Questions about care and feeding of a fish

KaeEll · Original Soap Dish Diva

Questions about care and feeding of a fish

shellyinphx · Long Lost DiMera Daughter

it really all depends on what kind of fish it is. Sounds like one of those molly fish which do not like other fish, have you tried google

jojolin · The Naughty Bad Girl

Oooh, I haven't had a fish since I was a little girl. Did the guy bring a net? Try to scoop him out with a large cup, and keep him in some of the tank water. Clean the tank, and fill back up with room temp water. *shrugs
I have no idea what else to do.

KaeEll · Original Soap Dish Diva

Google was somewhat helpful, thanks. I'll have to use my big pyrex measuring cup to scoop the thing out, then clean the tank. I think it is a molly. Ew. Not my cuppa tea.

TinaLord68 · The Smiling T.L. Fan

Uck cleaning a tank sucks! I think we had a fish years ago. A pet store could offer some sugestions too

Moore ideas · Moore Ideas Not More Ideas!

Arizona daughter had fish for a while when she was younger, so I do know a LITTLE bit about them, but it's been awhile...

Did your neighbor leave you with any chemicals?

Don't use detergent when you clean the tank. Soap can kill the fish, and you can't be sure that you've gotten rid of all the residue.

Scoop the fish out with a net (if he gave you one), or with a plastic cup, and transfer the thing in it's own bowl water to another container while you're cleaning the tank.

Change the water, add special drops to neutralize any chlorine in your water, and other special drops to get the right ph. Did the neighbor bring any of that stuff???

Return fish to tank. (How large a tank is it, by the way?)

Nice neighbor. A little warning might have been helpful...

KaeEll · Original Soap Dish Diva

The tank is a cube 6" by 9" tall. No chemicals, nuttin' but a round box of food. I banished it to Ted's desk zone downstairs. I just changed over the laundry and the thing is floating on top of the water. I think it's dead.

Fortunately, all fish look the same, non? I'll wait until the neighbours are almost ready to come home and head off to a pet store, get a replacement. Gah. It had better not be one of those exotic things that cost a bunch.

Yes, a little notice would have been nice. I'd have told them I'd be happy to help find a more suitable sitter for it.

Can I flush the thing down the toilet, or do I need to bury it? Just uck. How can I tell if it's really dead? With my fish luck, I'd be flushing a thing that was just taking a nap.

Moore ideas · Moore Ideas Not More Ideas!

Is it floating upside down, or sort-of sideways? If you don't see it swimming around soon, it's may be dead. And, yes -- you can flush it!

Maybe you ought to take a picture of the poor thing so that you can identify it at the pet store, although I imagine that the fish's owners might be able to tell the difference. We always recognize our own "babies".... (LOL!!! HAHAHAHAHA. Okay, I know that it isn't funny, KaeEll.)

It's really your neighbors' own fault. They shouldn't have assumed that you knew anything about fish, and it was thoughtless for them to assume that you would want that kind of responsibility in the first place.

KaeEll · Original Soap Dish Diva

Thanks, Moore. I won't go back downstairs until I've picked Ted up from the subway. I know it's silly, but the thing gives me the creeps. Shall report back later on the life or death of Lucky Patrello, fish from next door. Sounds like a gangster name, non?

I will take a pic of the thing, too, post it for you to see the sorry state of the tank and all. Funny thing is, this couple and their little 2 year old are the sweetest, most well-mannered people on our street. And considering that we used to give them a bottle of very good cognac every Christmas and they never once even so much as thanked us, is saying quite a lot about our little neighbourhood. Needless to say, we stopped after the 4th year. (It wasn't just some hollow la-di-dah gesture on our part - Joe makes his own wine and always insisted on giving us a couple of gallons of it every fall. It was our way of thanking him.)

And now I may have killed their fish. Part of me wants to say Bwahahaha.

It's alive!!

I thought the thing was black, but the flash of the camera revealed it to be orange. Life's full of little surprises.

-- Edited by KaeEll at 18:10, 2008-02-05

jojolin · The Naughty Bad Girl

Hahahahaha! I was cracking up thinking the slimy sucker was dead! Oh well....maybe it can hit the toilet next time.

Moore ideas · Moore Ideas Not More Ideas!

HAHAHAHA, KaeEll...!!! That's too funny.

I'm sorry that you have to hold your breath over this wretched fish for the next two weeks. Fish sitting for a weekend is one thing, but two weeks is quite another.

A lot can happen in two weeks!