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Original poster

Why are millennial fish such snowflakes?

33 replies

WellErrr · 22/02/2019 11:58

Just taken DD to buy some fish. V exciting all round.
Got to the shop to be told that we can’t have any fish until our aquarium and filter has been set up for a certain amount of time, we can’t have a goldfish at all unless we buy an aquarium bigger than my car, and that even if we DO fulfil all these requirements, we still can’t have a fish as they can only be in the bag for 45 mins and we live over an hour from the shop.

Now, I’m not saying that winning fish at hoopla is right, but as children we won many fish at Christmas fairs who lived happily for many years in filter-less tanks with regular clean outs.

Are today’s fish really such snowflakes!? DD quite sad leaving without her fishy 🐠

OP posts:
SoSaidTheHorse · 22/02/2019 12:10

Good for the store. Goldfish can grow much larger and require more care than people expect. They are not small fish. Cramming them into tiny bowls and tanks is incredibly cruel and can restrict their growth and cause health issues.

Starfish · 22/02/2019 12:12

I think people are just more aware of the care needed for fish these days. They're not the 'throwaway' animals that people assume they are and they actually have pretty long lifespans when looked after properly. Don't get any animal unless you're willing to ensure that animal is looked after with an appropriate environment to live in.

SpaceCadet4000 · 22/02/2019 12:24

Unless the fish were born between c. 1981 and 1996 they are probably more likely to be gen Z fish (sold by millennials).

But seriously, do it the right way and cycle the tank first- it's unfair to poison a living creature to death in a soup of its own waste, and your DD would probably be sadder when her new fish of a week died.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Fish
reindeermania · 22/02/2019 12:25

Haha! Grinwe had to take a sample of our water to be tested before the pet shop would release the fish- I know exactly what you mean.

I know there's reasons etc and am not disputing that they are necessary but come pps! It's obviously a light hearted post.

Ncaa · 22/02/2019 12:41

Glad the store is taking it seriously! I wish other pet stores pets at home would take stuff like this seriously for other animals like hamsters.

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 22/02/2019 12:43

Good for them actually not wanting a living being to suffer and making sure your set up isn't cruel and likely to kill it.

LoudBatPerson · 22/02/2019 12:51

Most people do not realise how long a goldfish will love for or how big they can grow.

The small goldfish are either ping or their growth and lifespan has been severely stunted by living in tiny unfiltered tanks.

Goldfish can easily live over 10 years with many making it o 20. Off the top of my head I believe the oldest recorded was in its forties! They can grow to 4 inches, with some reached 10".

Goldfish have been poorly treated for so long that people don't even realise how bad the fish bowls of our youth were.

PalmTree101 · 22/02/2019 13:03

Well you clearly did zero research before telling DD she could have a fish... as if you had you would have known all this. So good on the fish shop!

Birdsgottafly · 22/02/2019 13:09

I agree with the above posters.

Not taking the welfare of any living thing, kept as a pet, seriously, doesn't teach a child anything.

Just ask your DD if she wants her fishy to be sad, or die.

I think they should have better bags, though, so you could get one home.

Luckily one of the Staff at my local Pets At Home, is a good rabbit keeper. He gives good advice and warnings, he's probably responsible for the drop in sales of rabbits, but that's a good thing.

Everytime I see a family discussing getting one, I want to tell them that they aren't the easy, docile, prey animals that they appear, Watership Down was quite accurate.

I have three of the fuckers. They've cost me a fortune.

formerbabe · 22/02/2019 13:40

My ds wanted a fish. I was amazed at how complicated it was when i was researching it. Didn't get one in the end.

MissionItsPossible · 22/02/2019 13:56

Millennial fish? Were these fish born in or before 1996?

SilverySurfer · 22/02/2019 14:00

I'm pleased the store is ensuring any fish they sell will be in a suitable tank. I loathe seeing a goldfish in a bowl aimlessly swimming in circles.

misscockerspaniel · 22/02/2019 15:59

Really pleased to hear about a pet store that is behaving responsibly.

Original poster
WellErrr · 22/02/2019 17:51

I just don’t understand how a big bowl of water with a scuba diver and a plant in it was fine for the fish of the 80s and 90s, but means a sudden end for the fish of today?

My fish lived to be over ten so they must have been happy enough?

OP posts:
Original poster
WellErrr · 22/02/2019 17:53

I loathe seeing a goldfish in a bowl aimlessly swimming in circles.

As opposed to.....what? Doing algebra? Putting on amateur dramatics? Constructing amphibious landing gear from the gravel?

OP posts:
SoSaidTheHorse · 22/02/2019 17:56

It wasn't fine for the fish. They may have survived but they didn't exactly thrive, and your fish may have made it to ten but the majority didn't and it's likely its size and health were limited by the conditions.It's a good thing that people and pet stores are slowly becoming aware that fish need and deserve as much consideration as any pet.

SoSaidTheHorse · 22/02/2019 18:00

Also they can live long beyond ten years(43 being the record) especially if kept in the correct conditions. They deserve room to swim reasonably freely,not just turn around.

GregoryPeckingDuck · 22/02/2019 18:03

Gold fish in bowls don’t grow to size and usually die young. Those bowls weren’t fine. People were just ignorant.

Loyaultemelie · 22/02/2019 18:22

I won a goldfish in a fair when I was 14 and we took her out of the wee bowl and into a 100l tank. She grew to a big size and outlived all the fish bought from the fish shop she was over 21 when she died and my Mum's pride and joy

dancinfeet · 22/02/2019 23:37

Goldfish should be kept in ponds or large tanks not small bowls / small tanks. A small bowl means that the ammonia levels get high really quickly in the water, which essentially will poison the fish. A small air pump can help but it's not a complete solution, and it's important that the water is of the correct PH and salt level; just putting fresh tap water into the bowl is not good for the fish. Also, they don't tolerate sudden changes in temperature well more than a couple of degrees up or down, so moving the fish from a bowl of water that has settled to room temperature into a bowl of tap water that is potentially quite a bit colder - the sudden change in temperature can literally shock the fish to death.

Kept in the correct conditions, a goldfish can and should grow to a very large size and live for many years. It's cruel to deliberately stunt their growth by keeping them in a tiny bowl.

Maelstrop · 23/02/2019 00:21

Small tanks/bowls are appallingly cruel. Get a decent set up if you’re going to get fish.

You know you can fish delivered, don’t you?

PalmTree101 · 23/02/2019 00:27

I just don’t understand how a big bowl of water with a scuba diver and a plant in it was fine for the fish of the 80s and 90s, but means a sudden end for the fish of today?

How come making lions jump through rings of fire, and making elephants dance in circuses used to be fine - but is not considered cruel?

Because we have increased our understanding of what animals need to thrive and revised our views on what is cruel.

PalmTree101 · 23/02/2019 00:27

but is now considered cruel

Ncaa · 23/02/2019 00:33

*I loathe seeing a goldfish in a bowl aimlessly swimming in circles.

As opposed to.....what?*
Excessive repetitive movements like glass skimming or going in a circle can be a sign of stress, which can be caused by small tank, same as animals in a zoo pacing round and round.

WarpedGalaxy · 23/02/2019 00:40

just don’t understand

Ah. See, that’s your problem right there. Fortunately for the fish, the pet store does understand that you don’t understand and, if you talked there like you’ve posted here, they also understand that you don’t seem to want to understand and that’s why you didn’t get a fish.