Why?

[Hendre]

Oh the African Knife fish. I remember we were talking about that once.
Good news, I LOVE them. Sadly, I can't find any around here. I agree they are such an underrated knifefish. Too bad, I think people would love them.

Rare here as well. Haven't seen any in a year

I visit a few Facebook groups the majority of what goes on is someone post something if it gets criticized you get warnings and then knocked out of the group. Even if it's good advice.
It's like little league everyone gets a trophy even the looser.
We don't want any hurt feelings now do we?
I just hate to see the fish suffer from inept fish keepers who just want to hear how great they are not some things they need to improve!
Facebook is full of people like this

This is the closest to social media I come, I don't even wanna see what happens on FB. People are so soft these days

 

[Toiletcar]

I visit a few Facebook groups the majority of what goes on is someone post something if it gets criticized you get warnings and then knocked out of the group. Even if it's good advice.
It's like little league everyone gets a trophy even the looser.
We don't want any hurt feelings now do we?
I just hate to see the fish suffer from inept fish keepers who just want to hear how great they are not some things they need to improve!
Facebook is full of people like this

I don't bother w/ FB anymore. This is exactly why.

 

[DN328]

100 true and exactly why i hate fb.

Ditto.

 

[DN328]

100 true and exactly why i hate fb.

Ditto.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Good talks, i agree someone can know everything thats written about a fish, but if a new species is discovered and brought into the hobby someone has to own it and set the standards for it before everyone else can have an idea of what to do.

I disagree.

When people discover fish, they typically do a lot. They get pictures (or drawings), and/or specimens, they document it's size, whether males look different from females, where they found it (river, lake, etc), often explain exactly where (surface, under rocks, in deep currents, etc), what food was in it's stomach, whether it was in groups, what other fish were nearby, what different behavior it had in daylight or evening, etc.

From all that, people can deduce enormous amounts of information about the probable temperatures, pH, diet, behavior, size of tank, water current, etc. it will need to have in a tank.

Yes, a lot more is gained from having it in a tank, because:

a) a lot of people observing will often add a lot of information compared to one isolated study, and

b) because fish tanks are unnatural environments where fish will exhibit unnatural behavior that one will rarely see in nature.

So of course, aberrant behavior generated in fish tanks is only going to be learned from having them in fish tanks. But it's certainly not true that no one had an idea of what to do with an RTC, giraffe catfish, pacu, angel fish, discus or piranha until someone put one in a tank.

 

[Grinch]

The way I look at this thread....
I have watched tons of threads on here from asking questions to arguing to people being called ****ty fish keeper which is all fine with me and does not hurt my feelings at all. But what you are saying

You are correct.

Hello; What!! You mean I am expected to know where of I speak before I post??
Add to that all the trolls who do not care if the information they post is accurate, just trying to game the forum. There are also some that elevate this form to another level, not sure what to call them.

I tend to think of this forum a bit like the CB radios of the past.

You are not the only old-timer. I am thoroughly pissed and old.

The problem I find with most standard info about cichlids (especially Central Americans), is that most info seriously under states the space needed to keep them.
I have snorkeled with JD's and others in nature and often find 7" Rocio's (JD's) will guard a territory of at least 250 gallons

I do not give a crap that you live in Panama. That you live in Panama does not affect my fish. I'm glad you live in Panama and used to be a water blah blah blah in Milwaukee

The problem with your last comment, Duane, is that most people that come to a public forum asking advice on tank size, almost always ask what the minimum requirement is. That hasn't changed since the inception of online aquatic forums, and most likely never will. No one asks what's best for the fish, they ask what's best suited for them.
BTW - I recently answered a question regarding a green sunfish (which I have never kept), as did Duane. Whether or not I have ever owned that species was irrelevant. I gave the most logical, and most accurate answer, based on many years of experience with other aquatic species, including other species of sunfish.

Very good posts.

I think with any online public forum, reputation capital is earned with time. Everything else comes with a certain risk factor. Outside of a vetted community, such as we have here, everyone & anyone can become an overnight expert - which IMO is precisely why many people drifted to sites such as facebook and youtube. It's easy to talk smack, when no one can call you out on it in front of the masses.

RD. You are a puppet of NLS. Do you deny it? I caution you to check your browser history before answering.

 

[AquaAlex1993]

Is that what this thread is all about?....a cleverly veiled means of calling someone out?

Hmmm. You know what, after reading through out the thread, I hadn't read the first posts, it does seem to me that this is a passive aggressive way of calling someone or ones out.
The topic idea is good.
As someone mentioned before, the internet is the internet. The internet is available world wide and is public. MFK is on the internet which means any and everyone can join. Thus, it could be trolls posting threads with questions that google can answer or things like that to get the members all fired up and angry.
Sometimes, Discretion is the better part of valor.
If I see a question about a fish I can answer about because I kept the fish, I answer with my experience and what I experienced.
I don't even go near any of the forums that I have not kept unless I am interested.
These fish include rays, lungfish, etc.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Asking a fish related question on a forum is like playing Russian roulette for a good answer.
Choose wisely.

 

[Hendre]

Asking a fish related question on a forum is like playing Russian roulette for a good answer.
Choose wisely.

You have to look at information and cut the crap from it and see what you believe is right.

I think everyone develops their own style of keeping, so everything is biased somehow

 

[Toiletcar]

Asking a fish related question on a forum is like playing Russian roulette for a good answer.
Choose wisely.

This is sooo true. You'll get a lot of wrong info and have to sort out what is right.
Especially in IDing small/young cichlids. Most cichlid fry or fish at a small size look very similar. It is nearly impossible from an online photo. Things like lighting, the glass, angle, and if a fish is stressed etc..really can really distort the pic. A lot of people go by color in IDing a fish, and automatically assume a fish is a certain species or hybrid. Basically just guessing. IMO they only sure way to know is to buy from a reputable source, grow it out or buy as an adult.
You'll never see me post an ID thread. I am very picky on where I buy my fish from.