Your biggest mistake
- Thread starter FSM
- Start date
1.) When I was younger and didn't know any better I used to use PH up to raise the PH in a small 50 gallon pond in our yard. Well I grabbed the Little yellow bottle of what I thought was PH up and put a bunch in the pond. Ten minutes later all fish were gasping for air at the surface and swimming erratically. It turned out I had actually grabbed the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Ammonia test kit bottle (the bottles are identical in shape and both have yellow labels). I found out really quick how toxic that ammonia test solution is. I did a massive 99% water change and fortunately and all fish survived my ignorance.
2.) I used to clean filters and filter media with chlorinated tap water destroying all beneficial bacteria.
3.) Using abrasive sponges on acrylic.
4.) Trusting someone who lives 1 hour away that a fish they are selling is a certain size (5") only to get there and see that it is barely half the size they had advertised (2.5"). If the size of the fish is important, make sure you get a picture of it next to a tape measure.
Learn from the mistakes of others you can never live long enough to make them all yourself.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
2.) I used to clean filters and filter media with chlorinated tap water destroying all beneficial bacteria.
3.) Using abrasive sponges on acrylic.
4.) Trusting someone who lives 1 hour away that a fish they are selling is a certain size (5") only to get there and see that it is barely half the size they had advertised (2.5"). If the size of the fish is important, make sure you get a picture of it next to a tape measure.
Learn from the mistakes of others you can never live long enough to make them all yourself.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Never mention that you need to clean your tanks in front of a fish happy 3-4 year old. My 20L and my 29 both ended up with about a half gallon of Tide laundry detergent in them. Only one survivor, a yoyo loach. Still have him, he's about 5 years old.
I had a cichlid in a 10 gal. tank when I was first getting started. He was a healthy guy but not always well cared for, I would forget to change his water, overfed him all the things that should have killed him. This went on for about 2 years.
When I moved into this house (during the summer), I was worried I would lose him & his tank mates, so I got 2 cheap styrofoam coolers, filled them half way with water and put him in one and the rest of the fish in the other. Something happen, it may have been the beer, and I totally forgot about him. Everyone else made it into the tank that night and was fine. A WEEK later I looked into this cooler and there he was in about an inch of water!! I got him into the tank and 3 years later he finally died.
When I moved into this house (during the summer), I was worried I would lose him & his tank mates, so I got 2 cheap styrofoam coolers, filled them half way with water and put him in one and the rest of the fish in the other. Something happen, it may have been the beer, and I totally forgot about him. Everyone else made it into the tank that night and was fine. A WEEK later I looked into this cooler and there he was in about an inch of water!! I got him into the tank and 3 years later he finally died.
About 15 years ago fell asleep while draining my 55 gal tank. When I got up( 2 hours later) all my fishes were dead!
I had these betta tanks when I was younger and they would be placed high on a mantle against a brick wall. At the time, I never realized how cold the aquariums would get next to the bricks on cold winter nights. Having a total of 4 tanks with a betta in each, only one survived while the other three were found floating in their cold stricken tanks. Sad experience, but only made me want to learn more about demands of fish.
I couldn't get mad at the kid, like I said, she was fish happy, and she was absolutely inconsolable when she realized what she done killed all those fish. I got her started on tank maintainence correctly, I'd show her on the 45 and 29, and let her do the 20 while I watched. She's almost 6 now and is still at it, still fish happy, I think we have another fish geek in the making.
