into your local aquarium specialist, ask questions non-stop (you will hear the words 'tank cycling' a lot. You don't need to buy your fish a bicycle, but you DO need to make sure that there is a healthy stock of 'good bacteria' in the tank. You already have the advantage that the sponges and ceramic stones in the existing filter a pre-loaded with 'em, so you will need to keep these and make sure you transport them in tank water to keep the bacteria alive. The chlorine in tap water will kill them. I cannot stress enough how vital this bacteria is: they eat ammonia that is caused by the decomposition of fish poop). Fish shops will give you proper fish transport bags and even boxes if you ask 'em - or will even move everyone for you, but you'll have to pay for that.

Buy up a load of 2 litre bottles of water from the supermarket. You'll need to save about half the water from the existing tanks to put in the new one(s). Bottled water comes in 'food grade' plastic, so these are ideal. Don't throw the lids away!!



First things first. Are you prepared to do water changes (you can get goop to put in the tap water to neutralise the chlorine, so no need to have buckets of water standing all over the place!) and keep the tank spotless? Remember: the tank is your fishes' whole world and they don't get out to go pee/poop) My 3ft, 85 litre tank takes a minimum of 1.5 hours to do every fortnight. The filter will need a clean, etc too. Your tank will need to be spotless or the fish WILL get sick. Buy two buckets: one for water coming out the tank, the other for water coming in. These buckets must NEVER be used for anything else.

Secondly, were are you based? I might be able to find folks in your area who can help. If you're near me (halfway between Epsom and Leatherhead in Surrey), heck! I've volunteered already!!

Thirdly, the fish in your pic is an albino male Bristlenose Plec. Lovely fish, they eat algae and LOVE fresh veggies. i have a female and she goes MAD for courgette!!



Fourthly, are there any invertebrates in the tank? Like Assassin Snails or shrimp?

Fifthly, there's no such thing as a readily-available Fish Vet. This was the biggest WTH Moment that I had when I first started keeping fish. Fish vets are only available for large public aquaria or very rich people who can afford the extorionate fees. So when you have a sick fish, it's DIY and a LOT of head-scratching. Worse still, if you have to put a fish down, then it's also DIY. Bear that in mind...

To answer your queries, you might not be able to keep all the fish in one tank. If you Dad has Tiger Barbs, for example, the are aggressive and will bite other fish. Red-Tailed Sharks are HIGHLY territorial and WILL hound and bully other fish, sometimes to the death. Big fish will eat anything that they can fit in their mouths (a bit like me, now I think about it) so you may start with loads of little fish and one big one ... and be left with one VERY big one!!! Your Dad may have a fresh water tank and maybe a brackish one. Or even a marine! Water temperature may be a factor too: he may have a coldwater and also a tropical tank. The water types cannot be mixed. Pip and I will need pics of everyone in the tanks to help you.

Also, there is such a thing as over-stocking. There is a maximum number of fish that a tank can hold before the ammonia levels (decomposing fishie poo) or depleted oxygen levels will cause serious problems, so Pip and I will need numbers too.

How big a tank are you planning on getting? Tanks can be HUGELY expensive and by the sounds of it, you're gonna have a whole heap of new fishy friends to look after!!



Be prepared that you MAY have to rehome some of them. Your Dad would understand that for their welfare, that would be the best option. On the otherhand, you may not have to - and will have many years of enjoyment to look forward to. Fish are surprisingly long-lived, so their cute lil' faces will be looking at you for YEARS to come!!



Last thing, never be afraid to ask what you may think is a Stupid Question. There's no such thing. Any question means that you simply want to learn. It's the Stupid Answers that you have to worry about!! Hee!!



P.S. If you need an urgent question answered, you can find me on Twitter @13_Bees

P.P.S. Bloody hell, that was a long ol' ramble...

Thank you so much, B13 and Pipperoo! I was afraid I would just get a chorus of, 'DON'T DO IT!!' which is the response I've had from my work colleagues... so thank you for the encouragement

My dad died on Friday but we have known for months that my mom wouldn't be able to cope with the tanks if something happened to him, so it has been in the back of my mind for a while that I would take the fish on (what with me being the family Dr Doolittle)

I am going to take photos of all the fish so you can let me know if they can live together. I can only go up there on Saturdays so will take photos at the weekend. Most of the fish are the type that hide under wood/rocks etc - I am guessing I shouldn't move anything so might not get good photos - if I can't, I will describe them as best I can!

They are definitely tropical tanks, one tank is tiny, the biggest one I would say is about 3 feet long but only about a foot high/deep. The other one is smaller but on a cabinet. Rather than have the hassle of trying to transport one or more of the tanks I was thinking of the following plan - please let me know if this is utterly ridiculous!!

I thought I could get the largest tank I could fit in the living room (I reckon the maximum would be 3 feet long), set it up and running for however many weeks it needs (I have read three to four weeks?), and then transfer the big yellow fish and the other ones he used to live with before he got too big for the tank. So that would be the tiny tank contents, plus the big fish (I am pretty sure it's a plec as it is identical to the photo I've posted). I would estimate the tiny tank holds maybe 5 small unknown 'active' fish, plus about the same number of catfish - one of which is absolutely beautiful, it's black and white, patchy, and I can't find a photo like it on Google!

Once those fish had hopefully settled in for a month or so then maybe if this would be possible I could introduce some of the others?

The only named fish I know are ones my mom said are called harlequins, but they aren't in the plec tank or the tiny tank he used to live in.

To my knowledge there are no snails etc in there - my dad was pretty much just obsessed with catfish!

The DIY vet stuff does fill me with dread, I will be honest, but I will just have to man up lol

I live just south of Birmingham but the fish live in Staffordshire so they have got to endure an hour's journey down the M6/M5. I will make sure I double bag them and use the correct bags etc, and will bring some of their tank water and the filters with them.

I am definitely up for all the cleaning etc - I want to give them every chance and this is something positive I can concentrate on instead of dwelling on what has happened, as that's not going to get me anywhere!

Sorry if this is garbled!

I will pm from now on to save other people from my stupid questions, as I'm sure there will be many!

Thanks again in advance...

I know, thanks Steve

This place is fantastic! Just this year from fellow TCC-ers I've learned how to rid my house of ants, keep my hamster happy and now how to embark on a completely new hobby!

Thanks Pipperoo - I will always be in your debt for my avatar - still totally in love with it!

Have just had a look back at this thread and now remember seeing the pictures of your fish - the top one is exactly the type my dad had/has, never seen anything like Big Daddy!