What you wish they would have told you

[RiRi]

hey everyone ! New to fishlore and new to the fish keeping world.

I’m wondering if anyone has struggled as much as I have when first starting?

Instead of doing my research, I trusted the knowledge of my LPS.. which has been disastrous... I now have 3 tanks (one is a hospital tank). I’ve lost 3 balloon German blue rams, 2 serape tetras and a Betta. And not a bit of my knowledge has been from the petstores!

I’m slowly rectifying the fact that my tanks were not cycled or even remotely fish ready. But 2 of my tanks are great now, thankfully for every fish involved !

Rian

 

[Repolie]

Hello and welcome! We were all noobs at the start and probably did some mistakes here and there. It's pretty common that people would follow the advice of pet stores, but we all live and learn.

 

[Sokonomi]

I thought it would be a nice idea to have a thread where people can plop down some useful tips,
even the smallest of tidbits that could prepare beginners for things that might seem normal to seasoned fingerwetters, but utterly alien to them.

Heres what I wish somebody would have warned me about;
Apparently there is a nearly invisible gunk buildup that can stick to your return tubing, this is a bacterial biofilm that just likes to hang out there for some reason. I just cleaned my canister for the first time, waterflow increased, and it in turn it knocked loose a whole bunch of that flakey gooey guk, using my spraybar to turn my precious new tank into a freaking snowglobe! Needless to say, I had a minI heart attack and jumped in with my net to try and catch the ghostly white crud that was now swirling around literally everywhere. I then had to google this bizarre phenomenon to find out it was mostly benign, just messy. I thought my filter had somehow eaten bits of plant/shrimp, and it just barfed up the remainders.

Any of you have something to share that can save people from freaking out when it happens?
Please, by all means, do share.

 

[LadyArtemis]

Some basic tips from me:

1. Don’t trust your preset heaters. Invest in some analog or digital thermometers (super cheap on amazon) and manually check the temperature gradient in your tank when you check your water parameters, which you should still check at least weekly even in a cycled tank.

2. RESIST purchasing livestock that doesn’t look 100% healthy and/or isn’t in a clean tank, no matter how bad you want it. In fishkeeping, the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is never more true.

3. Old Tank Syndrome. Like it’s more well-known cousin, new tank syndrome, this happens to even the best of us, and sometimes even the greatest of setups will need an overhaul.

4. Water changes do not = tank cleaning. Get in there and siphon that gravel and periodically scrub tank walls, decor, filter returns etc to truly keep your tank clean and minimize issues as it matures.

5. Don’t slack off. To quote mermaid man from Spongebob, “Vigilance!! Ever alert!” Keeping a sharp eye on the state of the tank daily allows you to catch and handle small issues before they become major problems!

6. Do your homework! I’m so old I remember when we only had library books and word of mouth to get the advice we needed as we forayed into this hobby, in the internet age almost anything you want to know is readily available online, and forums like this are a wonderful way to talk to lots of people with experience when you are in doubt.#themoreyouknow

 

[mattgirl]

Get a second and sometimes even a third opinion on anything the personnel at a fish store tell you. Don't let them talk you into unnecessary products that often do nothing and occasionally do more harm than good.

 

[MomeWrath]

Wash your hands first, with dishsoap....lotion/perfume and gills are a bad combination.
Grab the towel first...then put your hands in the tank.
The clear plastic cup your betta came in is not trash. It is a humane, apparently non-terrifying container to herd fish into rather than scaring the bejesus out of them with a net and then having to extricate their fins from the fabric while trying not to squish them or drop them on the floor.
Don't spray windex on the glass. Besides overspraying into the tank, runoff will dry out the silicone and cause the seals to fail prematurely.
Magic erasers are your friend.

 

[Sokonomi]

1. Don’t trust your preset heaters. Invest in some analog or digital thermometers (super cheap on amazon) and manually check the temperature gradient in your tank when you check your water parameters, which you should still check at least weekly even in a cycled tank.

Super agree on that one. The heater in my canister is set to 26'c, but the tank is only maintaining about 24'c.
The number on the dial might as well say "potato" because it means very little. :')

Get a second and sometimes even a third opinion on anything the personnel at a fish store tell you. Don't let them talk you into unnecessary products that often do nothing and occasionally do more harm than good.

I stopped shopping at my LFS all together, even though its just 5 doors down from where I live!
They gave me bogus advice all the time (phosphates need to be 0, even in a planted tank, so buy this 20 dollar jar).
LFS owners are not all knowing fish tank gods. Even they can be wrong.

Magic erasers are your friend.

I've been struggling with microfiber cloth, but some drip marks are pretty persistent, so what's this about magic erasers?

 

[mattgirl]

I've been struggling with microfiber cloth, but some drip marks are pretty persistent, so what's this about magic erasers?

I was hesitant about using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser in my tanks but quelled my fears after seeing that Magicpenny75 has be using them will no ill effects. Amazing how clean the inside and outside of the glass looks after using one in/on my tanks. I have a bunch of generic ones that I use for all kinds of things. I thought well alright then, I will try and they work like magic

One more thing. Throw away those cartridges that come with so many different HOB (hang on back) filters. Replace them with your own customizable filter media. Cartridges have to be replaced once they get so clogged water will no longer flow through them. Cartridge makers depend on that happening so you will have to buy more of them. Replace them with sponges that can be cut to size and you never have to replace them. Just rinse and keep on using it for years.

 

[MomeWrath]

Well, it's separate from the windex issue. (You can spray windex on a paper towel away from the tank and then use it...) Magic erasers are good for getting stubborn algae off the insides of the tank without risking your fingers or your seals in the process. They are also safe to use on acrylic tanks.

 

[LadyArtemis]

I second magic erasers! I love magic erasers to scrub everything with! I rinse them out in a cup of tank water a few times and then go to town, and have had no adverse effects in several years of using them. Just be sure you buy the kind with no added cleaners or fragrances! (The generic ones work fine too.) They break down over time, so I cut mine with scissors when they are dry and only use a third of one each cleaning (per tank) to make em last longer.

 

[StarGirl]

I second magic erasers! I love magic erasers to scrub everything with! I rinse them out in a cup of tank water a few times and then go to town, and have had no adverse effects in several years of using them. Just be sure you buy the kind with no added cleaners or fragrances! (The generic ones work fine too.) They break down over time, so I cut mine with scissors when they are dry and only use a third of one each cleaning (per tank) to make em last longer.

Don't Magic erasers come with cleaner in them? I've bought them before and they suds like mad...

I thought it would be a nice idea to have a thread where people can plop down some useful tips,
even the smallest of tidbits that could prepare beginners for things that might seem normal to seasoned fingerwetters, but utterly alien to them.

Heres what I wish somebody would have warned me about;
Apparently there is a nearly invisible gunk buildup that can stick to your return tubing, this is a bacterial biofilm that just likes to hang out there for some reason. I just cleaned my canister for the first time, waterflow increased, and it in turn it knocked loose a whole bunch of that flakey gooey guk, using my spraybar to turn my precious new tank into a freaking snowglobe! Needless to say, I had a minI heart attack and jumped in with my net to try and catch the ghostly white crud that was now swirling around literally everywhere. I then had to google this bizarre phenomenon to find out it was mostly benign, just messy. I thought my filter had somehow eaten bits of plant/shrimp, and it just barfed up the remainders.

Any of you have something to share that can save people from freaking out when it happens?
Please, by all means, do share.

Haha I just cleaned out my impeller housing this weekend. I was making a noise it usually doesn't. It was gooked up pretty good. When I turned it back on chunks of brown stuff came out. I guess next time I do the return line too....lol

 

[FrostedFlakes]

Don't stick a pencil in your filter impeller while it's running. Sometimes I'm really not that bright

 

[FrostedFlakes]

Here was the aftermath:

 

[mattgirl]

Don't Magic erasers come with cleaner in them? I've bought them before and they suds like mad...

I have never had suds come out of the many magic erasers I have used through the years. Since folks do mention making sure you get the ones with no additives there must be some that do though. For a long time I bought the original name brand but just buy the generic ones now. I've actually not noticed any difference between name brand and generic other than price.

It truly is amazing how easy it is to clean the glass with them. Like LadyArtemis I cut mine but I cut mine in half while still dry. Might cut the next one in thirds. A little piece goes a long way and is easier to get into small places.

 

[coralbandit]

Nobody told me fish were like Lays potato chips !
I think the Almighty Seachem copied the magic eraser ?
The Duo pad ?? Not 100% on this !

 

[StarGirl]

I have never had suds come out of the many magic erasers I have used through the years. Since folks do mention making sure you get the ones with no additives there must be some that do though. For a long time I bought the original name brand but just buy the generic ones now. I've actually not noticed any difference between name brand and generic other than price.

It truly is amazing how easy it is to clean the glass with them. Like LadyArtemis I cut mine but I cut mine in half while still dry. Might cut the next one in thirds. A little piece goes a long way and is easier to get into small places.

I guess the ones I got were Mr Clean magic erasers

 

[nikm128]

Get a second and sometimes even a third opinion on anything the personnel at a fish store tell you. Don't let them talk you into unnecessary products that often do nothing and occasionally do more harm than good.

I struggle with this the most by far, even when I know they're wrong about something part of me just really wants to listen to them and take their advice to avoid seeming rude. I sometimes try to politely correct them by saying something like "Oh, I actually heard ___ from person X, were they wrong"? but I'm usually met with "Yeah, they are wrong, I have no idea where they got that from" While the person I was talking about will be a long time breeder or something

 

[mattgirl]

Nobody told me fish were like Lays potato chips !
I think the Almighty Seachem copied the magic eraser ?
The Duo pad ?? Not 100% on this !

I think you are right. That looks a LOT like the magic eraser with scrub pad attached to one side that I use to clean our showers

Yep, just like Lay's potato chips, No one can get just one. Tanks are like that too

 

[PascalKrypt]

Never jinx yourself by saying "Well, I've got it all figured out now!" or "That would never happen to me!" or "My tank is now perfect. Everything is in balance. Nothing will go wrong."


Here is a several step plan I wish I had thought up sooner, before my first bunch of purchases from a shop with crappy customer service.

• If you genuinely want advice from an LFS on something that is easier seen/explained in person, go to several different LFS and ask the same question. Make a mental note of which answer was given where. Remember not just which store gave you good advice but also which employee
• Visit that shop a lot. Buy some small stuff there that costs pretty much the same online. You don't lose out and you actually support the profession and the hiring of knowledgeable staff. Strike up conversations with good employees about their own tanks, their personal preferences etc.
• Within no time, they will volunteer useful info you didn't even ask for. "Oh, interested in plant X? Better not buy the ones we have now but come back next Tuesday, we'll have fresh ones so they won't have to acclimate twice if you take it straight home."
  -- Try not to flirt with the young employee who not only knows their stuff but is hot too, and super nice. Remember, you're a client. They're only being professional by being nice to you DO NOT FALL FOR IT

Oh, and warnings from this forums that have actually made me mend my ways pre-emptively by hearing all the horror stories: quarantining. I actually did not do it very consistently or long enough (~ one week before I got impatient, sometimes not at all) before joining this forum. Now every. single. purchase. goes into a separate QT tank unless they came from a shared tank/filter anyway. And for a minimum of three weeks. Too bad if something goes in the less perfect QT. I care too much about my established fish that I am attached to and I do not want to wake up one morning to find everything I have raised with daily devotion belly-up, it being completely and utterly due to my own deliberate fault.

 

[coralbandit]

I struggle with this the most by far, even when I know they're wrong about something part of me just really wants to listen to them and take their advice to avoid seeming rude. I sometimes try to politely correct them by saying something like "Oh, I actually heard ___ from person X, were they wrong"? but I'm usually met with "Yeah, they are wrong, I have no idea where they got that from" While the person I was talking about will be a long time breeder or something

I took this to a different level even in my best LFS with the newbs ...
I asked semI specialized questions that I 100% knew the answer to see where they were at ~ !
When a couple of the senior employees gave me answers that were less then complete I would just say ,"really ,honestly ?"..I made sure they knew I questioned and disputed their answer ! for the newbs I let the others tell them who I was [eventually] and new stores became disqualified as providers of anything that did not have price tag on it !
We have threads on how to qualify info and for even the best it is a slippery slope !

On the hacks to help don't be afraid to change water ,It is the best thing you can do for your fish 99% of the time .It is more important then what they eat ..Learn how to change 50% on your tank like it is nothing no matter tank size ..

 

[LadyArtemis]

Don't Magic erasers come with cleaner in them? I've bought them before and they suds like mad...

Some of them do, you just have to buy the “original” kind. No bathroom scrubbers or febreeze ones or whatever lol. It says on the box if they added stuff. The original ones do theoretically contain some chemicals per their website, so I just rinse and ring mine in tank water a few times for good measure, but I have used them for years with no discernible problems thus far.

 

[PascalKrypt]

Oh and another two:
1. in a newly cycled tank, do regular checks on water quality/PH etc. A newly established cycle is way more at risk for fluctuations or mini-cycles than an older established one, especially when you start adding inhabitants, mess with your feeding or water change schedule, etc., still working out your perfect routine. If you find you just cannot muster the effort of a liquid test every few days, get strips. It's better than nothing at all. It is a terrible, terrible idea to just assume things are fine in there because you won't see symptoms until it is too late and you'll be sorry for all those times you were just too lazy to check thinking things would be fine. It takes such little effort and saves you so much trouble.

2. Check fish well, and I mean really well, when you are still in the store. Spend a solid amount of time in front of the tank observing the fish. When you are looking for one particular issue you are worried about (like IV in gourami, say), or checking for ich, velvet, etc.... don't forget to take a general look at the fish and its behaviour, too. A few weeks ago I bought a pair of honey gourami and was so busy with sexing and checking for symptoms of contagious illnesses I only noticed when I got home .... that the female had half her caudal missing due to fin rot. I spent 20 minutes staring at her in the tank and double checking her in the bag and somehow didn't spot it until she was in the QT >.>

 

[NC122606]

1. Put a plate in front of the water so it does not hit the sand. When I started the first few days was sand, sand and... sand of course!

 

[Kryptos]

Having just started and already paid the price in clove oil this past weekend here goes:

1. Fully agree with don't just trust the folks at the store, no matter how good they appear.
2. Know intimate gory details about the nitrogen cycle BEFORE starting.
3. A fishless cycle needs an ammonia source.
4. Read up about the ideal conditions for fish BEFORE buying them so you don't end up with fish that should have been in schools and aren't of two types of fish that thrive at different temperatures.
5. Know just how high to set your CO2 set and that, unless you're going to throw your aquarium away after a month, you can probably get the more expensive refillable cannister as it's cheaper in the long run.
6. Light is there to make your plants grow. It's not decoration and to see the fish. Invest in a timer so your light stays on the same amount of required hours a day.

 

[Greengirl87]

People always tell beginners to invest in a master test kit. The strip tests are inaccurate. They are better than not testing at all I suppose. However I take this up a notch. Invest in a ph and tds meter. There are some of those liquid dropper tests that you have to do that way. But a ph test isn't one of them. If master test kits make strips look bad, ph meters make the test kits look bad. And then it is just good to know your tds. You don't really have to, it is just handy. And a lot of times you can find a combo deal for the ph and tds meter together.

 

[OhDaniGirl]

Regarding the magic eraser: go to Amazon, search for melamine foam. You can get a bunch of the stuff for super cheap. I think I got a pack of 50 for like $5.

 

[Sokonomi]

5. Know just how high to set your CO2 set and that, unless you're going to throw your aquarium away after a month, you can probably get the more expensive refillable cannister as it's cheaper in the long run.

Id like to add on to this one; Get yourself a solenoid valve with a timer. Yes its 25 bucks, BUT your CO2 runtime gets basically cut in half, meaning your canister will last twice as long. When there's no light, plants don't want CO2, so there's no reason for leaving it running after lights-out.

6. Light is there to make your plants grow. It's not decoration and to see the fish. Invest in a timer so your light stays on the same amount of required hours a day.

This one as well; Those expensive 'aquarium' light controllers are fine, but you don't HAVE to spend 100 bucks on an LED dimmer clock. If you are even a little bit savvy with connecting some wires, grab a nice TC421 on ebay for 30 bucks, and you'll have a pretty good one that can control up to 5 lights if you wanted to.

People always tell beginners to invest in a master test kit. The strip tests are inaccurate. They are better than not testing at all I suppose. However I take this up a notch. Invest in a ph and tds meter. There are some of those liquid dropper tests that you have to do that way. But a ph test isn't one of them. If master test kits make strips look bad, ph meters make the test kits look bad. And then it is just good to know your tds. You don't really have to, it is just handy. And a lot of times you can find a combo deal for the ph and tds meter together.

I am blessed with having the cleanest water in all of europe (Dutch), so I'm pretty safe in that regard, many fish keepers here use straight tapwater. I kinda wish I could get a Nitrate/Phosphate probe though. Also, I don't like the tetra dipping sticks. They are just so vague. My dropper test is a little more accurate, but still kinda ballpark. I want hard numbers. :')

 

[Kryptos]

Id like to add on to this one; Get yourself a solenoid valve with a timer. Yes its 25 bucks, BUT your CO2 runtime gets basically cut in half, meaning your canister will last twice as long. When there's no light, plants don't want CO2, so there's no reason for leaving it running after lights-out.

This one as well; Those expensive 'aquarium' light controllers are fine, but you don't HAVE to spend 100 bucks on an LED dimmer clock. If you are even a little bit savvy with connecting some wires, grab a nice TC421 on ebay for 30 bucks, and you'll have a pretty good one that can control up to 5 lights if you wanted to.

Good idea on the solenoid.

For the timer I just got an 11 euro timer switch that switches it on and off. Nothing crazy fancy.

 

[Sokonomi]

Regarding the magic eraser: go to Amazon, search for melamine foam. You can get a bunch of the stuff for super cheap. I think I got a pack of 50 for like $5.

That's a lifesaver! We don't get mrclean here in europe, but we sure as **** have heaps of that foam for some reason. :'D Dummy cheap, too; like 4 bucks for 40 squares. Thanks!

 

[Helaurin]

on sponges - have you tried horse tack sponges? They are awesome.

They don't fall apart like other sponges, they are gentle enough to not scratch anything, but are fine-grained enough to really get things clean. Perfect size for using by hand, no cutting needed, and flexible enough to wedge into nooks and crannies. They usually come in packs of 12 for about $10-$12, and often cheaper at a local tack shop (especially during their annual "tent sale", lol).

You can usually get them at almost any horse tack/saddlery shop, or online: ()

My daughter (who is the equestrian) and I bought a pack 2 years ago and still haven't needed to buy more yet. She uses her sponges for cleaning tack, etc. and I've "stolen" some for our tanks. And they are pretty easy to rinse and clean algae and other fish gunk from too. (obviously, I keep the couple I've appropriated just for the fish, separate from hers... I have no interest to find out what saddle soap residue in a tack sponge might do to our fish).

 

[jinjerJOSH22]

Fish keeping is super addictive and before you know it you'll have X amount of aquariums with X amount of fish needing X amount of food and X amount of water changes. Still a fantastic hobby to get into usually relaxing when it's going right.
Water Agitation: I don't think that usually covered properly to new aquarists.

 

[R2D2Fish]

I’m very new to Fishlore and fishkeeping but if I could give anyone even thinking about buying an aquarium advice, I would say...
1. READ, READ and READ some more, join forums like this one and ask a stupid amount of questions.
2. DO NOT under any circumstances get it into your head that the people that work at PetSmart or any other pet store for that matter are experts, any advice you get from them should be taken with a grain of salt and researched on your own.
3. DO NOT buy fish before your tank is fully cycled... trust me... I’m currently learning this lesson the hard way
4. If you decide you want to have live bearers, and the shop tries to give you one that has a black spot on its belly...it’s very likely pregnant.
Again, something I’m experiencing now.
5. The best advice I can give at this point in my fish keeping is to really try to learn as much as you can about the hobby and also try to figure out what kinds of fish you’d want before you actually get them.. that way you can learn about them, their traits, what Kinds of tanks/ size, food etc they prefer.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have far less fish, actually I would have no fish yet. I’d be happily cycling my fish less tank.


One last thing and this is more of my personal opinion. Ghost shrimp are jerks, they are not pets! They are annoying little jerks that you can never find and then when you do their dead.

 

[Vibs]

1. No need for fancy 'fish medicines' . Sometimes just normal and cheap antibiotics can do the job (eg. metronidazole). Unless you don't get them without prescriptions in your country.
2. Beware of submersible filters. Sometimes they malfunction and heat up. I've had heaters that take water temperatures to well over 36 degrees celcius.

 

[cello]

Red-tailed sharks and bettas CAN jump out of containers. It has happened to me twice, once when I was a very young child and again about a year ago, and I will never forgive myself. Even if you think it won't happen to you - please FIRMLY COVER your tanks if you haven't done so already.

And don't listen to the people at the pet stores generally. One of them told me that a common pleco and five platies were a great idea for a six-gallon tank.

Oh, and if you feel sorry for a sick fish or perhaps one of those depressed bettas in the tiny plastic cups, I wouldn't buy them, because 1) it supports the pet store's cruelty, and 2) having a sick fish is really stressful and he/she could infect other fish in the tank.

And quarantine new fish. Seriously. It's not worth the risk.

 

[happyscrub]

That meds may destroy your cycle

 

[H2O Concierge]

I will jump in and 2nd a lot of the great tips and observations by the following: 1). Learn the nitrogen cycle and buy a test kit (not strips) 2). Buy monitor and safety equipment (controllers for your heaters, plug in battery operated aerators, water leakage alarms,...) 3). Learn about the natural environment of your potential fish habitants and design your tank around them 4). Think of your tank as a house or an apartment complex (keeping in mind the occupants different temperaments and needs) 5). Try not to make IMPULSE purchases (take your time and make informed decisions) 6). When buying fish always consider the adult size it will grow to 7). Unless it's an Eheim Canister most flow ratings stated are usually based on an empty canister (cut the stated rate in half to be safe) 8).The smaller the tank the more maintenance it will need (The smallest of changes cause the biggest of problems-things can go bad quickly). 9).Inspect ordered (shipped) items very well for defects and signs of use (Avoid snake oil salesmen...unless that's what your looking for) 10).When it comes to water treatment and other chems I try to stick with a single manufacturer or brand name. I guess this is my top 10 list. Just remember that you WILL make missteps and that it is part of the process.

 

[Shade89]

I had to buy a smaller gravel vac because the one that was recommended on the website for my tank sucks up way too much water.

 

[Snarbleglarf]

Quote: cello- Oh, and if you feel sorry for a sick fish or perhaps one of those depressed bettas in the tiny plastic cups, I wouldn't buy them, because 1) it supports the pet store's cruelty, and 2) having a sick fish is really stressful and he/she could infect other fish in the tank

I completely agree with this, as sad as it may be to see the betta’s/other fish suffering most fish stores like petsmart or petco only order new fish based on what they sell, if they don’t sell any betta they won’t buy more

 

[tjander]

If your going to do it do it right, which means do not try to be cheap. Aquatics is an expensive hobby, you will spend way more money then you ever dreamed. The fancier your fish are the more it cost.

Water and gravel are heavy. Ensure your tank is well supported.

Water and electricity don’t mix well, be careful.

Lastly, nothing good happens quickly, everything takes time to establish. Don’t rush it, and don’t expect things to happen over night.

 

[Pebz13]

I wish someone would have told me to test my tap water. Especially in summer when they add chloramines and chlorine to the water

 

[Fashooga]

For those who have heavy planted tanks and have problems with the plants floating up or causing holes in your sand or kicking up dirt...you can use a colander and a clamp and clamp them together with a hose.

The water will pour into the colander and disperse the water out so it's not jetting out into one area of the tank.

 

[MileyMorkie]

My tips so far.
1) Make sure your parents know bettas can't live in filthy water. I had to explain this to my mom when I got my betta.
2) Don't punish a guppy via making some nicks on the tail. I was angry and stupid one time and did that stunt.
3) Most betta pellets sold are like Blue Buffalo for fish.
4) Don't rely 100% on your filter to keep your tank clean.
5) Marina and Aqueon preset heaters are too expensive and break quickly. Don't use them in a tank under 2.5 gallons, they will boil your aquarium water! Aqueon heaters are not sealed around the cord so water will leak through causing the heater to fail.
6) If you're culturing brine shrimp make sure your pump's pressure is adjustable. Too much of an airflow in a jar or bottle can kill the naupliI by day two of existing.
7) Don't stick nitrate/ammonia removal rocks in your filter.
8) Don't feed your fish everyday.
9) Stay away from Quora, petmom(?), the Spruce, SFGate, TheNest, AquariumAdviser, MeetThePet, PerfectFishTank, etc! They have so much area covered with ads and their info is downright plagiarized or false! I am not sure if it is plagiarized but it sure doesn't look like they own those facts. This also goes for gardening help.
10) Shade balls or bird balls. They are safe and reduce algae and chlorine needed in LA Reservoir. (I don't live in LA)
11) The cheaper the harder you work.
12) You can't cut corners in fish care.
13) Fish know from generations what some things are. Like nets or peas they know what those are and if they are good or bad.

I just started but you learn a lot fast!

 

[Blazie151]

Use a chlorine remover when doing water changes to save your nitrogen cycle, especially in those super rare times you're forced to do more than 30% water changes, which brings me to #2...

Hide your fish food when friends with young kids come over. It seems like an addiction for them to randomly pour a whole bottle in your tank. I've had this happen 5 times with 3 different kids so far.

Never change all filters at once. Set it up so you alternate. This will prevent ammonia spikes.

Check fish temperaments before purchase. I now have a 90 gallon intentionally overcrowded African Cichlid tank because my wife thought 1 looked nice at the LFS for our 20 gallon tank, lol.

Buy bristlenose plecos, not common plecos; common plecos are meant for lakes and ponds, and it's cruel to keep them in a tank under 120 gallons because they won't grow to full size, and their lifespan will be cut severely short.

If you're absolutely forced to euthanize a fish (incurable disease, birth defect, etc) put them in a clear jar and place them in the freezer for an hour. It's the most humane way to do it, which leads me to my next one...

Don't buy fish that have been genetically altered. This is a stupid and cruel practice. Those GloFosh are made by taking regular healthy fish species and genetically modifying them with jellyfish DNA in order to make them glow under blacklight, which is horrible for fish anyway and can blind them after a while. Pygmy species are also usually genetically modified, such as dwarf gourami species. What happens is that their limited gene pool results in massive inbreeding and loads of genetic diseases and defects. Every fish I've had to put down was genetically altered, and I've never had a single dwarf gouriami last longer than 6 months.

Water agitation is massively important and the only purpose of aerators. The surface of the water is where your oxygen exchange happens, and most fish are used to a pretty strong current. A calm water surface is a gateway to disaster.

Lastly, buy plants from sources that are reputable, and quarantine them separately from every other fish and QT tank you have. Plants don't need much for a short QT, but once you get snails in your main tank, you will never get rid of them. And snails and filters don't mix well with the type of pest snails I'm talking about. This came about because of some duck weed I bought from a source that promised no snails (cichlids love duck weed). Anyway, now I have to pull my filters and remove the snail infestation every couple months.

 

[Sokonomi]

Pygmy species are also usually genetically modified, such as dwarf gourami species. What happens is that their limited gene pool results in massive inbreeding and loads of genetic diseases and defects. Every fish I've had to put down was genetically altered, and I've never had a single dwarf gouriami last longer than 6 months.

Ohno! I had a small pair of gouramis on my wishlist, the Honey Sunset kind. Is that a genetically futzed breed as well?

once you get snails in your main tank, you will never get rid of them.

Preach! When I started my tank, I accepted a nice plant from a friend, and immediately dunked it without thinking about it. Now ive got the ramshorn bastards all over my tank. I've tried something called flubenol to no avail. Anything short of a horde of pea puffers probably won't get rid of this pest.. Dont let the kindness of others saddle you up with a headache folks, stick it in a glass vase for a while and observe. If its got the bugs (snails, hydra) DON'T USE IT.

 

[Jack B Nimble]

Id like to add on to this one; Get yourself a solenoid valve with a timer. Yes its 25 bucks, BUT your CO2 runtime gets basically cut in half, meaning your canister will last twice as long. When there's no light, plants don't want CO2, so there's no reason for leaving it running after lights-out.

This one as well; Those expensive 'aquarium' light controllers are fine, but you don't HAVE to spend 100 bucks on an LED dimmer clock. If you are even a little bit savvy with connecting some wires, grab a nice TC421 on ebay for 30 bucks, and you'll have a pretty good one that can control up to 5 lights if you wanted to.

I am blessed with having the cleanest water in all of europe (Dutch), so I'm pretty safe in that regard, many fish keepers here use straight tapwater. I kinda wish I could get a Nitrate/Phosphate probe though. Also, I don't like the tetra dipping sticks. They are just so vague. My dropper test is a little more accurate, but still kinda ballpark. I want hard numbers. :')

I'd like to test it , as I live in middle of Canada surrounded by 100000 lakes and billions of trees and my tap water is good but. I started useing rain water and holy cow the ammonia nitrites and nitrate was top charts. I though well here I am in nature paradise the rain must be clean and nope it's not.

 

[77hermanwilliams]

I struggle with this the most by far, even when I know they're wrong about something part of me just really wants to listen to them and take their advice to avoid seeming rude. I sometimes try to politely correct them by saying something like "Oh, I actually heard ___ from person X, were they wrong"? but I'm usually met with "Yeah, they are wrong, I have no idea where they got that from" While the person I was talking about will be a long time breeder or something

No, not me. Not anymore. Just a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for dithers for the EBA the P.co. worker straight up told me that I could only put S.A. cichlids with other S.A. cichlids. I may have been a little brusk when I looked at her and said "as a matter of fact, that is wrong". Granted I know the general rules about that but not everything is a generality.

 

[SteveBr]

Similar to above, don’t ever buy fish from LFSs that regularly have corpses floating around. And come to think of it, don’t ever buy from big chain stores. Yet I repeat myself...

 

[nikm128]

the Honey Sunset kind. Is that a genetically futzed breed as well?

Honey's are ok, it's just the dwarf gouramis for now

 

[nikm128]

No, not me. Not anymore. Just a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for dithers for the EBA the P.co. worker straight up told me that I could only put S.A. cichlids with other S.A. cichlids. I may have been a little brusk when I looked at her and said "as a matter of fact, that is wrong". Granted I know the general rules about that but not everything is a generality.

Props to you then, I probably won't be able to do that for a while.

 

[Carolyn Underwood]

What does a magic eraser look like? Where can I buy one?