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I think my daughter killed her pet

I have an 11 year old daughter who probably has bipolar (they are hesitant to dx her). She spent a week in the psych hospital about a month ago. She is on Geodon and Lamictal and doing much better.

She has a fish tank and up until this morning, a few fish were in there. Last week we were at a pet store and she told me she wanted to get rid of her fish and get a lizard instead. I told her no. This morning, I was sitting next to the fish and watched them for a few minutes. There were 2 in there that were just fine. There was a dead fish in there, but she already knew about it. These other 2 fish were healthy and just fine. I took a short nap and when I woke up, she came and told me that all her fish had died.

It's too hard to explain, but I am sure she killed them somehow. I know they weren't sick and there is no reason they would have died in an hour and a half. Plus the way she acted just wasn't the same has it's been when she lost other pets.

So, is it normal for a child to kill her pets like this? She normally LOVES her pets and she hates seeing animals hurt in any way. Just a few days ago she yelled at her big sister for not treating her Beta fish right by not cleaning the tank enough. It is just extremely out of character for her to hurt an animal. But the fish didn't die on their own. I don't know what to think about this. I plan on speaking to her therapist tomorrow before her visit, but I wanted some other opinions as well.  
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Avatar universal
One thing to note is that pet fish sometimes look dead when they've been overfed. Getting fed to much can mess up their inner ears, or whatever it is that allows them to stay upright in the water. It causes them to float up to the top of the water on one side and appear dead. Often times they're not dead. Sometimes they are. And it also happens very suddenly. It could be that your daughter really didn't hurt the fish, or at least not intentionally. She may have just overfed them by accident.
Helpful - 0
1680086 tn?1333695327
Talking with her therapist is the safe thing to do, and hopefully the therapist can talk to your daughter about her fish and wanting a new pet lizard to fill in any possible blanks.

How did the appointment with the therapist go?
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Avatar universal
Well I wouldn't be getting her a lizard anytime soon. Don't want to reward the behavior. I think talking with her therapist is the best thing to do.
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585414 tn?1288941302
    Destructive behavior can occur as part of some untreated psychiatric disabilities but it can also be in reaction to unresolved conflicts that might not be being discussed such as with friends or at school or that she is unaware of herself. After speaking to her therapist perhaps they could tell you what else might be of help. Sometimes family therapy can be of help to learn how to cope with a child with a psychiatric disability and how to address concerns. NAMI friends and family support groups can be helpful as well. In addition to medication and talk therapy cognitive behavioral therapy could be helpful for her to address the potential of behavior that at times could show a loss of judgment so that would be worthwhile to ask about as well.
Helpful - 0
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