Our next door neighbors went out of town this weekend, leaving us in charge of Shimmer, their pet goldfish.
Of course, less than 24 hours after arriving at our house, Shimmer inexplicably died.
Now we are faced with a dilemma. Do we replace the goldfish with one from a pet store or do we offer our neighbors one of the frozen goldfish that are, for equally inexplicable reasons, STILL IN MY FREEZER?
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Replace the fish!
We could never keep a goldfish alive. We tried, but we killed the fish within a day of getting it. The longest we had a goldfish was for two weeks.
Replace with a pet store fish. My brother once killed our friends' goldfish (we were staying at their house for vacation) by putting febreze in the tank.
So sad for the little guppy...
...my question is WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE THE FROZEN ONES?! LOL!
Make a quick run to the pet store...and let them know you did...after you hand them the frozen carcass for a family burial.
Maybe they would be relieved. After all, what kind of a pet is a goldfish? You'd have to take the fish to the store to match size, etc. Good luck. I'm not offering an opinion, but be sure and post the result.
We have never been able to keep fish alive! So recently my oldest and her hubby gave us a 10-gallon tank as a gift. It also came equipped with a bunch of fish that reproduce about once a week. Even after they eat a bunch of the babies, there are still plenty there. We never have time to name them or anything...about once a week the kids say, "Ooo, more baby fish!" I'm not sure they really realize what is going on and I'm not planning to tell them any time soon. You know, now that I think about it, maybe I don't even really know what is going on in that tank...
Sandy
www.twelvemakesadozen.blogspot.com
That is completely disgusting!
Sounds like my life - it always happens to me.
We go through many goldfish for the sake of Miss 6 and I have attended many a tear filled fish funeral hosted by her. Hang in there.
Elizabeth from http://thedotdotblog.blogspot.com/
I would replace it... but I'd wait until a few hours before they return home (you never know if the replacement will kick the bucket)... and buy a few extras, just in case;)
Do not replace it! I would bet on it that the child/children will know, they always do...
Goldfish don't like bowls, that was the first mistake I'm sure....
Both. Buy new fish and hand over the remains. That's my 2 cents.
Hope they don't read your blog... :)
Buy a look-a-like and be done with it!! If I were you, I would tell the parents the truth and then pass the imposter fish off to their kids. Good luck!
www.orlandparkmom.com
This exact thing happened to me! We had our neighbors fish for about a week, then my husband deceded to change the water - the next day, dead fish....we decided honesty was the best policy, and told them what happened. our neighbors were really nice about it, but then again, they haven't asked us to watch their pets since......
Perhaps they won't care that their fish is gone. If they had wanted it for a long time it would have been in a tank not a bowl and could have survived the weekend on its own. Shame on them for thinking it could live in something the size of a coffee cup..
replace the fish. Oh, and judging by the cloudy water, I would venture to guess too much food. Gold fish really only need to to be fed once or twice a week. Just a pinch, thats all. good luck!
Aw!
My family had a big fish tank for a few months. My brother got into the fish food and dumped a ton in there, then my mom and I accidentally dumped a ton of fish food in there... Well, it all kind of snowballed and they all died. :'( We had a cute little frog, too...
Hmmm...I think you were set up to take the fall on this one. Genius!
It would have happened soon even if you hadn't done it. That fish's living conditions would be like shoving you in a poo-lined cardboard box with no ventilation. :(
I'd call them and let them know what happened and let them choose what to do next. They may want a replacement but if that's the best they can do for their current pet, they probably don't care all that much as it is. :(
a friend of mine offered to pet sit a favorite guinnea pig for a neighbor. Her daughter walked around all day long holding it. When she looked out the window around 5pm, she noticed something was not quite right. when she investigated.... she realized it had died and was starting to stiffen. Ooops! her daughter must have loved it a little too hard. when the neighbor returned, they were secretly thrilled--their kids weren't but they were.
Two of my fish died when my neighbor was on pet-sitting duty and she didn't even notice. So, there you go!
Yikes, that is a dilemma. Flip a coin.
I am tending "Scunge" the fish right now and am dreading the next 10 days. My friends little girl came up to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Please don't let Scunge die!" AAGH the pressure!
I would vote for replacement, but it's a bit of a pain to get the bowl ready first and then acclimatize the fish and then move it back to the owner's house - that all might be enough to kill the replacement. It's not as easy as filling the bowl with tap water and dumping the fish in.
If you are able to get a hold of the parents and ask for their thoughts, that would definitely be best! Good luck - and please include the follow up on this one!!!
Goldfish are really quite easy to keep alive. But you have to remember two things. 1. Their water needs to be chlorine free. (You must sit tap water out for 24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate out, or you need to buy water conditioner that chemically cleans the water of the chlorine. It is cheap and readily available at the pet store.) 2. Keep that water clean by not over-feeding. (No matter how many children want THEIR turn at feeding the pet--a goldfish only needs a few flakes a day.) Dirty or chemical water = Dead fish. What is nice about goldfish is that they are highly tolerant of their own normal levels of waste products, so you don't need a filter. They handle ammonia buildup (from their urine) and their feces fall to the bottom of the bowl where they degrade into the rocks and are biologically filtered. It is only with overfeeding (producing WAY too much waste and leaving food particles in the water) or by giving them chlorinated water that you will readily kill them. I hope you try again and that your neighbors do too. (Our children have loved the fish in their lives.)
My brother pet-sit his college's friend's fish one Thanksgiving, and his buddy thought it would be funny to dump a bunch of food in the bowl. Belly up the next day.
Are you related to my sister. We had a goldfish for two years and she petsat for a week and killed it within 3 days.
I told her not to replace it. I figured either we would be without fish or my kids would be excited to pick out new ones. So far, no new fish and I'm fine with that!
Return the empty, clean bowl with a gift certificate for a local pet shop. You get a clear conscience and the kids get to pick out their next victim ... er, "pet" (if you can really call a fish a pet).
We once took care of a friend's daughter's pet rat while they were out of town. He died of course. The sad part was I thought he was just sleeping for half the day!
We stored him in a shoebox in the garage until her daughter could claim him for a funeral. We gave her a gift card to the pet store as a "Sorry, we killed your best friend" offering. She still hasn't used it and it's been over a year. Guess she's not over it yet...
Goldfish don't like bowls, that was the first mistake I'm sure....
Pet Sitting Mckinney
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