New Tank Worries

[Chas]

My new tank which I posted worries about in the newbies forum.

The man who set the tank up said that I shouldn't change the water for a couple of weeks or bother to test it for ammonia!! He said that he has kept fish for years without worrying about such things.

See Original thread

Thanks

Chas

 

[Sasha]

Great tank! I change 25% of the water and test everything once a week.

 

[AmberC]

Tank does look nice, but the man that told you that is an idiot!! I had someone on another forum giving advice (this isn't a fish forum.... and the people on there dont really know a whole lot about fish) and boy was she giving out some bad advice. She NEVER cleans her tank. All she does is add water when it evaporates out and THIS is what she was suggesting. I couldn't believe it!!!!

 

[Chas]

Thanks for the replies, although I am curious that people seem to successfully keep fish without doing any testing, water changing or regular cleaning.

Would you say their fish are neglected?

Chas

 

[Timmy]

Chas,

When I started keeping fish the advice* was not to change the water, my first tank didn't have a filter either. I never tested the water - there were no such things as test kits (to my knowledge anyway). My fish all seemed fine and the livebearers bred OK. I'm sure in 20 years time people will laugh at the way we do things now - that's the way of the world.

My current practice for an established tank is to test for nitrates to see if the water needs changing. I have ammonia, nitrite and oxygen test kits to hand if I have reason to suspect any problems developing.

*in books and from the LFS.

 

[Chas]

[Timmy]

I note you live in Bedford. As I live in Luton just down the road, I wondered if you could recomend any local fish shops.

Chas

 

[Timmy]

head up the M1, turn right at J12 and there is a garden centre a few hundred yards down on your right - go in there for Chiltern Aquatics. I used to go there a lot when I lived in Hemel Hempstead.

(For the last few years I've been concentrating on reptiles, but now I'm getting interested in fish again, so I'm a bit out of touch with other local fish shops)

 

[Chas]

Cheers Timmy

 

[endparenthesis]

Thanks for the replies, although I am curious that people seem to successfully keep fish without doing any testing, water changing or regular cleaning.

I do often wonder just how many people make suggestions on how you "must" do things based on experience vs. based on what they've read. I imagine the 'experience' group is very very small, comparatively.

I break plenty of "rules" without any perceptible problems so far because of it.