The Golfish is DEAD

savingstill

I'm very sad @ the moment, I've just killed the fish. I know I should have checked the temp. in the bowl before tranfering him to clean out his living bowl, but it was too warm....
My son is away on a school trip, back on Sunday evening. should I tell him or let him find out. Every night on his way to bed my son stops by the fish bowl to feed it, so I dont dont want him going to bed upset. My son is 12yo, do think he will be VERY upset, or just ask for another one?

TheWaltons_3

Hmmm could you get him one similar so he isn't upset?

I wouldn't go so far as to trying to kid a 12 year old that it's the same fish that's lost weight/gained weight/turned a funny colour.... but you could perhaps explain what has happened, without giving him the upset of not having a fish to feed!


Fortunately it's Friday tomorrow and not Sunday, so you have plenty of chances to get a replacement fishy.... but try not to boil him in hot water next time!

Kimberley

Can't you get him another without him knowing, thats if the Goldfish had no distinctive marks

You naughty girl, don't worry when my youngest was small he killed our fish by shooting them with a house cleaner, the type that has the nozzle on, he was pretending to shoot them but didn't realise the stuff could kill them It was my fault i left the bottle out by mistake, don't beat yourself up for it, just fix the situation.

tieg3

:eek: :eek: :eek: You mean mum u!:D

I would tell your son as soon he gets back. He will appriciate it more than lying (if he finds out he'll hate you for it) esp at the age he's at.

Tell him that if he wants another one, when he's ready you'll take him out to pick which ever one he wants.;)

bizzylizzy

Don't feel too bad, I once killed 2 goldfish in exactly the same way. The trouble is - the children were in the same room when IT happened!! :eek:
In my defense I was distracted, filled a bowl with water but accidentally used the (very) hot tap, popped the fish in it and then - well, I won't go into it. Suffice to say that throwing them into cold water did not bring them back to life and we had to have a toilet funeral.
The guilt was terrible. I murdered 2 innocent goldfish in front of my innocent children - they forgave me though, and they were younger than 12. I'm sure your son will too.

Froglet

If you are going to condemn another poor goldfish to a miserable existence in a bowl i would really not bother.Horrible things they are,should not be sold.Wait until you can afford a decent tank,set it up with a pump/filter and when you do change the water , use a gravel cleaner and replace no more than 25%.Get a couple of small fish and they will be much more likely to live for more than 5 minutes.

Why DO people think all a fish needs is tap water for goodness sake?

I have 2 large ponds,well matured with lots of plants and my fish are happy and healthy.THAT is how fish should be treated,the very least fish deserve is healthy water and space to swim.

January20

Your son is 12 years old. You really owe it to him to tell him the truth. You won't do him any favours by hiding from him because life is hard and the pets (and people) we love do pass on.

I will never forget my DD's distress when she found her 1st hamster nearly dead. She broke her heart. We took the hamster to the vet but nothing could be done.

When her 2nd hamster died, she was very very sad but she was much stronger as it wasn't such a shock.

jackieb

I caught my 2 youngest in a fit of giggles squirting a ventolin inhaler into our hamster cage, less than a week after getting it. I had to take it to the vet, where I was told it was pneumonia and it died the next day. I didn't tell the vet becasue I didn't want to be charged with negligence!

tiamai_d

I think the best way to handle this is to tell him what happened.

Then if he would like another fish, take him to an understanding pet shop and let him choose a new one.

Even if you get one that looks the same, they usually know.

scheming_gypsy

i had goldfish when i was his age, when they died i wasn't bothered at all cos you don't really bond with fish so it depends if he sits and watches it for hours and talks to it. Or if he looks at it occcasionally when he walks past.

If he looks at it occasionally and is all upset when you tell him you murdered it it died, don't say i didn't warn you when he says that another fish won't replace Goldie but a dog would.

TheWaltons_3

jackieb wrote: »

I caught my 2 youngest in a fit of giggles squirting a ventolin inhaler into our hamster cage, less than a week after getting it. I had to take it to the vet, where I was told it was pneumonia and it died the next day. I didn't tell the vet becasue I didn't want to be charged with negligence!

Wow... I hope you didn't pay for that diagnosis of [STRIKE]ventolin overdose[/STRIKE] Pneumonia