What Fish To Choose?

[Ian H]

*sigh*

ok your not cruel for putting a living animal through pain it doesnt need

you say you work with hearing dogs and rescue animals? how would you like it if you went to rescue a dog that was not looked after in the slightest and living in an enviroment where it could barely breath (lets say the owners are VERY heavy smokers) then you would call them cruel. What your doing is exactly the same, making the fish suffer just because you want something to look at

if you had read the rest of my post before you threw your toys out of your pram you would have realised i was trying to help.

 

[Cazangel]

*sigh*

ok your not cruel for putting a living animal through pain it doesnt need

you say you work with hearing dogs and rescue animals? how would you like it if you went to rescue a dog that was not looked after in the slightest and living in an enviroment where it could barely breath (lets say the owners are VERY heavy smokers) then you would call them cruel. What your doing is exactly the same, making the fish suffer just because you want something to look at

if you had read the rest of my post before you threw your toys out of your pram you would have realised i was trying to help.

Actually there are reasons why I cant get rid of the fish but you just assumed I was cruel your malicious and this personal attack on me us totally un called for well done you on totally making me feel unwelcome here I won't be posting again. You weren't trying to help you were patronising my actions.

 

[Azaezl]

First of all Ian I'd just like to quote something from another post;

I do agree with the original poster. A lot of people dont have any idea that a fish in cycle is bad for the fish. They go by what their LFS tells them and to be fair they have no reason to know any different.

Most people will not look this up on the internet (as someone who is new to fish keeping how would you even know what to look for?) as they have asked someone who is supposed to be able to give good advice (LFS).

It is only then when they come to a site like this that they find out there are other ways of doing it and that the way they have been told is actually harming their fish. This is not their fault and there is no point in having a go at people about this.

If someone finds themselves in this situation we need to do our best as responsible fishkeepers to try and give them the best advice possible (frequent water changes, checking ammonia etc, explaining the nitrogen cycle) and not just post stuff like "You evil fish killer, you should immediatly take all your fish back to the shop and do it this way". While that would be the best solution of course its not really something that is going to happen and all you are doing is making some new member upset which then means they will likely not come back and will never learn any better.

On the other hand though people that KNOW about cycling a tank and still go for a fish in method deserve everything they get

I have been PMing Caz to convince her to stay here for the sake of her fish & to help her learn not to make this mistake again. She has informed me that the reason she hasn't taken them back is because they won't take them back. She has them now, it's done and dusted so lets just try and help her and her fish get through the next few weeks.

 

[Ian H]

right ok, all im saying on the matter.

 

[eschaton]

Caz,

As a general rule of thumb, you should never trust anything a local fish store tells you. This is especially the case for chain stores, but also true for many independent fish stores. Most of the non-management employees are paid close to minimum wage. Hobbyists can't afford to take these jobs, and thus they are staffed by the unexperienced. Also, all but the most ethical LFS are in it for the money first, and the fish second. They'll tell you to plop fish into an uncycled tank because it means higher sales for them. If they're especially cynical, they'll also be looking forward to selling you water treatments and medicine when your fish get sick from the poor water quality, and new fish when your fish die far sooner than they are supposed to.

Fish-in cycling can work with hardy fish and frequent water changes, but it's a PITA. If you can I'd introduce some live plants, and find gravel or filter media from an established fish tank, as it will hurry along the process tremendously.