My dad's tank of death

If you break the tank, what is to stop him from getting another?

his wife redecorating after so many failed attempts and enough wasted money.

government intervention... for a small fish tank... against your son??? seems that's really throwing 3 sheets to the wind in the family category to me. i thought a hammer was bad... albeit, maybe a solution but still bad.
 
his wife redecorating after so many failed attempts and enough wasted money.

government intervention... for a small fish tank... against your son??? seems that's really throwing 3 sheets to the wind in the family category to me. i thought a hammer was bad... albeit, maybe a solution but still bad.

Precisely.

Breaking your father's fish tank is precisely that kind of ridiculous abandonment of family.

If the son decides to violate paternal sanctity that way, then it should be returned in kind.
 
my son breaks my tanks (all of them) i'll be furious, but get over it. my dad takes me to court and i'll never talk to anyone who even associates with him again.
 
Well, firstly, I'm female. But I really don't think I can get away with breaking the tank and having it look like an accident. It would seem rather suspicious after I've harped at him about properly caring about his fish, and after all the fish and equipment survive the incident with no mishaps.

I guess I'll do the water changes (which is hard enough on my tanks with my chronic fatigue, I definably don't need another tank to take care of!) and sneak small changes like nabbing his paradise fish and sneaking in live plants.
 
I don't think you can do anything else to help the fish (aside from doing some partial water changes.) If you break the tank, water's gonna go all over the floor and you dad's (or mom and dad) will both have to pay for the new flooring. Although I can see your point of view, you've done all you could to help the fish out. I would just step back and don't stress yourself out anymore. I also wouldn't risk your relationship with your father with something you can't do anything about. Though talking with your mom and your dad together might help. Sorry about your dad's fishies. What kind of other fish does your father keep?

And if I said anything that came out mean, I didnt' mean it. I'm not good with long posts. LOL.
 
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Isn't there something you can do like buy your dad a huge filter (birthday, Father's Day) and maybe some Easy Balance type of chemical? You know, the sorts of crutches people use when they don't care for their tanks properly? I bet the pH drops in your dad's tank. A simple fix would just be to add a little baking soda to rectify the acidification...but test the pH first.

Back in the day, people did 10-20% water changes a month, ran undergravel filters and used carbon and salt all the time. It may not have been the healthiest way to keep fish but at least they stayed alive. Maybe try to think in those terms!

And btw, please...the bickering has got to stop. This is about a young lady and her dad, she just wanted some advice. It's not about Big Brother, PETA - and ok yeah, the hammer was not a good idea, I hope it was meant to be tongue and cheek.

Of course it is cruel to abuse any animal, be it a gerbil, fish, cat, dog, horse etc. It is recognized as cruelty - that's all that was really said. No need to drag politics into this, it's an unpleasant enough discussion as it is without it.
 
Isn't there something you can do like buy your dad a huge filter (birthday, Father's Day) and maybe some Easy Balance type of chemical? You know, the sorts of crutches people use when they don't care for their tanks properly? I bet the pH drops in your dad's tank. A simple fix would just be to add a little baking soda to rectify the acidification...but test the pH first.

Back in the day, people did 10-20% water changes a month, ran undergravel filters and used carbon and salt all the time. It may not have been the healthiest way to keep fish but at least they stayed alive. Maybe try to think in those terms!

And btw, please...the bickering has got to stop. This is about a young lady and her dad, she just wanted some advice. It's not about Big Brother, PETA - and ok yeah, the hammer was not a good idea, I hope it was meant to be tongue and cheek.

Of course it is cruel to abuse any animal, be it a gerbil, fish, cat, dog, horse etc. It is recognized as cruelty - that's all that was really said. No need to drag politics into this, it's an unpleasant enough discussion as it is without it.


Amen.
 
sorry guys, i can get caught up sometimes. mods... if you feel it necessary to delete my prior posts please feel free. sorry again.

adding a flower bed above the tank for nitrate removal and extra bio might help. putting together a stunning display to replace his old one might help. setting up an auto drip water exchange system for him might help. extra filtration and aeration never hurts. a uv sterilizer and/or a fluidized sand bed or fairly large sump might help even pothos clippings growing out the top of a current filter like gunner did could help.

i know stocking issues and maintenance routine are the actual issues but i wouldn't want to maintain someone else's system. he could take it as disrespectful if you do it behind his back too. not a good place to be imo. good luck, i hope you find a feasible middle ground.
 
Ok here the deal "There Just Fish" refers to the fact she lives at home with her parents. Is she ready to move out on her own and support herself. If she gives her Dad enough stress over a fish tank maby she can get tossed out of the house and find out what things are really important in life. Food ,shelter and family,living on the streets over an aquarium is stupid. I guess i was raised with a tad more respect for my familys posessions.If i broke something of my parents ,i worked for money to replace it..Again this is just my opinion,and everyone is free to have a different one..
 
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