Whats the stupidest/most useless fish related thing you have bought.

[Uberhoust]

Plastic window scraper with handle, I either use a typical dishes type scrubby on the glass or, if the algae is really stuck on, one of the common plastic cards we all have or an actual razor blade. The magnetic scrapers are in the same category, they either grip too hard or too lightly, you have no control.

 

[Herbibore]

Some HOBs that wouldn't self-start if the power goes off. They were nice and small for my nano tank, but I'm not going to buy a battery-powered backup when I can get self-starters.

I also imagine that dry-running a motor in a plastic box is something of a hazard.

 

[Donya]

A loooooooooong pipette...with an itty bitty bulb. Because the bulb is tiny, it holds almost nothing. It's also so unwieldy I end up getting my hands wet anyway, thereby defeating the point of its length. I went back to using a turkey baster pretty fast lol.

 

[lnsaneM]

when i firsted the hobby, i bought a bunch of plastic plants and a huge plastic driftwood

 

[Morganna]

Unfortunately, I can think of more than one thing...
1st thing that comes too mind: "aqua scaping tools". First off, the spatula thingy has no use, the scissors aren't necessary, and the tweezers don't even work. The only good thing was the turkey baster, but I could've bought it somewhere else for cheaper.
2nd thing: water treaters. Because I didn't know any better, I have bought stuff for my water. For example, I have bought API's Easy Balance, which I know now is kinda worthless. I also bought "water clarifier" , yep, super embarrassed by that one... I inwardly cringe when I think about having bought these, because I know now that just doing more water changes was the answer to those problems.

 

[betta4ever!]

Umm... That'll be a long list. Test strips, JBL Algol, API Aquarium salt, esha 2000, bactopur, 2 gallon aquarium, stupid mini filter, a ton of high maintance plants that I killed, tiny but super expencive piece of driftwood, ials etc etc

 

[GaryE]

My Spongebob pineapple house was a good buy. For a classroom tank....

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Melafix, some ich thing, betta leaf hammock, tears heater, and a 3.5g tetra aquarium kit... That was real bad

I got a leaf hammock to, my betta doesn't even use it!

 

[Obsessed with fish]

when i firsted the hobby, i bought a bunch of plastic plants and a huge plastic driftwood

I can relate to that

 

[Herbibore]

Don't laugh about a Sponge Bob house used in an aquarium at school! They love it .

 

[Lynnzer]

Fishcakes.
My Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish were a year old so I thought I'd throw a party for them Bought fishcakes

 

[Sanityassassin]

An API freshwater master test kit

This is a bold statement.

I'll agree that an experienced hobbyist who's familiar with their set up, generally, has no real need for a test kit. I very rarely use mine, so we're on the same page in that regard.

But a newbie, just coming into the hobby, who is trying to find their feet, a test kit is an absolute must. It is possibly the number one piece of kit they need to keep tabs on their system until, like us, they become familiar with the complex processes which go in in an aquarium.

Even guys such as us who don't test much mustn't become complacent. A good example of this is that as fish grow, over time, the bio load increases gradually, especially, if like me, you have a big tank with lots of growing fish. I like to keep tabs once in a while, just for peace of mind, so I can check that my water change schedule is adequate for my ever increasing nitrate creep.

 

[Sanityassassin]

.....to answer the original question though, the most useless aquarium related products I've ever bought were when I first started out in the hobby many years ago. Fake cheap plastic plants and multi coloured gravel, ugghh!

At the time I thought it was great but soon began to realise that such products, imo, simply have no place in a set up when you are trying to replicate the fishes natural environment.

 

[betta4ever!]

Fake cheap plastic plants and multi coloured gravel, ugghh!

haha, forgot to add those to my list

 

[GaryE]

This is a bold statement.

I'll agree that an experienced hobbyist who's familiar with their set up, generally, has no real need for a test kit. I very rarely use mine, so we're on the same page in that regard.

But a newbie, just coming into the hobby, who is trying to find their feet, a test kit is an absolute must. It is possibly the number one piece of kit they need to keep tabs on their system until, like us, they become familiar with the complex processes which go in in an aquarium.

Even guys such as us who don't test much mustn't become complacent. A good example of this is that as fish grow, over time, the bio load increases gradually, especially, if like me, you have a big tank with lots of growing fish. I like to keep tabs once in a while, just for peace of mind, so I can check that my water change schedule is adequate for my ever increasing nitrate creep.

I am not convinced the master test kit is ever a must. If you enjoy working with the chemistry, it's fun. Maybe if you have a stubborn and impulsive, impatient personality, the test kit results can prove what people tell you. I'll grant that.

It remains that about midway through my hobby experience, I crashed one tank by overstocking. I don't think a test kit would have helped. My eyes were bigger than that tank, and I impulse bought. I've set up hundreds of tanks, and even as a kid and as a teenager, never had another ammonia crash. I have no special insights now I didn't have when I started as a kid, beyond the need for water changes as they were not suggested way back then. I followed simple rules - stock lightly, and always with the full size of the fish as a baseline. Feed carefully, and with experience and changing research, change water with regularity (30% weekly without fail). These happen to be things you have to do with a test kit anyway.

But if you are patient and organized at all, you don't need a test kit. Don't overstock, grow things and do your chores... I'll wager most people who buy kits use them only when the tank looks like the day after a riot. People who test methodically probably take care of their fish methodically. But it's a debate.