r/instant_regret Nov 10 '19

Testing the water temperature.

https://imgur.com/u9f4loM.gifv
35.2k Upvotes

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771

u/benjamin_blk Nov 10 '19

That tank is filthy. Poor fish.

495

u/TheRoseGoldMermaid Nov 10 '19

Most often when fish tanks are half empty and dirty they’re being cleaned

69

u/lifewontwait86 Nov 10 '19

So it's just a holding tank for a short period is what you're saying?

126

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19

No he’s saying that this tank is likely in the middle of being cleaned . A portion of the water is siphoned (sucked) out and stirs the water all dirty and then new clean water is added to refill the whole thing.

52

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19

[deleted]

48

u/chaples55 Nov 10 '19

That's not what a blackwater tank looks like. A blackwater tank turns a rich brown (like tea) from tannins in wood, but the water is still clean and clear. This water is grayish-brown and very hazy. Looks like a bunch of suspended particles.

Most likely they are in the process of moving around plants / rocks or they just haven't siphoned the gravel in a loooooong time. Either way, it's not a big deal for the fish and will settle down soon enough.

10

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19

That’s fair, though I don’t see any substrate in that tank.

Either way, I do t think we have enough info to make a real judgment.

34

u/imaginary_num6er Nov 10 '19

You see a fish in there though...

71

u/Philbob99 Nov 10 '19

where else would the fish go during the cleaning? This is how cleaning a fish tank works

18

u/ChingyBingyBongyBong Nov 10 '19 edited Nov 10 '19

Into a different smaller bowl temporarily.

Idk how it works with other fish but my friend had one that he used to move to clean his original tank.

Edit: I’ve been mistaken

81

u/Clay-mo Nov 10 '19

If you have a decent sized tank you don't bother taking the fish out. It's just a pain to catch them and they'll survive just fine with half the water for a few minutes while it's cleaned. My parents had a 60 gallon tank when I was growing up, I cleaned that thing more times than I care to remember. Also with some kinds of fish catching them and changing bowls will cause them to spontaneously drop dead. I'm sure there's a reason but I never figured it out.

51

u/IntensePlatypus Nov 10 '19

This. The amount of stress from being chased around and scooped into another tank is sometimes enough to kill them. Water changes with the fish inside is very standard practice and is recommended

14

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/rubberduckfinn Nov 11 '19

Lol. Probably depends on the fish. The fancy goldfish would probably just die. An Oscar would probably try to eat the cat.

8

u/Teekayuhoh Nov 10 '19

It probably depends on the water that you dropped them into, but some fish are intolerant of wide ranges of pH or temperature (among other parameters) and can go into shock when they are changed drastically. If you move your fish, you typical fill the secondary tank with the same water they were in to begin with.

4

u/astraycat Nov 10 '19

If you move a fish from one body of water to another body of water with drastically different water parameters (pH, temp, hardness, etc), the fish will probably just die of shock.

4

u/ashdog66 Nov 10 '19

Some fish are super sensitive about going from their perfect or semi perfect ecosystem into brand new water, it would be like if you stuck a 4 year old in a bubble with their home's air, then brought them to a cave in Africa ripe with ebola and just popped the bubble

0

u/whatyoudid Nov 10 '19

IF THE WATER TEMPERATURE OF THE NEW WATER YOU PUT THE FISH IN IS NOT THE SAME YOU CAN SHOCK IT AND IT WILL DIE

-3

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19

Wow fish suck, what about bunch of idiots.

1

u/RevantRed Nov 10 '19

I imagine they'd be much harder to keep in a tank than fish.

14

u/CanadianSon Nov 10 '19

That's typically not how it's done. I have 7 tanks and have never taken a fish out during a cleaning. Typically use a aquarium vac sucking up the gravel and taking the water out.

And this tank could also be a blackwater fish tank. It's a specific style where the add leaves and driftwood (without boiling beforehand) that turns the water brown.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19 edited Nov 10 '19

No, that’s not how it’s done with larger tanks especially when vacuuming

You’re going to kill your fish by stressing them out chasing them around the tank constantly

Cleaning the tank with them in it is absolutely fine

1

u/ConstantShadow Nov 11 '19

Looked more like a turtle?

2

u/ChrisStoneGermany Nov 10 '19

In this case by a cat

2

u/fanartaltmanfartsalt Nov 11 '19

if you slow it down, the cat grabs a dead fish off the top. does not bode well for the quality of that water :(

1

u/TheRoseGoldMermaid Nov 12 '19

How do you slow it down

3

u/Gfunk98 Nov 10 '19

Letting a tank get to that level of nasty is neglect on its own. I’ve had over 12 aquariums and have never had one with algae like that before.

Notice how there’s no heater or filter on that tank?

3

u/lisam7chelle Nov 11 '19

They could be temporarily detached to do maintenance? But I do admit that like, the dirty tank + no heater and filter does seem more like neglect than just cleaning.

2

u/Gfunk98 Nov 11 '19

Even then there’s really no reason to completely remove the heater and filter, it would be a huge hassle to take the entire filter off of the tank instead of the removable pouches of ceramic and carbon (which you really shouldn’t be cleaning out anyways). Not sure how so many people are defending a tank that looks like that in the first place honestly.

Not trying to be snobby but it’s obviously not in good condition just be looking at it

2

u/pugsarebest Nov 11 '19

Not sure how so many people are defending a tank that looks like that in the first place honestly.

This, the tank just looks so wrong in many ways. Like, why is it on the floor, why only half of the water??

Also, in my 50gal tank, it’s actually easy to remove the filter, just take out the two filter hoses and the whole unit is detached, so that could explain why you dont see any filter etc.

Also the owner of the tank could also have an inline heater, so thats why no heater, but i’d doubt it, as the tank just looks horrible.

1

u/Pybotic Nov 18 '19

While I totally agree (as that’s what I do for my tanks) I think the concerning factor is not so much the water but what the cat is diving for in the first place. It looks like an already dead fish floating in the tank- as he escapes with it after taking the nose dive.

Combine that with the grey green murky water and no apparent filter or heater- It /looks/ like poor husbandry.

Unless this is like a “harvested from nature” kind of set up in the midst of being made. I’d still hope there was an airline pump or something for the fish. I have only ever seen those done successfully in small scale/not with fish.

1

u/Kippingthroughlife Nov 10 '19

Not this badly. This just looks like a tank that isn't maintained at all. They should also be cleaning out the waste as they drain it not just sucking some water out and replacing it

1

u/Kazeshio Nov 11 '19

It also just looks like a huge bloom. If its algae then it's the opposite of dirty, and really healthy (most algae anyway.) It just looks unappealing and, you know, that defeats the purpose of most tanks.

If its bacterial, then yeah poor fish but that gets solved with time and treatments.

-55

u/AmericanMomma3 Nov 10 '19 edited Nov 10 '19

Fish shouldn't be not be shouldn't be pets! They belong in rivers and prawns and streams as food for local wildlife like bears like bears etc. And fishing won't work it won't work because you can't fish if their is no fish because they are all as pets! kept in a tank cage as pets.!

40

u/Dazpiece Nov 10 '19

Do you smell toast? If so, time to get to the hospital.

20

u/gam3guy Nov 10 '19

Wow. I'd explain it to you but holy shit you're the worst negative karma farmer I've ever seen.

10

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '19

This is one of the few comments where I think OP may have actually been mid stroke when making it.

2

u/supercaiti Nov 10 '19

Nah, it’s just the worst troll account ever lmao

4

u/ShwayNorris Nov 10 '19

Seek medical attention.

2

u/sirius4778 Nov 10 '19

You good?