Taking Care of Your Pet Fish
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Living on campus, students are limited in the variety of pets that they may have. They may not have cats, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, or birds. However, they may have fish. Because of this, fish can be found in the dorm rooms of many college students. But, just because students are allowed to have fish does not mean that they should run out and buy a fish without knowing how to take care of it properly.

Fish are sensitive creatures. They are sensitive to water temperature, hardness, oxygen levels, and PH levels. Many people do not realize this before buying a fish. Many students go to Wal-Mart, buy a fish, and then return to Wal-Mart for a refund because their fish died. This is not entirely Wal-Mart's fault. While Wal-Mart is responsible for the fish that they sell, as a buyer, you are also responsible for the fish that you buy.

Unfortunately, when people go to Wal-Mart, they see a fish and decide to buy it with very little knowledge about that fish. Wal-Mart does not provide sufficient information to customers on how to care for the fish that they are buying. Due to this fact, it is the customer's responsibility to find out, on their own, how to take care of the fish that they are buying.

All fish are different in many ways, and different species of fish have different needs. Some fish need air filters, some need cool water, some need warm water, some need very little food, and some need a lot of food. However, here are some tips for taking care of your fish after you get it from the store.

  1. Find some kind of container or aquarium to keep the fish in and put water in it. If you use tap water, buy a product to get rid of chlorine. One such product is Aqua Safe. Chlorine is toxic to fish and is contained in tap water and must be removed before you can put the fish in the water.

  2. Make sure that the temperature in the tank or aquarium doesn't vary greatly from the temperature of the water that the fish came with. Again, fish are very sensitive to water temperature. Water that is too cold for a fish could send it into shock, and water that is too hot could literally boil the fish, so be cautious with regard to water temperature.

  3. It is also recommended that you put the fish, which is usually brought home in a bag, in the tank or aquarium while still inside the bag for about 30 minutes. After the fish gets used to the new water temperature it can be released from the bag and put directly into the tank or aquarium.

  4. Make sure you get the right kind of food. Just like you, fish are picky about what they eat. You will need to find out what your fish will eat and what will be best for them, and you also will need to know how much to feed them.

These are just a few tips and rules to consider when buying a fish, but you should also do some research about your fish so that it will live longer and have a higher quality of life.


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Name: Grego
Comments:
Hey Alan. Guess where my Betta came from? Yes, Wal-Mart. And, guess how long I've had him? LOL Well I can't remember, but it's been a few months at least. Hahahahaha Also (not to Alan, but to Mystery Person), what's wrong w/ a pet fetish? Oh wait...I think I hear the old goat calling. TTYL!

Comments:
Whoops sorry I didn't mean to read this one, I thought it said how to take care of your "Pet Fetish", hey Greg, ty a fetish story!

Name: Alan
Comments:
If you really want a fish, don't get it at Wal-Mart :)

Name: WhimElder
Comments:
Brandon...did your girlfriend put drops in the water to kill the chloriene? If not that is what killed it. Lets not forget that there is so much chloriene (and other nasty stuff) in Radford water, I'm sure if you somehow boiled it down, you could restock your chemistry set. Although sometimes this fish is just old and dies through no fault of your own. When it comes to Betas, don't buy the sluggish ones, chances are they have issues and won't be with us much longer. And yes zacman, they are basterds. That is why I love them. Gotta love that territorial gill flaring they do when you get too close to the tank! OHH Mr. FISHY PLEASE GO EASY ON ME...DON'T HURT ME WITH YOUR ANGRY GILL FLARING!!!!! hehehe

Name: zacman
Comments:
i've got a fish--it's a beta, and it's a complete hardass. despite my stupid ass dumping it out in the car, the sink, and changing the water once every....ever, it stills manages to live. it did bite my finger once, tho. complete bastard fish. but he kicks ass. ~zacman

Name: brandon
Comments:
my girlfriend bought a beta last month. it croaked on us a week or two later. he was a cool fishy. he's in fish heaven now though. farewell.....um, i forget his name.

Name: WhimElder
Comments:
Oh yeah one last thing. NEVER put a fish into a container that has been washed with soap. No matter how many times you rinse it, the residue will always be there. This will kill your fish. I also recommend that for a dorm room fish a beta (siamese fighting fish) is the best choice because naturally they like skanky water, and if you don't change the water often it's not going to hurt them. They're also really hard to kill. Please take my word for it and don't try it :)

Name: WhimElder
Comments:
Also get a PH tester for your little fishy friend. If the water is too acidic or something else is wrong..you can seriously hurt them. These kits don't cost much and can keep away the grief of finding Mr. Bubbles floating upside down. Also if your fish is lethargic and covered in slime (and you have a cloudy tank...which this also can be avoided by the PH tester) you fish may have ick. Ick is a bad thing that can kill fish easily, wal-mart or any pet store sale medicine that you can drop into the tank to cure your fish. And one last note. If you have gold fish, you can not have any other type of fish in the tank with it. Also after having goldfish in a tank or bowl, it can only be used for goldfish after. Why? Goldfish emit amonia, which kills other fish. Hope this helps.

Name: brandon
Comments:
Golfish? That's a funny adjective.

Name: Mystico
Year: ly check up
Major: Big Man
Comments:
Would anyone like to stroke my little golfish? His name is Shelter. He love you long time!!!

Name: Grego
Comments:
Thanks for the pic, I like it.