Well, Subbuteo, mate, that was... unexpected.
I hope you will, at some point return. If not, then so be it, but I feel I have to refute some of your points for the benefit of anyone else who happens to be reading the thread.
Absolute ridicules comments from obviously power hungry idiots that believe every word that comes out their mouth is FACT
Give someone a mod title and before you know it there telling you black is white.
I'm not going to spend long on this part. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion, but I am in no way 'power hungry'. I didn't even ask or volunteer to be a mod; I was invited when the forum was in dire need of some extra moderators, and I said I'd be happy to help. I am very, very careful to never put my own opinions forward as facts.
I actually take my modding responsibilities very seriously, and I'm very cross with myself that I have failed both you, Subbuteo, and the forum, in welcoming a new member. Be assured, I will keep the issues that have arisen here when posting in the future, and will be more careful that nothing like this happens again.
I will just point out that neither Eagles nor I made any kind of personal attack on you; we did nothing more than try and let you know that, as with many newcomers to the hobby, you've fallen for some less than excellent advice.
What gives you the right to say my leaving is "rather abrupt decision"
Then you say fish trap !! when I bought my one goldfish I was advised by the shop pets at home, to only have one goldfish you also don't have a clue if I told them I had a pond !! or was planning a pond ,but your mind was made up.
there is a lady called solid gold Aquatics on you tube who has a very large goldfish in a tiny fluval 24 litre tank who has loads of goldfish and also loves goldfish. on you tube she is held in high regard for looking after her fish and other pets.
Unfortunately, there is both good and bad advice. Pets@Home are notorious amongst experienced fishkeepers for the poorness of their advice. YouTube is one of the worst places online to learn about fishkeeping. Yes, there are some great people out there, but there are also some pretty bad ones too.
How are you, as a newcomer supposed to be able to tell? Well, obviously you can't. But when some more experienced fishkeepers, like Eagles and I, come along and tell you that those YouTubers are wrong, what's your response? Did you ask us why the YouTubers are wrong? Did you ask us what
evidence for those YouTubers being wrong is? No, you just decide; even though you've admitted that you're a newcomer to the hobby, they those people are right and we must be wrong! Pot, meet kettle
As a new member I came to make friends and search for help not blatant orders and demeaning comments like you must do this you must do that ,you must resist setting up a fish tank as your over crowding the poor fish.
I never gave you any 'orders', or made any demeaning comments. I would never, never, do such a thing, never. It's your goldfish, your responsibility. No-one from the forum is going to come round to your house and forcibly remove it. All I was doing was passing on the best, most generally accepted advice with regards goldfish tank size. It was, and still is, entirely between you and your conscience as to what steps you might decide to take in the light of this new information.
From watching pecktec / the king of DIY and Aquarium Co-Op on you tube before buying my fluval tank,they all talk about fish and everyone says keeping fish is not the same for other fish keepers due to set up where they are kept and different ph. levels in different parts of the world and other things aside.
Gosh, do they!? They've mentioned 'ph.' as well as 'other things'? They
must know what they're talking about, far more than I do then. You'd have thought they might know that the abbreviation is 'pH', if they're so knowledgeable, wouldn't you? but I guess having good language and comprehension skills are completely irrelevant to scientific understanding, aren't they? Of course they are.
Not one of these people say fish keeping is an exact science and it's all about learning about your fish's environment and if you think they are happy or not.
It is true that many aspects of fishkeeping are more art than science. However, there are a few things that are NOT just a matter of opinion. The suitability of goldfish for small tanks is one of those things. Yes, you will be able to find people who will tell you that a goldie is fine in 20l; but there are also people online who think the earth is flat! Learning who's opinion is worth listening to is something we all have to decide for ourselves; personally, I need more evidence before I decide what's right or wrong than some people on YouTube.
Here are just a few links to some, generally well respected authorities, on tank size for goldfish;
The RSPCA;
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/fish/environment (
at least 60 litres)
Practical Fishkeeping;
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/what-do-i-need-for-goldfish?rq=goldfish%20tank (36" minimum length recommended)
FishkeepingUK;
http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles_74/goldfish-size-life-expectancy.htm (140l for a single fish, 36" minimum length)
The Goldfish Tank;
http://thegoldfishtank.com/goldfish-care/tank/do-goldfish-need-a-big-tank/ (three feet/20 gallons for a single fancy)
INJAF (it's Not Just A Fish);
http://thegoldfishtank.com/goldfish-care/tank/do-goldfish-need-a-big-tank/ (they go even further than I do, and say even a 100l/three foot tank is
not big enough)
TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist);
http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/goldfish-myths-debunked.htm (20 gallons)
You (£$%^&") have made me very angry . on saying hello I'm a newbie the best response I got was docpark and as for fluttermouth's comment " sometimes people appear here to say hello and don't ever post again" NO WONDER !!
Both these people are a disgrace both fluttermouth and eaglesaquarium both do nothing for the hobby of fish keeping with there attitude it must be this, you must do that, and jumping on a post by a newbie who was just trying to have a back up for his fish and tank if things went wrong.
I'm not even angry; I'm sad. You can insult me all you like, tbh, that's neither here nor there, but I never said anything like "you must do this". All I did was pass on some information in what I, mistakenly, thought was a friendly and welcoming manner. We all know that tone comes over very poorly online; I have already apologised for coming across as unfriendly, and that it wasn't intended, what else am I supposed to do?
I think both of you likely have a great knowledge of fish but your pompous spiel just makes me want to find a nice friendly forum and I'm sure I will and I'll look forward to keeping fish.
But my abrupt decision to leave this forum is going to be the best decision I've ever made.
I wish everyone well
xxxxxxxxxx
no regrets !! and thanks Docpark for being a human being
I can assure you, I am a very, very long way from pompous. Really. But then, you've already made up your mind that I'm a rude, power-crazed, pompous, individual with a bad attitude, haven't you? I would, just politely, suggest you have a read through of the whole thread, and have an objective think about who's making the rudest, self-defensive, opinionated posts around here...
(Okay, I admit that last paragraph is a bit self serving. Hey, guess what; I'm actually a human being with feelings too! Who'd have thought it!?)
