Tragedy strikes fellow hobbyist

[Madness]

I need to share this with all of you. Regardless of how some people feel about others, when something happens like I am about to explain, we all hurt inside.

I use to be active on MFK. During my time there I have met some really cool people and have made some great forum friends. One of those friends goes by the name of clekchau, his real name is Chaiden. I just received a p.m. from him explaining what happened just 4 days ago. We met a while back when he got a hold of me for some ideas on how to get several different Cichlid species to coexist. He had just acquired his dream tank, 600 gallons. Once it was ready he placed an order with Rapps and one with Gage, easily spending 1-2000 dollars on his stock. His fish and tank were amazing.

On September 7th just 4 days ago while he was out of town, a fire started in his fish room. His wife and daughter made it out, but none of the pets did. I have a sick feeling in my gut right now, and cant keep from tearing up just thinking about his loss. Thank God his family made it out.

I know that none of you know him, but he is like us, someone that loves his pets regardless of specie. I am attaching a link to his story on MFK below. Please take the time to send him a word of kindness via p.m. if you are a member of MFK, and if you are not, join so that you can.

This is a harsh reminder of how quickly your world can change. I have told him that once he is back on his feet and once he has a tank again, I am sending him free of charge some of all of my stock that I have at that time. This is the least I could do.

Thank you for taking the time to read, and to help a fellow hobbyist. The pictures just make me sick. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?554225-Home-fire-600-gallon-acrylic-tank-melted-%282-Viewing%29

 

[DMD123]

That is sad. Its hard to imagine going through that, with basically the clothes on your back and having to start over with everything.

 

[Gryphon]

Oh man...that is one of my biggest fears in the hobby is having one of my tanks cause a fire. We had a member here 1-2 years ago lost a lot of his fish in a house fire, it is devastating!

 

[Spyral]

Wow, so sad. Especially about the animals burning up.

 

[hbluehunter]

Damn.. That story just kills me.. I'm glad his family made it out, the part about his pets just makes my stomach go into knots.
When he's ready to jump back into the hobby let us know, i'm sure we can all help stock him back up in one way or another..

 

[LuminousAphid]

I know it must suck, but I really hope he is thankful for everything that didn't go wrong! This may seem like a "tragedy" but he and his family are also very lucky they escaped without injury. Fire is so scary because it can happen to anyone, and by the time you wake up or realize, it's usually too late to fight.

Like I said, that is really sad, I just know that for me, in times like these it's easy to concentrate only on what you've lost, which can be depressing. If he still has his family, his health, and his job, it might be a good time to take stock and be thankful for those things. Not to say he shouldn't be sad about his fish & other stuff, but maybe also realize that he still has a kickass life (if he can afford a 600 gallon tank and over a thousand dollars in fish, it's more kickass than mine, I can tell you that much  )

Sorry not to join in on the pity party, I like to try to look on the bright side, when there is one (there usually is)

Sad for the fish though! Not a good way to go

 

[pbmax]

Fish are one thing... but dogs and cats are part of the family, at least to me. I'm glad the important members of his family made it out okay, but it's too bad the furry members didn't.

 

[LuminousAphid]

Oh, that's significantly worse... I didn't know the four-legged pets didn't make it out either.

That's what would make me really sad, because it seems like people bond much more with terrestrial pets than with fish, so I'm sure he is missing his dogs/cats/others

 

[Madness]

Fish are one thing... but dogs and cats are part of the family, at least to me.  I'm glad the important members of his family made it out okay, but it's too bad the furry members didn't.

I agree here big time. I am so attached to my 2 cats its like they have filled the void left by both my boys moving on to college. I thought about it last night, and I would refuse to leave my house until they were found. They are my kids.

When I read that his wife could hear the animals but could not get back in to save them, that just tore me up.

 

[fishman09]

This definitely shocked me when I saw it. I remember Shawn and myself were very active on his threads chronicling the pre-setup and after it was setup. Sad to hear about the tank and other pets but the family being okay is all that matters in the end. Sad day definitely and was one of my favorite tanks on MFK.

I'm not sure if the cause is known but Let this be a reminder to all of us the danger all our tanks can possibly be and be sure to double check everything to hopefully avoid issues like this elsewhere. My room is right across the hall from my 1 year olds bedroom and makes me nervous after seeing stuff like this.

 

[Lamental Jester]

I am so attached to my 2 cats its like they have filled the void left by both my boys moving on to college.

I know what you mean, I've been living on my own for years, and it was depressing coming home from work to an empty apartment (other than fish, lol). Now that I have my two cats it just feels good being eagerly greeted everyday when I get home

 

[iandraco]

i really feel for this guy. my family had a house fire while i was growing up. we did loose our fish tank but we were lucky in that our cats ran down into the basement and survived and our dogs were in the back yard. not knowing where you're going to sleep is bad enough, but loosing your cats and dogs at the same time would be devastating. very sorry for his losses.

 

[DMD123]

I have no other pets besides fish but I know how I would feel to lose pets like these.

Water and electricity do not mix, yet our hobby mixes them. Ive seen lots of picture of set ups that look dangerous, like lighting that can easily fall into a tank because it is not secure or a top is not in place.... You guys know what I mean, you've seen them before. Not saying this was the cause but a good reminder to look at how we have things set up at home and fix them. Get good secure lids in place so lighting can not fall through. Have sturdy stands, use GFCI plugs, etc. We all need to be safe.

 

[Gryphon]

I have no other pets besides fish but I know how I would feel to lose pets like these.

Water and electricity do not mix, yet our hobby mixes them. Ive seen lots of picture of set ups that look dangerous, like lighting that can easily fall into a tank because it is not secure or a top is not in place....  You guys know what I mean, you've seen them before. Not saying this was the cause but a good reminder to look at how we have things set up at home and fix them. Get good secure lids in place so lighting can not fall through. Have sturdy stands, use GFCI plugs, etc. We all need to be safe.  

lus1: 

So very true. We can't control all the factors, but we should always check the ones we can!