When We Bring Home New Pets

[Beverly]

I was talking with a friend on the phone the other day and she mentioned she had a fish. What kind, I asked. Oh, one of those long finned ones, she said. A betta, I asked. Yeah, she said, had it for about six months. Sometimes it's really active and other times it just sits there, she continued. Do you know about the nitrogen cycle when keeping fish, I asked. No, she said, and I don't have time to learn about it now because I'm on my way out the door, she snipped.

Well, I LOVE fish of all kinds, but have never kept a betta. Thought I would one time, but the websites I read talked about the special requirements these fish need to be healthy and happy that I would not be able to provide. Anyway, I did a Google search and found three great sites and emailed them to my friend just in case she got a case of "geez, maybe I should know something about caring for this fish".

But you know what? I don't think she gives a cr*p about learning about the proper care of her fish. As she said, she's had it for six months and I imagine she figures she must be doing something right if it's lasted this long.

I told my husband about the above conversation this morning and he told me about a conversation he had with a guy at work last night. Yup, the guy had goldfish. Nope, he didn't know they grew to a foot long if properly cared for. Nope, he didn't know about all the bacteria needed in the aquarium to process the fish waste. And, yup, he thought a water change was when you got rid of all the old water and replaced it with new water.



Man, this ticks me off to no end. People have access to this wonderful thing called the Internet and can research just about any subject under the sun, especially before acquiring a new pet. But do they?!?!!!!!?????? Or do they buy a book on the animal at the pet store, even?

Before I tick off too many people who may be feeling guilty about not fully preparing themselves for the care of animals they've bought, I must admit to being guilty of poor information gathering and utilization with regard to our ball python We've had him for 2.5 years, and it's only been in the past half year that I think we are finally providing him with a home of the right temperature and humidity. Do I feel stupid? Yup, pretty much as stupid as I think other people are for not arming themselves with information BEFORE getting fish, cats, geckos, hamsters (oooooooh, they're soooooooo cute ), ferrets, finches, conures, etc.

Anyway, please let this stupid post about stupid people remind us all that we need to research the care and environmental requirements of animals BEFORE we get them.

Thanks for listening.

[Richer]

Unfortunately thats how this hobby (and many others) are like... I'm sure quite a few of us have some pretty fustrating stories to tell.

The only thing we can do is tell people what we know when it comes to responsible fish keeping and hope they listen. Even if we can get one in every 10 people to listen, its better than nothing.

Though I know this is a serious thread, at least we can get cheap equipement when these people finally drop the hobby.

-Richer

[Quinn]

Fully in agreeance. Wish there was some way to regulate purchasing of animals.

[Cap'n]

When we adopted our dog we had to fill out a questionairre, meet the dog and SPCA reps in person, take him for a trial visit, pay an adoption fee and have the rep visit us at home to ensure the dog actually found a caring owner. If this type of concern had been in place initially this great little dog would not have been forced to endure puppyhood with an owner who didn't care enough then spend 4 months in a pound.

I am in full agreement with any measures that make aquiring a pet more difficult for those who are unqualified.

[Invigor]

If you're keeping a betta in a bowl, it's quite similar to discus. You change so much of the water that the fish doesn't even experience the nitrogen cycle. The ideal situation in a fish bowl is to change the water before the fish waste causes and ammonia bloom...so about every 2-3 days with aged aerated water with a little salt in it.

I was at the local petland and the manager was telling me he sells about 20 discus a week. It ails me to wonder who's buying these and if they're actually being cared for.

Hamsters are another abused animal, I think. (a hamster, how lame, I know) but many people don't know a friggen thing and don't even TRY to learn about how to care for them. They're absolutely shocked when I tell them my hamsters avg a 5 year lifespan.

I believe this "regulation" is up to petstores to do, although with all these massive retail chain "petstores" it's difficult to do because the person you're buying from is usually unknowledgable about what they're selling. ie) buying a snake from a 16 year old that knows "when they're mad they hiss"

I used to work in a chain retail "petstore" and my favorite irrate customer is the one that goes "I BOUGHT A FISH FROM HERE AND IT KILLED ALL OF MINE! IT HAD SOME DISEASE OR SOMETHING!!!" my response: "did you quarantine it before you introduced it to your tank?" 1% of the time the answer is no, and the 99% of the time the answer is "what's that?!"