# im so sad



## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

i lost my female lyretail balloon mollie and it was all my fault   

when i got home i looked for one of the fry (that had been sucked by the filter before) and he was (again) trapped, but this time he was inbetween the two tubes (it's an aquaclear 30), so instead of turning off the filter, the stupid here, took out the tube and let this big opening still attached to the filter (sorry, english is not my first language, im doing my best to try to explain what happened). the balloon was sucked in and i only noticed when the motor started doing this weird sound.  


i didnt have time to go to the drugstore and get clove oil, so i remembered that once a friend of mine from another forum told me to put the fish in a bag with some water and put it in the freezer. 

there was no way she would have survived, believe me, if there were i would be the first one to let her live. her mouth was gone and so was one of the eyes. she was bleeding and agonizing. it was awful!! the other balloon mollies got so scared that all of them hid inside this tube that i have as an ornament on the bottom of the tank! i decided to do some water change because i believed the water might have been tasting blood. soon after i changed the water, they were back swimming around, but i can tell they are still stressed. 


i put a small piece of pantyhose in the filter intake (the tube) so that the fry dont get trapped again. is it ok?

everything helped too fast...


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

Im sorry. You could put pantyhose around the end of the intake tube opposed to inside of it. English isnt your first language? i couldnt tell. if it was mangled i would of put it into a bag and just stomped it.


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## Courtney (Jan 18, 2005)

Shev, 
How would you liked to be put into a bag and stomped on? 
with that aside, that was the best way to put her outta her misery, and the panty hose will work yes,


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

here's a couple of pictures of her... R.I.P. sweetie!    it just kills me to know that she suffered so much.


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

> Shev,
> How would you liked to be put into a bag and stomped on?
> with that aside, that was the best way to put her outta her misery, and the panty hose will work yes,


well if i was in extreme agony yeah sure, stomp away. the freezing method is fine, the stomp is a second option. in any other situation i wouldnt stomp it, but in this one, the fish needed a quick demise. if it was sick and was going to eventually die soon, then i would go with the clove oil or freezing water.

for future reference (hope you never have to tho) the correct way to kill a fish with that method is to throw it in really cold water, suddenly stunning it, then putting it into the freezer. instead of having the water gradually turn colder.


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## JerseyRich (Feb 8, 2005)

From a strict standpoint of just minimizing pain, stomping on the fish would be quick and painless. There could be some pain, but it would all be over in a half-second. This would be similar to shooting a horse. Personally, I wouldn't want to suffer if I was in a similar accident. If I was going to die anyway, I would prefer a quick end.

I'm truly sorry about your fish. I know you didn't mean for this to happen. Take comfort in the fact that you loved her and made her happy, and that she was well cared-for while she lived.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

im sorry but i just didnt know what to do when i saw her swimming around without half of her face, but i did put cold water in the bag


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

To minimize the agony, the best way to put a fish down is to cut its head off with scissors or with a knife.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

Another trick with the filters is to take a filter used for the aquaclear filters and cut a x in it then slip it over the intake tube.


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

Chrisinha, I'm so sorry about your balloon. I've had one sucked into my powerhead opening before & also felt so bad about it. It's one of those things you would never dream of happeing till it does. 
Fish Doc is right about the foam inserts sold for the Aqua Clear Filters. I use one on the end of my filter intake & one on my powerhead to prevent fry suck up. I tried the pantyhose but it sucks it up tight against the tube & gets clogged really fast where the water will pass thru the foam easier. I have a couple of them with an X cut in partway & I change them out with fresh ones every couple days since they do get dirty. Again, I'm sorry for your loss & you did the right thing to take her out. I hope all the others are fine & you are feeling better.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

thank you swimmers! i really miss her. she was very special and i still cant forgive myself for not turning off the filter before removing the tubes. 

i went to the LFS to see if they had another lyretail balloon but nope, she was the only one. 

im going to look for the foam you guys mentioned. thanks!


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

Chrisinha, I have an Aquaclear 70 on my 29g. tank & the foam inserts for the Aquaclear 20 come in a little box of 3 & fit really well. You may be able to cut them in half with scissors for the AC30 intake even, but not sure. They are fairly inexpensive & I just swap them out & rinse well & let them dry before swapping them again. Good luck & try not to feel too bad, you had no way of knowing that would happen. Sometimes our hardest lessons learned are from our mistakes.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

hi, im sorry to bother you again. i just came from a pet store and got this foam:

is it the right one? it came with just one foam. so, im supposed to cut a piece of it and place it in the intake tube?? i got confused, sorry


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

Yep, that's it! Take a pair of scissors and start snipping a hole right down the middle. Once you get the hole started, cut a X down thru the middle but not all the way thru. You can put your fingers in the hole to open it a little, then slip it over the end of the intake tube, like a sleeve. The water can pass thru the bottom & sides but the foam covers up the little holes that could suck a baby up. Make Sense?


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

hmm i tried to do it, but the foam is too thick, so i cut it even smaller, but still i cant make it go all the way to the tip of the tube where the openings are... no, it's not making sense to me. it's gonna clog the tube. ack!!


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

err...can you draw it?


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

Ok, so if you put the block of foam standing upright then snip with the scissors straight down the middle, don't cut the sides, just down the middle you will have a little hole right? By cutting an X into it, it makes it easier to slip it over the end of the intake tube (the X just makes the hole bigger). It you pull it up over the end of the tube, it should cover the little slits on the tube, but the water can still pass thru it, the solid waste won't so that's why you have to clean it every couple days. Am I confusing you more than helping?


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

DON'Tcut all the way thru to the bottem of it. You want it to be like a little sock that you pull over the end of the tube.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

i guess i understand now. i need to go now. i'll come back later! thanks!


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

OK - Hope you aren't on the way to buy more foam


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

LOL
no, no i was late to go to school. a friend had come pick me up; i didnt want to leave her waiting. 

ok, so what i have not gotten yet is whether this foam goes inside or outside the intake tube? cos if it goes inside (and i tried it), it is really hard to go all the way to the bottom and worse to take it out. LOL i'm a dork!


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

The foam goes on the outside of the tube. Pretend that the foam is a shoe and the tube is your foot

-----------------------
l l
l l
l X l
l l
l l
-----------------------

The tube gets inserted wher the X is and that is where you cut.

Get it now. Kind of simple huh.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

lol yeah!! like a condom!!! lol

thank you guys for being so patient!! i wish you spoke portuguese. it would've been easier! lol


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## swimmers (Jan 18, 2005)

:lol: Sounds like you got it - & Fish_Doc thanks for the illustration - I was confusing rather than helping I think - never could give directions very well!


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

yep! i now need to buy another foam because i have two filters running in this tank and i damaged 1/2 of the foam. woohoo!! thanks once again!


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

I worked tech support for over a year a few years back so I had to learn how to explain how to do things without being there.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

good to know!!  thanks for helping!!


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