how attached are you to your fishy pals

reeferious · #1 02-25-2009, 10:48 PM

came home today and found my flame angel that i had for 3 years wedged between rocks. now many of you would say it's just a fish go get another one, but for me when i looked at my angel who would no longer flit and dart between rocks and come out to snatch tidbits i felt sadness and somehow the same loneliness that cropped up when a friend passed away. now am i being too sentimentally attached to my fish and putting them on par with canine or feline pet which i both had and enjoyed at one time but was too emotionally wrecked to try again. yes you may call me softhearted.

christyf5 · #2 02-25-2009, 11:01 PM

When my tailspot wrasse that I'd had for 4 years (he was full grown and "second hand" when I got him) got too inquisitive of my crocea and met his demise I was heartbroken.

I did think about giving away my butthead regal tang last year but my husband (of all people. this is the guy that rolls his eyes heavily when I start to over nerd-out about my tank in his presence

) was quite upset so I kept him. He's not aggressive but very dominant of all the other fish. I'm hoping a tank move might shake things up a little and mellow him out more.

my2rotties · #3 02-25-2009, 11:23 PM

I love all of my fish and they all have names. I can always account for each and every one of them. When my Majestic passed away last week I was devastated. I lost my dogface puffer in a freak accident and shed some tears. I cried over my foxface when he died, big time.

Fish have personalities, some more then others. When I buy a fish at the LFS I watch them for a long time to see which one stands out above the rest.

I think it is normal to be upset over a loss of a fish. We feed them, care for them and watch them thrive in our tanks, of course we have feelings for them.

Delphinus · #4 02-25-2009, 11:24 PM

When I suffer losses in the fish tanks, it has a terrible emotional impact for me.

Maybe I'm softhearted too, but .. truth is that's who I am.

Yeah there are those who will not see it that way, but I can guarantee you're not alone in your thinking, not by any stretch.

Sorry for your loss. I know *exactly* how you felt, I had a pair (a PAIR!) of flame angels that I had had since they were 1", and at the time of a GFCI trip they were 3". They perished due to lack of oxygen and I'm still choked about the loss 9 months later. I saw them go from skittish to friendly, and then poof, one day they were gone just like that. It sucks.

Carmen · #5 02-25-2009, 11:39 PM

It is great that there are people in this hobby like you with such affection for their fish.

It is people like you that truly care about there animals that makes this a great hobby!
I am even sad when my corals are not doing well!
Sorry to hear about your flame angel.

Rbacchiega · #6 02-25-2009, 11:52 PM

I talk to my fish and any other animal I own for that matter. They don't all have names, but I feel horrible when one of them dies. Especially if it's a long drawn out thing and I try everything to fix em

fishoholic · #7 02-26-2009, 01:36 AM

Sorry for your loss, it sucks losing a fish. Even more so when it's one you're attached too. I cried over the loss of my mandarin goby and my black velvet angel, so believe me you're not alone.

naesco · #8 02-26-2009, 02:51 AM

Some time ago I lost Betty, my powder brown tang that I kept for 11 or 13 years.
She was the boss of the tank but in a friendly sort of way.
When it was obvious to me that her time had come and that she was slowly going down hill daily, I still remember her beautiful clear eyes looking back at me and telling me that she was still the boss of the tank.

It's hard to post this post as I am sure it is for others who have posted on their loss.

justinl · #9 02-26-2009, 03:44 AM

I do feel very sad when a fish goes. If it's by a cause that i could have avoided, then i feel guilty to boot (and i make sure it doesn't happen again). I admit that my grieving doesn't last long... In my line of work, i deal with a lot of fish deaths so i guess ive become desensitized in a way? Still, I think it's important to take each one personally so you can better your methods.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #10 02-26-2009, 04:43 AM

To be honest it really depends on the fish for me.

Some I feel bad because they were a living creature in my care and passed. But its nothing more than a guilty feeling. For example, my scissor gobies all passed one by one. No tears shed or any real sadness at all but I did feel "bad".

Now I have lost puffers and been DEVASTATED for weeks. Not even wanting to look at the tank sometimes.

I am very attached to most of my fish right now. Especially my Rabbitfish.

It really depends for me how long I have had them I think.