Unpopular Opinions (fish related)

[LostBear]

...and be careful to remove the cow's bones afterward. They can raise your pH.

You're speaking from experience, aren't you?

 

[noobfish]

I don't know, sometimes the internet is spot on!

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

View attachment 142647


I don't know, sometimes the internet is spot on!

There's an equally strong argument to suggest that there's no such thing as a fish...or that we're ALL fish!

 

[noobfish]

There's an equally strong argument to suggest that there's no such thing as a fish...or that we're ALL fish!

What if none of it is real?
All puts me in mind of one of my favorite songs, Right Where it Belongs - Nine Inch Nails

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you really are alone
You can live in this delusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
Are you hiding in the trees?

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

...or that we're ALL fish!

I am the walrus.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

 

[itiwhetu]

ok I'm really late on the Piranha thing. But TFH ( Tropical Fish Hobbiest Magazine ) about 30 years ago did a great article on Piranhas. Anyhow the story went along the lines of. The reputation of the Piranha came about because someone like Dr. Livingstone was going to a remote tribe, the tribes people wanted to put on a show so they netted off a section of the river and placed hundreds of Piranha into that section. When Livingstone arrived they marched a half dead cow into the river the Piranhas hungry and stressed devoured the cow in minutes. The reporters that were there sent the story back to the western world, minus the netted in the river bit.

 

[a guppy fan]

Flowerhorns are the worst!

 

[a guppy fan]

Black diamond blasting sand isnt suitable for bottom dwelling fish!
And live bearing fish are the worst, especially sword tails and guppies, mollies and platies are less annoying but not much.

No...not our beautiful fish!

 

[a guppy fan]

I think that some Betta can be kept in community tanks, with proper planning and precautions. Like lots of live plants and the right tank mates. Honestly, wild caught Betta would probably work best, even if they are not considered as pretty by most.

Now, that is not to say ALL Betta would do well in community tanks. Jaws lives up to her name and Dragon is a little turd. An old one, but a turd nonetheless.

Yep!Totally!

 

[noobfish]

Anyone seen the show "Tanked"? Caught my son watching it, so I sat through a couple episodes. These guys build these enormous SW acrylic tanks (I'm jealous), but then fill them with the worst fake decor I've ever seen. You worry about plastic plants potentially causing harm to a fish? They basically put plastic razor blades in there. Always fake coral. So much potential and they blow it! Cringe to think what people pay them

 

[xxBarneyxx]

So will try and put something that will actually be an unpopular opinion.

I don't think PH and Water hardness are really a big deal for the majority of the common tropical fish we keep. Especially so for ones that are locally bred in local water conditions for several generations.

And in addition to that I think that people faffing trying to modify their Water hardness and PH often end up causing more problems then they solve.

Of course there are fish that are more sensitive to it then others (rummy nose tetras, discuss, etc). There are also people that do have extremely soft or extremely hard water. I would guess though that the majority of people have water right in the mid range that the majority of fish will do just fine in.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

So will try and put something that will actually be an unpopular opinion.

I don't think PH and Water hardness are really a big deal for the majority of the common tropical fish we keep. Especially so for ones that are locally bred in local water conditions for several generations.

And in addition to that I think that people faffing trying to modify their Water hardness and PH often end up causing more problems then they solve.

Of course there are fish that are more sensitive to it then others (rummy nose tetras, discuss, etc). There are also people that do have extremely soft or extremely hard water. I would guess though that the majority of people have water right in the mid range that the majority of fish will do just fine in.

I'm actually struggling to find which bit of that is unpopular?
The 'majority of the common tropical fish we keep' have a wide range of tolerances for both pH and hardness, especially those European-bred fish.
No argument at all from me about matchbing fish to water, as opposed to vice versa.
Ditto your point about the more 'sensitive' fish.

If anyone wants an unpopular opinion, in this world of tropical fish, try this for size...
Keeping live animals in a glass box for our own well-being is unethical.

(I'll go and put some popcorn on).

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I'm actually struggling to find which bit of that is unpopular?
The 'majority of the common tropical fish we keep' have a wide range of tolerances for both pH and hardness, especially those European-bred fish.

Awwww was hoping it would get more of a reaction....

If anyone wants an unpopular opinion, in this world of tropical fish, try this for size...
Keeping live animals in a glass box for our own well-being is unethical.

I actually don't disagree with this one. I also feel the same about bird (though even stronger there as they have much larger ranges then a lot of the fish we keep). I also feel the same about a lot of meat products and farming/meat production methods.

I still however keep fish and eat meat. Can I justify the inconsistency? Not really. Fishkeeping somewhat helps educate and learn some appreciation for the natural world but at the end of the day it is mostly just keeping a bunch of animals in captivity for our own amusement.

Even if you have the perfect tank and never lose a fish there are still hundreds of fish that have died for you to get the ones you have in your tank (assuming wild caught or mass transported long distance). I try and source local bred fish as much as I can to offset this but it is a fact of the hobby.

The marine/Reef side is even worse and is one of the main reasons I would be reluctant to go back to a marine tank. Liverock, coral and fish collection were in the past not especially done "ethically" and although it has come a long way its still not exactly impact free and there is even more "stock loss" on the marine side then there is in freshwater.

There are thankfully a lot more tank bred/fragged/grown corals, inverts and fish for marine now but with a lot of corals and critters recreating breeding/reproduction in an artificial environment may never be possibly because of the complex lifecycles a lot of these creatures have.

So yeah, unpopular opinion but 100% true.

 

[Anonymous Fox]

Betta fish, Barbs, livebearers, and tetras are not good beginner fish