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Hi friends I need your help in a little matter. Can someone please explain to me why it is that years ago it was ok to keep goldfish in a bowl but nowa days it is a no go area. I understand fully why but I am having a bit of a problem getting my mum to understand. She is going to have a 10 UK gallon Hex tank and she seems to think she can get 3 or even 4 fancy goldfish in it. I told her it would not even house 1 let alone 3 or 4 but all I get is "well how comes we keep goldfish in a bowl all those years ago for years" Sorry mum no offence and I do love you very dearly but you do need to know the facts before you go ahead with this decision once you know the facts that's then up to you what decision you make and I will say no more cause at least I will know you are awear of the facts.

http://www.greenspersonalprinting.com/

At LEast you told her

First off, bad memories play a large part. But, more importantly, if those fish didn't hit at least 12" and live to be 20 or older, they were killed by the conditions in the bowl. It's that simple - bowls kill goldfish. These days we have scientific proof that goldfish can get huge, that they feel pain, and that they're easily stunted and killed by ammonia - so it's little surprise that we don't care to wish pain and death upon them!
Has your mother seen this picture?

I think that makes it pretty obvious that goldfish don't belong in bowls. Would you keep a Great Dane puppy in a shoebox?Actually, there's a comparison to be made between keeping goldfish in bowls and footbinding - footbinding does, yes, keep the feet quite small - but have you ever seen photos of the feet? Absolutely deformed, often very painful to walk on, etc. Keeping a goldfish in a bowl is like binding its entire body: you cripple, torture, and slowly kill every part of the fish.
Does your mother like Bettas? See if you can turn her on to a pretty male, maybe a nice delta if veiltails don't appeal. Who could say no, right?[/font]

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

Stunting and Ammonia poisoning are the most common causes for goldfish death. Today while talking to a customer I thought of a good way to explain why stunting fish's growth is bad.

take a fish, and put a ballon in it. Keep filling the ballon with air until the fish pops. That is what happens with a stunted fish. The fish's body stops growing, but the internal organs do not.

After telling them that, they decided to get a larger aquarium for their gold fish.

The problem is it has never been OK to keep goldies in a bowl, but it was an "accepted practice" or a "belief." "Its always been done this way so it must be right" is a hard thing to combat. It is near imposible to teach someone something that goes contrary to what they believe is OK. I know, I work with inmates. Beliefs, whatever they are based on, are a very hard thing to change. You've got to just keep working on them. Present the hard facts like that monster lionhead.

Thanks for your help friends

http://www.greenspersonalprinting.com/

Ya know... I keep telling people this over and over again (I work at a fish/pet store)... and they just don't seem to get it. They say "Well I kept a fish in a bowl for TWO YEARS and it never got any bigger," and I say "It should live much longer and should get much bigger," (I'm not allowed to be mean to the customers, but I do my best to explain in a "nice" way that bowls are cruel to goldfish).. and they say, "OK I'll take two more fish to put in a bowl."

ARRRGHHH.

Liz

(give me cats, lizards, hamsters and fish anyday. anything but PEOPLE)

well it is very frustrating I must say trying to get people to understand but it would seem the older generation think its perfectly acceptable and it would seem it don't matter what we say nothing will change their minds. What can we do? I have had to leave my mother alone know coz we would have just fell out and I know she is just laughing at me for making such a fuss but I have at least got her to agree to just have two goldfish and then rehome them once we feel they are getting to big.

http://www.greenspersonalprinting.com/