# Fish: Friends or Food?



## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

My goal is to chronicle the experiences I have had maintaining my own fish tank and attempting to help my family learn how to _properly_ maintain theirs.

It has been difficult keeping up with everything that has happened in my struggle to get and maintain fish tanks in a household where fish are considered food, not friends. I've always been fascinated by fish, but the most experience I had with them was the five gallon fish tank my parents kept overstocked with tetras, goldfish, and a multitude of other fish species over the years. Unsurprisingly, these fish never lasted long and I came to believe that the normal lifespan of fish was a short, short lifespan. 

Then came the growth of the fish obsession. I don't know what sparked it, but I spent hours planning what fish I wanted, the tanks they would be put in, and the endless potential problems said tanks could have and how to fix them. It reached the point where everyone-friends, family- were begging me to stop talking about aquariums and become obsessed with something else. This begging failed. I learned how to stock fish tanks (something we had been doing horrendously wrong from the start) and the true lifespan of many of the species we had kept in the 5 gallon hex. The truth: many years as opposed to a few months. I tried to change the way my family looked at fish, but nothing I said was changing the many years of bad habits. Nevertheless, I am just as stubborn as the rest of my family. If I couldn't tell them that they were wrong, then I would show them.

I purchased a 2.5 gallon Aqueon Bowfront Tank and began the process of cycling the tank. Day in and day out, fights were started over that tank. They argued that the tank took up space and didn't even have anything in it. They argued that we already had a fish tank with plenty of fish that I could look at if I wanted to. They argued that the tank was expensive and I should return it. I disagreed. No matter how wrong my parents' opinions were about fish, they fought smart. At this time I was not able to drive myself anywhere (evil age restrictions on driving), and the closest pet store was a 15 minute drive away. The refused to take me to the store, so I was unable to get a fish to put into the newly cycled tank. Don't worry though, I'm secretly a mastermind :wink3: . My best friend and I had not yet exchanged Christmas presents, and she had not yet bought mine...

*December 24, 2012 -* The doorbell rings, and I open it to find a smiling best friend with a betta cup in her hands. Obviously my parents were not pleased with this turn of events, but my friend could do no wrong in their eyes and they accepted the fact that I had a fish rather quickly. The only thing my friend wanted was to be able to name the fish, and that day Rubert was acclimated to his new home.


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

Now obviously there were going to be some struggles with my first betta. No amount of research can fully prepare you for all the contingencies that come with fish care. Rubert had some fin rot, and my friend initially thought he was a black betta due to the lack of coloration on his body and fins. Just living in his new tank, with a filter and some more space to swim in, helped bring back his vibrant blue and red coloring. However, it did not help as much with the fin rot. After a month of trial and error using aquarium salt, dosing too low or too high being constant struggles, Rubert's fins began slowly growing back. I was happy with Rubert, my overly aggressive veiltail, even when he wasn't happy with the particular way I placed a decoration, or the way in which the gravel was put on the floor of the tank. He would actually pick up certain pieces of gravel and move them to other areas of the tank when he was feeling especially finicky.

At this time, my family still did not want to change the ways of the Death Tank (my new nickname for the five gallon monstrosity sitting on the downstairs cupboard). The tank was filled with three raspboras, five neon tetras, and a Cory catfish who all looked unhappy to be sharing such a small space. The Cory catfish passed away the day I finished the aquarium salt treatments for Rubert and two of the raspboras passed away the day after. At that point, my parents agreed to not get anymore fish to put in the tank because restocking to what they wanted in the tank was getting to be "too expensive". Even though the tank was still grossly overstocked with six fish in five gallons, it was a major improvement from what the tank had been like and my constant remarks about the quality of life for the fish were fewer and farther apart. I was still not happy with what the fish were living with, but baby steps were better than no steps at all. 

Has anyone else had to deal with stubborn people who believe their way is the right way, even when it goes against common knowledge?


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*October, 2014 -* Nothing of significance had happened up until this point with Rubert. Every week when I did the water change, I would mix around all of the decorations to keep the grumpy fishy occupied. Then sometime in October (or November, I'm not really sure anymore) I decided to pick my rearranging up a notch. I removed his usual treasure chest hideout and replaced it with a haunted house so as to allow Rubert the opportunity to celebrate Halloween with the family. Bad idea. I performed the pantyhose test on the outside of the house. However, not once did it cross my mind that I should check the inside of the house as well. Two days after putting the house in, Rubert's fins were a tattered mess. I once again had to treat him with some aquarium salt to keep the remaining fins healthy, and the haunted house was promptly replaced with his usual treasure chest. My family didn't let that one go very easily.

At this point in time, the five gallon "family" tank had four neon tetra inhabitants. My parents were picking up on the weekly water changes and were moving the decorations around in that tank as well. They had no incidents with torn fins, so my screwup was twice as funny as it would have been if it had occurred to them as well.

*April, 2015 - * One of our family friends had a fish tank in which an egg clutch of mystery snails had hatched and was currently taking over the tank. They were going to try to turn them in at the local pet shop for credit, but they asked if Rubert may want a tankmate. I had never attempted to put anything living in his tank with him, so I gave it a whirl! Rubert did not approve. As I placed a smaller container inside of his tank (to acclimate the snail), Rubert immediately started flaring at the poor thing and did not stop until the snail was removed. I learned that day that Rubert flew (or swam, I guess) solo.


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*March, 2016 -*Rubert had begun to slow down. He was still swimming actively around the entire tank, and loved to flare at absolutely everything, but the swimming was definitely at a slower pace and he was more often seen lying on the plants. I noticed a whitish cloud in one of his eyes, and began asking around the forum to see what it may be. We concluded that he had become blind in that eye, and I had to spend a little extra quality time making sure that he was actually able to find and eat his food. Other than that, his quality of life seemed fairly good.

Unfortunately, my phone broke around this time and I lost all of the photos of Rubert that I had taken over the years. Any at this time no longer showed his awesome coloring, because it had begun to fade with his age. This is the first picture I was able to take at this point. As you can see, his eye is very cloudy at this point.

The five gallon tank was mostly empty at this point, with the exception of an apple snail. The plan had finally worked! My parents were planning on getting a betta to put in the tank, and I began showing them all the different options that were available. Happiest moment of my aquarium experience!


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*March 15, 2016 -* Rubert's quality of life went downhill fast. He developed Swim Bladder Disorder, and fasting did nothing to relieve him of the symptoms. He struggled to eat, struggled to see, and was no longer capable of swimming properly. Aquarium salt baths worked as a short term solution in helping with his ability to swim. Three weeks passed before the condition reemerged. At that point, nothing I did was capable of helping Rubert swim properly, but I provided more areas to rest closer to the surface of the tank and Rubert still flared at everything he saw. He had some new developments in his life, but he was still interested in everything that was happening around him.

*June, 2016 -* After three and a half years, Rubert passed away. He was a great little fishy who helped me relax during a stressed out school week and was amazing in helping fix the problem with the 5 gallon Death Tank.


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*Later in June, 2016 -* I believe I forgot to mention it earlier in these posts, but a month earlier I had gotten a 5 gallon tank that I was going to move Rubert into when the tank had been cycled. For obvious reasons, that did not end up happening. My next plan was to wait until the new tank had fully cycled before getting a new betta. That plan also went topsy turvy...

My family all went out together to pick out a betta fish to put into the Death Tank (I should probably come up with a better nickname now that its actually in an acceptable condition). My brother was indifferent to the whole event as he does not much care for fish, and I knew that I would be getting my own betta later on to put in my new tank, so my sister made the big decision as to what we were going to get. While she spent 20 minutes looking at every single betta and deciding which one "looked the coolest", I was falling in love with a halfmoon betta who was completely ignoring the flaring males around him. Now obviously I couldn't just leave that little guy at the pet store, so the family went home with two beautiful bettas.

My sister moved her new white betta into the five gallon family tank and named him Darwin. He had no obvious problems, and transitioned smoothly into his new tank. Rubert "Finley" the II, on the other hand, had a mild case of finrot. It only took about a week for his fins to begin growing back and I had no regrets buying a betta earlier than expected.

You can see the splits in Finley's fins in the pictures, but they healed up pretty quickly.


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

Awww wonderful journal!


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*June 11, 2016 - *So...at the bottom of my 2.5 gallon tank, water was beginning to appear. I freaked out and thought the aquarium was cracked. It took about 30 seconds for me to decide to put Finley into the new 5 gallon tank. This is the moment I realized Finley is a finicky fishy. His acclimation process took 9 hours, and he was only moved into one container that entire time. Nevertheless, he decided the process was much too stressful and he began showing signs of finrot...again. It cleared up in a few days, but now I know that he does not take kindly to changes in his environment.

*June 13, 2016 - *Norman, the friendly apple snail, was moved from my sister's five gallon (to avoid the overzealous breeding of said snail species) and began the acclimation process in Finley's home. At first sight, Finley swam away and hid in his log, only coming out when promised bloodworms. A few hours later, he cautiously approached the strange container holding Norman and discovered that the giant shelled beast was not in fact here to hurt him. Norman was released into the 5 gallon tank, and after careful watch, both species have begun to coexist peacefully.

*August 20, 2016 -* After an overprotective younger sister became incredibly worried about a floating apple snail (actually normal behavior), an agreement was made to bring that apple snail into Rubert "Finley" the Second's tank. From there on out, apple snail "Hope" began living in the tank with Finley and Norman. My tank is 3-5 degrees colder than my sister's tank, and although the snails seem more active in my tank they don't seem to want to reproduce (which is great for me since I don't want any more snails). I've only had two or three egg sacks that I was able to remove quite easily.

*August 29, 2016 -* The old tank setup was looking a little drab, so an aquarium makeover was in order. 

*September 10, 2016 -* Unfortunately, after two and a half years of living in the family's various tanks, Hope passed away. A burial was performed with a distraught younger sister.

*September 11, 2016 -* I am leaving for college in about a week, and my sister has decided that Norman is officially her snail and will not be going with me. We've moved Norman back to my sister's tank to stay at home while I'm off to experience life on my own.

*September 12, 2016 -* Four baby nerite snails have become new members of Casa de Rubert. Their active algae-eating is a welcome sight in a tank overrun by brown algae.


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*September 16, 2016 - *I'm moving into a college dorm on Sunday, and I'm kind of nervous about taking Finley for an hour and a half drive. I'm planning on keeping about 3 inches of water in the tank to keep the gravel wet and still have enough water to keep the filter media wet. I'll be putting Norman in the cup I got him in, have the four baby Nerite snails in a separate cup, and a third cup with all of my pieces of Marimo ball. The rest of the decorations will be wedged in the tank around the cups to keep everything in place. I'm hoping this setup will work, but I'm worried. Finley is prone to getting stressed by the smallest of things like water changes and changes to his tank. Does anyone have any tips for moving tanks?


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

MysticSky22301 said:


> Awww wonderful journal!


Thank you, that's very kind! :smile:


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

Oh! To answer your question! 

Fish are both friends and food, it depends on the situation. I've kept native species for about 8 years and would never eat the ones in my tank. But fish purchased or caught for food, I have no issues preparing and eating.

This is my brown bullhead I've had him about 6 years. He was accidentally dipped out of a minnow tank and dumped in with feeder fish for a green sunfish, who couldn't eat him so he stayed.

He started out about 2-3 inches long he's officially 9 inches! they grow really slow lol


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

MysticSky22301 said:


> Oh! To answer your question!
> 
> Fish are both friends and food, it depends on the situation. I've kept native species for about 8 years and would never eat the ones in my tank. But fish purchased or caught for food, I have no issues preparing and eating.
> 
> ...


That's still giant! I came up with the title because my parents would always joke that if one of the fish in the Death Tank died, we could roast them up. My sister then proceeded to tell my parents off, saying that fish are friends not food. My brother, being the witty clown that he is, changed it to "Fish _aren't_ friends, they're food". That is now said by at least one member of the family when we have fish for dinner.


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## MysticSky22301 (Apr 16, 2016)

They reach 18 inches lol so he's not too big I've had 3 sunfish they are SO smart one bit anybody but me lol 

I love my fish everyone keeps threatening to use mine as bait or fry them up and I've even maid threats about it spending years of your life with a pet you really get attached


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

MysticSky22301 said:


> They reach 18 inches lol so he's not too big I've had 3 sunfish they are SO smart one bit anybody but me lol
> 
> I love my fish everyone keeps threatening to use mine as bait or fry them up and I've even maid threats about it spending years of your life with a pet you really get attached


Yeah, I can see that being really frustrating. Some people just don't understand because they've never felt that close to an animal they'd normally consider food.


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## astrummortis (Aug 15, 2016)

I eat fish. But that doesn't stop me from getting testy when people joke about eating muh BETTA ! >:[]


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

astrummortis said:


> I eat fish. But that doesn't stop me from getting testy when people joke about eating muh BETTA ! >:[]


Exactly! :lol: I'm in the same boat. Finley is definitely off limits...


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*September 17, 2016 -* I came up with names for the four nerite snails today! I had a choice between packing last minute things for college or coming up with some names for the new additions, so I researched different names for my horned and tiger nerite snails. The tiger nerite snail is named Madhuka, the second picture shows Erlea, the third shows Binnie, and the fourth shows Nebi.


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

And I'm off! Finley is all packed up and we're starting the drive to college move-in day. Hopefully everything goes well. *fingers crossed*


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*September 19, 2016 - *Finley and his snail buddies made it safe and sound to the dorm room. It was an adventure trying to figure out how to get water into the tank, as the sink bowl was too shallow to put any real bottles or glasses in. It took quite a few fills, but we finally made it to the normal fill amount. Lucky for me he doesn't seem to have been fin nipping too badly. I was pleasantly surprised when I put him back into his tank. On the other hand, the tank looks like a mess because I pretty much threw the decorations into it before putting Finley in because college move-in day is super busy and I had to go to a meeting. Woohoo! We'll see how this college adventure goes...


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## astrummortis (Aug 15, 2016)

Yay, Finley and the snail pack. enjoy your time at college, they're very formative years, y'know


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

astrummortis said:


> Yay, Finley and the snail pack. enjoy your time at college, they're very formative years, y'know


I hope so!:wink3:


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## astrummortis (Aug 15, 2016)

Those snails will be guaranteed jobs by the end of their college careers, right? Haha


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## rubertthefish (Mar 12, 2016)

*February 12, 2017*

Man do I have some updating to do! Winter break was quite upsetting for poor Rubert "Finley" the Second. The day after returning home from college with him and his four snail friends, I woke up to the finnicky old man holding half of his fins in his mouth. I may be exaggerating by the amount of tail missing, but only slightly. I freaked out thinking the water quality had deteriorated! Nope, everything was normal. His tank had obviously been rearranged slightly when moving the tank on the two hour car ride, but does that really warrant self-mutiliation? Apparently. His fins are only now starting to heal, and it has been months. He really did not appreciate the change in scenery going back home, but was fine when we returned to college a month later. I don't understand how this fish thinks.

But that's not the biggest bit of news, at all. Let me skip back a few months to thanksgiving and Black Friday. I was wandering the aisles in my local Petco, as you do when you've been told to "quickly" get dog food, and noticed that the tank I had for Finley was on sale for a outrageous price. I came home with dog food...and a fish tank. My parents told me it was a waste of money, but let me explain myself to you and I'll let you be the judge. Finley's tank has been overridden with pest snails for months. It started before I left for college, and I thought I had cleaned everything out when I poured boiling water over all of the equipment and decorations. I was wrong. The pest snails came back with a voracity I was not prepared for. I was spending every day scooping out endless snails, and the algae growing on the tank no longer appeared to be enough to feed my four nerite snails. They were stealing my snails' food, and that was not acceptable. The only thing that made sense at this point was to cycle a new tank, and just move Finley and the nerite snails over while I tried to fix this pest snail problem. So I did. Finley, luckily for me, did not care one bit about the move. I REALLY don't understand him. About a week after the move, one of the nerite snails died. It was actually quite upsetting, and we (including myself and my suitemates) had a toilet bowl funeral for him. I honestly think the most upsetting part was the fact that I couldn't remember his name and had to look it up on the forum. This was the only sign I needed to change the names of the remaining snails in the tank. They needed to be more memorable if I wanted to actually remember them. And thus comes the most important part of this update: what happened to the old tank?

Well, after about a week of trying to figure out whether or not I wanted to risk chemical treatment to get rid of these pesky pest snails, I learned about dwarf puffer fish. Yes, puffer fish that live in freshwater, are small enough to live in Finley's old tank, and actually enjoy snacking on those pesky pest snails. I fell in love with the idea, and quickly jumped into the "if I buy more fish my life will be simpler" mindset. I went to a local fish store, and soon came home with two new little friends. And by little, I mean really little (they were baby dwarf puffers). My friends and I then fell into the traditional 3 hour naming war attempting to come up with something both cool, yet simple. My suitemate was set on Jorge and Juaqinne (I still don't understand where those names came from. I don't think she does either), but no one else thought those names were fitting. We ended it quite simply: by looking at food close to us and basing their names off of that. We welcomed to the family Nabisco Saltine Cracker and Nutella (Nabi and Stella are the short and sweet versions). I will have to post some pictures, because these guys are absolutely adorable. We also decided to change the snails's names at the same time to Peanut, Butter, and Jelly. I still can't tell Peanut and Butter apart, but Jelly is red so that makes it way easier.

Moving on though, I'd like to talk about the present day. Unfortunately, shortly after the naming ceremony, Butter passed away (I liked the name Peanut better so the last remaining zebra nerite snail is Peanut and the dead snail was forevermore Butter). All of the remaining fish and snails are doing remarkably well, and Finley is finally beginning to look less raggedy with his tattered and eaten fins. I have to post a picture of it, because then one day I can look back at it and hopefully see the process his fins have made. The tanks look slightly different, but the sizes are still fairly large. I'm not sure if I said this before, but I could fit 6 gallons into Finley's old five gallon tank even when leaving some space for air, and can now put 6.5 gallons into it with the water level all the way to the top. Finley is technically now in the 2.5 gallon version of his old tank, but I can fit 4 gallons into it. I don't quite understand why they are advertising a smaller gallon amount, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised. The 2.5 gallon switch was originally only supposed to be a temporary housing solution while I fixed the pest snail problem, but will now most likely be his permanent home.


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