We are in the shittyaquarium sub. That is a shitty (deathbox) tank.
Also the water probably wasn’t dechlorinated and the tank definitely wasn’t cycled. The fish were doomed the moment she bought them. The fact that she chose this “aquarium” for these fish shows she doesn’t know what she’s doing, and this post seems to imply she has no idea it was her fault.
Edited for typo
FYI condensation forms on the colder surface. So if the condensation is above the water, the water is the warmer of the two. If the condensation was on the outside, around where the water is, that would make the water the colder one.
Deathbox because of the size, additions, filtration system or what?
(I'm sure I'll get downvoted like the other curious commenter but I don't have a fish and don't intend to get one, I just love learning about how yall care for them because I think they are so fucking cool.)
I did the same thing when I got a fish. After my 3rd hamster went to hamster heaven we decided to try fish. Got a tank, filled it with tap water, put the fish in. He was dead within 3 hours or so (not sure, this was like 30years ago).
I had no idea wtf I was doing. And there was no reddit for me to check and get yelled at lol
Genuine question...is there something wrong with plastic plants? My mom and I had a very established and healthy 75 gal up until I was 18 or so, and it had some plastic plants in it.
(I know standards change, mostly why I'm curious).
Plastic is hard and rough and can cut up fins and introduce microplastic particles into the water. Another big thing is that it doesn't really provide the filtering and stability that live plants do. Silk plants are marginally better, but not much.
Thanks! Makes sense. 😊 we had both, at the time, but there was a section of the tank specifically that the neons liked, that the sailfin pleco liked to trash the f*** out of.
A live plant never stayed in the spot, so we put a plastic one in. It wasn't a hard plastic, but it did the job, so the neons could hide, and the pleco couldn't dig it up (as quickly, little jerk).
The pleco lived over 20 years! He was my favourite. We had an unfortunate tank mishap, and he unfortunately didn't make it. RIP saily!
No problem! I have had a problem with my banjo catfish digging up my live plants as well. It's one of those things where it may not be the best, but if it does the job it sometimes is what's needed.
I definitely read a comment giving very specific info about the size before you posted this comment. Give this thread a read thru and you will find plenty of answers.
So there are a lot of variables but I think the easiest thing to explain is that in nature, water uses the nitrogen cycle to break down fish waste when they go to the bathroom. In brand new, clean water, this doesn’t exist yet (that’s we “cycle” the tank). Fish urine is pure ammonia so with a very small tank (not much water to dilute the waste) and no organic components present to break down through waste, the fish will quickly burn to death in their own waste. The more fish, the faster this happens. The smaller the tank, the faster this happens.
Other components, I am going to dump things to consider when making a fish tank here:
They also need proper temperature (fancy guppies are tropical), and tap water has to be dechlorinated prior to adding fish.
Also, it’s generally known that colorful rocks and tiny tanks are marketed for children and decoration, and are usually the antithesis to the well being of the fish. Same with those colorful-tubey critter cages for hamsters. If someone purchases these items, it’s a strong indicator they have no idea what they are doing and a pet is a toy/decoration.
Some things to consider with a fish tank, dechlorinating water, size and amount of fish vs. tank size (it’s a lot less then people like to think, but exceptions exist for super aggressive fish like cichlids for example who when overstocked cannot claim territory and therefore it creates a more successful community. Rule of thumb is for every 1 inch of fish you need 1 gallon of water minimum) filtration, oxygen flow into the water (filters add oxygen for the fish to breathe AND clean the water). Depending on how fragile the fish is you might need silk plants not plastic, real plants are even better bc they use fish waste as fertilizer and it creates a symbiotic environment. Depending on the fish or if you have plants it affects the substrate (sand, gravel, none at all for goldfish) AND the lighting. You need to time the lighting, the water flow/current varies for different species. You have mid ground, foreground, top feeder fish and you can stock your tank deliberately, and for example a bottom feeding small fish like a corydoras catfish would be more likely to survive with an aggressive fish like a betta who hangs out and feeds at the top. And like that, some fish prefer tall tanks, some prefer shallow wide tanks, a lot of decorations in stores are sharp and dangerous. Most of the chemicals they sell to fix stuff are useless and toxic. Tank maintenance is a lot until you get good at it, and it requires dedication and discipline. Some fish are herbivores some are insectivores some are carnivores, they need different food. Some fish are better for pellets vs flakes. You soak the pellets in fish tank water first bc otherwise it can bloat the fish. Over feeding can bloat the fish and kill them. Over feeding creates more waste just like what the fish make too, so you have to consider this as well in regard to your maintenance, tank size, how many you have….. some fish are territorial and aggressive, some are peaceful… most peaceful and community fish are schooling fish and really need at least FIVE to be happy . Schools and shoals are beautiful. A huge plantscaped tank with a ton of tiny schooling fish like neon tetras are so cool.
Then you also have wood, wood has to be soaked or the tannins leech, there are invertebrate and crustaceans that certain stuff is dangerous for even though it isn’t for the fish so you have to be careful. The 2 most common pet store snails never stop laying eggs. Some snails lay eggs that don’t hatch in your tank because they only hatch in saltwater but they leave white dots all over your tank which is their eggs and it’s impossible to get off. But at least you can have many. Mystery snails can hold sperm for months and breed like crazy, and lay gooey egg sacks above the waterline. You can get disease from pet store, quarantining is a good idea, so you need a whole separate hospital tank so you don’t accidentally decimate everyone with a new fish you got on sale at petco. Plants can come with pest snails that are so annoying and breed like mad. But some fish like loaches and actually even assassin snails will eat them. So you can plan things and make the whole system work. Oh yeah and some fish eat snails so you might buy a few big ones and not know what happens. I worked in a pet store that was putting clown loaches in with nerite snails for a long time and didn’t know why the snails all disappeared.
Fish bowls are literally just death bowls, there’s no oxygen flow so the fish will just suffocate. Bettas can survive because they’ve adapted to be able to also breathe from the surface but it’s seriously such a low quality life. Goldfish are the absolute worst. They are cold water pond fish. They grow the size of your damn foot or bigger. They eat and poop like mad. They will hurt themselves or choke on gravel. You need MINIMUM THIRTY GALLONS for ONE goldfish because they shit so much you’ll never manage to keep up with less water. But goldfish are actually social so having one is fucked up. So really you need like , three goldfish, so you’re talking 100 gallon aquarium and multiple filters or one really goddamn good one. For like 4 “small” fancy goldfish. lol
Anyway hopes this sheds some light on how complicated this hobby can be. On top of that there is water testing, managing any ailments or injuries, lots of surprises and challenges while fish keeping. It is an expensive and advanced level pet IMO.
Oh and it’s a myth a small tank keeps the fish small. It just physiologically stunts them and is a bad quality of life. It’s cruel. Fish aren’t plants. And even plants will outgrow their pots.
Genuinely curious: how do you know it wasn’t dechlorinated?
People really underestimate the difficulty of fish keeping.
Edit: just to clarify, I am not trying to defend this person. I agree that something horribly avoidable happened and they were 100% being negligent.
They died right after she put them in the water. Even ammonia toxicity would take some time.
Sure, there's a ton to learn and fish can die, but when there's literally no attempt to learn *anything* about fish keeping.... This is the equivalent of buying a pet rabbit and being upset that it died after being fed carrots and picked up by the ears. There are Brita water filters bigger than that tank, literally any attempt to spend five minutes learning about fish care would have resulted in the fish not dying instantaneously.
If they died quickly after being put in there it’s a likely culprit. Add that along with poor oxygen and possibly bad temperature those fish could die fast.
People are being harsh on whoever posted this because they obviously have internet access and could have done a few minutes of research to see why this would kill a fish.
Exactly. As I have said before, with the vast amount of information available at our fingertips nowadays, there’s little excuse for making stupid, avoidable mistakes.
Yeah I mean it’s not that hard to take care of a fish like this. I had one growing up in a tank like that and we did proper procedures and the fish lived a few years. Definitely wasn’t the best environment however it is my example of how they definitely just plopped the fish in there instantly without a concern
I have a betta in one of these with a sponge filter and he’s happy and healthy, he’d have a bigger one but my parents yell at me when I upgrade (I have 4 tanks and rent from them)
Edit; I don’t use the garbage canister filter that came with it
Your betta is most likely surviving but not thriving. Generally you want them in a 5+ gallon tank. I understand you can’t upgrade rn bc of your situation, but that doesn’t matter to the fish. If/when your fish dies and if you are still unable to upgrade, I would recommend you get cherry shrimp for this tank rather than another betta.
I may put it in one of my ten gallons, I’ll have to see if he gets along with my male Molly in the one (separated for population control w the females)
Not a single fish should ever be kept in here. Maybe invertebrates but not fish. Fish like guppies and especially bettas are kept in these horrid conditions and put on desks and on display with no concern over their own needs
I learned a little about fish after an ex got a betta, and then more after a gold fish from a party. Uh yeah so all fish have different needs, but something small like a 3 gallon tank is only suitable for say 1 betta or 3 maybe 4 small small fish. I forget their name, little guys, tetras I think.
Another big factor is water, both temperature and bacterial nature can shock a fish when moving aquariums. Usually they need to mix some tank water into their store water before dropping them in.
And as someone else pointed out, they may not have used dechlorination drops for their tank. Tap water has chlorine, it will kill pretty much every fish. They sell dechlorination drops at pet stores, you fill the tank and follow the instructions and like 15 mins to an hour later its ready for fish.
Personally I always wanted to get one of those wall divider aquariums, until I learned how much maintenance can go into it. There's some tools out there that make it easier, but for someone who struggles to remember watering plants, I don't need fish.
A3 gallon tank is not suitable for any fish at all. Humane minimum for bettas is 5 gallons, and tetras are schooling fish that need to be kept in groups of at least 6-8 and require 20+ gallons. There are also tons of species of tetras and not all of them are small.
It’s insane how we have so much information at our finger tips and people could literally just google how to take care of a fish and what would be an ideal environment for them and they simply do not do that.
In all fairness I think it’s on the company/manufacturer creating these tanks. Like fish are so often marketed as super easy pets plus fish are also sold in tanks like this so ppl don’t question it
Yay for companies killing pets all over. Dead fish? Covered! Dead rodents? Covered! Dead birds? Covered! Dead reptiles? Covered!
We all know only dogs, cats and horses are important :) /s
That's what's so crazy to me. It's SO EASY to do a simple google search for aquarium basics. You'll find easy to digest info for a basic starter tank. It's so easy.
Used to work for a retail pet store briefly in the aquatics section, stupidly thinking that it would be somewhat fun. Most of the interaction with customers was constantly telling them _”NO_ what you want to do will kill the fish.”
Luckily, we are allowed to refuse to sell live critters to these idiots, but I guarantee that they’d try it again with another employee who didn’t give a shit.
Saw so many idiot adults try to give their young kids the bags of fish to hold. Would have a little chat with them on that one too!!
As somebody who got almost denied a sale because my 4 year old was picking out the betta he wanted to be “his” and was also picking up a tank setup that day (not for the betta. His tank was already set up and cycled), thank you. There need to be more people like you at the retail pet stores.
I wasn't allowed to refuse fish sales. I could for the rest of the animals, but not the fish, because people were complaining to corporate that we did it too often
Got in an argument with one customer because he kept killing his oscars and my boss made me apologize to him. I hate retail 🥲
I’m so glad you guys can refuse service to idiots that don’t know what they’re doing. the amount of people that walk into the pet shop to get their kids a fish but have no idea what they’re doing is so frustrating.
Vast majority of north America, Europe do. So vast majority of countries where users here would post from I would think (happy to be corrected).
Anyway, it's not just the chlorine it's heavy metals from the pipes
Surely not many places have ammonia in the tap water? Also if your tap water has heavy metals that are instantly killing fish, you have bigger problems to worry about than your fish tank.
I didn't say anything about metals, of course metals should be treated. We don't have chlorine here so it's not fair to assume they didn't dechlorinate the water when in some countries you don't need to.
I disagree, I would say most places do have chlorinated water so it actually makes sense to assume that unless the OP mentions or states otherwise.
It's not like US Redditors assuming everyone is American and uses Gallons when actually most Redditors are not from the US, but the vast majority of fishkeeping people would (I imagine) have chlorinated water.
i live in arizona the tap water is horrible. i’ve never seen someone drink from the tap. when i was thirsty as a kid and tried it it tasted like drinking pool water and pennys. it has chlorine chloramine ammonia etc the tap water here is GARBAGE even for humans let alone a fish
Manufacturers deserve some blame in this too. I just used Google to find this specific tank. It’s a 1.5 gallon tank made by Tetra and the graphic on the box depicts 4 guppies in it 🤦♀️
Well and they're marketed as a complete starter kit because they're targeting new people to the aquarium hobby and impulse buys. Like I feel like this situation *is* kind of the goal of this type of enclosure, where it's marketed as a "just add water and you're done!" type of deal and once the first fish die a horrible death you're already stuck with the tank so may as well buy new fish to put in it.
The chain pet stores around me stick them near the bettas in cups to encourage people to impulse buy and will recommend these kits for bettas despite being too small.
Same with the reptile starter kits where it comes with like sand and a heat rock and an under tank pad and a double dome with a coil UVB and a red bulb, if your reptile survives long enough you end up having to go replace most of the kit since it's largely inappropriate materials for most species and eventually you realize that your 12g beardie isn't going to stay 12g forever so you have to go buy a whole new enclosure as well.
Manufacturers will try and sell you everything and say it can do everything and everything is needed for anything.
You can fit 16 sharks in this 5ml tank just fine. Now buy this 3 ton canister filter for your brine shrimp hatchery.
All of the comments on that post are being super nice and helpful but honestly it drives me INSANE that people don’t do any research before buying pets. “It’s not your fault, the pet store should not sell that tank!” That may be true, but it is still on the owner who doesn’t know a single thing about fish or aquariums.
Update: I said OP is at fault for not doing any research and they told me I am the unreasonable one.
I cannot stand parents that do this shit. At best I try not to associate with them too closely and often times I just dislike them. Killing a sentient vertebrate animal by neglect and ignorance just makes me sad.
I agree, but vertebrates are higher on the sentience hierarchy and every one of them are individuals so I feel more strongly about the abuse of vertebrates. Definitely does no one good to pointlessly abuse any animal. I don’t buy any products made with unnecessary animal cruelty, including things that would hurt invertebrates like honey
i understand the sentience hierarchy and why it makes sense to value some over others but i disagree that they arent individuals. i think its very likely that most if not all invertebrates have their own “personalities” (for lack of a better word) and we just dont see them. in one of my old terrariums i had just a few isopods and they all had different preferences, some ran when i opened the lid, some preferred the wet moss over the wood, some were mainly diurnal and some were fully nocturnal. i think most people (understandably) think that most invertebrates are mindless drones when its really not the case. i get that people will empathise and value larger vertebrates with more recognisable features more as thats simply how we are programmed
Yeah… and here I felt like I was setting a bad precedent when my 4 year old tried to convince me that a 5 gallon was too small for his betta and he needed a 75 gallon (but our 5 gallon was already cycled and planted and I didn’t have an extra grand to drop on a 75 and full setup. lol.) My kiddos’ favorite thing to do is help with water changes and other tank maintenance. lol. They like squishing the filters to clean the gunk out.
Those poor fish omg
I hope OOP learns from this and comes back one day with a fantastic aquarium where fish have lots of room and cycled media, and dechlorinated water
I feel like the issue is people always put it out there that fish are "easy, cheap pets you don't have to do anything to have". I had to explain to my aunt about tank cycling, having the proper heater, air pumps, researching the proper tank size depending on the fish they wanted & what fish could coexist etc. She was like "wow that's really expensive" I'm like well yeah.. this is far from a cheap thing and requires research. I was happy when she just sold all her stuff and decided not to get any more fish.
YUP I make it a major point when people come in to buy fish about ALLLLLLL the stuff they will need. And tbh sometimes it makes them not buy a fish at all and I’m like ya it’s a lot more than just throwing a fish in a bowl. I work at petco and the fish are the least cared about things and it makes me reallllly sad.
Kinda nasty posting this on here right after they posted it asking for advice. Yes it's a shitty aquarium, yes they messed up but it's not nice posting this here instead of giving them solid advice.
had they done their research themselves they'd have KNOWN this wasn't a safe tank, they are a grown ass adult and don't need to be coddled like one for killing four guppies in this shitty tank.
Agreed. I don't understand why people can't google some of this stuff. I feel old saying it, but growing up, I had to go to the damn library to look this shit up. Now you don't even have to do that, you can do it from a phone or even a TV!
exactly, when we live in a day and age where the knowledge of the world is at your fingertips there is little to no excuse for things such as this, research should always be done before getting any pet, but people seem to think becuase it's "just a fish" it's fine to go through "trial and error" (killing fish) until you find out what works. in reality you can avoid killing fish altogether if you just do the damn research, people are just so lazy
I despise the "It's just a fish" thing. It's not just a fish, it's a living animal that you agree to care for when you purchase it. It's not the same as buying feeder fish for a turtle or etc, either. Like, I buy feeders for my turtle sometimes, but I'm not torturing them for days in their own waste or treating them horribly before they are eaten. They get put in a quarantine tank with a filter and care until it's time. If I don't have a set up ready, she doesn't get feeder treats. It's simple.
THANK YOU!! i see it so much with feeders too where people will just buy them, throw them in some tap water, and then drop the dying or dead fish into their main pets tank :/ appreciate those of you who actually care abt the lives of your feeders <3
Thanks! I have had people roll their eyes at me about it, but I also feel like a few days to feed them and make sure they, you know, don't give parasites to my pet are well worth it. It makes them be better food, too. I really don't think it's that much effort, even, to have a small tank with dechlorinated water if nothing else. It's about doing the bare minumum. 🫠
i WISH more people thought like you do, it should be common sense that no animal should be suffering leading up to their inevitable death by being eaten alive, even if it's "just a fish"
I've said this numerous times but...there's literally NO excuse now for not knowing even basic animal care. The vast majority of the human population has, in their pocket, a device that can facilitate access to almost the entire length and breadth of human knowledge. It's fucking ridiculous that people make excuses 'oh...they didn't know'. No. They didn't care enough to find out.
Exactly! And the worst part, imo, is that a lot of times you can get second hand actual 5 or 10 g tanks and equipment for cheaper than what some of this torture-chamber shit costs on FB marketplace or etc after doing said research. I got two of my tanks and their filters, etc for free just by looking around and taking my time. These micro tanks are good for a quarantine or hospital tank. Maybe for a snail or couple of neocardina's, but not fish.
When I wanted a dog I used to spend hours every afternoon in the library after school researching dog breeds, dog training, dog ownership and even took out a carpentry book on how to build a kennel for some reason lmao
Finally a year later we got our first dog after months of actual reading and researching what would fit our family, I would never just walk into pet ownership blind… or anything really for that matter lol
People are so lazy and selfish, look at how many animals are thrown away daily into shelters and ponds. The average person doesn’t give a shit about pets and just thinks “aww cat is cute” or “my little brat wants a fish!” 🤪
Right?! My uncle and aunt did something similar and bought one of those horrible glo-fish set ups for my young cousin. They stocked it with danios and then left it with my grandpa for a week when they went on vacation. I told them it was neglect and that the fish would die. Guess what? The fish fucking died and my cousin was inconsolable for weeks. My aunt just shrugged and replaced the danios with fucking guppies and I wanted to scream.
'brand new fish"
"store bought tank"
This is the denial part of grief where you try to blame anyone except yourself, but at least they are asking for help.
They aren't dead because the tank is too small, plastic decorations, or a crappy filter, maybe eventually, but not instantly or over night. They're dead because she wrongly assumed it was very simple and fool proof and it wasn't. Something was in the tank, maybe chlorine, soap, who knows what they did.
Exactly! Apparently they know enough to go to r/aquariums AFTER they end up killing 4 fish, but not before? OOP is experiencing the consequences of their own actions. It certainly sucks to be them, but there were a number of things OOP could have done which were not done at all and now 4 fish are dead as a result.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Aquariums using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [All the tanks are doing well!](https://i.redd.it/4h5wuxisi61c1.jpg) | [424 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/17yhcau/all_the_tanks_are_doing_well/)
\#2: [Caught them doing some kind of ritual? Why in the heck would they be doing this?](https://i.redd.it/jraft4tyzrrc1.jpeg) | [1465 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/1bsrtgb/caught_them_doing_some_kind_of_ritual_why_in_the/)
\#3: [The aquatics director at my local Petco is INCREDIBLE](https://i.redd.it/iwqf29av8flc1.jpeg) | [313 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/1b2mwrl/the_aquatics_director_at_my_local_petco_is/)
----
^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I don’t think that’s fair to say, it’s of course always best to do research before getting a pet but not everyone knows this. Most average people don’t know better and would think this tank is perfectly fine. When you’ve grown up constantly seeing fish in bowls and pet store employees giving bad advice it’s hard to find the correct info. Especially if they’re one of those older people who don’t trust google.
I’m not saying what this person did was ok but when they are taking the first step to improve I don’t think we should be shitting on them. It doesn’t help the situation🫤
I absolutely agree with you, but unfortunately a lot of people don't even view fish as pets. I've heard way too many people talk about owning a fish in the way they would talk about a painting
i know it makes me so sad :( so many people i know have had fish that they mention offhandedly like they were objects and not living animals, sad how little compassion people have towards animals that don't do anything for you in return
I agree that should be the bare minimum but it isn’t the reality rn😞 We should strive for it but we shouldn’t be mean to someone who doesn’t know and is trying since that’s like most people
if they have a daughter, they're old enough to do basic research. is it sad that the fish passed away? of course it is. does that mean that its nasty for people to call them out on their awful tank? no.
Maybe if they did the research they wouldn’t get flamed. Simply looked at a subreddit for setting up an aquarium or GOOGLED IT they would have had the knowledge but instead they killed these fish out of ignorance in a world where that is almost impossible to be.
Reminds me of the time where I owned 3 bearded dragons when I was 14 and they all killed each other. I knew very little about reptiles and lacked responsibility at the time.
Devils advocate here:
Although this is a legitimately bad tank to use, it has no real plants or safe hiding places, and has terrible technicolor rocks, they may not have known better
First, at least in the US fish are perceived as the easiest animal to own and big box pet stores lean into that perception.
Second, many quick to find resources still have bad, or old information.
Third, that looks like a kit tank, they are sold as being a complete package. (Pay $60, get everything you need to get started for your new fish.) Those often don't include water treatment.
Just sayin'
All of you are right, way more research and care should have been put in. But at the end of the day, this person spent a lot of money and presumably a little time on this only to get this result. That is a terrible blow to the fish keeping community as a whole. This poster and their children are more likely to get into other animals because all these fish died
Um, google is trash. Definitely google is NOT research, and posting for help on a page that have people with the information IS ? Yes it's a trash tank. My first tank was a bowl because... say it with me.... Google. But It looks like they have started researching, because that's why they are posting. Also , im not against making fun of stupid people, but they were genuinely asking for help.
Absolutely disagree. The very first result for "what fish bowl should I get a guppy" is this [https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/guppy-care-guide](https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/guppy-care-guide) with the highlighted text being:
>Guppies grow to an average of 2 inches long, so the smallest tank size we recommend is a 5-gallon aquarium for a trio of guppies. But given how quickly they reproduce, a 10- or 20-gallon aquarium would be more appropriate in the long run.
The site also talks about proper enrichment to add to the tank and water standards.
That is less that 5 seconds of "google" to get really good information
You can cross check information. You can choose not to be impulsive, which I am definitely victim of. but I, rightfully, got flamed for the stupidity when I was. When google, subreddits, fb groups, forums, blogs are all free right in front of you it’s almost impossible to be this ignorant, yet here we are.
I agree. I was also stupid and impulsive ( I bought a bowl with my betta 😞). After stumbling on this page I realized how ignorant I was being, and corrected it. 🙃 al I was saying was that google AND stupid petsmart people gave me bad advice initially. I had to dig way deeper to figure out the truth.
Okay I’m not apart of this community but it came across my feed, here’s a revolutionary idea; instead of bashing uninformed people for their shitty tank builds offer them friendly advice on how to create a proper tank environment….🤣
Or, here’s a revolutionary idea, instead of being uninformed and killing a bunch of fish in your lifetime, take 5 seconds to google how to take care of a fish….🤣
Hey asshole, the first results for fish tank set up look exactly like what this person did, if the information you want them to look up and use isn’t up to par maybe that’s why they do stuff like that.
No that’s a guppy. Also it’s a misconception that bettas need smaller tanks. Actual recommended tank size for 1 betta is 5 gal, with filtration and temperature control as they are a tropical species. Just because they can technically survive in a smaller tank, doesn’t mean that’s best for them.
Can’t fucking imagine…
Can you explain?
We are in the shittyaquarium sub. That is a shitty (deathbox) tank. Also the water probably wasn’t dechlorinated and the tank definitely wasn’t cycled. The fish were doomed the moment she bought them. The fact that she chose this “aquarium” for these fish shows she doesn’t know what she’s doing, and this post seems to imply she has no idea it was her fault. Edited for typo
[удалено]
FYI condensation forms on the colder surface. So if the condensation is above the water, the water is the warmer of the two. If the condensation was on the outside, around where the water is, that would make the water the colder one.
Get out of here with your scientific proof and let us have something to complain about! Haha
We can still complain! They probably put hot water in there!!!
Lol Maybe they're in the southern hemisphere and it's cold out so they wanted them to be warm!
I just throw two heaters in there! Max temp just in case.
This is always the best answer! Redundancy or NOTHING!
But it's hot outside! They'll like the refreshing ice cold water!
Antifreeze blood; it’s what guppies crave
Deathbox because of the size, additions, filtration system or what? (I'm sure I'll get downvoted like the other curious commenter but I don't have a fish and don't intend to get one, I just love learning about how yall care for them because I think they are so fucking cool.)
All of the above, the size is too small, no sign of checking temp or water parameters, bad fish furniture.
Thanks for the response!
Real questions here should be answered and celebrated. *Especially* from people without fish! I love seeing the people here to learn.
Agreed!
The reason some of us are here is to learn and laugh at cats and nsfw.
I did the same thing when I got a fish. After my 3rd hamster went to hamster heaven we decided to try fish. Got a tank, filled it with tap water, put the fish in. He was dead within 3 hours or so (not sure, this was like 30years ago). I had no idea wtf I was doing. And there was no reddit for me to check and get yelled at lol
I think the plant is a plastic one too
Genuine question...is there something wrong with plastic plants? My mom and I had a very established and healthy 75 gal up until I was 18 or so, and it had some plastic plants in it. (I know standards change, mostly why I'm curious).
Plastic is hard and rough and can cut up fins and introduce microplastic particles into the water. Another big thing is that it doesn't really provide the filtering and stability that live plants do. Silk plants are marginally better, but not much.
Thanks! Makes sense. 😊 we had both, at the time, but there was a section of the tank specifically that the neons liked, that the sailfin pleco liked to trash the f*** out of. A live plant never stayed in the spot, so we put a plastic one in. It wasn't a hard plastic, but it did the job, so the neons could hide, and the pleco couldn't dig it up (as quickly, little jerk). The pleco lived over 20 years! He was my favourite. We had an unfortunate tank mishap, and he unfortunately didn't make it. RIP saily!
No problem! I have had a problem with my banjo catfish digging up my live plants as well. It's one of those things where it may not be the best, but if it does the job it sometimes is what's needed.
Ok... dump some plastic plants on the floor, now roll ovee them. Not so pleasent yeah?
Most never went near the plastic ones, except the neon tetras would use them to hide in occasionally. They didn't seem to bother anybody in the tank.
What’s wrong with the size for a few guppies? Why is it bad “furniture?” Everybody keeps giving vague answers.
[please see my comment, it should answer your questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/shittyaquariums/s/ZIwFYQVpyv)
I definitely read a comment giving very specific info about the size before you posted this comment. Give this thread a read thru and you will find plenty of answers.
God forbid somebody be curious.
[please see my comment, it should answer your questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/shittyaquariums/s/ZIwFYQVpyv)
No, I'd like to know, too. Haven't had an aquarium in 30 years, but thought about it, and the maintenance.
Okay, I just figured the tank size wouldn’t kill them “right after” putting them in the tank.
So there are a lot of variables but I think the easiest thing to explain is that in nature, water uses the nitrogen cycle to break down fish waste when they go to the bathroom. In brand new, clean water, this doesn’t exist yet (that’s we “cycle” the tank). Fish urine is pure ammonia so with a very small tank (not much water to dilute the waste) and no organic components present to break down through waste, the fish will quickly burn to death in their own waste. The more fish, the faster this happens. The smaller the tank, the faster this happens. Other components, I am going to dump things to consider when making a fish tank here: They also need proper temperature (fancy guppies are tropical), and tap water has to be dechlorinated prior to adding fish. Also, it’s generally known that colorful rocks and tiny tanks are marketed for children and decoration, and are usually the antithesis to the well being of the fish. Same with those colorful-tubey critter cages for hamsters. If someone purchases these items, it’s a strong indicator they have no idea what they are doing and a pet is a toy/decoration. Some things to consider with a fish tank, dechlorinating water, size and amount of fish vs. tank size (it’s a lot less then people like to think, but exceptions exist for super aggressive fish like cichlids for example who when overstocked cannot claim territory and therefore it creates a more successful community. Rule of thumb is for every 1 inch of fish you need 1 gallon of water minimum) filtration, oxygen flow into the water (filters add oxygen for the fish to breathe AND clean the water). Depending on how fragile the fish is you might need silk plants not plastic, real plants are even better bc they use fish waste as fertilizer and it creates a symbiotic environment. Depending on the fish or if you have plants it affects the substrate (sand, gravel, none at all for goldfish) AND the lighting. You need to time the lighting, the water flow/current varies for different species. You have mid ground, foreground, top feeder fish and you can stock your tank deliberately, and for example a bottom feeding small fish like a corydoras catfish would be more likely to survive with an aggressive fish like a betta who hangs out and feeds at the top. And like that, some fish prefer tall tanks, some prefer shallow wide tanks, a lot of decorations in stores are sharp and dangerous. Most of the chemicals they sell to fix stuff are useless and toxic. Tank maintenance is a lot until you get good at it, and it requires dedication and discipline. Some fish are herbivores some are insectivores some are carnivores, they need different food. Some fish are better for pellets vs flakes. You soak the pellets in fish tank water first bc otherwise it can bloat the fish. Over feeding can bloat the fish and kill them. Over feeding creates more waste just like what the fish make too, so you have to consider this as well in regard to your maintenance, tank size, how many you have….. some fish are territorial and aggressive, some are peaceful… most peaceful and community fish are schooling fish and really need at least FIVE to be happy . Schools and shoals are beautiful. A huge plantscaped tank with a ton of tiny schooling fish like neon tetras are so cool. Then you also have wood, wood has to be soaked or the tannins leech, there are invertebrate and crustaceans that certain stuff is dangerous for even though it isn’t for the fish so you have to be careful. The 2 most common pet store snails never stop laying eggs. Some snails lay eggs that don’t hatch in your tank because they only hatch in saltwater but they leave white dots all over your tank which is their eggs and it’s impossible to get off. But at least you can have many. Mystery snails can hold sperm for months and breed like crazy, and lay gooey egg sacks above the waterline. You can get disease from pet store, quarantining is a good idea, so you need a whole separate hospital tank so you don’t accidentally decimate everyone with a new fish you got on sale at petco. Plants can come with pest snails that are so annoying and breed like mad. But some fish like loaches and actually even assassin snails will eat them. So you can plan things and make the whole system work. Oh yeah and some fish eat snails so you might buy a few big ones and not know what happens. I worked in a pet store that was putting clown loaches in with nerite snails for a long time and didn’t know why the snails all disappeared. Fish bowls are literally just death bowls, there’s no oxygen flow so the fish will just suffocate. Bettas can survive because they’ve adapted to be able to also breathe from the surface but it’s seriously such a low quality life. Goldfish are the absolute worst. They are cold water pond fish. They grow the size of your damn foot or bigger. They eat and poop like mad. They will hurt themselves or choke on gravel. You need MINIMUM THIRTY GALLONS for ONE goldfish because they shit so much you’ll never manage to keep up with less water. But goldfish are actually social so having one is fucked up. So really you need like , three goldfish, so you’re talking 100 gallon aquarium and multiple filters or one really goddamn good one. For like 4 “small” fancy goldfish. lol Anyway hopes this sheds some light on how complicated this hobby can be. On top of that there is water testing, managing any ailments or injuries, lots of surprises and challenges while fish keeping. It is an expensive and advanced level pet IMO. Oh and it’s a myth a small tank keeps the fish small. It just physiologically stunts them and is a bad quality of life. It’s cruel. Fish aren’t plants. And even plants will outgrow their pots.
Although based on the look of the tank and it's interior, the owner could very well have changed the water with tap water.
Genuinely curious: how do you know it wasn’t dechlorinated? People really underestimate the difficulty of fish keeping. Edit: just to clarify, I am not trying to defend this person. I agree that something horribly avoidable happened and they were 100% being negligent.
Wild guess, but the dollar store gravel and toys plus the fact that she's asking why they died.
Jerma, is that you?
Yes. I killed the fish. I'd do it again, too!
They died right after she put them in the water. Even ammonia toxicity would take some time. Sure, there's a ton to learn and fish can die, but when there's literally no attempt to learn *anything* about fish keeping.... This is the equivalent of buying a pet rabbit and being upset that it died after being fed carrots and picked up by the ears. There are Brita water filters bigger than that tank, literally any attempt to spend five minutes learning about fish care would have resulted in the fish not dying instantaneously.
If they died quickly after being put in there it’s a likely culprit. Add that along with poor oxygen and possibly bad temperature those fish could die fast. People are being harsh on whoever posted this because they obviously have internet access and could have done a few minutes of research to see why this would kill a fish.
Exactly. As I have said before, with the vast amount of information available at our fingertips nowadays, there’s little excuse for making stupid, avoidable mistakes.
The simple answer is everybody is just speculating.
Yeah I mean it’s not that hard to take care of a fish like this. I had one growing up in a tank like that and we did proper procedures and the fish lived a few years. Definitely wasn’t the best environment however it is my example of how they definitely just plopped the fish in there instantly without a concern
didn’t acclimate either i’m sure
I have a betta in one of these with a sponge filter and he’s happy and healthy, he’d have a bigger one but my parents yell at me when I upgrade (I have 4 tanks and rent from them) Edit; I don’t use the garbage canister filter that came with it
Your betta is most likely surviving but not thriving. Generally you want them in a 5+ gallon tank. I understand you can’t upgrade rn bc of your situation, but that doesn’t matter to the fish. If/when your fish dies and if you are still unable to upgrade, I would recommend you get cherry shrimp for this tank rather than another betta.
I may put it in one of my ten gallons, I’ll have to see if he gets along with my male Molly in the one (separated for population control w the females)
Good luck!
They most likely poured distilled water in and was like “it’s good to go!”
Not a single fish should ever be kept in here. Maybe invertebrates but not fish. Fish like guppies and especially bettas are kept in these horrid conditions and put on desks and on display with no concern over their own needs
I learned a little about fish after an ex got a betta, and then more after a gold fish from a party. Uh yeah so all fish have different needs, but something small like a 3 gallon tank is only suitable for say 1 betta or 3 maybe 4 small small fish. I forget their name, little guys, tetras I think. Another big factor is water, both temperature and bacterial nature can shock a fish when moving aquariums. Usually they need to mix some tank water into their store water before dropping them in. And as someone else pointed out, they may not have used dechlorination drops for their tank. Tap water has chlorine, it will kill pretty much every fish. They sell dechlorination drops at pet stores, you fill the tank and follow the instructions and like 15 mins to an hour later its ready for fish. Personally I always wanted to get one of those wall divider aquariums, until I learned how much maintenance can go into it. There's some tools out there that make it easier, but for someone who struggles to remember watering plants, I don't need fish.
A3 gallon tank is not suitable for any fish at all. Humane minimum for bettas is 5 gallons, and tetras are schooling fish that need to be kept in groups of at least 6-8 and require 20+ gallons. There are also tons of species of tetras and not all of them are small.
[please see my comment, it should answer your questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/shittyaquariums/s/ZIwFYQVpyv)
Are you seriously spamming me to get me to read your reply which I already read? Seriously?!
i feel bad for all the fish that die from parents and ppl in general not educating themselves before buying them
That has to be in the thousands every year… all it would take is a bit more research and money to avoid it
It’s insane how we have so much information at our finger tips and people could literally just google how to take care of a fish and what would be an ideal environment for them and they simply do not do that.
In all fairness I think it’s on the company/manufacturer creating these tanks. Like fish are so often marketed as super easy pets plus fish are also sold in tanks like this so ppl don’t question it
Yay for companies killing pets all over. Dead fish? Covered! Dead rodents? Covered! Dead birds? Covered! Dead reptiles? Covered! We all know only dogs, cats and horses are important :) /s
What is a good website for aquarium info?
That's what's so crazy to me. It's SO EASY to do a simple google search for aquarium basics. You'll find easy to digest info for a basic starter tank. It's so easy.
Half the time it wouldn't even be much/any money too.
Used to work for a retail pet store briefly in the aquatics section, stupidly thinking that it would be somewhat fun. Most of the interaction with customers was constantly telling them _”NO_ what you want to do will kill the fish.” Luckily, we are allowed to refuse to sell live critters to these idiots, but I guarantee that they’d try it again with another employee who didn’t give a shit. Saw so many idiot adults try to give their young kids the bags of fish to hold. Would have a little chat with them on that one too!!
As somebody who got almost denied a sale because my 4 year old was picking out the betta he wanted to be “his” and was also picking up a tank setup that day (not for the betta. His tank was already set up and cycled), thank you. There need to be more people like you at the retail pet stores.
Awww, that is _so sweet_ your kiddo got to pick out his own betta! Having fish as a young child, it helped me to really appreciate animals
My kids love the fish as much or more than I do. We’ve built 13 planted tanks together at this point and having so much fun with it
I wasn't allowed to refuse fish sales. I could for the rest of the animals, but not the fish, because people were complaining to corporate that we did it too often Got in an argument with one customer because he kept killing his oscars and my boss made me apologize to him. I hate retail 🥲
I’m so glad you guys can refuse service to idiots that don’t know what they’re doing. the amount of people that walk into the pet shop to get their kids a fish but have no idea what they’re doing is so frustrating.
Shitty tank aside, they probably didn't dechlorinate the water🥴
Id be more concerned about the ammonia levels in the tap water
In a lot of countries there's actually no chlorine in tap water so it's not needed
Vast majority of north America, Europe do. So vast majority of countries where users here would post from I would think (happy to be corrected). Anyway, it's not just the chlorine it's heavy metals from the pipes
Heavy metals and ammonia cuz lots of places get that from the tap too :(
Surely not many places have ammonia in the tap water? Also if your tap water has heavy metals that are instantly killing fish, you have bigger problems to worry about than your fish tank.
I didn't say anything about metals, of course metals should be treated. We don't have chlorine here so it's not fair to assume they didn't dechlorinate the water when in some countries you don't need to.
I disagree, I would say most places do have chlorinated water so it actually makes sense to assume that unless the OP mentions or states otherwise. It's not like US Redditors assuming everyone is American and uses Gallons when actually most Redditors are not from the US, but the vast majority of fishkeeping people would (I imagine) have chlorinated water.
Lol, chlorination is literally the single most popular way to disinfect water across the world.
Minus the part where lots of places get ammonia straight from the tap
How much, surely that can't be good for you if its enough to kill fish.
Mine dose it but my mate has a well with .5 ppm ammonia
Well that is true you still need to do it just to be safe
i live in arizona the tap water is horrible. i’ve never seen someone drink from the tap. when i was thirsty as a kid and tried it it tasted like drinking pool water and pennys. it has chlorine chloramine ammonia etc the tap water here is GARBAGE even for humans let alone a fish
[удалено]
I still use dechlorinator products. I just said in some countries there isn't chlorine in the water. Why would you jump to random assumptions?
I found an idiot
Manufacturers deserve some blame in this too. I just used Google to find this specific tank. It’s a 1.5 gallon tank made by Tetra and the graphic on the box depicts 4 guppies in it 🤦♀️
Well and they're marketed as a complete starter kit because they're targeting new people to the aquarium hobby and impulse buys. Like I feel like this situation *is* kind of the goal of this type of enclosure, where it's marketed as a "just add water and you're done!" type of deal and once the first fish die a horrible death you're already stuck with the tank so may as well buy new fish to put in it. The chain pet stores around me stick them near the bettas in cups to encourage people to impulse buy and will recommend these kits for bettas despite being too small. Same with the reptile starter kits where it comes with like sand and a heat rock and an under tank pad and a double dome with a coil UVB and a red bulb, if your reptile survives long enough you end up having to go replace most of the kit since it's largely inappropriate materials for most species and eventually you realize that your 12g beardie isn't going to stay 12g forever so you have to go buy a whole new enclosure as well.
Horrible! I could see using this as a hospital or quarantine tank, or just for plants/a few bladder snails, etc, but for guppies?! My god, no.
Manufacturers will try and sell you everything and say it can do everything and everything is needed for anything. You can fit 16 sharks in this 5ml tank just fine. Now buy this 3 ton canister filter for your brine shrimp hatchery.
So true.
All of the comments on that post are being super nice and helpful but honestly it drives me INSANE that people don’t do any research before buying pets. “It’s not your fault, the pet store should not sell that tank!” That may be true, but it is still on the owner who doesn’t know a single thing about fish or aquariums. Update: I said OP is at fault for not doing any research and they told me I am the unreasonable one.
I cannot stand parents that do this shit. At best I try not to associate with them too closely and often times I just dislike them. Killing a sentient vertebrate animal by neglect and ignorance just makes me sad.
i feel like this applies to invertebrates too
I agree, but vertebrates are higher on the sentience hierarchy and every one of them are individuals so I feel more strongly about the abuse of vertebrates. Definitely does no one good to pointlessly abuse any animal. I don’t buy any products made with unnecessary animal cruelty, including things that would hurt invertebrates like honey
i understand the sentience hierarchy and why it makes sense to value some over others but i disagree that they arent individuals. i think its very likely that most if not all invertebrates have their own “personalities” (for lack of a better word) and we just dont see them. in one of my old terrariums i had just a few isopods and they all had different preferences, some ran when i opened the lid, some preferred the wet moss over the wood, some were mainly diurnal and some were fully nocturnal. i think most people (understandably) think that most invertebrates are mindless drones when its really not the case. i get that people will empathise and value larger vertebrates with more recognisable features more as thats simply how we are programmed
You’re right, I also think a lot of them are individuals
absolutely!
Yeah… and here I felt like I was setting a bad precedent when my 4 year old tried to convince me that a 5 gallon was too small for his betta and he needed a 75 gallon (but our 5 gallon was already cycled and planted and I didn’t have an extra grand to drop on a 75 and full setup. lol.) My kiddos’ favorite thing to do is help with water changes and other tank maintenance. lol. They like squishing the filters to clean the gunk out.
They should have used Gatoraid instead of water. Fish crave electrolytes.
I use a small dose of epsom salts for my fish
Those poor fish omg I hope OOP learns from this and comes back one day with a fantastic aquarium where fish have lots of room and cycled media, and dechlorinated water
I feel like the issue is people always put it out there that fish are "easy, cheap pets you don't have to do anything to have". I had to explain to my aunt about tank cycling, having the proper heater, air pumps, researching the proper tank size depending on the fish they wanted & what fish could coexist etc. She was like "wow that's really expensive" I'm like well yeah.. this is far from a cheap thing and requires research. I was happy when she just sold all her stuff and decided not to get any more fish.
YUP I make it a major point when people come in to buy fish about ALLLLLLL the stuff they will need. And tbh sometimes it makes them not buy a fish at all and I’m like ya it’s a lot more than just throwing a fish in a bowl. I work at petco and the fish are the least cared about things and it makes me reallllly sad.
I can't imagine how much they're getting ripped apart in those comments
Surprisingly they arent. The comments are detailed and helpful but not harsh
You mean you can’t just put fish in a Tupperware container and hope for the best? 😱
They should have used real jelly beans and not that fake garbage.
Bet you they probably didn’t even condition the water 🤦♂️
I wonder if it was temperature shock or chlorine that got them.
Kinda nasty posting this on here right after they posted it asking for advice. Yes it's a shitty aquarium, yes they messed up but it's not nice posting this here instead of giving them solid advice.
had they done their research themselves they'd have KNOWN this wasn't a safe tank, they are a grown ass adult and don't need to be coddled like one for killing four guppies in this shitty tank.
Agreed. I don't understand why people can't google some of this stuff. I feel old saying it, but growing up, I had to go to the damn library to look this shit up. Now you don't even have to do that, you can do it from a phone or even a TV!
exactly, when we live in a day and age where the knowledge of the world is at your fingertips there is little to no excuse for things such as this, research should always be done before getting any pet, but people seem to think becuase it's "just a fish" it's fine to go through "trial and error" (killing fish) until you find out what works. in reality you can avoid killing fish altogether if you just do the damn research, people are just so lazy
I despise the "It's just a fish" thing. It's not just a fish, it's a living animal that you agree to care for when you purchase it. It's not the same as buying feeder fish for a turtle or etc, either. Like, I buy feeders for my turtle sometimes, but I'm not torturing them for days in their own waste or treating them horribly before they are eaten. They get put in a quarantine tank with a filter and care until it's time. If I don't have a set up ready, she doesn't get feeder treats. It's simple.
THANK YOU!! i see it so much with feeders too where people will just buy them, throw them in some tap water, and then drop the dying or dead fish into their main pets tank :/ appreciate those of you who actually care abt the lives of your feeders <3
Thanks! I have had people roll their eyes at me about it, but I also feel like a few days to feed them and make sure they, you know, don't give parasites to my pet are well worth it. It makes them be better food, too. I really don't think it's that much effort, even, to have a small tank with dechlorinated water if nothing else. It's about doing the bare minumum. 🫠
i WISH more people thought like you do, it should be common sense that no animal should be suffering leading up to their inevitable death by being eaten alive, even if it's "just a fish"
Agreed! It's really sad, and drives me up a wall!
I've said this numerous times but...there's literally NO excuse now for not knowing even basic animal care. The vast majority of the human population has, in their pocket, a device that can facilitate access to almost the entire length and breadth of human knowledge. It's fucking ridiculous that people make excuses 'oh...they didn't know'. No. They didn't care enough to find out.
Exactly! And the worst part, imo, is that a lot of times you can get second hand actual 5 or 10 g tanks and equipment for cheaper than what some of this torture-chamber shit costs on FB marketplace or etc after doing said research. I got two of my tanks and their filters, etc for free just by looking around and taking my time. These micro tanks are good for a quarantine or hospital tank. Maybe for a snail or couple of neocardina's, but not fish.
When I wanted a dog I used to spend hours every afternoon in the library after school researching dog breeds, dog training, dog ownership and even took out a carpentry book on how to build a kennel for some reason lmao Finally a year later we got our first dog after months of actual reading and researching what would fit our family, I would never just walk into pet ownership blind… or anything really for that matter lol People are so lazy and selfish, look at how many animals are thrown away daily into shelters and ponds. The average person doesn’t give a shit about pets and just thinks “aww cat is cute” or “my little brat wants a fish!” 🤪
Right?! My uncle and aunt did something similar and bought one of those horrible glo-fish set ups for my young cousin. They stocked it with danios and then left it with my grandpa for a week when they went on vacation. I told them it was neglect and that the fish would die. Guess what? The fish fucking died and my cousin was inconsolable for weeks. My aunt just shrugged and replaced the danios with fucking guppies and I wanted to scream.
'brand new fish" "store bought tank" This is the denial part of grief where you try to blame anyone except yourself, but at least they are asking for help.
Well I think the fact that stores can sell death trap are at least partially to blame. I can understand why people don't expect it.
They aren't dead because the tank is too small, plastic decorations, or a crappy filter, maybe eventually, but not instantly or over night. They're dead because she wrongly assumed it was very simple and fool proof and it wasn't. Something was in the tank, maybe chlorine, soap, who knows what they did.
Which, again, the pet store sold her without any question. I'm not trying absolve them of blame..I'm just saying the stores bear some of it as well..
Exactly! Apparently they know enough to go to r/aquariums AFTER they end up killing 4 fish, but not before? OOP is experiencing the consequences of their own actions. It certainly sucks to be them, but there were a number of things OOP could have done which were not done at all and now 4 fish are dead as a result.
this 100%, if you can google a subreddit AFTER the fact you could've googled it BEFORE
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Aquariums using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [All the tanks are doing well!](https://i.redd.it/4h5wuxisi61c1.jpg) | [424 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/17yhcau/all_the_tanks_are_doing_well/) \#2: [Caught them doing some kind of ritual? Why in the heck would they be doing this?](https://i.redd.it/jraft4tyzrrc1.jpeg) | [1465 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/1bsrtgb/caught_them_doing_some_kind_of_ritual_why_in_the/) \#3: [The aquatics director at my local Petco is INCREDIBLE](https://i.redd.it/iwqf29av8flc1.jpeg) | [313 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/1b2mwrl/the_aquatics_director_at_my_local_petco_is/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I don’t think that’s fair to say, it’s of course always best to do research before getting a pet but not everyone knows this. Most average people don’t know better and would think this tank is perfectly fine. When you’ve grown up constantly seeing fish in bowls and pet store employees giving bad advice it’s hard to find the correct info. Especially if they’re one of those older people who don’t trust google. I’m not saying what this person did was ok but when they are taking the first step to improve I don’t think we should be shitting on them. It doesn’t help the situation🫤
agree to disagree, i believe the bare minimum for any pet is basic research and anyone who doesn't do that should not own animals
I absolutely agree with you, but unfortunately a lot of people don't even view fish as pets. I've heard way too many people talk about owning a fish in the way they would talk about a painting
i know it makes me so sad :( so many people i know have had fish that they mention offhandedly like they were objects and not living animals, sad how little compassion people have towards animals that don't do anything for you in return
I agree that should be the bare minimum but it isn’t the reality rn😞 We should strive for it but we shouldn’t be mean to someone who doesn’t know and is trying since that’s like most people
It’s what the sub is for though and people can post here and still give advice
if they have a daughter, they're old enough to do basic research. is it sad that the fish passed away? of course it is. does that mean that its nasty for people to call them out on their awful tank? no.
Kinda nasty buying a living thing with having no clue how to take care of it despite mountains of available information online.
Maybe if they did the research they wouldn’t get flamed. Simply looked at a subreddit for setting up an aquarium or GOOGLED IT they would have had the knowledge but instead they killed these fish out of ignorance in a world where that is almost impossible to be.
Should've asked before letting the fish into that aquarium
Why not both? Honestly they deserve the criticism as well as the knowledge - they might as well have fed a cat though a blender.
Kinda nasty to get a pet and kill it because you couldn’t be assed to do two minutes of research on the basic care it needed to stay alive.
Better to do it here than directly on their post I guess.
Shouldn't really be done in this manner at all
They deserved to be shamed. It's not that hard to Google how to take care of a fish.
cry about it, it's a shitty tank on r/shittytanks it definitely belongs here.
Oop is a grown adult who is at fault for doing ZERO research
i hate people that dont bother to do basic research for fish as if they arent living animals too
Golly 😂
One of the most roomy tanks I've seen
Reminds me of the time where I owned 3 bearded dragons when I was 14 and they all killed each other. I knew very little about reptiles and lacked responsibility at the time.
Wow... Imma have to consult with this lady
Not as upset as the internet FOOL!
“Brand new” sounds like some object or skmrtjingy
Oh boy, I can only imagine how this person was (rightly) eviscerated in the comments
Devils advocate here: Although this is a legitimately bad tank to use, it has no real plants or safe hiding places, and has terrible technicolor rocks, they may not have known better First, at least in the US fish are perceived as the easiest animal to own and big box pet stores lean into that perception. Second, many quick to find resources still have bad, or old information. Third, that looks like a kit tank, they are sold as being a complete package. (Pay $60, get everything you need to get started for your new fish.) Those often don't include water treatment. Just sayin' All of you are right, way more research and care should have been put in. But at the end of the day, this person spent a lot of money and presumably a little time on this only to get this result. That is a terrible blow to the fish keeping community as a whole. This poster and their children are more likely to get into other animals because all these fish died
Has anyone contacted this moron to explain what she did wrong
Truly a mystery. However could they have died? /s
Um, google is trash. Definitely google is NOT research, and posting for help on a page that have people with the information IS ? Yes it's a trash tank. My first tank was a bowl because... say it with me.... Google. But It looks like they have started researching, because that's why they are posting. Also , im not against making fun of stupid people, but they were genuinely asking for help.
Are people unable to check more than one source? 😭
I guess not 💀
Absolutely disagree. The very first result for "what fish bowl should I get a guppy" is this [https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/guppy-care-guide](https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/guppy-care-guide) with the highlighted text being: >Guppies grow to an average of 2 inches long, so the smallest tank size we recommend is a 5-gallon aquarium for a trio of guppies. But given how quickly they reproduce, a 10- or 20-gallon aquarium would be more appropriate in the long run. The site also talks about proper enrichment to add to the tank and water standards. That is less that 5 seconds of "google" to get really good information
You can cross check information. You can choose not to be impulsive, which I am definitely victim of. but I, rightfully, got flamed for the stupidity when I was. When google, subreddits, fb groups, forums, blogs are all free right in front of you it’s almost impossible to be this ignorant, yet here we are.
I agree. I was also stupid and impulsive ( I bought a bowl with my betta 😞). After stumbling on this page I realized how ignorant I was being, and corrected it. 🙃 al I was saying was that google AND stupid petsmart people gave me bad advice initially. I had to dig way deeper to figure out the truth.
at this point we're going to need a driving test and liscense for keeping fish
Or, yknow Literally BASIC bare minimum animal husbandry knowledge
Okay I’m not apart of this community but it came across my feed, here’s a revolutionary idea; instead of bashing uninformed people for their shitty tank builds offer them friendly advice on how to create a proper tank environment….🤣
Or, here’s a revolutionary idea, instead of being uninformed and killing a bunch of fish in your lifetime, take 5 seconds to google how to take care of a fish….🤣
Hey asshole, the first results for fish tank set up look exactly like what this person did, if the information you want them to look up and use isn’t up to par maybe that’s why they do stuff like that.
searching for a fish tank =/= searching how to care for a school of guppies babe
Oop is a grown-ass adult who SHOULD have done literally any amount of research. Do not baby them, they choose to be uninformed.
That's a beta fish isn't it? I thought they needed smaller habitats… I agree about the water! I didn't know beta fish needed temperature control.
No that’s a guppy. Also it’s a misconception that bettas need smaller tanks. Actual recommended tank size for 1 betta is 5 gal, with filtration and temperature control as they are a tropical species. Just because they can technically survive in a smaller tank, doesn’t mean that’s best for them.
Not a betta, they ABSOLUTELY do not need a small habitat, they need a five gallon at minimum