Rethinking standard practice: 8 years, no testing, no disease.

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I have the feeling that this is not so much "re-thinking standard practice" and more "re-marketing the lazy approach to fish keeping". It's common in the hobby; a fishkeeper doesn't want to bother doing all that work, and manufactures a justification for not doing it. It's the Father Fish School Of Aquariological Philosophy.

You don't know what species of fish you have...you seem to think that they are sensitive, delicate and difficult-to-keep rather than being among the easiest beginners' fish...you keep saying more and more, revealing that you know less and less about the topic...and now, you are using the fact that an Axolotl has survived for 5 weeks (!) as evidence that you are an expert.

I have had an Axolotl who has just passed his 15th anniversary with me...that's years, not weeks. He has lived in five tanks spread over three houses in two different watersheds and is so bulletproof that I suspect he might live 5 weeks in between the couch cushions, across the room from his tank. And you are buying Axolotl-specific dechlorinators and bacterial inoculations?!? :ROFL:

I have the suspended lighting above most of my tanks hung in a position and at an angle that it doesn't shine directly only the front glass, which keeps algae growth to a minimum. I don't refer to this as a "concentrated zone for algae and bio-bloom" or an "engineered bio-sink"; it's simple common sense, an attempt at reducing workload.

You've dug yourself so far into this hole of BS that even if you post test results now, they will be difficult to believe because you'll need to save face by manufacturing data. But still, I hope you do get a test kit and check out your water. You actually seem to believe the nonsense you are spouting, so I think a good splash of cold hard reality in the face will do you a world of good.
Call it what you want and fire at my terminology to describe things all you want mate, the results speak for themselves.

And to be honest I don't even know your referring too, in your opening statement. I came here to document my tank with other people who enjoy aquatic life and aquariums.

Throwing personal attacks at me because it doesn't conform to your standards or rules is just immature to say the least.

Let's look at the facts barbs are notorious fin nippers , adult Chinese algae eaters are supposedly aggressive towards angel fish, and the platty well he just goes with the flow living life.
Look at the the plants I've put in they are propagating and splitting which indicates a healthy tank. The fish show no signs of aggression towards each other at all and are all perfectly healthy, like I say I've never had a case of ich or fin rot.
You throw them species in together in a new tank, that wouldn't be the case.

Laughing at me because I'm using dechlorinator and healthy bacteria in a new tank is debatable because I'm giving the axolotl the things he needs, especially when it's a new tank

The reality of it is I'm achieving the results the same results as you all so desire to have. Just without spending hundreds on chemicals and test kits.
 
The reality of it is I'm achieving the results the same results as you all so desire to have. Just without spending hundreds on chemicals and test kits.
Hello; Just for fun and to be sure any fun has long since gone from the thread, I maintain my tanks without chemicals. My ongoing expense is fish food. I am lucky to have source water from water company using only chlorine. I let the tap water sit in jugs a few days so no chemicals.

I do have a master test kit. Hardly used for years. It is not some ongoing expense burden. Nice to be very lightly stocked and know my water.

As another suggested, take some of your water to a fish shop and get it tested. Maybe for free. Do not post the results to us. Just check for your own knowledge. keep it private.

Frankly the responses from members who have posted have been unusually kind compared to past such exchanges. I expected much worse. I do not think any are jealous of your accomplishment. Soon all will tire of your attitude and stop responding. Keep telling yourself we just cannot stand that you beat us. Works for me.
 
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It’s funny you talk about 'fun' being gone, considering you are the one's who turned a documentation thread into a critique of my character and vocabulary.

You think this is just about 'water parameters' and 'laziness.' It isn't. To me and my son, this tank is part of our history. He was the one who chose the artificial plants all those years ago, he was the one who chose the Star Wars decorations, and I chose the ship and the fish. To me, that means more than any of your opinions ever will, because it was our way of saying my son is home and out of the care system.

This tank is thriving, and it has deep personal meaning regardless of the occupants. You’re worried about me 'beating' you, or my attitude, or whether I use a test kit. I’m just focused on maintaining a tank that represents something real. You can keep your 'cold hard reality' of test kits and endless maintenance; I’ll keep the reality that is actually in my room
 
It’s funny you talk about 'fun' being gone, considering you are the one's who turned a documentation thread into a critique of my character and vocabulary.

You think this is just about 'water parameters' and 'laziness.' It isn't. To me and my son, this tank is part of our history. He was the one who chose the artificial plants all those years ago, he was the one who chose the Star Wars decorations, and I chose the ship and the fish. To me, that means more than any of your opinions ever will, because it was our way of saying my son is home and out of the care system.

This tank is thriving, and it has deep personal meaning regardless of the occupants. You’re worried about me 'beating' you, or my attitude, or whether I use a test kit. I’m just focused on maintaining a tank that represents something real. You can keep your 'cold hard reality' of test kits and endless maintenance; I’ll keep the reality that is actually in my room
Hello; Fair enough.
 
I am not going to question the veracity of the eight-years-no-WCs claim. I will, however, question the purpose of this thread. Is it to argue that water changes are unnecessary in general, and we're wasting our time and money by doing them? That can't be true, because extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and this thread provides no evidence beyond "trust me bro".

Is it to brag, in the sense of "look at you unenlightened peasants working so hard on your water parameters, while I am a fishkeeping wizard who could easily maintain a pristine ecosystem for years"? That can't be true either, because even if the 8-year claim is real, there's no skill involved and no real explanation about how one got there. Apparently the tank was large enough, the biomass low enough, the temperature cold enough, and the inhabitants hardy enough that they acclimated to the elevated nitrates, but this can't be replicated reliably and has no practical use in a typical tank with higher stocking and tropical temperatures. It also requires no expertise beyond "have hardy beginner fish that will endure a water change every 3 months". There are goldfish that live for years in bowls, but that is about the ability of the goldfish to survive, not the ability of the bowl to provide a good environment for survival.

Is it just to show off a cool tank? Maybe, but then there would be a lot more pictures of the tank and its inhabitants, and a lot less arguing about the no-water-changes claim. I am inclined to conclude that it's what the kids call "ragebaiting": making a far-off claim and being combative about it as a kind of online sport... which I am not opposed to. It's good to have sparring matches over the internet once in a while.
 
It's the focal point to mine and my son's life mate , like I stated this is the same tank that we started all them years ago, same substrate same tank decorations, the only variable to change over them 8 years is the inhabitants , as stated the tank sits at a constant 20 degrees celcius

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I have found a video of the tanks second stage of life , at the time it housed a pair of breeding convict cichlids, unfortunately and ultimatelythey were removed because of the constant breeding.

 
"I am not going to question the veracity of the eight-years-no-WCs claim"

I never said I didn't water change I just do it sparsely at 3 month intervals, this tank has went through 3 phases of it's life , starting with 9 goldfish and 3 loaches , the only time I rinsed the substrate was the transition from cold water fish to tropical.
 
Hello vain, while I agree with much that has been said by fellow members, I wanted to commend you on introducing the hobby to your son.

It’s good to step outside the box and try different approaches in this hobby, just keep in mind that over the course of the past 50 yrs or so, along with many traditional methods, most of the less than traditional methods have also failed. What you are doing reminds me of cycling a tank with live fish. Do some fish survive the toxicity of the high levels of free ammonia? For sure, but can we call their survival a success story? Hardly. As previously stated, short of a proper necropsy all one sees is a survivor, not the internal harm that ammonia spikes cause.

It’s all good, carry on, but perhaps consider that some folks here will always put fresh clean water, at the top of the list in keeping captive fish healthy, long term. In this regards, several decades worth of science clearly agrees.

Good luck
 
Just to add to this, I have posted the following a number of times over the years.

For those who don't understand the process, or have new set ups where the tanks bio is not fully mature, and/or the pH is high, and/or they keep their fish in warmer water, and/or they don't have tanks full of plants, or your local water supply uses higher levels of chloramine during certain times of the year, you are probably exposing your fish to ammonia (NH3)


Exposing fish to NH3, free ammonia, is like exposing an infant to second hand smoke. There is no "good" amount or value, to a fish.

NH3 (free ammonia) is toxic, to all fish, even small amounts of NH3, and even for short durations. The higher the pH of the tap water, as well as the higher the water temp, the more toxic it becomes. A good article on that subject can be found on the Krib.

https://www.thekrib.com/Chemistry/ammonia-toxicity.html


HTH
 
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