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My job is more demanding than any job I have ever had. I have almost 100 tanks now equaling close to 4000 gallons of water. Ranging in size from 5 gallons up to 55 gallons. My growout room and rescue center has 48 55 gallon tanks alone. At given times I house over 500 fish per tank...small babies that is. I have fish having babies all the time. Rescue fish having babies too. Not only do I have the fish I rescued, I have a ton of their fry too. So it is never ending. When I get overwhelmed at times doing fish maintenence I sit back and look around and think to myself, What the heck did you do. That thought goes as quick at it comes.
In time I am sure if I can keep this flowing, I can learn different tricks to help me with my upkeep. But right now this is from the time I get up to the time I am going to bed, around 11pm, that I am at it doing something. This is 7 days a week. Seems like you can never make it around the room doing water changes and you have to go again. This is not a hobby. THIS IS A FULL TIME JOB. I work so hard people's mouths drop open when the actually can come in and take a tour on what this really looks like. Of course, I do have pictures of my rooms, and fish. I am very proud of the set ups my husband built for me. But don't let this fool you, people complain a lot on how hard it is to maintain the upkeep of one tank. Imagine 100. But I do it out of love and passion of the species. Fish so much have attitudes. Whether, it is a 18 cent gold fish to a $100 dollar salt water fish, they all rank the same as far as their care go. And if that 18 Cent gold fish never finds a home and I put lots of dollars in feeding it and caring for it, then so be it. That is what I do. That is what a rescue should do.
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Kelly you are truly an amazing person that you feel such compassion for these animals and have done so much. I want everyone to do a Google for fish rescue in Wisconsin and you can see that Kelly is the one with the dedication.
When I think of the one 45 gallon tank we had for years and the cost not to mention the time just to do the cleaning etc. I can't even imagine what you must go through in a given day. This is just not a hobby that you can put away when you get bored or want to take a vacation, you have made these fish part of who you are and give them your all.
How can so many, many views on the bubbler here (last count over 700), all the many different emails to various places, all the letters you have put out to area business places, the hours you have spent calling, talking, and going to meetings, and now interviews have so far resulted in not finding any help in a way that will save these fish?
Just think if only 1/2 the hits on this post alone sent just $5.00 how close you would be to at least get the electric company off your back and keep your electric on and buy you at least another month to continue your search to find someone that would come in and find a way to help fix the problem. Maybe by getting that extra month you could get a few grants sent in, or a business owner would come forward and offer to help sponsor a fundraiser for you.
You need more time! I certainly hope donations will start to come in to help save the fish before it is to late.
I just feel badly that if this was a race to save 12,000 dogs people would rush to put their dollar in the box if they saw a poster at the supermarket for this. What is sad is that supermarkets will let you put signs up for a dog in need...why not fish?
Could you post a few pictures of your fish here? Or put some in your gallery and add a link here? That would be interesting to see some.
Take care,
Patti
