With all the Wireless, App Controls, and now AI technology out there, do you think it takes away from the actual aspect of the hobby or do you feel it really helps?
Technology and Fish Keeping
- Thread starter benzjamin13
- Start date
I think that, in a best-case scenario, the duty of a fishkeeper is to maintain the fish in conditions as close to ideal as possible through the means they have. 'Within our means', I say, as of course this is at the end a selfish hobby. We keep fish to provide us enjoyment. It would be wrong to deny this to people who cannot afford to buy the latest equipment or largest tanks, as long as they keep their fish healthy and don't make ridiculous choices like buying an RTC for their 20g. Similarly, community tanks are a human conceit: nearly all fish prefer to be exclusively with their own species, if even that. But the small loss in 'fish-utils' is offset by the fact that a well-maintained community tank looks great.
In any case, there is personal pride in doing so on one's own instead of enlisting the help of AI, but a tank that is 80% 'happy' or 'comfortable' (by whatever metric you prefer to use) and maintained by the keeper's own ingenuity is still worse than a tank that is at 90% but required the keeper follow ChatGPT's every command to get there. As for equipment, high-tech stuff is nothing but a good thing for the hobby, as all they do is giving us more information and control over tank parameters. The art of finding and maintaining these parameters within ideal ranges is still left to the keeper.
However, we are not yet at a point where we can take the AI's word for granted, so asking for human help, testing things on one's own, and closely observing the tank and fish for signs of something going awry are still essential parts of the hobby. In addition, I am very new to fishkeeping and people who have been at it for many years might have different opinions than a newcomer like me.
In any case, there is personal pride in doing so on one's own instead of enlisting the help of AI, but a tank that is 80% 'happy' or 'comfortable' (by whatever metric you prefer to use) and maintained by the keeper's own ingenuity is still worse than a tank that is at 90% but required the keeper follow ChatGPT's every command to get there. As for equipment, high-tech stuff is nothing but a good thing for the hobby, as all they do is giving us more information and control over tank parameters. The art of finding and maintaining these parameters within ideal ranges is still left to the keeper.
However, we are not yet at a point where we can take the AI's word for granted, so asking for human help, testing things on one's own, and closely observing the tank and fish for signs of something going awry are still essential parts of the hobby. In addition, I am very new to fishkeeping and people who have been at it for many years might have different opinions than a newcomer like me.
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I'm very much a DIY old-school guy, in the hobby and in general life. As
C
Conchonius
stated, this hobby is essentially something we do for our own enjoyment, motivated by selfishness. For many people, high-tech is a means to an end, while for others the tech is its own reward. Nothing wrong with either philosophy; satisfaction can be derived from keeping the animals healthy, from playing with the tech and also from using simple techniques and methods but designing and building the hardware ourselves rather than just buying the gear.
Now, don't get me wrong; I'm as lazy as the next guy, and I enjoy making changes and improvements to my fishkeeping that contributes to making it easier, faster and less stressful. For example, I am a believer in frequent large-volume water changes, but I achieve them entirely by opening and closing the appropriate valves and switching on/off the required pumps. No buckets, hoses, siphons involved; a water change is an excuse to sit in my tattered easychair in the fishroom and read and/or listen to music while the water changes itself. BUT...I want to watch it and control it myself...there is no automation, no electronic control, no smart technology to do this for me. Simple timers for my lights...which are mostly LED shoplights...and a couple of digital thermometers are the extent of my dalliance with tech. A float switch is my idea of the ultimate in automation. The most recent tool that I purchased to improve my hobby was a new trenching shovel. And the fact that people not only rely upon gadgetry to do everything for them, but actually display and enjoy the stuff for its own sake is a constant source of wonder to me.
I'm also a bit amazed at the apparent incongruity in the way that info is collected and used by many people today. Today it is so easy to locate info on almost anything that there is literally no excuse for not doing so...and yet apparently that is still too much work for many people. Rather than accessing the nearly limitless supply of data that is available online instantly...they instead bleat helplessly "Emergency! Tell me what I need to do!" and expect others to scour the internet and regurgitate the collated data for them.
Hell...the fact that I am actually sitting here reading and typing on a computer is incredible in itself. But I don't trust more than maybe 10% of what I read, so I guess I must be enjoying it for its own sake.
Now, don't get me wrong; I'm as lazy as the next guy, and I enjoy making changes and improvements to my fishkeeping that contributes to making it easier, faster and less stressful. For example, I am a believer in frequent large-volume water changes, but I achieve them entirely by opening and closing the appropriate valves and switching on/off the required pumps. No buckets, hoses, siphons involved; a water change is an excuse to sit in my tattered easychair in the fishroom and read and/or listen to music while the water changes itself. BUT...I want to watch it and control it myself...there is no automation, no electronic control, no smart technology to do this for me. Simple timers for my lights...which are mostly LED shoplights...and a couple of digital thermometers are the extent of my dalliance with tech. A float switch is my idea of the ultimate in automation. The most recent tool that I purchased to improve my hobby was a new trenching shovel. And the fact that people not only rely upon gadgetry to do everything for them, but actually display and enjoy the stuff for its own sake is a constant source of wonder to me.
I'm also a bit amazed at the apparent incongruity in the way that info is collected and used by many people today. Today it is so easy to locate info on almost anything that there is literally no excuse for not doing so...and yet apparently that is still too much work for many people. Rather than accessing the nearly limitless supply of data that is available online instantly...they instead bleat helplessly "Emergency! Tell me what I need to do!" and expect others to scour the internet and regurgitate the collated data for them.
Hell...the fact that I am actually sitting here reading and typing on a computer is incredible in itself. But I don't trust more than maybe 10% of what I read, so I guess I must be enjoying it for its own sake.
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It can be helpful for sure, to me it depends what I am trying to keep. In a freshwater tank, I do everything "old school", with buckets/syphon (python for larger tanks above 75g). Freshwater, once you have your tank stable, is pretty simple.
When I was keeping saltwater reefs, there is a LOT more to keep track of, and small swings can have big affects on the coral. I went the automated route with auto top-off, lots of technical monitors, the works, as it seemed necessary to keep up with it all. Still changed water with a hose and bucket though.
When I was keeping saltwater reefs, there is a LOT more to keep track of, and small swings can have big affects on the coral. I went the automated route with auto top-off, lots of technical monitors, the works, as it seemed necessary to keep up with it all. Still changed water with a hose and bucket though.
I'm essentially neutral on the question of technology. To me there's more than one way to do things and very few primary cosmic truths in fishkeeping: keep your water clean, don't overfeed, educate yourself and use common sense about such basics as fish size, tank size, temperature range, etc. And, whether you're a geographical purist or not a geographical purist, know enough to keep compatible fish together-- in other words don't be pretend you're being clever by "thinking out of the box" and keeping some idiotic combination of fish: "I've had 2 inch Tropheus, discus, and clown loaches together for 3 days and it's going great!" After that are some secondary truths about nutrition, the fish themselves, their habitat, and other finer points you can learn as you go.
I don't really agree that the concept of a fish community is a conceit, though "community" could convey a misconception to some. But there's plenty of literature about species commonly associated with each other, you can watch all sorts of wild videos showing species mixing together in a single location, like in a branch tangle, behind a fallen branch, etc., as well as watching certain species commonly move and travel together, like Mesonauta and angels. On Youtube are Project Piaba, Biotopia, Below Water and others that have shown this, as well as some quality Facebook pages, like Planta Aquaticas do Brasil.
Watch enough wild video and another thing you learn is the number of species that are found in varied habitat, which don't follow some of the stereotypes people have: like angels, or severums, or discus, or whatever can't handle current. Or 'you can't keep geos and angels together because all geos live in fast current (certain species do, not all) and angels can't handle current.' True, you don't find angels (or discus or Heros or Uaru) in the rapids and, no, you don't want their tank to be a whirlpool, but that doesn't mean they're can't handle current.
I don't really agree that the concept of a fish community is a conceit, though "community" could convey a misconception to some. But there's plenty of literature about species commonly associated with each other, you can watch all sorts of wild videos showing species mixing together in a single location, like in a branch tangle, behind a fallen branch, etc., as well as watching certain species commonly move and travel together, like Mesonauta and angels. On Youtube are Project Piaba, Biotopia, Below Water and others that have shown this, as well as some quality Facebook pages, like Planta Aquaticas do Brasil.
Watch enough wild video and another thing you learn is the number of species that are found in varied habitat, which don't follow some of the stereotypes people have: like angels, or severums, or discus, or whatever can't handle current. Or 'you can't keep geos and angels together because all geos live in fast current (certain species do, not all) and angels can't handle current.' True, you don't find angels (or discus or Heros or Uaru) in the rapids and, no, you don't want their tank to be a whirlpool, but that doesn't mean they're can't handle current.
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