- Messages
- 3
Are mistakes in fishkeeping common or am I just a bad fishkeeper?
Advertisement
- Messages
- 12,262
Advertisement
- Messages
- 261
OP
- Messages
- 3
- Messages
- 3,005
- Messages
- 16,739
It is an acquired skill/art for sure, but there are several mistakes that are very common as well, that most of us most likely committed at so.e time or another, depending how honest people are with themselves 
especially those of us that started before a thing called the internet made a lot of information very widespread.
especially those of us that started before a thing called the internet made a lot of information very widespread.Advertisement
- Messages
- 1,643
- Messages
- 10,168
- Messages
- 516
Yes, it’s extremely easy to make mistakes, mostly due to the abundance of misinformation about fish keeping online (that goes for other exotic pets as well actually). And a lot of the time, even when you have all the correct information, theres just things you learn from experience.
Im someone who definitely isnt an expert by any means, but I think I’m a decent fish owner, and some mistakes ive made in the past few months are:
-leaving the lid off the tank and having a fish jump out and get injured from falling
-having a fish die because it stayed in the back of the tank a lot and I didnt check on its physical condition and assumed it was healthy and fine
-ridiculously overestimating how much food guppies needed and killing two
Mistakes are easy to make, and hopefully teach you things, but like the person above me said sometimes you never even find out what happened.
If you would like help figuring out what is wrong could you give us your tank info, such as tank size, the fish youve stocked, what you fed them, their symptoms as they died, if the tank is cycled, the parameters of the tank, etc. please?
Im someone who definitely isnt an expert by any means, but I think I’m a decent fish owner, and some mistakes ive made in the past few months are:
-leaving the lid off the tank and having a fish jump out and get injured from falling
-having a fish die because it stayed in the back of the tank a lot and I didnt check on its physical condition and assumed it was healthy and fine
-ridiculously overestimating how much food guppies needed and killing two
Mistakes are easy to make, and hopefully teach you things, but like the person above me said sometimes you never even find out what happened.
If you would like help figuring out what is wrong could you give us your tank info, such as tank size, the fish youve stocked, what you fed them, their symptoms as they died, if the tank is cycled, the parameters of the tank, etc. please?
- Messages
- 85
To quote Michael Jackson, "You are not alone, I am here with you..."
Also made a few mistakes, the stupidest ones. Even after seeing so many videos about how I should not be doing that. Like putting fish in too great quantity before the tank is cycled. Or crushing a shrimplet under a rock while cleaning. It sucks when you lose fish but don't get discouraged. As so many said, people on this forum are here to help and provide great advice!
Also made a few mistakes, the stupidest ones. Even after seeing so many videos about how I should not be doing that. Like putting fish in too great quantity before the tank is cycled. Or crushing a shrimplet under a rock while cleaning. It sucks when you lose fish but don't get discouraged. As so many said, people on this forum are here to help and provide great advice!
- Messages
- 637
Mistakes are inevitable but they are also sometimes essential to learning and gaining experience. Luckily, we have the internet at our fingertips and the community here is always ready to help you out
One thing I will say is be wary about what employees at pet stores recommend. I say this because the people at the only exotic fish store in my town told me that my betta would be fine in a half gallon container without a filter or heater. Some do know their stuff, but also do research for yourself, too!
One thing I will say is be wary about what employees at pet stores recommend. I say this because the people at the only exotic fish store in my town told me that my betta would be fine in a half gallon container without a filter or heater. Some do know their stuff, but also do research for yourself, too!
- Messages
- 2,307
Don't get down, I consider myself pretty advanced and lost 28 rummynose over the course of a month once, 2 batches of 14 from my favorite LFS. In my case they had a less common bacterial issue coming straight from the supplier. My orders weren't the only ones affected so I ended up sitting on an I.O.U. for 3-4 months while the LFS nuked the affected tanks and looked for a new supplier. The next batch I got from them survived like little champions.
I think it is common to make mistakes too, though everyone's will be a bit different. There is allot to this hobby that is just lore, then there's the opportunity to misinterpret success, and more. As the others above have stated, enough eyes on a situation will likely bring decent advice. If you do decide you want to seek advice, be as honest as possible, it will get you better answers. There's allot of forgiveness here and you will likely not be talked down to if you made a mistake. It seems the fishlorians only get riled up when someone chooses to describe the mistake, then choose not to change the method.
I like to approach everything with the intent to learn, it helps me progress. Welcome to fishlore.
I think it is common to make mistakes too, though everyone's will be a bit different. There is allot to this hobby that is just lore, then there's the opportunity to misinterpret success, and more. As the others above have stated, enough eyes on a situation will likely bring decent advice. If you do decide you want to seek advice, be as honest as possible, it will get you better answers. There's allot of forgiveness here and you will likely not be talked down to if you made a mistake. It seems the fishlorians only get riled up when someone chooses to describe the mistake, then choose not to change the method.
I like to approach everything with the intent to learn, it helps me progress. Welcome to fishlore.
- Messages
- 1,479
Man, "mistakes are inevitable" was a super good one lol. It is very true. I know people who have been in the hobby for twice my age that have made some mistakes, or overlooked something that led to big losses. Fish keeping is both a science and an art; science is mostly trial and error, with the exception that we almost never have full control over things like extreme weather, blackouts, genetics, disease, etc., and art is a process of expression through carefully selecting stock, planting, and hardscapes (see aquascaping). In both subjects, mistakes are indeed inevitable, but it's up to us to learn from these mistakes and overcome them. They say that success only comes after a thousand mistakes. Or something like that. The point is, you can only find success if you try and learn from what doesn't work. There is absolutely no shame in making a mistake and wanting to learn from it. I hope that you open up to us so we can help you through this.
- Messages
- 29
I’m having a problem with keeping ghost shrimp alive- so I understand how frustrating it is. At least we’re in the right place here.
Advertisement