things that people not into the aquarium hobby say or do that annoys you?

[Blackwater guru]

So for around half a year now I have successfully kept a Amazon river biotope aquarium in a tank of around 145 liters or 38 american gallons .

What I have also experienced during this time is the shocking ignorance I see from people not into the aquarium hobby.

These are the types of people that always go "duh it's just a fish" when I try to explain the things needed to take good care of them and the extent to where I am willing to go to do so when all they see are cheap worthless critters that you might as well just chuck in a bowl and flush down the toilet when you are bored of them .

My youngest sister who is 11 is one of those annoying people that find my fish boring and one of the reasons being that you can't cuddle with them even though that's not even the reason people buy them in the first place.

Recently when I was cleaning the glass one of my marbled hatchetfish decided to jump out of my tank which wasn't even the only thing causing me to panic because our recently purchased 3 month old kitten decided to try to get closer to the aquarium luckily though my dad saved the poor thing by using some paper towels to put it back in the tank

What made me mad later though was that my sister insisted her kitten would never hurt the fish in any way which is an extremely ignorant thing to say because not only is that kitten much bigger than that tiny fish there is also a severe risk of it fatally injuring the fish with it's claws and teeth even if it was only trying to play.

Had it been an adult cat it would be even worse because it might have tried to eat it but she insisted that it's a myth that cat's eat fish which made me scratch my head in disbelief because cats are predator animals and they are more than capable of killing and eating animals much smaller than them such as fish or mice.

It's like people just see dogs and cats as the only legit pets and the only reason they get them is to cuddle or any other legit reason such as hunting or helping disabled people when there are so many amazing pets that get ignored or neglected because of ignorance and lack of proper knowledge such as cockatoos,macaws, or goldfish.

What are the worst things you have heard people who are not into the aquarium hobby say or do that made you mad?

 

[PhantomCarp]

So for around half a year now I have successfully kept a Amazon river biotope aquarium in a tank of around 145 liters or 38 american gallons .

View attachment 111683

What I have also experienced during this time is the shocking ignorance I see from people not into the aquarium hobby.

These are the types of people that always go "duh it's just a fish" when I try to explain the things needed to take good care of them and the extent to where I am willing to go to do so when all they see are cheap worthless critters that you might as well just chuck in a bowl and flush down the toilet when you are bored of them .

My youngest sister who is 11 is one of those annoying people that find my fish boring and one of the reasons being that you can't cuddle with them even though that's not even the reason people buy them in the first place.

Recently when I was cleaning the glass one of my marbled hatchetfish decided to jump out of my tank which wasn't even the only thing causing me to panic because our recently purchased 3 month old kitten decided to try to get closer to the aquarium luckily though my dad saved the poor thing by using some paper towels to put it back in the tank

What made me mad later though was that my sister insisted her kitten would never hurt the fish in any way which is an extremely ignorant thing to say because not only is that kitten much bigger than that tiny fish there is also a severe risk of it fatally injuring the fish with it's claws and teeth even if it was only trying to play.

Had it been an adult cat it would be even worse because it might have tried to eat it but she insisted that it's a myth that cat's eat fish which made me scratch my head in disbelief because cats are predator animals and they are more than capable of killing and eating animals much smaller than them such as fish or mice.

It's like people just see dogs and cats as the only legit pets and the only reason they get them is to cuddle or any other legit reason such as hunting or helping disabled people when there are so many amazing pets that get ignored or neglected because of ignorance and lack of proper knowledge such as cockatoos,macaws, or goldfish.

What are the worst things you have heard people who are not into the aquarium hobby say or do that made you mad?

When power went out in most of my city for a few hours at night me and my family went to a restaurant but it was full so we had to wait. We did not know this at the time but a few other cities lost power to so while waiting we got into a conversation with 2 people who didn’t know each other. One of the said she was worried about her peacock cichlids because thy didn’t have a battery powered air pump. After the statement from her the 2nd lady just bluntly said and I quote “just chuck em in the bath tub” me and the fellow hobbiest just smiled and held the anger inside.(she knew I knew what she was talking about because when she she was worried about her fish I asked her what she had she said Africans I listed a few and asked her what kind she had)

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I hate it when people say fish can "adapt" of their tank is "fine". Fish technically can adapt, but its very hard on them and inhumane.

It also pains me when people say that bettas can be community fish or that they can be kept in super small tanks, "Because thats how they live in the wild". (That's not true. The only live in small pockets of water during the dry season. During the rainy season, which happens almost always, they have huge territories they protect from other males)

 

[PheonixKingZ]

ust chuck em in the bath tub

That should be classified as animal abuse, and should be dealt with as such.

 

[seangee]

No point in being angry about ignorance. I know nothing about theoretical mechanics (despite having studied it ) and my ignorance is not hurting anyone. But the guys at Space-X would have every right to get annoyed if I told them they could save money by using half as much fuel in their rockets.

But I do get annoyed by people who should know better, or claim to know better, giving poor advice. Like the bloke in the LFS I won't go into anymore who told me I was being excessive and would kill my fish because I do a water change every week

 

[CassCats]

"There's no colour! It's not very colourful."

Its not the screaming neon colours they expect.

 

[utahfish]

The pleco trade bugs me the most. Every fishstore has a million plecos most of which get really big and those same pet stores always recommend getting a pleco to " clean" the tank, to which most new fishkeepers think that means they dont need to do water changes. So many plecos get sold in too small tanks and die prematurely. At least a lot of stores are offering smaller plecs like Bristlenose and Clown but still selling them as a magical cleaner fish is still ignorant.

 

[Realpedro]

"There's no colour! It's not very colourful."

View attachment 111698

Its not the screaming neon colours they expect.

Wow, I really like that.

What is that on lying on the substrate in the foreground? Almost looks like acorn tops. Is it to darken the water with tannins?

No point in being angry about ignorance. I know nothing about theoretical mechanics (despite having studied it ) and my ignorance is not hurting anyone. But the guys at Space-X would have every right to get annoyed if I told them they could save money by using half as much fuel in their rockets.

But I do get annoyed by people who should know better, or claim to know better, giving poor advice. Like the bloke in the LFS I won't go into anymore who told me I was being excessive and would kill my fish because I do a water change every week

This is a solid point. It's not entirely fair to expect someone to have the same knowledge or interest level in another person's hobby.

However, it is fair to expect someone who sells fish to have solid knowledge and interest in those fish. It's part of why I joined a forum in the first place. I simply don't trust everything I'm being told at the fish store.

 

[Herpin Man]

Probably the most grating and annoying thing is when, upon learning of your hobby, is to condescendingly state "Why?"
Second to that would probably be "Do they stink?"
To expand upon that- I also keep reptiles and amphibians. Non-keepers really have some interesting things to say about that, generally something relating to their uninformed opinion that reptiles and amphibians shouldn't be kept as pets. They also like to share their opinion of how weird it is, phrased as an insult, for example, "Let me guess- you're single, right?"

 

[CassCats]

Wow, I really like that.

What is that on lying on the substrate in the foreground? Almost looks like acorn tops. Is it to darken the water with tannins?

yes acorn tops and alder cones. I use them for tannins

 

[AbbeysDad]

What bothers me most is that fish get no respect. I take fishkeeping pretty seriously and when I have a fish die, I'm sad. Sadly too, even my wife and daughter seem to feel that "It's just a fish"...so I shouldn't be sad.
What bothers me a little are:
> The relatively new hobbyists wannabe gurus that learned a little and talk (or write) a lot...speaking like experts, often reciting the old myths that just aren't true.
> Manufacturers and shop owners that stretch the truth or give bad advice in ignorance, or worse yet, in order to sell product. "if you buy a bigger filter you can have more fish". "our bio-media will support anaerobic bacteria that will reduce nitrates".
> Hobbyists that brag about few or no water changes and claim their water params are fine (not realizing that they really can't test for water quality).
> Hobbyists looking for the low/no maintenance tank, like the one hour a week it takes to do a water change and service filter(s) is just too much work.

So there's a few troubling things.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

The pleco trade bugs me the most. Every fishstore has a million plecos most of which get really big and those same pet stores always recommend getting a pleco to " clean" the tank, to which most new fishkeepers think that means they dont need to do water changes. So many plecos get sold in too small tanks and die prematurely. At least a lot of stores are offering smaller plecs like Bristlenose and Clown but still selling them as a magical cleaner fish is still ignorant.

Yep, that's a big one. My LFS has 3 HUGE places (Over 2 feet long) in a big 1,000g plus tank. They also have a lot of cheap ones (Around $10) just because people like them so much.

Also, for all of the “good” they do cleaning, they produce so much waste it’s not even funny. Don’t get me wrong, I love my albino BNP.

 

[FishFinatic77]

I don't like that nobody ever tells you that you have to feed your plecos. All you're ever told is that they eat algae, but when the algae runs out there's nothing for them to eat.
Nobody tells you that they need driftwood either.
Of course, if you do some research, you can find all this information. But, so many new fish keepers don't research as much as they should, and they rely on what the people at their LFS tell them.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I don't like that nobody ever tells you that you have to feed your plecos. All you're ever told is that they eat algae, but when the algae runs out there's nothing for them to eat.
Nobody tells you that they need driftwood either.
Of course, if you do some research, you can find all this information. But, so many new fish keepers don't research as much as they should, and they rely on what the people at their LFS tell them.

Agreed. Many beginners don’t realize that Plecos need to have wood fiber as part of a proper digestion.

I also dislike it when people said “Well, my LFS told me I could do that”. People.... don’t trust your LFS. Even if they seem experienced.

 

[JuiceBox52]

What bothers me most is that fish get no respect. I take fishkeeping pretty seriously and when I have a fish die, I'm sad. Sadly too, even my wife and daughter seem to feel that "It's just a fish"...so I shouldn't be sad.
What bothers me a little are:
> The relatively new hobbyists wannabe gurus that learned a little and talk (or write) a lot...speaking like experts, often reciting the old myths that just aren't true.
> Manufacturers and shop owners that stretch the truth or give bad advice in ignorance, or worse yet, in order to sell product. "if you buy a bigger filter you can have more fish". "our bio-media will support anaerobic bacteria that will reduce nitrates".
> Hobbyists that brag about few or no water changes and claim their water params are fine (not realizing that they really can't test for water quality).
> Hobbyists looking for the low/no maintenance tank, like the one hour a week it takes to do a water change and service filter(s) is just too much work.

So there's a few troubling things.

i agree