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This morning

Becca

Becca

Members
I walked into my kid's pre-school class and there, on the sign in desk, were 3 (THREE!!!) 2 inch goldfish in a betta bowl. I'm not talking an elaborate or large betta bowl. I'm talking the kind that holds a pint of water.

You'd better bet I had a friendly and informative talk with the lead teacher, and a briefer one with the teacher who brought them in. Apparently she'd had a tank full of them for Persian New Year. I get holidays and all, but it'd be better to humanely euthanize these fish than to put 3 in 2 cups of water and let them stew to death in their own filth while they suffocate.

I'm wondering if it's worthwhile (for the teachers AND the kids) to have someone come to the class and talk about fish as pets and in the wild, and why it's important to keep pet fish as pets and wild fish as wild, since I know a lot of new year fish get released into streams. Granted, it'd have to be really low-level because the kids are 2-6 years old, but still...
 
Becca

Becca

Members
They're handing in a 20 gallon tub outside with a fountain pump and some water lettuce for now. I'll start setting them up in the classroom on Friday.
 
CSnyder00

CSnyder00

Bearded Wonder
lkelly said:
Oh the irony come Monday when the class has a 24" arowana cruising through a 240 gallon tank with a fully stomach.
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A good time to explain the circle of life and the fact that there are winners and losers. The losers usually get eaten in the real world...
 
lkelly

lkelly

Members
So we won't be making up Tee-Ball participation trophies for the goldfish?

I also like that I somehow typed "fully" in my original post. Perhaps that can be used as part of a remedial grammar lesson for the kids.
 
Becca

Becca

Members
An update on this tank... The goldfish didn't last long, despite frequent water changes and multiple de-wormings. As feeder fish, it seems that they just had a bit too much going against them.

JLW JLW had a great suggestion to replace them with GloFish danios. They are kind of ugly, but the kids LOVE them. I also tossed in a gaggle of cherry shrimp and an albino BNP from the latest batch of babies. The kids go nuts over "the white sucky fish."

The class has named each of the dozen danios, and the pleco, plus they painted a hand-made background for the tank. With the goldfish gone, the plants are flourishing. With the in-tank filter donated by CSnyder00 CSnyder00 (plus the sponge filter I left running in there) the water is crystal clear and algae is minimal.

I keep forgetting to bring my phone with me to take pictures, but I'll try to snag some today when I go in to do the water change.

Several of the kids have taken up a big interest in the fish and are angling for tanks of their own at home.
 
Becca

Becca

Members
FishEggs said:
That's going to be a lot more work for you doing water changes in their homes now too. lol
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Eff no. That's where I refer them to my friend, the Batfish... I can barely keep up with my own water changes and I don't need to step on the toes of local businesses. I handle the aquarium at school because it helps get kids interested in life sciences, but beyond that, the only maintenance I do is my own.

Don't let certain blokes give you the wrong impression of me... I'm not in the hobby as a business. When I sell stuff, I either need to make room, am looking to subsidize equipment or other fishy purchases, or I've decided to quit a fish and go a different direction with a tank. Usually people who come here to get stuff leave with more than they came for, but no less money in their pockets.
 
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FishEggs

FishEggs

Well-Known Member
Becca said:
Eff no. That's where I refer them to my friend, the Batfish... I can barely keep up with my own water changes and I don't need to step on the toes of local businesses. I handle the aquarium at school because it helps get kids interested in life sciences, but beyond that, the only maintenance I do is my own.

Don't let certain blokes give you the wrong impression of me... I'm not in the hobby as a business. When I sell stuff, I either need to make room, am looking to subsidize equipment or other fishy purchases, or I've decided to quit a fish and go a different direction with a tank. Usually people who come here to get stuff leave with more than they came for, but no less money in their pockets.
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I don't believe I have the wrong impression of you. I know you're not in it for any monetary gains or anything like that. I just know that "no good deed goes unpunished." Lol
 
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