soldieroffortune1974

I have a serious question to ask here,and not quite certain how to put it without stepping on toes. I love the amount of knowledge that is available,and the willingness of individuals to increase that knowledge database.

I have read quite a lot of posts,old and new and continue reading. I am exctatic about the amounts of helpful knowledge available,but in the same token;I am concerned about the amount of INACCURATE info that is being posted as well.

SO,my question is this.WHo,how,and what method is used to verify the info being submitted to rather new individuals of the Aquaria hobby. Curiosity and a healthy amount of concern dictates that I ask this question,but the intent is not to step on anyone's toes,or disregard another's opinion. There's a lot of info that is being posted that has opinion mixed in with facts.

Shawnie

everyones opinions are valued and sometimes toes are stepped on, but we still like having all different experiences in fish keeping...something that works for someone, might not work for others...as far as alot of info being posted that has opinion mixed with facts, is of course your opinion

Butterfly

Usually those of us who have more experience use those experiences to answer questions.We also use reputable references to help contribute.
We do have Members, Mods with Biology Degrees also.
Carol

MinxMermaid

seems like no matter what is asked here there are lots of opinions on how to deal with it. People have had lots of differing fish keeping experiences and knowledge.

usually original poster has to decifer what may work for them or not.

its a DISCUSSION FORUM.

seems like you have alot of knowledge and can offer valuable opinions too.

i hope you decide to share your knowledge and what's worked for you too!

just to see how some crazy things work for some people in this amazing hobby, you may want to read the thread titled

True Confessions!

mrsmuffin

One of my favorite threads we have had around here recently! Thanks again Minx for starting it. Just remember if you decide to visit it, Soldier, that we KNOW what we were doing wrong!!

soldieroffortune1974

I am happy to be a member of the forum,and as with anything;I understand the value of differing opinions,and experiences. Quite a lot of knowledge based in the sciences was merely trial and error based on what someone thought might happen,or could happen,or tried just to see what would happen.

I myself,as with most hobbbyists in the waterworld;learn by trial and error,and learn what errors not to make in the future.

I had to ask. My views range broadly based on what I have been taught,experienced myself,then tried to flaunt nature and improve (HA) on it.

MinxMermaid

glad to hear it! somebody's gotta help the technical idiots like ME!!

soldieroffortune1974

I just read The Reputation System and that clears up the point of this thread nicely.


MINXMERMAID,I wouldn't use such harsh wording to categorize your inexperience! Ignorance can be taught,it's just a lack of knowledge. Stupidity is using knowledge to be ignorant. (HA my uncle used to torment me with that saying when I was a kid,now I got a chance to use it!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA) (sorrry,no offensive meaning behind that)

Tavel

wrong thread...whatever.

Lucy

wrong thread for what? (Sorry, I know this is off topic)

MinxMermaid

did you mean "ignorance CAN"T be taught...." LOL!!!

and BTW, your education is impressive, but just so you know i'm not a COMPLETE IDIOT, I do have a BA from STANFORD. I'm just more adept in the SOCIAL sciences then the biological ones. my husband started our fish keeping hobby and i just got interested a few months ago by association.

since you're new here, i'll tell you my biggest talent in fishkeeping is
Naming the Fish and LOVING them. I can't even feed them that well, except for bettas, cuz i CAN count pellets.

so if you need any fish named, i can help you out with that!!

Angela_96

My 2 degrees have nothing to do with fish however when it comes to breeding and taking care of my fish, I have been able to breed and sell cichlids like crazy, with only loosing one fish in months.

While my husband who holds a BS in Bio that does have fish involved in his studies, bio-chem and even his minor was chemistry cannot touch a fishtank with out complete failure. He can grow a food plot a mile long though and manage wildlife, work at a nuke plant (as he did for a year), etc.

Fishkeeping has nothing to do with having a degree. Research, research, research! I don't think that someone needs a BS in bio to own a fish, or BS in chem to understand whats in the water.

And like the above post, this is a message board, you are going to get answers from everyone who has different experiences in keeping fish. That doesn't make one person right and one person wrong, unless one person is telling you to put 20 goldfish in a 10g tank or something completly off.

soldieroffortune1974

I agree completely steveangel1, My education had nothing to do with the meaning behind the post. The only reson I even threw in my education stats was only because another poster threw in their degree as an attempt to qualify what was being said. As I said before,the sciences are mainly guesswork and assumption tied with a healthy level of curiosity.

Like you said research research research,then when you think you have it figured out,research some more. I agree completely.

angelfish220

Cross referencing is about the best thing you can do. read it here, then Google it, read it on badman's, see what a reputable fish store owner has to say about it, yahoo it, see what a good breeder says about it, then add personal experience to the mix, and usual I come up with a decent answer.

MinxMermaid

sometimes i think the LFS's are the WORST source of information

no matter what you ask, "can i put this with that?" they say, "OH YEAH!" they just wanna sell you the fish, they don't care if it dies

and remember when i got my first betta, and the lady told me, "put a compact mirror in the tank, so he can look at himself and stay active..." another bonehead piece of advice.

Chief_waterchanger

(That is quoted from another thread)

Just to clarify: The moderator that mentioned their scientific qualification(s) was doing so because that made a previous statement incorrect.

soldieroffortune1974

I would love to hear what statement I made that proved to be incorrect and how the mention of the degree they obtained proved the statement as incorrect. Nowhere in that conversation was made mention of anyone being a Biologist or teacher.Just because someone holds a degree in Biology,doesn't make them a Biologist.I hold 2 degrees in Biology and Marine Biology,and I am neither a Biologist nor a teacher.I am a Private Investigator with a Doctorate in Criminal Science. My passion is why I obtained the 1st 2 degrees and my occupation is why I obtained the last.As I PI,I have an incessant drive for knowledge and the truth,mixed with a high level of curiosity.

The point of this thread wasn't to undermine anyone's opinion or their Intelligence,it was for the purpose of gleaning knowledge on the workings of a system. That being said,what was incorrect.?

Chief_waterchanger

My quote was to point out that the statement, "...any biologist or biology teacher will agree...", was an incorrect statement due to the fact that a biologist disagreed with the post. While he does not work in a lab he does hold a degree in biology and does use that degree on a daily basis with our hundreds of aquaria and the experiments that go on with said aquariums. I do not wish to be arguementative, but am, as said in my original post, clarifying what was meant with the education being brought up in the first place.

soldieroffortune1974

ENGUARDE' just kidding

My intention isn't to be argumentative,and I was unaware that particular poster/moderator was a biologist,as he made no mention of that part. I thought you reference was to the statements made in the thread you quoted from about my analysis being incorrect.I can concede your point that particular statement is incorrect,based on that particulr bit of knowledge being absent. Perhaps modifying the statement to "a lot of biologists" instead of "any biologist" would be more qualifying.

Angela_96

This moderator in this statement is one def person that I would take advice from based on his degree, he does not hold a job w/ his bio degree as prob most do not w/ bio degrees (my husband is a paramedic btw w/ his big bio degree) However, I have seen this persons many fish tanks, and bought fish from him. He is a very intellegent person who has kept up with his degree eventhough its not his present "career".

I have googled myself to death on the computer, bought books after books, bugged people like these mods on here, asked questions after questions, prob killed a few fish in my learning path, not to mention I have driving down the road w/ my husband looked over and asked questions about O2 levels at certain temps of water, chemistry in water, algae, etc prob totally off the wall questions that we have gotten into major bio lectures about (I do have to give him credit he is an intellegent man I wish he did use his degree).
One place I don't use is fish stores for advice... thats a personal opinion that everyone will differ on. I have had very poor advice from fishstore employees.

soldieroffortune1974

I can definitely understand.I too look for knowledge in different places and come up with some off the wall questions,you don't ask;you never find out. I too never ask advice from fish stores. They would tell you it's ok to use fish to cycle an aquarium (starter fish) or tell you it's ok to put 20 goldfish in a 10 gal,basic off the wall garbage,anything to sell you their product.

Angela_96

Yep, fish stores are the worst resource I think out there. I just started a SW nano, and being new to sw I have a million and one questions and I will not ask anyone in the fishstore, I walk in buy the chems I need and leave. My husband however will occ. find a fish he likes and ask "can I put that in the sw tank" I actually went off this past weekend when an employee told him that a sw angelfish could be put in a 14g nano that belongs in a 100g tank, he thought he was going to sell my husband the 50$ fish. I told my husband, just wait, I need to re-test the water and research that fish to make sure it was compatable w/ the corals, etc. (he would have fell for it).
Now me, I have books on top of books on sw I am reading, and I started on a nano-reef forum, and I am still LOST!! Its trial and error w/ me. (I just know that I am cycling it fishless, and its cycled a month and looking like a good maturing tank).

The people off these forums have offered me such good advice, and off of other forums. I am a resp therapist and up until a few months ago I was a reg mod on a website that is a support group for children who had issues that my 3 year old had until he was 2, they needed a resp therapist for the asthma issues, not only did I deal w/ it at home I do it as a job. I lurk on that website still yet, and am considered a mod. That website was my crutch literally when I needed answers about my sons health problems.

This website has been the best so far for fish, they have been both friendly and helpful to me.

Red1313

Just a comment on the fish stores they're not all bad. The majority yes but there are always a few people who work there who actually know what they're talking about.