# Do I tell the truth?



## BABY2 (Nov 28, 2007)

OK here is the dilemma...every year I have to take care of my dads "pet" when they go away for 6 weeks. Not the hardest thing to do I must confess as they are only ...goldfish. What's the problem you may ask...well he had these four fishes for over 5 years, two years ago when they went away, they all died despite me looking after them how he had instructed, so I bought him 4 more and never told him  , and he was none the wiser . Last year only one of them died and we did the same thing again. THIS time another one has died and he only went away last Friday!! so I was planning on replacing it before he came back but I am now starting to feel terribly guilty for deceiving him like this 

They are not anything special, just normal cold water goldfish and I thought I was protecting my dad as he has become real sensitive so didn't want to upset him...I just thank God everyday that they don't have a cat or a dog... 

so should I tell or not?this will be the third time I have to replace it/them!

P xx


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## Suzie (Jan 22, 2004)

Little white or "gold" fish lies arent hurting anyone 

x


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## BABY2 (Nov 28, 2007)

yes, my excuse precisely


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## Anthony Reid (Jan 1, 2002)

Think you need a bigger bowl too


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## BABY2 (Nov 28, 2007)

hhhmmm, never thought of that   they are currently in a standard goldfish bowl...hmmmm may invest in a bigger one, but will wait last minute to see how many more fish I need to replace


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## Greeneyed (Apr 12, 2006)

It's a shame you have to go through this every year!! I wonder why they start to die off. Are they in the same tank etc, there is perhaps something inthe air they don't like - I think it would be fairer to tell him, perhaps not about the last couple of years but just this one, that way if it happens again you can be honest from now on. xx


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## Anthony Reid (Jan 1, 2002)

Well, from my understanding - if the bowl is too small then it considerably reduces their lifespan 

Goldfish are pretty resilient, the only thing that I can think of is too many fish with over feeding and that will cause the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels getting too high.

If you have done any water changes - then it could be that water conditioner wasn't used and the chemicals in the tap water caused the deaths.

But then I have tropical fish - not freshwater.... so it might be different.

Anyway, I'd tell the truth - but by him a bigger bowl as way to make him feel better 

Let him fill him fill it up though


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## daisyboo (Apr 5, 2005)

god u poor thing don't tell if he aint noticing


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## BABY2 (Nov 28, 2007)

Greeneyed said:


> there is perhaps something inthe air they don't like -


yes-me  

oh God Tony , that was way too technical for me, I thought fish just need water and food   

seriously, I was asking DD what grandpa does to the fishes as she spends some nights there, and she told me that he talks to them when he feeds them every morning, now THAT was not in the instructions of what to do!  you see the bowl they are in is the same one they have always been in when he has been here, so why die as soon as he goes?! are fish really THAT clever? what happened to the 3 seconds memory theory


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## pobby (Jun 2, 2005)

a friend of mine used to say her goldfish Bob knew her and would get excited when she came home from work    she always said that when he died she would have to take a week off work compassionate leave!! 
I think they are dying of broken hearts..maybe you should read them a bedtime story!    

pobby xx


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## whisks (Feb 10, 2009)

hi 
as tony said you need to use tap water conditioner when they have a water change just as tropical fish tanks do, also the whole thing about goldfish only having a 3 second memory apparently isn't true but i'm sure they wont be missing your dad    the problem could also be the move to your home, this could be stressing them out a bit?

on the honesty thing yeah maybe tell him about this time round, but what he don't know about the past won't hurt him  

good luck 
whisks x


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## Imogen (Jul 18, 2003)

As Tony says, make sure you use a water conditioner and make the water tepid not freezing when you replace it.
Keep the tank somewhere quiet, maybe in a bedroom? if necess put a cover over the tank in daytime - they need quiet and dark to recover the stress of being moved (fish can be supersensitive) try not to 'net' them unless you really need to.  Keep tank away from tv, radiator, draughts, bright sun, and kids (pref!).  Other than that, feed them what your Dad does and that's all you can do. Goldfish don't have the longest lifespan, and if some of them are getting on the stress of a move might be enough to kill them off 
I would simply replace them if they die and keep quiet (some lies are done kindly and don't hurt).  Mind you, I'm amazed he's not noticed yet, you must be good at finding duplicate fish!  Good luck.


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## MAL. (Mar 19, 2007)

Hiya

Don't overfeed, fish don't actually need that much food. My Mum looked after my fish once (never let her near them again) as she killed them all by overfeeding them but if this was happening the water would go cloudy.

Is the water changed when they come to your house? I can never do a full water change as the fish hate it (I also have one of them things, think they are called plecks and he cant cope with v cold water) so I take out half of the old water then top back up.

As to if you should tell.....hmmmmm I would not personally if he is not noticing the fish are changing slightly when they go back home  


Good luck x


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## BABY2 (Nov 28, 2007)

thanks for the reply everyone! the reason I have kept quite about it all and the reason it's such a mystery to us, is the fact that the fish and their bowl are in exactly the same place they always are on a table in the kitchen at my parents' house!! they don't come to my house! he feeds them every morning after having a "chat" to them, changes them with tepid water every other day/two days and I stick to this routine religiously  

pobby you may be right about the broken heart thing! 
Imogen replacing them has been easy, they are just normal orange coloured biggish gold fish!


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## MAL. (Mar 19, 2007)

Oh right, think it must be a broken heart then. Arh you cant even give them a cuddle to help them feel better


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## BABY2 (Nov 28, 2007)

...such a shame! and I tend to swear at them once I find one of them has died, so certainly no tlc from me! sorry, I hope that does not get classed as animal cruelty


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## MAL. (Mar 19, 2007)

not a surprise at you swearing at them, I hate taking them out of the tank when they have gone to fish heaven, as I still think they are going to jump about


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