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on the second pic his eye is red? why?

Oh no... he was so cute and looked like he was in fairly good condition despite all that had happened to him. That's so sad to hear...

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I'm sorry for your loss. At least you were able to rescue him and make the last few days of his life happy ones.

:#( it was such a lovely oranda, and i couldn't beleive that the LFS were gonna throw him away.



Last edited by PJ at 12-Feb-2005 17:32

I am so sorry for your loss. You gave the little guy a fighting chance, which is what he never would have had at the store. :#(

Awww :#(

At least he didn't die in that bag.

R.I.P. Little Oranda

lets have a moment of silence:#(

Last edited by dude_dude at 18-Feb-2005 21:57

He died! Just totally out of the blue! During the like 5 minutes it took me to set up his little indoor pond today, I came back to get him and he was floating! My poor baby!

The word is compassion and some people completely lack it. I have so much that if I feel the need to kill an insect in my house, it is done quickly. Otherwise, I collect it and move it outside . I've seen people sit there and torture the creatures and I don't understand the appeal.

I've tried to teach my niece and nephew that when we take a creature into our homes and put them in a captive environment, we've signed on to a tremendous responsibility. We are obligated to make sure that they do not experience any unnecessary hunger, discomfort from their environment or uncompatible tank mates, and even provide for their mental stimulation. Many do not realize that mental stimulation is highly necessary, even for fish.

People who have compassion have the ability to empathize with the pain and suffering of others, including animals and fish. Then there is the necessity to act on that empathy. This is what prompts the water changes, the feeding, and the occassional rearrangement of the tank .

I would not think that it would be the norm for all places to practice these methods, but for this particular chain it was and/or is the way things are done. I would never presume that all pet stores would practice these methods, the same way I would never presume that all people are cruel. Luckily, there are kind and gentle souls in this world that really care about the animals and the care that they receive.

I know a private store owner who can't bring himself to euthanize his fish, let alone such practices. He actually has a "hospice tank" because he can't handle euthanasia. He's a real softy.

One day a couple brought in a big 6 inch fancy goldfish and asked him what was wrong with it. They had it for years and now it was on its side gasping. He explained that it was near death and suggested they let nature take its course. Then, as the couple exited, he overheard the old man tell his wife, "Let's just put him in the dumpster in back."

My buddy went over to them and told them that if they were intent on just disposing him, he would take care of it. He put the goldie in his hospice tank after floating, and the fish expired about an hour later.

Personally, I believe in a quick death, but I would take anyone like this guy, over some cold callused people who would do things like that. Certainly, there should be laws and regulations that tells store personnel what they can and cannot do.

Practices such as the ones mentioned are trully horrid and should never happen. However, please be aware that not all lfs/lps use these practices. I run an lps and cannot imagine using these practices. Please do not think that I'm defending the company in question, I just don't want everyone to think that this is the norm. If it is the "norm", it's not the norm for all of us.
BTW, good save! Your red cap is a beauty!

I agree completely. I would never mention company names! I hope the lawsuit is successful though... I had a long talk with the vet about putting the animals in the freezer. He said for birds and reptiles especially it is a LONG, LONG and EXCRUCIATING method of going! He said it was about the most inhumane way he could imagine. I think management thinks, out of sight, out of mind! ]:|

I figured as much and I don't think its necessary to mention company names because I have some pretty good ideas. I hope people are successful in their suits, because it is totally unnecessary. I think there should be (if not already) some website that details the practices to let people know about the outrage.

What a cruel way for any animal to go. I think its time for management to spend time in the freezer.

Cory is right, his eyes are just an orangish color... sort of matching his cap. It does not really show in the first picture, because it depends on the angle you are looking at him from.

Well Cory, I can tell you EXACTLY what their practices are with birds and such because I used to work at one of their stores. If there is a sick animal (or sometimes even just one that is not LOOKING in the best condition), the staff is directed to put it in the freezer. Well, I used to run the whole small animal/live fish department (ordering and all), so how many animals do you think made their way to that freezer while I was in charge? NONE! I told him there was no way I would do something that inhumane, and that every animal he told me to send out the back door would be exiting the building through the front door with me! So... needless to say, I had A LOT of pets! If I did not keep the animals once they were ready for new homes, and I did not know someone who wanted one, I took it and GAVE it to the little pet store down the road from me and let them make the profit instead of the place I worked for. Well, while still not mentioning any names, enough people running those departments in all their stores complained, and they are looking at a class action lawsuit right now for cruelty (last I heard). So, now you know the dirty little secret of what goes on behind the scenes! I was once ordered to put a PERFECTLY healthy cockatiel in the freezer because the other birds had picked on her and pulled out her crown feathers and "too many people were asking what was wrong with it." I took the bird, and informed him I would also be taking a cage, since I had no place to house her at my apartment. My apartment quickly became a refugee camp for all the sick, and unwanted animals of that store. It still makes me sick to think about it!

Last edited by Stormy5 at 11-Feb-2005 19:56

Last edited by Stormy5 at 11-Feb-2005 19:57

My goldfish have red eyes like that. They are actually orange, matching the cap somewhat

Nice save. I would be spastic if I saw that and I would do even more and email the management and tell them I would no longer be buying any products at their store due to inhumane practice. Decent fish stores use humane methods of disposing of dead fish, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't just bag the sick and undesireables and let them suffocate and experience temp shock, rather than handling it appropriately. It's just plain wrong.

Makes you wonder how they treat birds they don't want or other livestock. I'd hate to think what they do.

Keep an eye on nitrates in that tiny tank until you get him other provisions. IT will lower his immunity if they are above 40ppm, which is likely to happen unless nearly daily water changes are done. Let the nitrates tell you when to do a water change if ammonia and nitrites are zero.

He's a cutie and shocked me when I saw the pic because he looks just like my Yoshi. How sad the others were left to die. They were probably properly bagged, but just left too long before being removed.

Diane

Last edited by Cory_Di at 11-Feb-2005 18:32

Could not help myself! There is NO way I could have left this beautiful fish to die in the horrid method that he was about to die in. Okay... there I was in the lfs (totally by coincidence they had just gotten in their fish shipment and all the fish were being floated and released as I was lurking about looking for more anubias)... ALL the bags were floating with the exception of one bag sitting out on the counter... FULL of dead red cap orandas, and ONE live one! He was fighting SO hard trying to get to the surface past all the dead ones and I was horrified. I pointed out to one of the girls that one of them was alive and should be put in the tank. The answer I got, "Oh, chances are it will die anyway, and this way we can write it off and they will send us more to replace them." I was like, "So you are telling me you plan on just throwing that live fish away in that bag to die?" She was like, "Well, yeah." I was getting more and more irritated at this point and I said, "No, I don't think you are! You are going to walk your butt over there, get a bag, and that fish is coming home with me tonight! Oh, and since you are writing him off anyway, and 'chances are he wont live,' I wont be paying for him!" Well, I think I got my point through because she went over and got a bag and fished that poor fish out of that bag of dead ones for me and wrote "PAID" on the bag. He sort of did a little sideways swimming at first, but he is safe and sound now, and is swimming upright. Poor little thing has no idea how close he just came to the end... or maybe he does. I am not 100% counting on him making it... he was in that bag for days they said, he has some bloodlines in his fins from stress and HORRIBLE water quality, has a couple of tears in his tail, and is missing some scales, but at least I know he has a chance now, which is better than he would have found at the bottom of the trash can! Now, no one yell at this part because it is VERY temporary, but I already had the tank set up and cycled, and it was the ONLY free space I had at the moment, and this was FAR from planned, but he is in the 1 gallon aquarium right now. My friend informed me last night that she bought me a little pond, so he will be moving VERY soon! In the meantime he is doing WONDERFULLY compared to the fish I saw go into the bag. Sad to think that a 1 gallon would be heaven on earth for anything but a betta, but I am sure he is a very happy fish right now. I KNEW there was a reason I was leaving the 1 gallon running for the time being, I just did not know the reason was a red cap oranda rescue! Thank goodness I kept it running and cycled!

Now tell me... how could someone want to throw this away?

Stormy5 attached this image:


Last edited by Stormy5 at 12-Feb-2005 14:26[/font]

Thanks everyone! I have to admit, for a fish who was supposed to "die anyway," he certainly is active! LOL! He has VERY quickly learned to beg for food... little scam artist! LOL! I have settled on the name Haven for him/her.

Good Job, beautiful little fishie too. They're not what I get into, but lookin at that how can one not like it. And It's really a pity that ppl let critters suffer for the almighty dollar, what a shame.

Way to go!

That is a beautiful fish. It would've been a horrible shame to let it die. Good thing you were there.....


-pamela