If I had a $ for every time someone started a thread moaning about small tanks for goldfish i would be quite wealthy.

Its a fact of life. It aint gonna change. Huge manufactures like Aquaone and Hagen make them and sell them, stores will stock them as people will buy them. Its business. In the grand scheme of things Its hardly nice keeping any fish in captivity, and could be seen as cruel, just the smaller tanks are more cruel.

I dont condone it, but jees, just get over it.

you are right here its the manufacturers that package the small tanks and its a worldwide problem it must be hard to tell a customer that dosent know any better that a tank is not suitable for goldfish because its too small when there are 12 goldfish in the picture of the tank on the packaging for example i have a blue plant hexy its 5.7l it has a picture of goldfish on the box and the back of the box also says its suitable for up to 4 goldfish.

i propose a that lfs be asked to place a sticker on packaging on small tanks and bowls(if they really must sell these) that states " this tank is not suitable for goldfish as goldfish need at least 25l of water per a fish , please ask about suitable tropical fish instead"

im sure the reputable pet stores would have no trouble doing this particuarly if its explained to them that it could possibly keep more people in the hobby (due to not having initial failures and giving up) also if the customer is convinced then he/she will likely buy a heater as well

People only listen to what they want to hear. Sadly it has to be tolerated.

as true as this is even if we only got thru to 10% of the people buying these tanks thats still a good effort and potentially thousands of needless deaths saved from happening as well as a few more people geunuinly interested in the hobby

Interesting subject matter.

Being in the advertising world myself, the bottom line will be that selling those little tanks with gold fish puts food on the table for the seller, the marketer and the constructor. They will sell like wildfire for the xmas period and as long as fish in the general community are not cared about then the food on the table will always win over.

I hate to say it and I am sure most of you know it but the "general" parent buying the goldfish knows that it wont survive, what is worse in this case is that animates will know the same thing.

In their defence they do give out brochures about the fish and fish cycle when you buy fish, I am sure that some will take heed of the advice given, the fate of the rest probably bare not think about.

Ignorance exists, don't make your day worse by thinking about those that suffer from it.

I hate to say it and I am sure most of you know it but the "general" parent buying the goldfish knows that it wont survive,

generally people rely on the fact that anything purchased through a retail outlet is meant to be fit for the purpose it is intended

generally people rely on the fact that anything purchased through a retail outlet is meant to be fit for the purpose it is intended

Very true, but there must be some acknowledgement on the purchasers behalf that they are buying something cheap and its longevity will be lacking.

buyers of these tanks are within their rights to return the tank under the consumer guarantees act. but is there anything in the law to prevent them being sold in the first place, as long as they obey the act?

buyers of these tanks are within their rights to return the tank under the consumer guarantees act. but is there anything in the law to prevent them being sold in the first place, as long as they obey the act?

Why do you say the consumers guarantees act? it is fit of purpose for a small gold fish or 2. It is sold as a beginners pack and they have the intention of selling a bigger tank as the fish grows and the tank is no longer fit of purpose.

I think that you will find that it is the fair trading act that covers deceptive conduct

Our shop pretty much wont sell goldfish to anyone with a small tank. We stock the small ones but replace some of the instructions with our own (splish splash telling people to do a wc once a fortnight and a full clean once every 8 weeks). We would probably get in trouble if we did sell a small tank and goldfish. I wish more stores were like us!

We have had quite a few customers get quite upset when we tell them that they cant put 2 goldfish in their 10l bowl! Many many times you tell people tho and they just dont care, the attitude seems to be 'its just a fish'

How do you explain the number of people who can honestly say "We had a goldfish in a bowl when I was a kid. He grew over 10cm and hardly had room to turn around. When the bowl turned green we would put water in the kitchen sink and put the fish in there while we scrubbed out the bowl with soapy water, put new water in it then dumped the fish back in. We had that fish for years!" ?

We did this when I was a kid and the goldfish seemed fine. I scrubbed the bowl with hot soay water and a quick rinse then refilled the bowl. We had bore well water so it was always ice cold. The fish never missed a beat. We only had him in the bowl for a couple of years though as dad built a pond and we put him out there.

How do you explain the number of people who can honestly say "We had a goldfish in a bowl when I was a kid. He grew over 10cm and hardly had room to turn around. When the bowl turned green we would put water in the kitchen sink and put the fish in there while we scrubbed out the bowl with soapy water, put new water in it then dumped the fish back in. We had that fish for years!" ?

This is so true, we always had goldfish & we always had them in a 20-30L tank and we always did 100% water changes and had no filter etc. In hindsight, we did everything wrong with all our pets back in the day... But I don't think people can use ignorance as an excuse now its so easy to get access to nearly infinite resources on pet care.

(The counter story to this is all the people I've met who say "I can't even keep goldfish alive, no way would I be able to even attempt tropicals!.... Suggesting if pet stores actually offered good advice and products they might make more money)

Why do you say the consumers guarantees act? it is fit of purpose for a small gold fish or 2. It is sold as a beginners pack and they have the intention of selling a bigger tank as the fish grows and the tank is no longer fit of purpose.

I think that you will find that it is the fair trading act that covers deceptive conduct

if the store explained carefully that the fish would only be suitable for a couple of month of extremely careful maintenance then yes it would be fit for purpose. but they don't, whether its because of active deception or just keeping their mouths shut customers think that the fish should be able to live for years in a tank like that. and it is far from fit for that purpose.

get over it, go outside enjoy the sun.

The counter story to this is all the people I've met who say "I can't even keep goldfish alive, no way would I be able to even attempt tropicals!

Always seems to be both extremes right? haha

This is so true, we always had goldfish & we always had them in a 20-30L tank and we always did 100% water changes and had no filter etc. In hindsight, we did everything wrong with all our pets back in the day... But I don't think people can use ignorance as an excuse now its so easy to get access to nearly infinite resources on pet care.

:lol: That's exactly what Mum used to do. Like 4 black moors in a 45x25x25 and every weekend she would remove the fish into an icecream container, bleach all the gravel and stuff, then dump the fish back in. IIRC there was a LOT of plant growth though.

I did get out in the sun and visited the Mistletoe Market and spent money.

Am now going to eat my lunch while sitting in the sun beside the fish pond and watch the fish eat too. 8)

Most animates stores in Christchurch are pretty good staff there won't sell fighters without a heater and say bowls are two small for goldfish

A few years ago, when I got my first comet, I had it in a 15L tank and I honestly had no idea that tank was too small for it, until I went to Animates to buy it some friends and the lady in the shop told me they needed a bigger tank, filter, water conditioner... She also, told me about the 30-50% water change thing.

She was really good and knew her stuff, but then there was this guy -in a different animates, who said that two GAE + 6 neons + a betta would be fine together in a 34L. You can't really blame some of the Animates people, they might really know their stuff when it comes to kittens or puppies, but just be lacking in the fish department...

You cant regulate peoples minds only inform them so if we educate the stores and then the stores educate the people the problem would be solved

How so?

I Think *ryanjury* is bang on!

I too had a tiny 10litre tank with 3 fish and no filter. My mum looked after it and it after she died I took over. After moving to my dads for a few months then away I went back to get my stuff that I seen my bronze comet was huge! That started my love of big tanks. Maybe some of us wouldn't have started the hobby if it wasn't for those little tanks?

Hi I'm back!

I saw the small tanks at Animates when we went in to get supplies. I think in this day and age when it's so cheap to get a bigger tank made and the small ones are costing the same amount as a 50L does, there is no need for them. I paid $50 for my 15L ... before finding out it is too small. Then found out you can get a 50L made for only $40. I was quite pissed off. Excuse my language lol

My mum used to have 2 goldfish in a bowl when we were kids and they lived for a long time. She was always good about cleaning the bowl every week. But as you say, she would put the fish into an icecream container or food bowl in some of the water from the fish bowl, and empty out the rest into the sink, clean the bowl and then fill with clean water and then add fish and the water from the fish bowl originally. When we moved to Papakura the house we bought had a fish pond so the goldfish moved into the pond. They lived for years.

Though the small tanks could be used for when a fish is sick as a quarantine tank right? Or while the fish is small or when you get a new fish and want to make sure it's not sick before adding it in with the other fish. Or if you are having issues with fish fighting to seperate them.

it's not that they shouldn't be sold at all, they can be very useful. they just shouldn't be marketed for goldfish

Exactly. The pictures on the packaging are very misleading.

It seems I know some poeple who are getting one of these as a gift from some relatives to their young kids. I've offered to keep an eye on it and beef up the filtration / replace with a more suitable tank if it looks like it's having problems. I'm expecting it'll last about 3 weeks before it's time to replace it with something bigger or until I swap them their 3 goldfish for 1 male guppy.