# Frustrating! "Relatives!" RANT



## gn3ranger (Jul 7, 2012)

Ok so I was asleep when this happened my aunt came to visit and brought along her 2 boys. My betta phillip is in the living room and from what i heard from my brother the whole time they kept opening the screen hood and feeding my fish constantly pouring shrimp and betta pellets in. I was like well it can't be that bad so i took a look in the tank and my betta's stomach is huge, I can tell they over fed him and the cories look overfed as-well. Ah I am so mad right now! If i was awake I would've hid the food. Do you guys ever have this sorta thing happen when little kids come to your house? It really gets me upset that the fish must pay for kid's being kid's. Of-course i did a water change after this incident I wouldn't put it past them spitting or doing other stuff to the tank.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Like, 10 years ago, kids my mom were babysitting dumped a huge box of flakes in my tank. The water was green, some fish died. Horrible. o.o


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## harleraven (Sep 4, 2012)

Ugh, 'kids being kids' is not an excuse. Those are kids that have no discipline! If I had done something like that as a kid, I would have gotten a wallop! I'm not saying you have to spank kids, but sheesh, they do have to be taught acceptable behavior.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

gn3ranger said:


> Ok so I was asleep when this happened my aunt came to visit and brought along her 2 boys. My betta phillip is in the living room and from what i heard from my brother the whole time they kept opening the screen hood and feeding my fish constantly pouring shrimp and betta pellets in. I was like well it can't be that bad so i took a look in the tank and my betta's stomach is huge, I can tell they over fed him and the cories look overfed as-well. Ah I am so mad right now! If i was awake I would've hid the food. Do you guys ever have this sorta thing happen when little kids come to your house? It really gets me upset that the fish must pay for kid's being kid's. Of-course i did a water change after this incident I wouldn't put it past them spitting or doing other stuff to the tank.


Hey, my betta's name is Phillip too!

I hate little kids and they are only allowed in my house under strict supervision.

*shakes cane in air*

:lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## gn3ranger (Jul 7, 2012)

I know the parent's should be more strict. I would've yeld at them Seriously i would not care what their parents would think me of you just cannot do that to fish. You seriously have no idea how angry I am right now. I try and try to keep my fish fed properly keep their tank in pristine shape, but noo kids have to ruin it the tank looked awful when i woke up I saw betta pellets floating everywhere. Sigh... all i can do is hope phillip did not eat to much


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## harleraven (Sep 4, 2012)

Sorry, I did not mean to make that sound like I was berating you. I was berating their parents for not giving them the proper education on behavior! I hope poor Phillip will be okay! D:


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## gn3ranger (Jul 7, 2012)

Not a problem. I didn't see your comment aiming at me anyways . what worries me are the shrimp pellets they put in he will tear those pellets apart which is why i use a plastic mesh divider when i feed the cories the pellets.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

registereduser said:


> Hey, my betta's name is Phillip too!
> 
> I hate little kids and they are only allowed in my house under strict supervision.
> 
> ...



haha i feel exactly the same way. unfortunately MOST not all parents dont know how to raise their kids anymore.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

I don't have random kids in my house very often because I'm 24 and my roommates are 22. We all just graduated from college, which is notable for its absence of children and old people. We did have a 9 year old with ADHD over the other day though, and he was very interested in my fish. I showed him how to grab one bloodworm at a time with a q-tip and let him dip a worm into a couple of tanks. He thought it was awesome. I was a bit nervous letting him around the fish because he's a bit like a walking tornado but everything went fine  When kids are well supervised they're usually tolerable.


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## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

My little nieces would never do that, they know better. Comes to show you how well some kids are raised now a days. My nieces know the fish can only be fed a little food once or twice a day (but don't get me wrong if they came over they would ask if they could feed the fish.) My little brother who is only 10 knows the same thing, and my younger cousin is the same but then again that is expected of her. She wanted to be a vet for a while so she read every book on animals she can find. xD


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

harleraven said:


> Ugh, 'kids being kids' is not an excuse. Those are kids that have no discipline! If I had done something like that as a kid, I would have gotten a wallop! I'm not saying you have to spank kids, but sheesh, they do have to be taught acceptable behavior.


+1 All I can say is, Amen harle...kids these days don't seem to have much discipline.


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Yeah some moms and dad seem clueless as how to raise their kids, they need to learn from the start that animals are not toys and of course if they are never around any I guess it would be hard to teach them that. Thats why I raised mine around animals and taught them animals need proper care. My daughter got my Betta for me and one of the first things she said was Mom dont overfeed him...so proud of her !


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## MollyJean (Dec 29, 2009)

There is hope!

I have several nieces and nephews and they've been coming over to use the pool all summer. (It's funny, my brother and sister wouldn't even think about coming over if we didn't have the pool.. I'm almost glad it's drained now.)

Anyway.. I've got a lot of fish tanks in the house, and started breeding this summer. My 10 year old daughter, Gwen, always takes the time to walk around the house with the little kids (3 boys, 5, 4, and 3) when they want to see the fish. She tells them how to feel them, tells them not to tap on the glass, shows them how to make them flair with a mirror and starts reciting all of the little things she's learned about fish from me. It's so cute. All my nieces and nephews are very respectful to my fish.... the rest of the house is doomed, though.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Whenever there is little kids around my fish I always tell them not to tap the glass, or open the lid without my permission. lol I always let them feed Velvet one pellet, so I just make sure at their next meal he has one less pellet. A neighbour's grandson came over to my house and I let him hold the hamster, give it a treat. But he wanted my fish. Like, he asked me if he could take the tank home. LOL He hen asked if he could pick up Velvet. I said, "Definately not!". I let him feed Velvet, and he was happy.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I would blame the parents they should have kept an eye on them.


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## Kitty Whiskers (Sep 28, 2009)

My Niece was 3 years old at the time when she dumped a whole sample size box of laundry soap in the fish tank! My sister and I tried to scoop out the fish fast and put them in clean water but they died a few minutes later anyway. 

My sister and my Niece just checked the mail minutes before, when they got the sample box for trial of a new Tide detergent. My Niece thought it was a box of fish food. Ugh!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Sorry for the fish not her fault she is 3 but never tell her when she is older she may feel guilty.


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

very few young kids have ever come near my tank but its still bothers me that a nightmare is still possible. the only time my cousin's daughters came over were very well behaved. they did want to feed the fish which i did allow but they were respectful and didnt tap at all. its still a bit scary not knowing if certain kids will just be kids around fish.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I have never had a kid near my fish they are all in my room well there is one kid me.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

Even though Fishy is technically my 6 year old son's fish, he's not allowed to feed her yet. I did let him drop in a bloodworm once, but he got scared because she jumped for it. I am trying to make sure that I teach him how to care for them properly.

On the other hand, my uncle has a huge fish tank (no bettas) and is very particular how his tank is cared for and how his fish are fed, but his 9 year grandson "accidentally" dropped in the back part of a metal decorative pin into the tank (the little part that goes behind your shirt, not the pointy part). Unfortunately, some of his fish who were very old and already not in the greatest of health due to their age, didn't fair too well with the metal contaminating their water, and one of them didn't survive.


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## Shirleythebetta (Jan 9, 2012)

This type of situation is the reason why my 5 year old brother in law is brain washed. He is now giving his 48 year old daddy betta lessons and can be trusted to feed them on his own. He actually has and takes care of his own betta, his dad does the changes of course. He gets out of bed before everyone and gives his fish a pinch of food. Little fingers give the perfect size breakfast. My husband was there one morning when the boy woke up and he was cracking up. He asked him what he was doing and he responded, "My fish needs his breakfast, duh"


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## asukabetta (Oct 2, 2012)

My 7 year old sister keeps getting into my room and bringing her friends over to see the fish, last time this happened her friend convinced my sister to try and touch the fish with their hands, and whenthey realized blueberry was too quick, they caught him in the net, PULLED HIM from the water and started touching him like if he was cat....

Thing is I was in my tutoring job and wasnt home to stop this.

When I found out, (because blue's water was all over my room) I grounded my sister so badly, she never goes around the fish without my permission no more. At least for now.

*A non fishy story but similar lines would be:*

My friend has 2 baby cousins, well not so small perhaps 5-7 years old. And her aunt that had to stayed over visiting for a few weeks.

And my friend just got a kitten called Halloween, did you know what the kids did?

THEY KICKED the cat, grabs its tail, pulled its tail, stepped its tail, BEAT the cat. Everytime we weren't looking, somehow they got to the cat.

They beat up the poor kitty so bad, she was limping. And the thing is we grounded them, yelled at them, everything possible and still no avail. We banned them from touching even looking at the cat, but it was impossible.

It was also the aunts fault. She didn't give a crap, and got upset when we yelled at her children. And didn't think her children did it, she said that cat got hurt from falling off the bunk bed, but how does that explain that the poor kitty was hurting from it's front paws, back paws, stomach and tail?

Honestly they are messed up all those 3. I was so upset at all of them and I wish I could have gone all out on those idiots, however, it wasn't my family so it wasn't really my place, but my friend did it for me though XD


Seriously uneducated parents breed uneducated children, the aunt is a terrible human being and mother, and her children under her influence is becoming like her >_>


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

ugh....some of these stories. my son is only 11 months old, and he already has more respect for our fish than these kids.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

asukabetta said:


> My 7 year old sister keeps getting into my room and bringing her friends over to see the fish, last time this happened her friend convinced my sister to try and touch the fish with their hands, and whenthey realized blueberry was too quick, they caught him in the net, PULLED HIM from the water and started touching him like if he was cat....
> 
> Thing is I was in my tutoring job and wasnt home to stop this.
> 
> ...


Please tell me the poor cat is okay I would have called the RSPCA for animal abuse and I do not trust anything to feed my fish espically vacation feeders I prefer for me to be the only feeder I only leave at max a week but that is like ounce a year rare and my fish can handle it but the fry do well to and I mean guppies.


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## asukabetta (Oct 2, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Please tell me the poor cat is okay I would have called the RSPCA for animal abuse and I do not trust anything to feed my fish espically vacation feeders I prefer for me to be the only feeder I only leave at max a week but that is like ounce a year rare and my fish can handle it but the fry do well to and I mean guppies.


yes she is no longer limping it happened this summer, there is a lot of drama in that family that I'm not very willing to get into otherwise i would have jumped, good news is that they moved to a different city and won't visit for a whiiiilleeeeeee because that aunt is lazy.


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## blueridge (Jul 1, 2011)

Not only are kids horrible but so are some adults! I'm in college and sometimes when new people come over to the room I always have to make sure they don't tap the glass, open lids, or get into my fish food.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Not all kids are bad I have had carter since 13 or 14.


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## cjayBetta (Jan 18, 2011)

megaredize said:


> haha i feel exactly the same way. unfortunately MOST not all parents dont know how to raise their kids anymore.


Are you EVER right.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I agree that explains a lot.


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## DoctorWhoLuver (Feb 23, 2012)

Not all kids are bad 
What especially annoys me is when people say that the prides and joys of my life are "just fish".


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## Nutt007 (Sep 22, 2009)

My little sister once dumped all of the food into my 18 gallon tetra tank and then proceded to colour all over the glass. Luckily, I have good parents and she learned her lesson.

Now that she's a bit older I will let her feed Copper under my supervision. I can tell she really likes taking care of him.


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## Lynntastic (May 15, 2012)

*Raises hand* My fish is named Phil. Not Phillip, though, just Phil.

I don't have little kids over well...ever. But I did go away for a long weekend (labor day) and left specific instructions on feeding him (I live with my parents and teenage sister currently). I got back and the tank was filthy, even though I had done a full cleaning just before I left, and poor Phil was bloated. They had just been shaking in pellets every day and massively overfed him. I had to clean the tank again which likely stressed him out more and then fast him for a few days which made him really moody. He was flaring at EVERYTHING for a good week after that, and he normally rarely flares even if provoked with a mirror.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

DoctorWhoLuver said:


> Not all kids are bad
> What especially annoys me is when people say that the prides and joys of my life are "just fish".


I hate it when people say that the worst people would say it is just _____.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

I've never had this problem but I can definitely see why you're mad. Kids need to learn about animals before they start interacting with them.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

A socipath commonly tortures animals as children then moves to humans same with many murders.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Yeah but I don't think it counts if its a learning experience. I threw insects into spider webs all the time and watched them get eaten. I don't think these kids were planning on killing or torturing any fish they simply just wanted to see what happened if they put all that food in there lol. Now if they were throwing cats off of buildings...


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I was referring to adults and teens.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> A socipath commonly tortures animals *as children* then moves to humans same with many murders.


Oh


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Yeah oh it is serous to keep an eye on people with warning signs.


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## whimsicalbrainpan (Aug 4, 2012)

DoctorWhoLuver said:


> What especially annoys me is when people say that the prides and joys of my life are "just fish".



I really hate that. Too many people think of fish as "lesser" animals.

Children who abuse animals scare me. If they like to set fires and/or wet the bed as well chances are very high that they will become violent criminals.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Viva said:


> Yeah but I don't think it counts if its a learning experience. I threw insects into spider webs all the time and watched them get eaten. I don't think these kids were planning on killing or torturing any fish they simply just wanted to see what happened if they put all that food in there lol. Now if they were throwing cats off of buildings...


I fed bugs to a venus fly trap


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Yikes! that sucks!

When i was little, probably about 5 years old, we had a betta in a bowl (i know, i know :S) and I took it upon myself to feed it, so I picked the bowl up to move it lower and ended up dropping it. My mom had the neighbor come and get the fish off the floor, and let the neighbor have it.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

To me people who say they are just fish are less human. I love fish so much I refuse to eat sea food.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

xShainax said:


> I fed bugs to a venus fly trap


That's different it falls under food chain there is a difference between live feeding and torture live food is important you did nothing wrong now torturing would be removing its legs just to watch it suffer one of the the king henriesithink the 8th would throw cats off castle walls for fun.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

When I was younger I had two bettas one I would use the net to make a whrk pool I am really guilty I did not know I was torturing it in a cold bowl or spinning it the bettas were at different times I bought carterina 1.5 galln unheated bowl now he has a castle.


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## Kitty Whiskers (Sep 28, 2009)

ChoclateBetta said:


> To me people who say they are just fish are less human. I love fish so much I refuse to eat sea food.


 I can't eat crab because I have Fiddler Crabs as pets and used to have Hermit crabs as well. It would be like I was eating my pet. However I do eat fish but rarely. It makes me feel a bit guilty that I do. :-?


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

I avoid any sea creature not just because I love fish, but because they taste disgusting! :-D


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Me too also mercury my MTHFR makes getting rid of chemicals hard I find it disguting aquariums sell sushi I also thinks sushi makes people view fish as less.


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Me too also mercury my MTHFR makes getting rid of chemicals hard I find it disguting aquariums sell sushi I also thinks sushi makes people view fish as less.


*Clears throat*

Alright class, welcome to Home Ec 101. It is time to learn the differences between Sushi, Shashimi, and Nigiri.

Sushi means rice and seaweed. If you have a dish where the main ingredients are rice and seaweed, then you are eating sushi. I've had egg sushi while in Japan and a lot of places that sell sushi in the US have vegetarian rolls. Also, unless the menu says otherwise, any fish in sushi is steamed cook and not raw. 

Shashimi means raw fish. That's when you will get slices of raw fish either on a bed of flavored rice or placed on a decorative plate in a pretty way. In this case the fish is actually raw so i would only get sashimi from a place I really, really trusted.

Nigiri is fish on rice. The slice of fish will be placed on a finger-sized arc of rice and is eaten with your fingers. Techniquely, this is the only one of the three rolls that is eaten with hands. Also, unless the menu says other wise, the fish will be raw and not steamed. 

*Class bell rings*

Don't forget your homework on the differences between mixing and folding.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

I'm so hungry right now.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

SnowySurface said:


> *Clears throat*
> 
> Alright class, welcome to Home Ec 101. It is time to learn the differences between Sushi, Shashimi, and Nigiri.
> 
> ...


Don't forget to add that most "shashimi" is crab meat instead of fish.


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## rubinthebetta (Oct 9, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> To me people who say they are just fish are less human. I love fish so much I refuse to eat sea food.


You too? I would never ever ever ever eat seafood because of the fact that I've owned three Betta fish and three hermit crabs. (at different times, of course) I personally have never had a younger kid bother my fish, but once when I was super little my family had a Betta fish but my brother fed it chocolate cake. What can I say, we were both little.:lol:


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## DiiQue (Jul 15, 2012)

I'm just glad my 4 year old understands that "his" fish (I used him as my excuse to get into bettas, LOL) is delicate and that only daddy can feed him. We had a couple of 2-5yr olds at the house the other weekend and they all rushed to the tank, but my son wedged himself between the tank and the onslaught of kids and told all of them very sternly that they cannot touch the tank in any way, otherwise the boogeyman comes out and takes them away forever... all the adults cracked up. It worked though, as all the kids stopped in their tracks and were safely viewing Doctor Z from a distance (4 feet away).


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

SnowySurface said:


> *Clears throat*
> 
> Alright class, welcome to Home Ec 101. It is time to learn the differences between Sushi, Shashimi, and Nigiri.
> 
> ...


Was that an insult? Sorry never eat seafood so not an expert on it. I love bettas though.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

DiiQue said:


> I'm just glad my 4 year old understands that "his" fish (I used him as my excuse to get into bettas, LOL) is delicate and that only daddy can feed him. We had a couple of 2-5yr olds at the house the other weekend and they all rushed to the tank, but my son wedged himself between the tank and the onslaught of kids and told all of them very sternly that they cannot touch the tank in any way, otherwise the boogeyman comes out and takes them away forever... all the adults cracked up. It worked though, as all the kids stopped in their tracks and were safely viewing Doctor Z from a distance (4 feet away).


You sound like a great parent.


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

DoctorWhoLuver said:


> Not all kids are bad
> What especially annoys me is when people say that the prides and joys of my life are "just fish".


that annoys me a bit when my parents say that but they understand what the bettas are to me. it angers me when uneducated ppl say it especially ppl i dont know or particularly like. some ppl i cant rip into them ie coworkers but its still annoys me alot.

i dont shy away from seafood but i dont appreciate jokes about eating fish commonly kept as pets. i do feed my gecko crickets though its just another part of his natural diet, even if they have larger variety in the wild.


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Was that an insult? Sorry never eat seafood so not an expert on it. I love bettas though.


Nope, I just have a weird sense of humor. :lol:

I've also noticed that people who love seafood and eat it all the time get get sushi and sashimi mixed up and think nigiri is sushi. It was a clearification for anyone who gets those three mixed up. I was just trying to be light hearted about it. ;-)


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

xShainax said:


> Don't forget to add that most "shashimi" is crab meat instead of fish.


If you ate at a reaturant somewhere and was served raw crab meat as shashimi, that is incorrect. I have only seen crab meat, which is usually the heavily processed crab meat and not freshly cooked crab meat, used in sushi and none of the other dishes. I have seen crab meat on the side of a shashimi plate to add a bit of flare and to act as a side dish, but that's like getting cole slaw with your burger. 

Shashimi is Japanese for "raw fish" and is literally slices of raw fish. While sushi is very Americanized and nigiri can be fish or seafood based (I've personally only had nigiri with either fish or shrimp), shashimi is the most rigid dish of the three. I don't mind doing more research since I'm not a professional chief who specializes in Japanese Cuisine, but I feel comfortable saying that Shashimi is only raw fish.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

SnowySurface said:


> Nope, I just have a weird sense of humor. :lol:
> 
> I've also noticed that people who love seafood and eat it all the time get get sushi and sashimi mixed up and think nigiri is sushi. It was a clearification for anyone who gets those three mixed up. I was just trying to be light hearted about it. ;-)


Okay thanks.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

nel3 said:


> that annoys me a bit when my parents say that but they understand what the bettas are to me. it angers me when uneducated ppl say it especially ppl i dont know or particularly like. some ppl i cant rip into them ie coworkers but its still annoys me alot.
> 
> i dont shy away from seafood but i dont appreciate jokes about eating fish commonly kept as pets. i do feed my gecko crickets though its just another part of his natural diet, even if they have larger variety in the wild.


Yeah all people should say uneducated until proved right so.


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> Yeah all people should say uneducated until proved right so.


unfortunately there is a difference between uneducated and ignorant. atleast with uneducated you have a chance to get them on the right path.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

I don't understand how learning the Japanese language is part of Home Ec 101. Just call it raw fish, rice and seaweed or raw crab and there's no confusion. Yay for English!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

All languages are equal they deserve respect.


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## birdielikestomatoes (May 2, 2012)

I've had a serious craving for a Seafood dish for months. o-o Unfortunately for me there are no fakey 'seafood' products in UT. Thank you guys for reminding me of said craving.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

If I eat seafood, I usually eat swordfish since you can't keep one as a pet. >.>


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Viva said:


> I don't understand how learning the Japanese language is part of Home Ec 101. Just call it raw fish, rice and seaweed or raw crab and there's no confusion. Yay for English!


Because it's not "English" food, so it makes more sense to refer to it by its original name. 

I mean, you could call a croissant "that rolled up crescent pastry" or carbonara "that pasta that has eggs and bacon and other stuff mixed in" but that just seems a little silly and, well...disrespectful, I guess? Yay for multicultural cuisine!

Slighty more on topic, I hate seafood. Always have...not because of my love for fish, mind you, it's just always grossed me out. I'm not much of a meat eater to begin with, but that's mostly my pickyness talking.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

For me both reasons are why I dont eat it.


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## LADY K (Jul 28, 2012)

many years ago my son dumped a whole can of tetra min flakes into my 30 gal. tank boy did he get a whip ing. then a couple of years later he dumped my bottle of jean nate perfume into the tank. i gave up fish keeping for a while. i guess he didn't want me to have fish. he is now 40 yrs old. if he does it again i'll really whip his butt.:lol::lol::lol:


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Good one my family never does anything to my fish tank.


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