Most important thing Ive learned...

Cian McLiam

Ye Olde Irish Tank Guy
Retired Moderator ⚒️
Joined
Oct 2, 2003
Messages
2,531
Reaction score
34
Location
Dublin, Ireland
I would like to start a topic where people can share the 'breakthrough' moments when it all became that little bit clearer and you started to get the feeling 'no they arent going to die like the last few' or a frustrating situation that had a simple answer that seemed to come just in time...

Maybe it will give hope to people who like me felt like giving up after those first few fish died despite your best efforts.

My most important breakthrough was:
Realising that knowing and using the best medicine for each and every disease is not the best route to healthy fish, but that sensible routine maintenance and sensitivity to the fishes needs is.

Now I no longer hunt from shop to shop for the bottle that will fix them all, wishing they would just sell me SOMETHING to drop or pour in so I feel Im doing my best! but instead sit back for ten minitues to try and figure out the cause behind the disease and how best to make the aquarium healthy again.

Ken
 
When I first got my 10 gallon tank I wen't through a bout of terrible new tank syndrome. I added 7 fish at once the day after I set up my tank. :no: Silly me.

Later on, in my determination to keep my tank healthy I dumped waaayyy too much amonia lock in my 10 gallon. As I saw my fish getting ill, I dumped more in. When I stopped everyone got better :)

All in all, I learned dont rush to stock the new tank. And dont buy bottles of stuff, that you can do without if you keep up maitnence.
 
I've learned so much from this forum! :D The best thing I learned was how to do a fishless cycle, thanks SMB. Also I learned that I don't have to make every mistake myself. Now I listen to the experts and follow their advice especially regarding fish compatibility and tank size etc. Now if I ask a question and everyone says NO don't do it, I don't.
 
I think common sense mixed with a bit of knowledge is something I've learned with regards to keeping fish. I had aquariums several years ago and there were no forums like this. I had tanks for years and never even heard of cycling.

When I decided to buy another tank several months ago, it was after finding this forum and reading a bit. Well I bought a tank, set it up and added the drops to de-chlorinate the water and began reading about fishless cycling. Well after a few days of looking at a new fishless tank I couldn't stand it. I went out and bought 10 neons. I week later a added a couple fish, a week later a couple more, etc. To date I have lost two fish due to stress from other fish....and the 10 neons are all still alive and well.

I'm sure fishless cycling is a good thing but it's not the only way. If you set up your tank with a good filter and add fish slowly.....well it worked for me. I know 10 neons may seem like a lot but not for a 42 gallon tank...

Read and heed the advice and use your common sense. As everyone knows, you will always find opinions on this forum that seem to contradict other opinions...use your head and figure out what makes sense to you...read, read, read.

Also, if you keep fish you will lose fish...you don't know what they went through before you brought them home to your tank...don't beat yourself up. Make sure your tank is ok and get some more fish.
 
The main thing i have learnt over the years is NEVER put your trust in the hands of the lfs employees and do your own research.
When i first got serious about keeping fish about 4 years ago and bought what i thought at the time was a large tank (30g) i went out and bought all the large wonderful fish that i had always been unable to get with 10 and 20 gallon tanks, the lfs employees knew what tank i had but still were happy to sell me totally unsuitable fish in far to greater numbers.

The best piece of advise i feel i can give is go out and buy the best book or set of books on fishkeeping that you can afford, and join a liberary so you can borrow books from there too, the only way to get on in this hobby is to learn as much as you can about it.
 
When I started up an aquarium again I thought I knew everything. I had fish when I was a kid so I figured that I must have known what I was doing back then. I took the tank and threw everything together and got some fish. Then I found this forum and started learning things. Because of this forum I managed to only lose one of my starting fish and have only lost three since then (all neons the suicidal fish).

What I learned was to read up on everything before making a decision. I have books to check, a subscription to a fish magazine and the internet to check for information. No one knows everything and sometimes people give bad advice (especially if they are LFS employees) so its best to learn on my own.
 
Very good point Ken. I try to avoid chemicals in the tank at all costs....as I feel they can add to problems and may only be a short term fix and not resolve the real problem. I have never even tested my water in 8 years....I am scared I might find something....over react and make things worse. As for my fish I can tell if they are happy just by watching them.....which is the reason we keep fish anyways.
 
I can't say there has been any one breakthrough moment. Little revelations as time has gone by. I owe my fishes survival to the internet and the boards I've participated in. I know I've learned so much over the last 7 or 8 months its unreal.
When we first got fish, we had this 20g tank that we had been keeping a red-earred slider turtle in. Not small and cute like they can be, but a good 6-7" around. We knew he wasn't happy in that tank (we inherited him from my youngest girls pre-k class late in the fall) so when spring came around, we took him to this lovely pond that is in a park way off in the back of a really nice residential neighborhood at set him free. Our next stop was the fish store. We picked up about 15 fish and headed home to set up there new home. While we were at the LFS, I had written down the number for a 30g tank and stand, all the stuff and fish included for $50 so we called, and went to get the other tank. When we got back, our new fish were already dieing. By morning, we only had like 5 fish left.
We had the new tank all set up, so we went back to the LFS and bought even more fish.
I had a really tough start at the hobby, but now, things are so much better! I have 12 tanks, For the most part, my fish are healthy and happy. I've had a few losses here lately, but today, everything is looking good again.
I'm still learning, but I have more confidence in what I'm doing now.
 
the most imprtant thing that I have learned..... is that no matter how much I read about keeping fish I will never know everything
 
i have learnt there are as many opinions as there are people you ask
the trick is figuring out which ones are right for your situation
 

Most reactions

Back
Top