JDM style

[RD.]

that tank is gorgeous, I'd say overcrowded but not necessary JDM. when i think of JDM i don't think of being able to see the background between the fish.

True enough, some of the JDM tanks of the past were jammed tight, crazy tight. As amazing as my friends tank was, had it been me I would have kept the clown loaches (some of them were donations from me) a single chilli red or gold xback aro, OR the pair of pleuro's, and called it a day. That vid only captures a moment in time, other than the aros lots of fish came & went from that set up over the years due to incompatibility and the resulting stress & injuries. Brett had an amazing amount of filtration on his tanks, and they were on constant drip, with this tank (+180 gallon sump) receiving hundreds of gallons of fresh water every day. I don't recall exactly how much, but I think it got a complete flush every 24 hrs, which is crazy when one considers the total volume of 700+ gallons. His drip was more like a steady flow.

Considering pacu mom 's comment above, probably a good thing I never joined FB. lol I would rather talk to myself than take part in forums that are controlled in that manner.

 

[RD.]

I also wanted to add another chapter to this JDM tank discussion, one that won't paint quite as nice a picture, and one that I personally always had a difficult time ignoring. While I understand some of the points that pacu mom posted, there was a very dark side of JDM that most people never witnessed. The photos displaying all of the fish sacrificed in the name of ..... love for this hobby? I won't mention names, or genus of fish, but I saw folks being put on a pedestal here on MFK, that IMHO were nothing more than fish hoarders, with a list of dead fish longer than what I had kept over the years, and I was twice their age. A classic example of what the PETA folks will use to reduce/remove your pet keeping rights. Of course those dead fish were not listed here on MFK, no no, that might affect their god like status, all for what? Their right to keep fish? I typically never called those people out openly here, but I sure felt like it, every single time I saw someone on MFK giving them a shout out, as though they were god's gift to fishkeeping. Is cramming big beautiful fish in a glass box, and over time killing a good portion of them supposed to be impressive? WoW, color me NOT impressed. I count success in years, generally several years, well past the sexual maturity of the fish. Show me some fish that you've kept in good health for a decade or more, and I will be impressed.

Any half wit can kill fish, nothing special about that, no matter how rare or uncommon, or expensive that fish is. Be it a school of guppies, or a 10K full helmet gold Asian aro. BIG tanks with BIG fancy filtration, so what? Mostly what I remember from the JDM days of glory is the casualties of arrogance, and ignorance.

 

[PhishMon84]

Admittedly- I’m over stocked and have been for a few years. Occasionally I sell off 4-6 big fish, give them to friends or make trades with LFS for food.
I’ve lost more than I’ve been successful with over the years, mostly in the beginning when i was still doing smaller bucket water changes. Now I do weekly 75-90% percenters use a hose and an online 2400gph pump to drain. I’d love to automate this aspect.
But I’ve also started to plan future stocks- from what I have currently and I’m working towards reducing stocks over time.
mid like to get to a point where I use a 180 for just oddballs, another for my male umbee as he approaches terminal size and another for my bass and vultures. The 125 would be fore a creamsicle Midas or RD pair. Unfortunately patience hasn’t come with age as much as I had hoped- still doing the best I can with what I’ve got in an uncertain future.
Not that this was pointed at me but being a less conservative stocker is why I seldom post pics

 

[RD.]

In this hobby, almost anyone who has been at it for some time has or will lose some fish along the way. I m certainly guilty of that. Accidents happen, mistakes can be made, and there can be a huge learning curve along the way. I think that everyone (outside of PETA) can understand that. But with overstocked tanks, especially the old school JDM style tanks, a small error in judgement, or a little mistake, can result in disaster. Something as simple as a power failure while one is sleeping can result in a complete loss of life in a tank that is heavily stocked. (from loss of 02)

But what sticks out in my mind, is how cavalier some JDM owners were about losing fish, sometimes a LOT of fish.

Earlier today in another discussion I posted the following: One of the greatest challenges in this hobby is self control, and learning to work within your limitations. Some folks learn this early on (after a few failures), others never seem to figure it out.

In many cases it seemed to me that some of the JDM owners greatest concerns were having to start over, as though putting in more time was inconvenient, vs being sickened by the amount of fish they just wiped out. In my mind, which perhaps is just jaded from a few personal experiences in this area, JDM fish keepers were more about themselves, than the fish. I personally don't miss that part of the hobby anymore than I miss seeing an adult oscar in a 40 gallon.

 

[FINWIN]

A lot of of those tanks are boring/ugly asf, too...where's the enjoyment looking at fish banging into each other with no real environment? I sometimes think those keepers have mental problems.

 

[PhishMon84]

A lot of of those tanks are boring/ugly asf, too...where's the enjoyment looking at fish banging into each other with no real environment? I sometimes think those keepers have mental problems.

I always thought it was supposed to be perceived as a status symbol and like @RD said the "cavalier approach to loses" seems to support that notion. like carrying a wad of cash or wearing heavily branded clothing or accessories or wearing gold

 

[Krismo962]

Why keep fish in a glass box confined to 4 walls then?

A lot of of those tanks are boring/ugly asf, too...where's the enjoyment looking at fish banging into each other with no real environment? I sometimes think those keepers have mental problems.

 

[RD.]

I always thought it was supposed to be perceived as a status symbol and like @RD said the "cavalier approach to loses" seems to support that notion. like carrying a wad of cash or wearing heavily branded clothing or accessories or wearing gold

Exactly, for many it seemed to be all about the bling? I never understood that, but I guess different strokes for different folks. My friend with the aros was a commercial importer for some time, Asian aros from Singapore, and black rays from the Netherlands. I recall one juvie blue xback didn't quite meet his standards, still a $750 fish in these parts, and he offered it to me for free - he probably thought I was crazy as I passed on his generous offer. lol

 

[esoxlucius]

Exactly, for many it seemed to be all about the bling? I never understood that, but I guess different strokes for different folks. My friend with the aros was a commercial importer for some time, Asian aros from Singapore, and black rays from the Netherlands. I recall one juvie blue xback didn't quite meet his standards, still a $750 fish in these parts, and he offered it to me for free - he probably thought I was crazy as I passed on his generous offer. lol

I always wondered what the story was behind your "crazy Canuck" mocker. Lol.

 

[FINWIN]

Why keep fish in a glass box confined to 4 walls then?

You know my meaning.