AIBU - Pets at Home Goldfish Fiasco

[MoronsandNeurons]

Went to buy a replacement goldfish (DD's lasted 6 months) and I was refused by the most miserable assistant because I didn't have a filter in the tank. Bought an overpriced filter.
Went back today and they refused because it hadn't been switched on for a minimum of 3 days. Then they asked what size tank I had, I said a starter kit. They said for ONE goldfish I need to have a tank around the 60L mark as they can grow upto 30cm and that the (goldfish!!) starter kits weren't big enough.
AIBU to want to buy my daughter a goldfish without needing a degree in marine biology and a huge aquarium?! Fair enough for tropical fish but a humble goldfish? And does anyone know where I can buy one without a background check?

Something like this happened to us, we were told a 12l tank was fine, and that we should take it away, set it up, then come back a few days later for one fish, wait a week then come back for a second.
We did that, went back and were refused a fish because the tank was too small, we couldn't return the tank because it had been used.
I'm happy that we weren't sold the fish as I know now that 12l is far too small, but they should have told us that at the time when we were being led by their superior fishy knowledge.

Currrently going through this with our goldfish. I'm emptying and replacing half the tank every 3 days and still having trouble.
One of our fish is getting huge. And they are Only in a starter tank
They definitely aren't stupid. They know what time you feed them and start jumping around like a whale.
I do love them and am thinking of a larger tank. Or maybe smaller fish.

I agree with better animal welfare. But according to their own guidelines each 'cubicle' is not big enough for the amount of fish they have in them.
And if starter kits are unsuitable, who is buying them and what for? And why do they sell them?!
Also, assuming not all homes have room for a minimum of a 60L aquarium, where are all these goldfish going to?

I've worked in pet shops, have had my own aquatics shop and kept fish for years and this is one of my bug-bears. Goldfish don't make the best pets for little tanks due to their eventual size and the amount of mess they make. They should really be sold as pond fish as they CAN grow to around a foot and CAN live 30 years plus when looked after properly. They're pretty tough as fish go so manage to survive for a few months, sometimes years in small, unfiltered bowls where other fish would die within days.

You don't need a degree in marine biology to understand the basics of keeping fish properly. Fish eat and so produce waste (ammonia) which is harmful to the fish if not removed. It's not particularly nice to leave your pet swimming around in it's own wee and tap water isn't very good for them either, even with tap safe added.. They also breath so need oxygen. A filter removes solid waste, provides an area for ammonia eating bacteria to live and remove the waste you can't see and circulates the water to mix oxygen in. You then only ever have to change some of the water and clean the filter on a regular basis and enjoy your healthy, happy fish. It's normally recommended to run the filter for a week or so before adding fish to build up the bacteria that will filter the tank for you, however, you can buy a bottle of something called Safe Start that provides that instantly and it does work, I've tested it in an emergency, so it is possible to add fish after a couple of days.

If you just want a tiny tank, you're better off adding a mini heater and getting some little tropical fish such as guppies or neon tetras that only grow to a few cm. You'll still need the filter but you'll have far less mess to clean up and far more choice.

We got white cloud minnows instead of goldfish, they were lovely.

You can have ours that I never wanted in the first place, my DS1's godmother bought it for him for his 3rd birthday, actually they were 4 to start with but gradually died off until one was left, this one is now 6 years old and still going strong. I think our tank is 30 litres and we do have a filter that constantly clogs up and the tank gets filthy often. Would not recommend!! It was probably the size of my pointy finger when we got it and now it's as long as my hand.

We've got a fancy goldfish (fan tail) in a 120 litre tank- he's probably about 12 years old now (I have no idea when or why we started referring to the fish as 'he'). We've also got a powerful filter- they make a lot of mess!

Pretty much all the 'starter' kits in PaH are unsuitable - rabbit hutches and runs particularly. Being cynical I suppose it's in their interests to sell you something unsuitable so you have to come back and spend more money to replace it once you know better (and/or replace the poor animal too).

The size of the tanks they're in while for sale are fairly irrelevant as they're only meant to be there temporarily - as above, they're also on a central filtration system so there's a huge volume of water supporting them, not just what you see in each tank.

Sod goldfish buy a cheap heater and a few guppies - much more fun

I have a 30litre Tank with 2 goldfish in.

They are thriving.

They are happy. I know this because they tell me

We went to an independent pet shop when we decided we wanted fish. They sold us all the gear but no fish till we'd set up the tank, waited a week and brought back water samples from the tank for testing. Then we couldn't buy the damn goldfish because we had "the wrong set up". We ended up with a selection of other fish in the number the woman in the shop deemed correct for the size of tank we had.

The whole exercise was nothing but trouble. The kids nick-named it the tank of death. Not a week went by where we didn't fish another victim out with the tea strainer. We went back to get the water tested again and restock but it didn't work any better. The sad ending to our time in fish keeping was us going away for the weekend and coming back to find the filter had broken down and killed the lot. We cleaned everything, gave it away and never again is the final words on the subject.

Goldfish are carp and will not 'bonsai' to fit a small tank, they may survive for a few months, even years but will not thrive. If someone shut you up in a tiny room and supplied you with food and water you may well be alive in a years time but would you thrive? No, you wouldn't.

I think Pets at Home probably sell those cheap starter sets to fool you into thinking that owning a new type of pet wouldn't involve a massive outlay, so you go and look at the animals, only to fall in love with one, and then get told that actually you can't use the cheap set for that particular creature and need to spend £££ on more expensive stuff. By that point you've formed an emotional attachment and are more willing to fork out the cash for the expensive equipment so you can take the pet home.

That's my theory, anyway!

We have these little chaps (variatus platy) for a goldfish sort of vibe but much smaller when full size.

They're still in a 60L tank, though which I really must clean out tonight, come to think of it so maybe not very helpful.

Get some minnows. Or lie.

I've always wanted a Siamese fighting fish, they are stunning.

Private pike - guppies are a great fish, however only get one sex. The male only has to look at a female and she'll be pregnant, them you'll be begging people to take the baby fish away.

well, I've never had a standard goldfish that lasted more than a few weeks- even PAH staff admitted that they're terribly hit and miss.
our 2 comets (slightly fancier goldfish) are nearly 5 years old. Came as a trio and 1 died almost straight away but the others are nearly 30cm and going strong.
I've lost another Danio yesterday.....some lasted years, some a matter of days. The thing about fish is if they are stressed or a bit off they kinda just give up and die
I do have a filter and a great big tank but plastic plants because the comets eat real ones. PAH always ask is we have live plants when buying and I say, yes (lie). Its what they are trained to do but my long life fish are testament that its not nesc.
imo if you have your tank healthy and established with reasonably good cleaning out routine, if your fish die, theyre probably duds.
yes fish are hard but I am successful and not as disciplined cleaning them out quite as often as the books say, but keeping the filter running well is a must

I refused to get goldfish, opting for tiny minnow things instead, because goldfish are supposed to grow big. Keeping them in a tiny tank means they try to compensate with body size, but their organs can grow and suffocate them from the inside, hence early death rates in small tanks.

Or so I was told.

Tiny cold water fish are happier in tiny tanks with tiny friends.

We went through this with P@H.

We lost Spotify after about five years a few weeks ago. He did grow a lot in his life. I remember taking wee sample bottles into the shop to be tested, before we were allowed to take him home. I thought that this was a good thing. The DC's learned that even a goldfish matters, and needs to be loved.

I wouldn't bother with all that palaver again though. Eldest is now at Uni anyway.