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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tropical fish disaster

66 replies

darlingsweetpea · 30/12/2023 22:29

Just before Christmas I brought a tropical fish tank and on Boxing day added 6 Harlequin fish. They have all died.

Everything is from pets at home and I have followed to the letter all their instructions. They have since contradicted themselves as the person I spoke to today said we should only have been sold 2.

I had the water tested this morning at the store and it was all fine.

My aibu is...I want to return everything and receive a full refund about £150. I'm cross as I have followed everything and achieved nothing but I'm not sure if this is realistic.

Thanks

OP posts:
BumbleShyBee · 31/12/2023 01:55

On what grounds are you going to argue for the refund? Were the products faulty / not fit for purpose or was it user error? Can you evidence that the store employees gave inaccurate advice? What's their return policy?

scoobadydawoo · 31/12/2023 02:02

Buying fish from Pets at Home was your first mistake. Not cycling the tank was the second.

Please go to a proper aquatic fish centre and speak to someone there what will be much more knowledgable and can advise you on a proper set up

Flapjacker48 · 31/12/2023 02:07

Did you actually have any interest in keeping fish? Or did you just think you buy stuff from pets at home and away you go....

Psychoticbreak · 31/12/2023 07:38

And you need a licence to have a tv... no you should not get a refund what you need to do is educate yourself around owning a tropical fish tank. If they all died it is not the responsibility of the shop the onus is on you. Learn how to run a tank before killing more fish.

PurpleFlower1983 · 31/12/2023 07:42

Get a solo male betta, easy to keep and very interactive.

amylou8 · 31/12/2023 08:00

If you purchased it in store you're only entitled to a refund if it's faulty. It sounds like you've set it up wrong rather than it being faulty. Many stores offer change of mind refunds on unused items, but that's not the case here, and they don't have to.
If you purchased it online distance selling regs apply, and you can return if you change your mind. You're allowed to reasonably examine the item. I think setting it up and putting fish in it would go beyond this. So again you're not entitled to a refund.

unique78 · 31/12/2023 08:25

You have to cycle the tank. I ran mine empty, added drops of ammonia for as long as I needed to until the testing kit showed that the good bacteria was getting rid of it.

Fish keeping is very therapeutic, but keeping them healthy is not always easy.

unique78 · 31/12/2023 08:26

You also need dechlorinater if using tap water.

HashBrownandBeans · 31/12/2023 08:31

Rasbora are the worst fish to start a tank off, they’re sensitive. We always start off with two danios, as they’re indestructible.

Whaleandsnail6 · 31/12/2023 08:34

You could possibly try and get a refund on the fish if you can prove someone said it was ok to buy 6 when in reality, you should have only been sold 2.

I dont see on what grounds you can get a refund on the tank and equipment. There is nothing wrong with it and it has been used. I think you will either need to buy more fish or sell the set up privately.

Freshair1 · 31/12/2023 08:59

And this is why pet ownership is immoral.

Jingleballs2 · 31/12/2023 09:02

I think people are being a little harsh on the OP. If she bought the fish and tank etc from.pets at home, they should have told her about needing the tank set up beforehand, not just let her buy it and send them on their way. Same with the amount of fish surely?

Torchdino · 31/12/2023 09:03

Wow, how are pets allowed to be sold to people who have no clue what to do with them.

Because pets at home themselves have no clue. I bet they advised OP to wait 24 hours or similar, I have kept fish for many years and against my advise was horrified when a friend went there to buy fish and was given incorrect and dangerous advice. Even if OP googles there's tonnes of differing info out there now, I learnt when you had to buy printed books and I have to say as they had to go through a process of approval before being published it was much better and much easier to know what to do.

Friendfoe1 · 31/12/2023 09:04

YABU for getting a new pet without researching properly how to look after them.

Ohdearwhatnow4 · 31/12/2023 09:10

How long did they live for?

user1473878824 · 31/12/2023 09:16

darlingsweetpea · 30/12/2023 22:44

Thanks for the reply, my question isn't about the fish it's about the refund. Is it acceptable for me to ask for a full refund based on the wrong info provided as quiet frankly I don't want to deal with any more fish related stuff.

So not a single shit given then about having killed animals because you bought them like they were socks rather than living things? Lovely!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 31/12/2023 16:11

Friendfoe1 · 31/12/2023 09:04

YABU for getting a new pet without researching properly how to look after them.

This ^

DyslexicPoster · 31/12/2023 16:13

MaryHinges · 30/12/2023 22:32

To be fair you need to let the tank run with no fish for at least a couple of weeks to let the good bacteria build up in the filter otherwise putting fish in too soon creates an imbalance because they excrete toxins faster than the bacteria can break it down. I'd keep the set up but just wait a few weeks before introducing fish. You may just have been a bit too keen, then just add a couple and wait a few more weeks before thinking about more.

Edited

This, we was told set up the yank and run it empty for at least two weeks then gradually add fish. We had about 20 of them but all added slowly a few at a time, a few weeks apart.

Æthelfled · 31/12/2023 16:16

It is acceptable to ask for a refund, yes. But the advice everyone is giving on here is right. You need to cycle a tank for a few weeks before putting fish in it.

SquashPenguin · 31/12/2023 16:16

We keep neon tetras, and we recently bought some more from pets at home. Within hours of being introduced to the tank (which has been the home to a healthy shoal of tetras for many months), they started dying. All the new ones are dead now, the originals are still going strong. I’ll never buy fish from them again.

Æthelfled · 31/12/2023 16:19

As for pets at home I disagree with the majority. My local one is brilliant on their fish knowledge, far better than my local aquatic centre. We keep orandas (who need over 60L of tank space) and pets at home were the only ones to check we'd got a tank that size and that it has been cycled. The aquatic centre tried to sell me 4 despite me telling them I don't want 4 because I didn't have space for 4 (I already had some and was replacing fish that had died of old age).

Qwerty556 · 31/12/2023 16:32

I've never bought from Pets At Home.

I've always gone to Maidenhead Aquatics. When I first started buying fish there they would ask me a few questions about the tank to be certain I had some knowledge. Know they know me, they just sell me what I ask for.

Cycling a new tank is a bit of an imprecise science. Can be difficult to keep it in balance as the chemicals cycle. Even people who do the research and slowly add the fish over a few months can have a disaster.

Original poster
darlingsweetpea · 31/12/2023 19:42

For those still reading this thread pets at home did refund me as their shop assistant provided incorrect advice on multiple levels. I now have the fish I wanted initially and had researched, but Pets at Home convince me otherwise. I now have 3 platies, which is one more than I had researched.

People are so quick to jump down others throat when asking for opinions. Accusing me of all sorts is unkind, if I didn't care I wouldn't be investing in fish!

OP posts:
SpecialCharacters · 31/12/2023 19:48

You’re putting more fish into an uncycled tank, after several just died in it?

Tygertiger · 31/12/2023 19:52

Platies are very enthusiastic livebearers. They will probably eat the babies, but if you’ve got lots of plants for babies to hide in then you’ll probably end up with more than three.