Legal help tsn poisoned

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

Rd_tigrlovr_448

Feeder Fish
Feb 19, 2019
2
0
6
33
Wausau Wisconsin
So my roommate poisoned my tiger shovelnoses. The first tank I didn't get any water to test but the second one I did. Water paramaters came back fine but water smells like alcohol. Will be getting alcohol test strips as nobody in my area can test aquarium water that extensively unless its a case being handled by the police. They don't want to help me as they don't seem to understand how much my fish mean to me. Sadly my biggest tan in the first tank died but I managed to save the two babies in the second tank. Does anybody know of any legal cases in the U.S. that pertain too fish being poisoned by a roommate intentionally? Located in Wisconsin
 
Sorry for the loss. If the police in your area didn't care about the TSN being poisoned then I think it may be difficult to take legal action. In my area we have Goddard's Law so if a companion animal is harmed you will be fined or possible prison time. Haven't had any cases with fish yet.

https://fox8.com/2016/09/13/goddards-law-goes-into-effect-today-in-ohio/
Sorry for the loss. If the police in your area didn't care about the TSN being poisoned then I think it may be difficult to take legal action. In my area we have Goddard's Law so if a companion animal is harmed you will be fined or possible prison time. Haven't had any cases with fish yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: islandguy11
Wow sorry to hear that, I've heard some bad roommate stories but that's really low taking it out on another's pet.

But may I ask: did you get any video footage of this, or have perhaps some eyewitness(es) who observed your roommate's actions? Without such proof I have to be honest in saying it would probably be pretty hard to take this legally any further with or without animal cruelty laws in your area.

In any case I hope you're in the process of getting a new roommate, if not already.
 
Sorry for the loss.
 
There was a case in the U.K recently where a lady was prosecuted for poisoning her boyfriend koi pond. She was dumb enough to film herself pouring the bleach in so it was beyond doubt she did it. In your case unless you have concrete proof I don't think there's much you can do legally even if you get test results showing something was added to the tanks.
Your room mate sounds like a scumbag so I would recommend spending you energy on getting the living areangements changed.
 
The first tank he was the only one helping with water change and a friend stopped by not knowing tsn 1 was almost dead. He said he smelled chlorine in the fish room but I thought nothing at the time other than I was trying to figure out how to save him because he seemed to be dying quicker the more I changed the water. Later that night I smelled chlorine or bleach in a bucket I just bought (my other water change bucket was cracked) and when I asked about it he said he couldn't smell what I was talking about. Day 1 of fish death he was kept In Heated (80° f) aerated bucket. Showed no signs of decomposition. Day 2 bucket moved outdoors. Day 3 I took a picture. Thought it was odd fish wasn't decomposing so took a picture. Day 5 comes around (mind u this is 4 days in a bucket in the sunlight and warm weather around here) and roommate was being a "nice guy"and buried tsn 1 for me. I dig him ourt out of the sand pile an took a pic. Fish looks like he just died. Where's the bacteria that are supposed to cause decomposition? Fast forward to my friend from the day tsn died comes over n I'm cleaning the bathroom n he says the cleaner smells like my fish room did the other day. Foaming bathroom cleaner with bleach. At this point I'm in the middle of moving out cuz I can't deal with my fish being murdered and all my stuff idisappearing. Leave the house for an hour to empty the truck of my stuff n come back for the tank n suddenly 4 bottles of wine are missing and my tank smells like liqour. I saved some of the water to get tested and got the water from the second tank tested and the parameters came back perfect. No explanation for the smell of liqour which is noticable even by the water testing girl. Currently waiting for alcohol test strips to arrive. Roommate was the only one home when tank 2 was poisoned. I have security cameras up by both entrances so I would know if someone had entered the house while I was gone and they footage shows no one else coming over In the hour I'm gone. The pieces all seem to be pointing at the old roommate being the cause of tank 1 tsn dying and tank 2 suddenly smelling like booze.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Got the water from the second tank tested and the parameters came back perfect. No explanation for the smell of liqour which is noticable even by the water testing girl. Currently waiting for alcohol test strips to arrive. Roommate was the only one home when tank 2 was poisoned. I have security cameras up by both entrances so I would know if someone had entered the house while I was gone and they footage shows no one else coming over In the hour I'm gone. The pieces all seem to be pointing at the old roommate being the cause of tank 1 tsn dying and tank 2 suddenly smelling like booze.

What would be his motive to do such bad things? In just about any court of law the prosecutors must be able to establish this.
 
The first tank he was the only one helping with water change and a friend stopped by not knowing tsn 1 was almost dead. He said he smelled chlorine in the fish room but I thought nothing at the time other than I was trying to figure out how to save him because he seemed to be dying quicker the more I changed the water. Later that night I smelled chlorine or bleach in a bucket I just bought (my other water change bucket was cracked) and when I asked about it he said he couldn't smell what I was talking about. Day 1 of fish death he was kept In Heated (80° f) aerated bucket. Showed no signs of decomposition. Day 2 bucket moved outdoors. Day 3 I took a picture. Thought it was odd fish wasn't decomposing so took a picture. Day 5 comes around (mind u this is 4 days in a bucket in the sunlight and warm weather around here) and roommate was being a "nice guy"and buried tsn 1 for me. I dig him ourt out of the sand pile an took a pic. Fish looks like he just died. Where's the bacteria that are supposed to cause decomposition? Fast forward to my friend from the day tsn died comes over n I'm cleaning the bathroom n he says the cleaner smells like my fish room did the other day. Foaming bathroom cleaner with bleach. At this point I'm in the middle of moving out cuz I can't deal with my fish being murdered and all my stuff idisappearing. Leave the house for an hour to empty the truck of my stuff n come back for the tank n suddenly 4 bottles of wine are missing and my tank smells like liqour. I saved some of the water to get tested and got the water from the second tank tested and the parameters came back perfect. No explanation for the smell of liqour which is noticable even by the water testing girl. Currently waiting for alcohol test strips to arrive. Roommate was the only one home when tank 2 was poisoned. I have security cameras up by both entrances so I would know if someone had entered the house while I was gone and they footage shows no one else coming over In the hour I'm gone. The pieces all seem to be pointing at the old roommate being the cause of tank 1 tsn dying and tank 2 suddenly smelling like booze.
We all get your pain. We all lost many fish, and what is worse, by our own errors and actions. I killed fish in the thousands of specimen. Can't start a legal action against yourself, only conscience remains... I think our unanimous advice is cut your losses and move on with your life, or you will be adding heaps of insults, lost time, energy, and dollars to your injury.
 
We all get your pain. We all lost many fish, and what is worse, by our own errors and actions. I killed fish in the thousands of specimen. Can't start a legal action against yourself, only conscience remains... I think our unanimous advice is cut your losses and move on with your life, or you will be adding heaps of insults, lost time, energy, and dollars to your injury.

Much agreed (and hope karma comes back to OP's roomate), which is of course way different than the trials and errors of our fish keeping, we know you've always tried your best Viktor and learned a lot along the way which you then pass on to others. Then there's guys like me who grew up commercial fishing for salmon and halibut -- if god is a fish I could be in big trouble come judgment day :devil:
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com