A Strandfontein resident is kwaad and blames load shedding for the deaths of 22 of his fish.
Junior Bester says his fish were alive and well before Eskom suddenly started Stage 4 load shedding two weeks ago.
Junior had 27 different types of freshwater barbs, but now only has five left.
He says he paid over R1000 for the fish and is angry at Eskom which he “knows will not reimburse him”.
“My Tiger barbs, albino barbs, green tiger barbs, Odessa barbs, rosy barbs and golden barbs all died last Tuesday,” says an upset Junior.
“I had 27 fish, but now I’ve only got five left and they are struggling. They were double the size now as when I bought them.”
He says the fish died after the oxygen pump of his 1.2-metre fish tank packed up.
WATERY GRAVE: Dead barbs
“I had the fish for over a year now and the oxygen pump for about two years. The reason why the fish are dying is because the pump inserts oxygen in the tank and because the fish got so big, they needed more air and when they didn’t get it, they died.
“I paid between R35 and R50 per fish. The oxygen pump blew because of all the load shedding,” he says furiously.
Junior says the increased load shedding times have also resulted in a build-up of algae.
OUT OF ORDER: Water pump broke causing tank to fill with algae
“Now I only have two Rosy, two Cherry and one Odessa barbs left. Because of the lack of oxygen, the algae build up all the time and I now have to clean the tank every second day as opposed to twice a month,” Junior adds.
Eskom has no complaints division and there is no way people can claim damages against the power utility.
On their social media pages, Eskom has been giving people advice on how to protect their goods, including switching off or disconnecting any electrical appliances ahead of load shedding.