What's something you do that people would hate you for on the internet?

Title says it all - what's something you do in your aquarium hobby that you'd get a lot of hate for? None of us are perfect, and I guarantee we all have at least a few bad habits.

I'll start.

1) I use test strips 9 times out of 10. I own a ton of liquid kits too, but I have 9 tanks set up, so liquid testing each one takes a lot of time. So unless I'm needing super accurate readings or I'm testing for something like copper, I choose test strips.

2) I don't temperature match my water change water. At least, not to the degree like I see so many people do online. If it's less than a 50% water change, I just dip my finger into the bucket and into the tank - if it feels close, it's good enough.

3) I'm convinced that most of us are better off managing disease than eradicating disease. This is a big thing in saltwater tanks, but I don't think I've seen the discussion on freshwater forums. Basically, most parasites (and some bacterial/fungal infections) can be fought off by the fish's immune system, and assuming the fish is healthy enough, can be kept at bay for a long time. But the fish almost never completely defeats the parasite - it's still there, just in very small numbers. If we're talking about ich, for example, that means that we may never see spots (or we may only see a spot every now and then), but it's living in the gills of the fish. The parasite doesn't begin to overwhelm the fish until it's sufficiently stressed - a second illness, bad tank parameters, being netted, or just old age can cause the immune system to weaken and then you see a million spots on the fish. I'm all for eradicating the disease if possible (if you can see it), but treating EVERY fish you encounter with harsh meds like Ich-X (or copper in saltwater) is very aggressive and will probably have at least some long-term effects on some fish. So, for most of us, I'd say we're better off observing the fish, and if everyone looks healthy, assume that they are. The only time I might be hesitant to do that is if they're going in with fish that can't be treated easily - puffers, scaleless fish, stuff like that. And, of course, in saltwater, it's a little tougher to treat parasites like this, so again, YMMV. I know for a fact that I've got a tank with ich in it, but they're all damsels and clownfish, so I've never seen the current fish exhibiting symptoms. A good diet and a light touch (no huge rescapes) keeps them healthy, even though they definitely have ich. Quarantining is still important - if you put a fish into your tank with velvet or some other fast-moving disease, you'll probably wipe out your tank.

 

Up until this week, I knowingly overfed.

It was mostly for the benefit of the shrimp, but I'm dealing with a nasty algae outbreak, so it's time I started to behave!

 

I have occasionally rinsed media under running tap water. I’m sorry. Don’t hurt me.

 

I have occasionally rinsed media under running tap water. I’m sorry. Don’t hurt me.

I do it with sponge filters sometimes. My fish have survived... thus far.

 

I rarely test water if fish aren't acting funny. I don't do a thing to purposely change pH.

I think you shouldn't be trying to purposefully breed fish if you can't keep fish alive and healthy, in general.

I also believe mollies are a far worse community fish than tiger barbs.

(i see the mob coming with the torches and pitchforks)

 

I rarely test water if fish aren't acting funny. I don't do a thing to purposely change pH.

I do these too. I only test while cycling, if I think there could be a disease, and to put on my FL profile when they ask me for it in my aquarium details lol.

 

Most people hate me cos I speak as I find....and that usually does not go down too well, especially in fishkeeping when the upteenth person has gone straight for the medicine chest instead of going the basic husbandry route.

I'm sorry but it just pee's me off no end when they do that, so I always end up biting the tongue...or at least confiscating/hiding my keyboard

 

I do it with sponge filters sometimes. My fish have survived... thus far.

I do this as well, though my tap water does not have chlorine added so it probably doesn’t count. I don’t use water conditioner. I usually do a water change every week, but very rarely as much as 50%, often about 20% or sometimes less in the biggest tank. I don’t thoroughly vacuum the substrate usually. I don’t boil driftwood or sand from my local river. No problems so far.

 

I think most dont test if they do their chores, unless something hinky comes up. Chasing pH is a waste of time and not good for the fish.

I don't use Prime for regular water changes. I like a drop per bucket method.

 

I use vacation feeder blocks monthly. Snail shells look amazing!

 

Oh and another irritating thing about me.....

I won't use any chemicals in my water....mainly cos I never use tapwater.

40 x 500ml bottles of Kirkwood Spring Water.

I buy 4 or 5 packs every few weeks for the fish and my coffee machine.

No chlorine, no faffing with ammonia, no pH instability, has all the minerals needed at the right values....and my coffee machine doesn't fur up with limescale and nor do the aquariums.

Kirkwood is also available in the US at Costco and Walmart (Amazon also). Not expensive and the empties get recycled...so environmentally friendly too

 

I don’t think this is too bad but I’ve always seen people saying this.. I don’t soak driftwood or rocks before putting them in my tank. To be fair, I only ever buy driftwood from my LFS, but I have used rocks from my yard before (the hardscape in my 30 gallon tank.) I just scrub them really good and then put them in the tank, but I haven’t had any problems so far! Also for driftwood, the tannins don’t bother me at all (I actually kind of like the look,) so I’ve never bothered with all the boiling/ soaking stuff, I just rinse it off really good. I’ve never even had problems with floating (knock on wood, haha!)

 

hehehe... I like to be notorious here on the forum for these:

- I put fish/animal needs before plant needs, so if someone gives advice for better plant growth at the expense of animal life quality I advise against it. I myself rather let a plant melt and disintegrate than stressing out fish.
- and before human wishes. Hence I tell people when their tank is more of a death trap or a sad, barren waterfilled box of glass with an ugly spongebob house in it.
- I rather advise to put a "dead fish swimming" down than nuke a whole tank/spend hundreds of bucks for meds that might not work to safe 1 fish.
- I don't negotiate stocking density vs. decent group sizes with kids (and adults if necessary).
- I rather advise to use a tanksize or two larger than minimum requirement.
- I openly despise people that anthropomorphise their fish.
- Waterchanges are good.
- Tannins and humic acids are good. too.
- Mulm is your friend.
- Algae too.

Edit: Most importantly, 9 out of 10 problems COME from a bottle and are NOT SOLVED with a bottle.

Edit#2: Oh and I get headaches when people think they have to raise every little fry they find. No you don't.

 

I rarely test water if fish aren't acting funny. I don't do a thing to purposely change pH.

I think you shouldn't be trying to purposefully breed fish if you can't keep fish alive and healthy, in general.

I also believe mollies are a far worse community fish than tiger barbs.

(i see the mob coming with the torches and pitchforks)

Man, mollies are mean! I had a large female molly bully a 3" Green Spotted Puffer to the point that they had to be separated. GSPs are evil, too! Same thing goes for swordtails. I have a female swordtail in my brackish tank that's causing issues.

Most people hate me cos I speak as I find....and that usually does not go down too well, especially in fishkeeping when the upteenth person has gone straight for the medicine chest instead of going the basic husbandry route.

I'm sorry but it just pee's me off no end when they do that, so I always end up biting the tongue...or at least confiscating/hiding my keyboard

Same here. Medications are almost always just there to assist the animal in getting rid of the illness anyway - they don't actually solve the problem. They bolster the immune system, weaken the pathogen, etc... So, a super weak fish probably won't make it anyway.

I think most dont test if they do their chores, unless something hinky comes up. Chasing pH is a waste of time and not good for the fish.

I don't use Prime for regular water changes. I like a drop per bucket method.

When I worked at Petsmart it was a daily battle to steer people away from PH products. Or, they can't get it through their skulls that PH is arguably the least important thing we're testing for. It's all some people can think about.

I'd like to add another - it's almost always the amount of waste and temperament that determines a tank size for me, rather than fish size (within reason, of course). My GSP lives in a 40B alone cause he's insanely aggressive (now that he's an adult), and they're super messy eaters. It makes sense. But, at the same time, when I see someone post a betta in a 2.5 gallon tank my first instinct isn't "Oh man, that thing NEEDS a bigger tank!" If maintenance is good, it's filtered, heated, and preferably planted, I don't see an issue with it - especially if it's a longer-finned betta.

Don't shoot!

 

Man, mollies are mean! I had a large female molly bully a 3" Green Spotted Puffer to the point that they had to be separated. GSPs are evil, too! Same thing goes for swordtails. I have a female swordtail in my brackish tank that's causing issues.


Same here. Medications are almost always just there to assist the animal in getting rid of the illness anyway - they don't actually solve the problem. They bolster the immune system, weaken the pathogen, etc... So, a super weak fish probably won't make it anyway.


When I worked at Petsmart it was a daily battle to steer people away from PH products. Or, they can't get it through their skulls that PH is arguably the least important thing we're testing for. It's all some people can think about.

I'd like to add another - it's almost always the amount of waste and temperament that determines a tank size for me, rather than fish size (within reason, of course). My GSP lives in a 40B alone cause he's insanely aggressive (now that he's an adult), and they're super messy eaters. It makes sense. But, at the same time, when I see someone post a betta in a 2.5 gallon tank my first instinct isn't "Oh man, that thing NEEDS a bigger tank!" If maintenance is good, it's filtered, heated, and preferably planted, I don't see an issue with it - especially if it's a longer-finned betta.

Don't shoot!

Yep people put way too much into the pH factor. Your lfs most likely has the same pH you do and fish farms are no where near their wild levels. Stop adding chemicals for no reason....

 

When I worked at Petsmart it was a daily battle to steer people away from PH products.

Daily battle on Fishlore as well.

Same here. Medications are almost always just there to assist the animal in getting rid of the illness anyway - they don't actually solve the problem. They bolster the immune system, weaken the pathogen, etc... So, a super weak fish probably won't make it anyway.

Although many meds nuke the immune system and help the pathogen gain resistance.

 

hehehe... I like to be notorious here on the forum for these:

- I openly despise people that anthropomorphise their fish.

LOL. I feel like I am one of those types who anthropomorphize everything. I will anthropomorphize a tree stump.

 

Daily battle on Fishlore as well.



Although many meds nuke the immune system and help the pathogen gain resistance.

Same thing for people who always use salt in their tanks. It creates salt-resistant pathogens. Not a good time for our friends in countries who've banned medications, where salt is pretty much all they have.

 

Same thing for people who always use salt in their tanks. It creates salt-resistant pathogens. Not a good time for our friends in countries who've banned medications, where salt is pretty much all they have.

You cannot beat what Mother Nature provides...IAL's, alder cones, autumn leaves etc....

 

LOL. I feel like I am one of those types who anthropomorphize everything. I will anthropomorphize a tree stump.

Oh boy... you don't call your fish your "babies" and are willing to bring all of them in danger to safe one, aren't you?

 

I keep no fish that does not look top notch .
In the freezer they go .
I think ethical euthanizing means the person doing it does not suffer . In my case the fish being placed in the freezer would not be here if I had not put effort into breeding it . Only the best and fittest live and breed in my fish room .
I agree with putting sick fish down . Why risk a whole tank for 1 fish ?
I think 75% of 90% of newbs issues are they have lousy fish to work with from the start . They then try to do their best with sub standard stock .. Most quit or get really bummed out during this learning curve .
I laugh and then curse people who 'rescue ' fish .
I laugh thinking they will fail and say fish keeping is hard and then I am mad for them supporting unethical vendors .
I don't test anymore at all . I just change water like most know to .
I use no meds at all .
Clean water and potassium permanganate if any help is needed .

 

Oh boy... you don't call your fish your "babies" and are willing to bring all of them in danger to safe one, aren't you?

I don't call them my babies, but I do have one or two that I would try to save if the house was on fire.

 

I rarely test water if fish aren't acting funny. I don't do a thing to purposely change pH.

I think you shouldn't be trying to purposefully breed fish if you can't keep fish alive and healthy, in general.

I also believe mollies are a far worse community fish than tiger barbs.

(i see the mob coming with the torches and pitchforks)

I join the anti-test club.
Edit : The non-testclub

 

Should be worth noting that we hopefully all own test kits and understand parameters and how they effect our animals - just that typically our maintenance schedule generally keeps everything under control and whenever we do see issues, we generally know how to solve it. Right?

Right?!

 

1) I feed my betta every other day because why not.

2) I don't temp match either.

3) I use extra dechlorinator when I do 50% WCs for some reason. Idk why. I guess I'm scared that I might wake with a dead betta one day. (seriously need to manage it)

4) My body wakes up at 5am everyday to see if my betta is doing okay because I've had 2 fish die overnight once. ---> I seriously need to sleep lol..

5) I sometimes increase the flow rate of my filter so Achilles (my betta) can exercise more. I don't do this A LOT so don't call me mean..

6) I don't really anthropomorphize fish much but something I definitely do is give them names based on their temperament and personalities, which is okay IMO.


=)

 

I only test water when cycling and if there is an issue. I only do about 15-25% water change each week depending on the size of my tank. The 55 gets 25% and the 37 gets 15%. I do not temp match the water either. I stick my hand in to vacuum and that's how I test the water in the bucket before it goes in the tank. I have definitely rinsed filters with tap water. I have taken fry out of the tank and euthanized them because I did not want them in the tank and had no LFS that would take them (convicts). I am also terrible at quarantining fish when I buy them. I did buy a cheap 10 gallon new from the store because I knew I was buying a fish and when I got home I set it up and it leaked. New fish went into the big tank.

 

Should be worth noting that we hopefully all own test kits and understand parameters and how they effect our animals - just that typically our maintenance schedule generally keeps everything under control and whenever we do see issues, we generally know how to solve it. Right?

Right?!

My opinion on testing is that you do not have to test the water....unless....there is a change in behaviour, body language, activity or obvious issue with a fish such as redness where it shouldn't be.

Over time you can learn to interpret your fish behaviour......they do not have a voice but they still have the ability to tell you that they are unhappy or scared or not feeling 100%. Once you can identify with their body language, you can usually deal with it without reaching for the medicine chest....at that point first thing I do is sniff the water cos the smell speaks volumes before digging out the test kit.

 

Should be worth noting that we hopefully all own test kits and understand parameters and how they effect our animals - just that typically our maintenance schedule generally keeps everything under control and whenever we do see issues, we generally know how to solve it. Right?

Right?!

Correct ...everyone who doesn't test know their water and how their tanks run.

 

Does anyone else sniff their aquariums?

I do it just before feeding the hooligans....a quick waft of the water to see if it has any unusual whiffiness....

Am I alone in sniffing out trouble before using a test kit?

 

Does anyone else sniff their aquariums?

I do it just before feeding the hooligans....a quick waft of the water to see if it has any unusual whiffiness....

Am I alone in sniffing out trouble before using a test kit?

My freshwater tanks smell like a river, my brackish tank smells a bit like a bog, and my saltwater tanks usually smell like the ocean. Any time the smell changes (the saltwater tanks usually start to smell sweet, for example) I know there's probably an incoming algae or bacteria bloom, and it's time to bring out the kits

 

I seldom ever test the water in my tanks. I stress to folks the importance of testing so to some I may sound like a hypocrite. I can't help if I don't have the numbers though. Once we get to know our tanks regular testing isn't necessary. Once cycled if something seems off we can do a water change in the time it takes to test the water.

I temp match my water change water by feel. By doing so I can get it close enough. I do err on the cooler side rather than warmer. I change out half the water in each of my tanks each week. Do that and once fully cycled testing normally isn't needed.

I have never bought any kind of medication. I have accepted the fact, fish are going to die no matter what we do. Instead of medication, if I see a fish on its way out I help it out. I am sure folks are going to cringe when they read this but I do it quickly by wrapping it in a piece of toilet tissue and mash its head. It is instant death. I then just flush it. I don't bury it. The raccoons would just dig it up. We have our own septic tank so flushing isn't a problem.

 

I'm surprised people dont test at least every few weeks. I try to check weekly just for peace of mind and in hope I can catch and rectify a spike before it goes on for any longer than it could. Perhaps in time I will relax more with that and just go with the smell haha.

Things I will get hated for....

. Using atrificial plants in some of my tanks.
. Not temp matching to the degree on wcs
. Probably stocking 4 angels in a 200 litre tall community tank when it should be bigger.
. Keeping barbs in a community tank

Probably other stuff but hey ho

 

I shop at Petsmart and Petco. Let the rounds fly! Lol

 

Does anyone else sniff their aquariums?

I do it just before feeding the hooligans....a quick waft of the water to see if it has any unusual whiffiness....

Am I alone in sniffing out trouble before using a test kit?

I always sniff too!

I also do not test all the time. I feel like now I know my tanks well enough.
However...
If there is an unusual odor - I test
If fish are behaving differently - I test
If there has been anything else that could possibly throw the parameters off - I test

 

I shop at Petsmart and Petco. Let the rounds fly! Lol

I WORKED at PetSmart. I've had people message me on other forums and legitimately say "How could you?!"

 

I WORKED at PetSmart. I've had people message me on other forums and legitimately say "How could you?!"

Granted, i rarely buy livestock there. Way better to get aquariums at though than my LFSs. And way better food selection, though nowhere carries Repashy or Xtreme foods in my area, so i stillnhave to order those.

 

I shop at Petsmart and Petco. Let the rounds fly! Lol

I shop there cuz I have no choice! The nearest (non saltwater) shop is 1 hour away.

 

I seldom ever test the water in my tanks. I stress to folks the importance of testing so to some I may sound like a hypocrite. I can't help if I don't have the numbers though. Once we get to know our tanks regular testing isn't necessary. Once cycled if something seems off we can do a water change in the time it takes to test the water.

You most times are helping newbies so yes they need to test. That is not hypocritical. We know our own tanks well.

I shop at Petsmart and Petco. Let the rounds fly! Lol

There are good and bad petsmart/co's My female betta Redfish is from Petsmart. $3.99 lol

I do however really think you should get close to the temp. Dont want to shock your fish by drastic temp when it is totally avoidable!

 

Here is a list of things such as opinions and preferences that many people seem to go against:

- I don’t like wild caught fish. Why would I keep the majority of fish in the hobby if they’re wild caught provided my tap water has a dKH of 13 and a pH of 7.5?

Maidenhead Aquatics, a popular fish retailer in the UK, is notorious for selling overpriced, wild caught fish. Unless I intend on keeping hardwater fish I’ll pass on the wild caught fish thank you.

- Most gouramis and cichlids annoy me. I’ve found solitude in bettas, geophagus and rainbow cichlids so far though.

- This next might spark some controversy, but that’s the point of this thread, right?

Anyway, I dislike most fish forums and I dislike all fish Facebook groups. They’re mostly full of people who are mean, think they’re experts just because they heavily understock, never try anything new in the hobby or all of those. Some people on the internet fail to comprehend they’re job is to help, not judge. Often I’m scared to share things about my fish and how things are going in the hobby online.

Many users (this mainly applies to Facebook groups; I haven’t seen this on forums before) will beg for your fish so they can place them in inadequate setups.

The internet can be a dangerous place where you find lots of conflicting information from various people, starting debates which quickly become arguments, leaving the researcher worried and befuddled in the end. I don’t see this here but on other forums I see it too frequently...

- Bottled bacteria is rarely useful. Why do so many people think adding it to a cycled tank will do anything?

- I like to see diatoms. It’s free fish food and always removing it like I’m commanded to disrupts the ecosystem that is the aquarium.

- I like to see some algae. When in the right numbers it’s fine and can look nice on decorations.

- I like to see some biofilm. Free food and usually a sign that the tank is doing well.

- I like to see tannins, and I imagine the fish do too. If any hardwater fish in the tanned water are captive bred then it shouldn’t bother them enough to cause problems; the tannins in my 30 gallon don’t seem to affect the chemistry anyway.

- I like to see snail and/or detritus worm infestations. My trumpet snails are precious like gemstones to me. No harm is done by leaving them be; remember to respect that they’re harmless and an important part of the ecosystem in our tanks.

- I don’t like bright lighting or long periods of lighting on tanks. My parents want one of our tanks to stay on from 7am to 10pm, so I argue about it and change nothing in the end. I’m not having the light on for what, 15 hours a day? If they complain whenever they see a small patch of diatoms I’m not sure why they want bright, long periods of light. The fish definitely don’t.

- I aim for 30-50% weekly water changes (seriously, my parents complain that if I do more than 20% I’m “taking all of the good stuff out,” so I ask them what they mean by that only to receive a blank stare).

- While on the topic of water changes, they are fun! 30 gallon tanks are the most fun to maintain.

- I don’t panic about having someone to babysit fish if I’m gone for a few days to a week max. As long as a water change isn’t due whilst I’m gone, it’s all good.

- While it’s usually advised not to listen to your kids in the hobby I think my parents should listen to me because when I don’t buy their advice they punish me until I‘m forced to consider it, only for things to go wrong or at least worse than they could’ve went. When I try to tell them something’s wrong I’m usually hit with the blown out excuse “it’s fine.” I’m sure this applies to the parents of kids who are also fish enthusiasts who care about the hobby.

- I’ve come to hate naming fish. My mum always tries to name them and it’s so hard to keep track. I’m content with ”Doug” the geophagus and “Koi” the koi angelfish, but that’s all I need. Any more becomes annoying. I’d much prefer to identify fish by their species.

 

Interesting to see the secrets of members come to light
I am feeding my Betta only frozen food as he just hates pellets.
Also no medication in my tanks, WC solve most of the issues. Preventative medication is to me like taking antibiotic today so I won't get a bacterial infection next month.