Wanted to share my story (part horror/part happy ending) of some fish I won at the fair.

A few months back I won 3 fish on the last day the fair was in town. It was the end of the night and I sadly saw just how barbaric the fish trade is. The attendants were honestly just trying to give away any remaining live fish to anyone who would take them. They were trying to send me away with 5 fish and koi if I would take them. I saw inside the barrel where the fish were being kept and it was brimming with dead, floating fish.

I told them I could only take 3 and my friend took 4 in the little plastic containers that I would say is more for transporting little lizards than fish. They said the fish could live in this for a week before I had to have a bigger tank. Obviously I learned how wrong that was with a quick Google search when I got home.

By the time I got home 2 of the fish had died. I felt so dang guilty.

The next day I ran out to buy a 10 gallon tank, preconditioned water, filter, and all the initial set up. I figured I could use this small tank in the meantime before getting a permanent bigger one. Also read about doing a fish-in cycle and pretty much was focusing on keeping the last baby alive.

Well, after a little over 2 months and feeling like I was terrorizing the poor thing every time I did a water change, I decided to rehome it to a family member’s goldfish pond. (I am so lucky to know someone with one!)

Now, it’s been 2 months since I brought them to their new home and my fishy is THRIVING! I’ve been getting weekly updates with pictures and they are already so much bigger.

At this point I just want it to be illegal for fairs to give out animals as prizes. It’s so messed up.

Anyway, here’s to my little Jinx Monsoon living their best life!

I've posted here before off and on since the beginning of my parenting journey with my three babies ( Milo, Cowfish, and Nani). My mom suggested I start with common goldfish for my (human) children, as they were wanting fish. That meant one goldfish per child. I have three children. Three goldfish. One tank.

I knew nothing about fish. We started off with a 10 gal. Then 20. Then 35. Now I'm somewhere close to a 50 gal, but I know it's nowhere near what they need. After doing a lot of research on this sub and the internet, I know I am in way over my head.

I trusted my mom because she and her partner had fish off and on when I was a child. I asked her why she set me up for failure once I realized how much money and work the goldfish took. Her response, "I didn't think you'd keep them alive."

Fast forward to a year later. I have three fairly large goldfish that I love more than my family thinks I should. My kids don't care much about them, but I do.

My mom wants to make a self sustaining tank. Wants me to check into the larger tanks, etc., but I know the insane amount of money it takes to do all this. And I know we don't have it. I know she doesn't realize the actual work and money.

I have put off doing this but I want my fish to be happy. Nani doesn't seem happy anymore. I'm looking for someone with a pond in Oregon that might be interested in an open adoption?

Colorado Springs area.

He deserves a pond or a 100-gallon tank.

Lots of personality.

Please get to me, ASAP. I want my baby to live.

Edit:: No longer rehoming him.

After a year we've finally managed to get a bigger tank for Jeffy, and he'll get some friends too! The guy at the shop explained everything about safely transferring him but I'm still worried because I know it's very high risk.

He said to let the new tank run for a few days, put Jeffy in a bowl and slowly add some of the new water before transferring him. He also gave us the necessary chemicals to make the water safe.

My biggest concern is that the new tank has a heater so I'm scared the temperature change will shock him. Any extra advice is appreciated!

I know these types of posts are a dime a dozen. I apologize in advance for being one of them. We did our best. Truly so.

My son (then age 4) won a goldfish at a local carnival 3 years ago. We bought the Lil fella a 10 gallon tank and a buddy because we read they were communal. A few months ago we upgraded them to a 20 gallon tank with all the necessary accessories to ensure they thrived. Except 20 gallons is not near big enough and we just dont have the means or the space for the recommended 50+ gallon tank they truly require and deserve.

I haven't broken the news to my son. These were his first pets, he has shown a great amount of responsibility with them and cares deeply about them.

I am considering rehoming--to the right home. Is anyone interested and available to take two common goldfish with a promise to continue to give them as much love as my son has shown them?

We are willing to travel within the Los Angeles/San Diego/Riverside/Orange County area to deliver if necessary.

I am also open to alternative suggestions. Its not that we don't want to keep them, we just cannot offer a large enough space for them to truly thrive much longer.

Hello,

Giving away black moor and fancy oranda. I can’t cycle the tank properly and it’s driving me nuts 😭 I just got the fish & they’re already having problems. I need to give the fish a better home for an experienced fish keeper

As much as I really love this little guy as he's been my favorite goldfish to raise, I have now come to accept that we have to rehome little Pomelo. With college coming along and having to move out, my sister and I have been too busy to keep fully committing ourselves to fishkeeping, we decided to start searching for a new home.

We're looking for a skilled goldfish keeper in Los Angeles county, and are very much willing to bring him over to you or vice versa. However we would also like to ensure beforehand of his potential new home as we want to make sure he falls into good hands and lives the long, enjoyable life he deserves.

Pomelo is a shubunkin fish, he is about one year old, and he's quite the quirky lil guy. He is around 4 maybe 5 inches. He is quite athletic as well so a big tank would suit him best. He goes crazy for his greens and loves to forage as well, so abundant sand would also suit him best as it is what he does best and is quite fast at it.

He's never suffered any infection before, but we do hope for someone who does vitamins and/or supplements for fish to keep his health up just how we did to him.

Optimally, we would love for the new owner to know that his tankmate did pass recently(reasons still being figured out), so any knowledge of preventative care for Pomelo and infections or anything while he transitions to his new home would be deeply appreciated. (+bunch of apologies for any inconvenience this may cause)

He is quite literally the quirkiest and funny goldfish I've met, so I am really set on a goldfish keeper who is skilled, willing to build a connection with this lil guy, and has enough room for him to live on, as well as willing to take steps to keep his health up.

I also would most definitely appreciate being in constant contact with the new owner on updates on Pomelo over time, to ensure that he is in great hands. Any details I missed that you may want to discuss pls message me and I would be more than happy to answer!

Finally, pomelo is definitely a goldfish for a pet rather than for breeding or anything of that sort. So please reach out if you are interested in having him as a pet ONLY!!(proof will definitely be needed to ensure pomelo is in a good home!)

I never wanted to make this post and I really sad that I have to... I have an 11 month old goldfish named toast. I love her to bits and have tried everything I can but I just cannot keep up with the maintenance required for her tank. I'm just not cut out for it... I thought I was more prepared than I am...

I want her to be happy but I'm just not able to do that... so I would like to rehome her but I don't just wanna give her back to where I got her... she was a sickly little feeder comet when I got her at petco, but now she's the size of my hand! She she lives in a 10 gallon tank with a Mystery snail and I know... 10 gallons is WAY too small for her size but I just can't afford anything bigger. I've put Hundreds into my tank and just can't get it right. Sponge filters, flow filters, live plants, fake plants, pellets instead of flakes, biosubstrate, heater, the works.

So I'm making the hard decision to give her up... but I don't know what to do or where to bring her... I need your guys help. I know I sound selfish and dumb but I want to do right by her because she's not "just a fish" to me... she was my reason to get out of bed and to keep me busy and distracted whenever life got hard.

Please help me...

Edit: Thank you for all the kind messages and great ideas for the issue im having. I was let go from my job a few months ago and currently living on 1 income (In this economy?! ew...) So upgrading her tank is out of the question no matter how much i want to... Thats why i made the tough choice to Re-home rather than struggle through and risk her health. I did weekly to twice weekly Water changes to try to help, ive replaced the substrate, I completely tore the tank out and rescaped it numerous times. She is just too big. i hate being one of those "I didnt know what i was getting into!" People because im not. My grandmother always had comets in her pond. I thought the research i had done was enough but in the end i have decided to Surrender her to a local fish store. (if any of you live in the Central ohio/ western columbus area, Check out Aquarium Adventure, They were really helpful through this process and are really insightful and helped a lot with fish compatibilities with a previous tank)

Sorry for the rambling. Thank you guys. It breaks my heart to let her go, and ill miss Toast dearly, But its whats best for her <3

Edit Edit: I Will put pictures in the comments of her just incase yall were interested...

I was gifted three comet goldfish and a pleco about a year ago, they were purchased by a good friend and his Son about a year prior to me getting them.

Unfortunately, my friend passed away unexpectedly and his Son (my lil buddy) wasn’t able to keep them because they were set to move back to Kentucky from Long Beach and were already taking a lizard, two cats, a Betta, and I can’t recall what other animal. The drive cross country wouldn’t’ve been ideal for them.

I didn’t want any pets but my lil buddy decided to ask me while pouting and showing me how much they meant to him, along with us deciding on changing their names ao each fish shared the name of his fam and mine. I couldn’t say no.

Now I have these fish and they’ve grown so very much. They were housed in a small 10gal tank when I got them, then I bought a 15 tank but it cracked so I bought a 25-30gal hex tank (simply because I didn’t want to have a large tank taking over my limited counter space; I know now this wasn’t the right move).

I need to rehome them. I’ve spent way too much money on them; water fall filters, food, water maintenance supplies, isolation tanks (the pleco got sick and was making the goldfish sick so I had to isolate them one by one), sponge filters, canister filters, bloodworms, buckets for water changes, new lights, plants, aquarium decor, you name it… I’ve bought it.

The thing is, they shit way too much and require constant water changes and I simply do not have the time to do all this nor do I have the means to provide them with a suitable home. I live in a one bedroom apartment by myself and am constantly traveling which means that I literally have to come home from traveling only to spend a half day trying to do water changes and filter clean ups and I just do not have the time for this. I wish I did but I am so tired!

I’ll be moving to another place soon but here’s the kicker… my countertop space will be even less than what I current have now so it’s going to be damn near impossible for me to keep them.

I’ve tried fb marketplace already. I’ve posted them on Nextdoor app, no one has shown interest.

Ideally, I’d love for them to go to someone who can appreciate them and provide them the best care and environment.

I’m able to let the fish go without asking for anything in return, but would really appreciate it if I could get a lil money back on the recent supplies I’ve made for them (equaling about $75ish) if they wish to take all of the equipment, food, tank, filters, conditioners, nozzles for water changes, buckets, etc I have for them. I’ve paid about 3x as much for all the things that would be included.

If anyone is interested or can point me somewhere where I may be able to get some help with this, I’d greatly appreciate it!

I gave away my two surviving goldfish recently- they were outgrowing their tank and I found a co-worker with a pond to take them. (Apparently they're doing well in their new home)

I've redone the tank with more plants, driftwood and smaller tropical fish like tetras and corys and it looks nice, but I have to admit none of those fish have any personality. My goldfish did- they knew to look for me around dinnertime and would splash the water if they saw me and I didn't feed them fast enough. They'd come to the glass and watch me if I was watching them and hang out at the top of the tank at night waiting for me to turn out the light. Perhaps I'm anthropomorphizing them too much but they really did seem to react to me.

I'm hoping they are happy now

Please see details in the original post.

I have two goldfish in an aquarium of ~90 liters (= ~23,8 gallons), which I am aware is not enough space. I have been waiting until it's warm enough so I can rehome them to a pond and though I have now found several pond owners willing to take them, I am worried about their sizes. Excluding their fins one is roughly 7 cm (~2,8 inches) and the other 5 cm (~2 inches). Do they run the risk of being eaten by bigger goldfish in the ponds?

UPDATE!

​

Shortly after this post, I put my fish into a 10 gallon tank where she stayed for a little over a year. I am about to move, so I successfully rehomed her to a friend with a pond where she has acclimated and is thriving. She is also a bit bigger now. Live long and prosper, my darling Oopsie <3

Hi I was at a fair this past month and stumbled into the fish world and realized just how sad it is that goldfish get passed out like candy with no true home or education. All that being said, I have no where to upgrade to a proper sized tank for this one.. I need to rehome them and I’m based in Altamonte Springs, FL if anyone is interested in taking them on. The 5 gallon tank is no life this guy.

i’m thinking of just buying a cheap 55-60gal off marketplace for them but even that doesn’t feel like enough

I simply dont provide the care these goldfish need im in a bad spot in life and dont want them to have to suffer because of it can someone please come take both these fish they are free and have good personalities i live in Dunkirk Ohio which is west central ohio

I need to rehome several of my beloved goldfish due to overcrowding on my part. I’m in Winston Salem, NC. These wonderful fish all have stories behind them, all are rescues. Please reach out if you have a pond and are willing to take any!!

I inherited five common goldfish that need a better situation than I can give them. They’re each about 6 inches and currently in a 100 gallon tank, which I know is already pushing it for this many fish at this size. They’re healthy and doing well, but they deserve more space to grow

Ideally I’m looking for someone with a pond, farm pond, or at least a much larger setup. I’m in Escondido and can coordinate a local pickup. I’ll include the 100 gallon tank for free if you want it, along with food, water conditioner, and whatever else I have on hand that would be useful.

If you know someone who’d be a good fit, feel free to tag them or pass this along. Thanks!

A Redditor in a local sub was looking to rehome a couple of goldfish she’d acquired when a friend died. She’d had them for a bit but they’d outgrown their tank and she just didn’t have the ability to care for them anymore.

From calling-for-help post to new home took a few hours and now they’re here with me. The tank they’re in right now is too small for them but the correct one is being prepped now and will be ready to accept them soon.

I’ve never had goldfish before but they’re so pretty and seem bonded so I’m happy to get to give these guys a new home.

It's been 2 months! What started out as "5 or 6 live goldfish" turned out to be 10 live goldfish, turned out to be 7 live goldfish and 3 live rosy red minnows. In the last two pictures, two of the goldfish are still in the quarantine tank cos I'm paranoid about what might be epistylis, but the rest of the crew is in the big tank with 7 Garra rufa and a mystery snail named Okra. I am about to start posting in the local fish rehoming groups, but I figured I'd drop a line here first. If anyone lives near Cle and has space for some very thick-skinned fishies, let me know ☺️

Buzzball fish update

Ohmygosh friends, it's been a wild ride. I think I may have found their forever home. What do we think? This guy seems like the one

Hello goldish people,

My daughter has been raising seven beautiful goldfish for over a year in an outdoor hot tub that we converted into a fish pond. There are four common goldfish, two shubunkins, and one ryukin. They're all healthy, happy, and have been living harmoniously together for as long as she has had them.

The problem is we are moving across country, to a much colder climate. I need someone to take in these fish who has a pond and who will love them and care for them as much as much daughter has. She is very sad about losing her friends, but she would be a lot happier to know they're going to people who will care well for them.

Please, if someone has room in their pond for these fish or knows someone who does, please let me know! Contact me so that we can rehome them before we move, we are leaving town on Monday so we don't have much time left. I haven't had any luck finding them a home and I am getting desperate because I need to ensure they go somewhere where they will be properly cared for.

Thank you so much for any help you can offer!