I give up

[jjohnwm]

One of the things I find rather disheartening about this hobby, is that anyone with money, space, and time can essentially turn into a "skilled" fishkeeper overnight- that one rich twit down the road that everyone seems to know can one day buy himself a massive 800G, stock it with a couple expensive fish, run a state-of-the-art filter and whatever other fancy equipment on it, proclaim to the world of their new setup, and get hailed a hero and expert for their financial decisions.

I'm not sure if I agree with this or not. Certainly, there are folks who feel that by throwing enough money at a problem they can make it go away...but unless they spend the cash required to pay someone to maintain their aquarium, no amount of fancy-shmancy hardware can overcome a complete and utter lack of knowledge regarding how to use it correctly.

It's like having a tank infested with Ich; all you need is a heater and some salt...or even just a heater! Owning an aquatic medicine cabinet with all the latest miracle cures, along with some goodies like a UV sterilizer, a diatomaceous-earth or other ultra-fine filter, maybe an ozonizer (does anybody still use those?) means that you probably have a half-dozen ways to treat the problem quickly and effectively...but if you haven't a clue how any of it works or which bottle of medicine to use...your fish will still die, whether by the ravages of an easily-cured parasitic infestation, or by your own hand as you bumble about with stuff you never bothered to learn how to use.

I think that's why many of these "credit-card aquarists" seem to fade from view shortly after their glamorous shiny new aquarium starts to develop "mysterious" problems; they get discouraged when pulling up their bank balance on their cellphones and then showing the fish how much money they have spent doesn't remove the white spots immediately...

On to the next hobby, something that more easily lets them display the sort of conspicuous consumption that was the original goal.

 

[Hybridfish7]

He was probably told by a PetSmart employee that it was ok. Overhearing the advise those morons give makes throw up in my mouth

The worst is watching uneducated people, who have no business trying to give advice, giving their uneducated advice to more uneducated people, and they believe eachother because they're both uneducated, and because that's what they want to hear. And thus it spreads like a virus

 

[esoxlucius]

The worst is watching uneducated people, who have no business trying to give advice, giving their uneducated advice to more uneducated people, and they believe eachother because they're both uneducated, and because that's what they want to hear. And thus it spreads like a virus

This is very true. Back in the prehistoric days there would maybe have been a one on one conversation between two such uneducated people. They'd both believe each others drivel, but their false rantings would've just been between them, not much harm done.

However, such modern day inexcusable poor advice, thanks to forums and other platforms, plays out to millions of other up and coming green would be hobbyists. That is where the word "virus" fits in nicely. We'll never get away from it.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that when new members join a forum, first and foremost it isn't necessarily to give good advice, or even listen to good advice, but more to "fit in" amongst their fish keeping piers. They're extremely active, joining in with various conversations that they evidently aren't really qualified to participate in.

 

[LukeOscar]

I'm not sure if I agree with this or not. Certainly, there are folks who feel that by throwing enough money at a problem they can make it go away...but unless they spend the cash required to pay someone to maintain their aquarium, no amount of fancy-shmancy hardware can overcome a complete and utter lack of knowledge regarding how to use it correctly.

It's like having a tank infested with Ich; all you need is a heater and some salt...or even just a heater! Owning an aquatic medicine cabinet with all the latest miracle cures, along with some goodies like a UV sterilizer, a diatomaceous-earth or other ultra-fine filter, maybe an ozonizer (does anybody still use those?) means that you probably have a half-dozen ways to treat the problem quickly and effectively...but if you haven't a clue how any of it works or which bottle of medicine to use...your fish will still die, whether by the ravages of an easily-cured parasitic infestation, or by your own hand as you bumble about with stuff you never bothered to learn how to use.

I think that's why many of these "credit-card aquarists" seem to fade from view shortly after their glamorous shiny new aquarium starts to develop "mysterious" problems; they get discouraged when pulling up their bank balance on their cellphones and then showing the fish how much money they have spent doesn't remove the white spots immediately...

On to the next hobby, something that more easily lets them display the sort of conspicuous consumption that was the original goal.

i dont think the comment is directed like that.. i think he meant that alot of people will follow the person with top quality equipment because in todays society most people relate money to intelligence. but it couldnt be further from the truth. so that person who buys a 10k setup overnight becomes an instant person of interest to take advice from.

i can tell you theres a certain youtuber who is getting popular and i swear he knows nothing but what he reads off the api bottles but he had the means to open a fish room and do a series installing a 450ish gallon setup. hes increased his following 10 fold in the past 8 weeks with that series.

 

[SometimeSage]

Welcome aboard

Thank you! More like welcome back. More than a decade ago this site helped me grow columbian catfish to full size, they attempted to breed a month before I was forced to take the tank down.

Happy to be back!