Five Young Angels Need Help

[Cichlid Woman]

Thanks, you guys--Pinball, that is the approach I will definitely take. Pootspete, I tend to agree with you; my gut reaction to not having my phone call returned was that the guy is avoiding me. But for now, I'm going to stick with Pinball's approach if it kills me ...

I now have four angels to return to the store--another one died last night.

The remaining one swims around well, but is not eating!! Hasn't eaten since yesterday morning, when he nibbled a tiny bit of algae flake. That's all I've seen him eat since I got him on Friday. Have his internal organs been damaged by the ammonia poisoning so that he can't eat? What should I do? (I tried a frozen "community" food (shrimp, krill, etc.) the first night I had them, and he didn't eat then, either ...)

-- Pat

 

[Pootspete]

Thanks for the update Pat! All the best with your endeavors with this situation. You know you have a lot of people behind you!

 

[firetank]

hey cichlid woman,

just like to say respect for doing your best in trying to save the poor things,

if you dont get a good response , crucify the uncaring *%&£.


well done for trying.

 

[appaloosatb]

Sorry to hear about the 4th angel. I would try some live blackworms for the remaining one... whenever I get a fish that won't eat, that seems to do the trick unless they're on the brink of death and nothing's going to bring them back. Live shrimp may also work, and if no live food is obtainable you could also try the frozen food again.

Good luck!

 

[Cichlid Woman]

Thanks--I'll try that tonight. I'm planning on paying the store owner a visit after Christmas, if not tomorrow.

Thanks for the input, guys.

-- Pat

 

[pinballqueen]

It's beginning to sound a little like the fish were not only poisoned but starved as well....usually, a fish will eat itself to death (literally, eat until they explode...), unless, of course, they have already been starved to the point that their body has started to turn on itself. Personally, I always make sure to make the lfs feed the fish in front of me so I can see that they were not in an abusive situation....

So sorry to hear about the 4th one....maybe the other can still be helped....

Merry Christmas, anyway....

 

[Cichlid Woman]

The fifth one died last night.

I went to the pet store today; was told the owner wasn't there. I gave the bag with the five fish to the employee in the fish dept. He said he couldn't help me, because they don't have any more angels right now. (The tank I saw on Friday must have had 50 angels crammed into it.) I told him these had apparently died of ammonia poisoning. He said, "I don't think so. Looks like a couple of them are missing eyes." I told him two of them had been in my tank all night after dying, that I didn't want any more fish from there, and that I just wanted my money back. When I asked, he didn't know if the owner had gotten my phone message.

He called the fish-department manager to the front for the refund. I asked him if the owner had gotten my phone message. He said he'd make sure the owner got my phone message. Then he wanted to know what the problem was. I said the fish had died of ammonia poisoning shortly after I got them, and I wanted to talk to the owner about how the fish were being taken care of. He invited me not to shop there anymore. I said, "No, this has to do with how animals are being treated." He gulped and said, "How do we know YOU didn't kill these fish?" I said it would probably be better if I talked to the owner, in view of how this conversation was going. I wrote down my name and phone number and left it with him; I also got my money back.

Doesn't look good so far. I wasn't angry when I talked to them, I was quiet but firm. They both got defensive and combative. Bummer.

-- Pat

 

[firetank]

sorry to hear pat....

HAMMER EM.

 

[Sensei_the_dojo]

Beware lfs that also sell puppies

Somewhere in the thread I read that the owner of another store claimed that the pet store in question made most of its money on puppies. That alone is a BAD sign. NO REPUTABLE DOG BREEDERS sell through pet stores. If you don't know what I'm talking about do a google search on the term "puppy mills". It only stands to reason that someone who runs a pet store that sells puppies is more concerned with turning a buck than with the health and welfare of any of its critters whether they have fins, feathers or fur.

I am truly sorry about the loss of your fish. But the only way to fix the problem with this pet store is to shut it down.