i'm facing a very hard decision today!

[ChinnyMom]

hey folks,

as you may know, in addition to being Rhino's human slave, i have a few fish tanks kicking around my place. friends call me the crazy fish lady, lol.

in one of those tanks is Chuck, a paratilapia polleni. native to Madagascar and on the endangered list for those remaining in the wild. i've raised Chuck up from not even 4 inches long in spring of 2009, and now he is beautiful and much bigger than when i got him!

this is Chuck:

lately Chuck has been hiding under one of the log ornaments and not coming out at all. i think Chuck is scared of the other fish in the tank (a large oscar). Chuck was in a separate hospital tank for a little while, while i was treating him for swim bladder disorder (came through awesomely and is 100% healthy again). before being in the hospital tank, he never hid at all while sharing the tank with the oscar. since he's been back in the big tank, he's hidden pretty much the whole time.

my dilemma is this: about a month ago, a fellow local fish nerd wanted to buy Chuck. i declined because i love this fish so dang much, and couldn't bear to part with him. but it isn't fair now to Chuck to live life under a log. i have no room currently to shuffle any fish around so that Chuck could live in another of my tanks.

do i sell Chuck, and hope that he has a better life elsewhere? or do i hang on to him because he's one of my favourites? i've posted a bunch of smaller fish for sale from one of my other tanks in the hopes to make room, but absolutely no takers whatsoever! ugh).

what would you do???

 

[Laurie]

I don't know anything about fish Sherry and I'm sorry you're going through this as obviously he means alot to you and honestly he is quite handsome. How long has he been doing this? Could he just be unsure right now and need some time to readjust to being in the big cage again?

 

[tunes]

I know nothing about fish either - but is the hospital tank not able to be used long term so he can stay there and you can keep him?

 

[ChinnyMom]

lol, you know you're a chin keeper when you refer to fish tanks as 'cage'.

he's been under there at least 2 weeks, probably longer than that but i'm horrible at remembering timelines if i don't write them down. he went under there within a day of being back in the tank from the hospital tank (actually a 20 gallon rubbermaid bin). i can't keep him in the rubbermaid long term, it isn't big enough, and i don't have a spare filter that would work for it, or a heater (been a little cool here lately for summer).

 

[addictedtochins]

Maybe if you gave the smaller fish away instead of selling them you could make space for him. Or could he live with the smaller fish?

 

[Jenn]

I would hold on to him a bit longer and see if he comes around. If you rehomed him, he may not be any more comfortable in his new surroundings. Can you separate him and the oscar into two different tanks? He might be more comfortable with the smaller fish...and aren't oscars pretty aggressive anyway. I'd be hiding too!

 

[menagerie]

I'd get rid of the oscar and keep Chuck.

 

[ChinnyMom]

oscars aren't the brutes that people make them out to be. my Gus (the oscar) is like a big puppy dog, always wanting food and attention, lol. before Chuck was in the hospital tank, the two left each other alone in their tank. the size difference between the two big fish is only a couple inches or so.

out of my three tanks, i have no option to move Chuck to either of the other two. both of the other two currently have fish he would make a meal of in no time flat. one of the other tanks is no bigger than the rubbermaid hospital tank. both other tanks also have live plants he would shred to pieces.

the prices i've listed for the smaller fish for sale are very reasonable, much below what any store would charge for the same fish. i've even listed them with a group price and offered to throw in a few free plants. no takers yet. i won't just give them to anyone, as i care about where my pets go. for that reason, i've not posted the smaller fish for sale on any local classifieds, but only on my local fishy forum, where i trust the members to care properly for their fish.

the oscar is my other favourite, and i'm in the same boat with him, can't bear to part with him.

i considered dividing their tank, but that would leave the oscar with not enough room.

ugh.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I'd give it a little more time, especially if he means so much to you! Something will work out, just has to! I'm a fellow fishaholic myself. 90 gallon hex, 150 tall (still needs to be resealed) 60 hex, 55 long, 72 bowfront, yes it's an addiction!

 

[ChinnyMom]

it is definitely an addiction Christine! seems the more glass boxes you get, to throw money into, lol, the more you want and the more you love it. kinda like chins......... :rofl:

 

[Sandi]

Sorry you're going through such a dilemma. I sure do hope Chuck comes around.

 

[Laurie]

lol Sherry I didn't even notice until later!!!!

 

[addictedtochins]

Could the smaller fish go into a rubbermaid container? Maybe you could donate some to a nursing home and take care of them Idk? Could you get one of those free non-working hot tubs off Craigs List and put some in there with a preditor cover over it?

 

[ChinnyMom]

nobody can go in a rubbermaid, i don't have enough tank heaters to go around, and it's been cool here lately. if the tank temp gets too low the fish get sick.

and i don't think a hot tub would fit in my apartment, or fit through the door for that matter, lol.

nursing home idea would be awesome, but i just don't have time to get over to one often enough to make sure the tank is kept up.

i'm sure i'll figure something out, barring selling my Chuck, but at the moment i'm still scratching my noggin as to how to accomplish it.

 

[mercynursie]

Have you checked or would you be willing to donate him to a zoo/aquarium since he is a rare species?They may be interested esp to improve existing blood lines.

 

[ChinnyMom]

the zoo here does not do fish. and i've seen the way creatures get treated there (they have a chin that has a heat lamp!), so even if they did do fish, i wouldn't let Chuck go there.

the dilemma i'm facing is that i don't want to have to part with Chuck, but he is not happy right now. If it comes down to it, i do have somebody that wants to buy him, so finding somewhere for Chuck to go is not the issue. the issue is that i don't want to give him up.

 

[mishellyshel]

i didnt know you could get so attached to a fish! thats awesome.

hey have you checked local free websites.

here in the states, sites like craigslist, freecycle, kiji. i always see fish stuff, maybe someone has a heater and/or tank thay are trying to "rehome".

its worth a shot, if he doesnt come around. especially if he is your favorite, been with you so long & endangered!

 

[Jenn]

Could Chuck still not be feeling good? I'm still leaning toward holding on to him a bit longer to see if he will come around. If he adapted to being alone while he was quarantined, it may take him a bit longer to readapt to being with other fish...what we need is a fish psychologist!

 

[shawnwk1]

my guess would be that it's not the oscar at all that is bothering him, but perhaps another health issue. you could always just buy another tank (yes having to give up more money whether we have it or not at the time is part of being a pet owner, but if you want them then you gotta do what you gotta do) and see how he does there if he perks up then it was something in that tank (the oscar, difference in water smell,taste,filtering,etc. than in the hospital tank that he got used to), but if not then you know for sure that it is something else health wise that is going on with him. good luck

 

[ChinnyMom]

i do need a fishy psychologist!!!! lol.

he's 100% healthy, so it isn't an issue with him not feeling well. whenever Gus (the oscar) goes close to the log that Chuck is hiding under, Chuck will sort of shove his mouth in Gus's general direction. kind of a 'hey! leave me alone!' motion, even though Gus isn't bothering Chuck, just swimming by.

i've been scouring the local online classifieds at least once a day, in the hopes of finding a cheap/free tank package i could use for him. not that i want to go up to having 4 tanks to maintain, but if need be i will. around here, people selling used tanks tend to think they are siliconed with dang gold, the prices are so ridiculous.

this evening i'm going to try removing the log piece that Chuck is hiding under for a little bit. maybe if Chuck sees that Gus is not bugging him/leaving him alone when Chuck is out in the open, he will realize that he doesn't have to hide? worth a shot, and i'll be home to supervise the tank the whole time.