Why do people buy fish

[LynX]

i know what u mean, any1 can make a website and usualy they just put a short description of what they think is best for the fish, i really on the post i get here, even some lfs guy who "thinks" his an awesome breader, btw his like 65 or something told me a betta fry could eat crushed bloodworm, denying this to him he still told me they could and he did it, well anyway i posted here to make sure, and sure enough he was wrong anyway i ring the boss up of the fish shop, now this guy is like an expert, he told me everything i need and tommorow im gonna pick it up .

now wat i hate is when i see a post saying:
my betta spawned 4 days ago when will he lay the eggs

 

[Sky042]

I usually do both. Researching on the web alone or reading a book gives you basic information, but you need experience to truly learn. This kind of a forum offers that knowledge and experience. And obviously doing things yourself gives even greater experience.

Yes, I didn't mean all of the questions by any means... I've asked plenty myself. I'm not anti-helping-people. I just meant the really basic ones. Like "what temperature does this fish like" or "show me a picture of what this fish looks like". It just seems odd to me that people would ask a question here and wait a day or two for answers (even getting annoyed that they aren't answered fast enough) when they could just type it in and get 10 websites that would answer the question (and then some) in a heartbeat. So in a lot of cases pointing them to google, or even just another thread on the same subject, seems more helpful to me.

funny you should mention people NOT doing their own searches.
I'm an admin on a LARGE car forum. You'd be surprised just how often you run into this on the internet. People are so lazy they'll post a thread and not even make the attempt to do their own search even though it probably would have been faster.

And though it might be mean I frequently will respond to thse people with a special set of coding on my board uses the tag [inwindow] and I'll ask them the phrase "Do you Google??"

The [inwindow] actually creates a function IE window within the thread so if I use the google URL in the inwindow tag the google screen will be right there in the thread.

I do find that too often people will ask to be spoonfed rather then do their own checking. With a source of information(and disinformation) as vast as the internet you'd think people would do a little of the work themselves. But alas too often they do not.

Heres an example of inwindow.

http/www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=513017

 

[Koda]

Wow...I am glad this wasn't the first post I read on this site!I came here in part because I bought a fish based on the info available at the store and later found out that it was,"a fish I obviously couldn't take care of".


Sure...you can search Google and come up with an amazing amount of info.Some good and some not so good.Chances are you'll even be directed to topics here as well as to other forums.In fact,searching Google for fish info was how I found this forum.And for the most part,it is as it says,a friendly forum.But imagine if this were the first post a newcomer found.Think they'd dare to ask a question


Koda

 

[BeccaBlain]

Maybe they would learn to read abotu their fish then. Abuse is abuse, either way you look at it... Scramming 100 or so fish into a 10 gallon tank is a form of abuse.

Frankly, we can be very friendly, but our patience gets tried just like everyone elses. And -5- minutes isn't really asking a whole lot. Perhaps if people see that they are doing something -wrong-, then they'll clue in that they just shouldn't do it.

*shrug* Sorry if you caught me at a bad moment, but I hate seeing fish being hurt or abused because people can't take 5 minutes to read.

Of course there are exceptions, such as you get a just mean nasty fish, but to purposefully put two male betta in the same tank, no divider? Or put Oscars in a ten gallon?

It just doesn't seem very right at all.

Becca

 

[Fiddlesticks]

It is as important to research fish as any other pet. However I have never had a google search take me 5 min. when looking up fish. Before I bought my rainbows I spent the better part of a weekend doing google searches, and finnished feeling like I hadnt learned a thing. There is alot of conflicting info on the web as well. So most people end up trusting the fish store way too much to help them find the right fish. Only on rare occasions do you find a lfs person who doesnt just send you home with the most expensive fish they have, and talk you out of waiting to buy the fish. Thats why forums like this are so important. So folks can share their fish experiences with each other.

 

[Koda]

Frankly, we can be very friendly, but our patience gets tried just like everyone elses. And -5- minutes isn't really asking a whole lot. Perhaps if people see that they are doing something -wrong-, then they'll clue in that they just shouldn't do it.

*shrug* Sorry if you caught me at a bad moment, but I hate seeing fish being hurt or abused because people can't take 5 minutes to read.

Becca

The point is that a person can easily spend that five minutes you keep mentioning doing research and still end up making mistakes.And you can search Google and be directed here or to any number of forums where you'll find tons of info...again some good some not so good.To imply that people are stupid or lazy or even abusive because they made mistakes or were misinformed just isn't right either.

Koda

 

[Becca]

If most people are anything like me - then what's probably happened is the research they THOUGHT they were doing was of the wrong sort. Either they're asking the wrong questions because they don't know any better, or they're asking advice of nimwits who don't know any better. It's like the blind leading the blind - it was with me when I bought my tank.

When I decided to purchase my tank - I put a lot of time and effort into browsing different fish and pet stores looking at tanks and choosing which one I'd like to have. Each visit I'd track someone down and start grilling them with questions. This went on for about 3-4 weeks and not once did anyone ever say "Hey, it's great that you're asking questions - but you're asking the wrong ones." or "If you're really serious about this hobby, then check out this website or this store." I had to learn on my own. Unfortunately, I didn't even think to look for an online fish-keeping community until after I'd already made several mistakes.

Of course, once I realized that I was asking the wrong sort of questions I still made the fatal mistake in thinking that PetSmart must know what they're talking about because they specialize in PETS! The sad truth is quite a few people think that's so and they have no one holding their hand showing them how to research their pets. I know quite a few responsible people who are trying to take care of their tanks but just don't have internet access or a computer at home, so it leaves them without the ability to "Google" something. So what do they have to rely on? Their pet stores. The thought process - according to a friend I know - is usually something like this "Well, I have a cat/dog and they know what to do with my cat/dog, so they must know about fish too!" Again - it's like the blind leading the blind.

Of course, not all LPS/LFS are bad. Now and again you'll stumble on the ocassional guy who's been in the hobby for a while. But he's usually the minority. And he'll tell you all sorts of things - usually challenging everything you've heard before. But since he's the minority, quite a few people disregard what they're saying.

I think members of this forum need to be patient and understanding. We've all made mistakes before, and I'm sure quite a few of us are guilty of an impulse buy, some of us happen to be more lucky than others and end up with a good fit. The one thing to keep in mind is that these folk are posting asking for advice on the situation because they made a mistake and now they're trying to fix it. That, in my book, sits really well with me. Sure - they bought a fish. Sure - it was the wrong one. Lord knows I've been guilty of it. But if they're asking what they should do, or how they should proceed, then chances are they're trying to learn and correct the situation before there's any damage done to the fish.

In a nutshell - I agree with you. More research should be done before you just jump into anything - especially something dealing with living creatures. However, alot of people assume that chains like PetSmart or their local fish stores are there because they know what they're talking about. It's sadly not until much later that they realize that's not always the case.

 

[endparenthesis]

Man... who would have thought advocating initiative, self-reliance, and doing what it takes to get what you want when you want it would be considered unfriendly.

Ok, here are the pros:

Google...
- Instant responses.
- More sources than you can hope to exhaust.
- Usually much more information than you're actually seeking so you gain useful knowledge you weren't even looking for along the way.

Forums...
- Specific customized responses.
- Two-way communication.
- Ongoing guidance as you advance in knowledge.

If you ask me, some questions are better answered one way, and some questions are better answered the other way. Both routes are perfectly useful. I think it would be unfriendly of me NOT to encourage someone to use the method of gathering information that's most appropriate to their query.

You know what's strange... often I help answer questions for people by doing a search that takes one minute, grabbing a link or picture that tells them in detail what they want to know, then posting it in the thread. And then I wonder... wait... did I really just help the person? Or am I just google's delivery person now?

 

[Koda]

Man... who would have thought advocating initiative, self-reliance, and doing what it takes to get what you want when you want it would be considered unfriendly.

That wasn't the part that was considered unfriendly.It was the implication that you could easily learn all you needed to know in 5 minutes and that if you didn't then you must be abusive and uncaring.Maybe I took it wrong though

I do know that I have been misled both by lfs people and small shop owner/employees.I've also found conflicting or downright idiotic information online via Google search.One top page on a betta care search advocated netting your fish and then cleaning it's bowl completely.(Hopefully the phone doesn't ring while the poor fish is gasping in the net waiting on you to return with cleaned bowl)It also contradicted itself on matters of compatibility.It'd be great if accurate info was widely available at fish shops.That'd solve a lot of problems.

Koda

 

[wrs]

some resurch is wrong. i got a molly that came w/women because they were supposed 2 be "nice" fish. but they were blood thursty one and 1/2 inch fish that i cant take care of because they killed and badly hurt others. so even resurch doesnt always work. and i have some kind of african cichlid in my brothers semi-agressive tank and its the nicest fish in there. its afraid of them i think. that has 2 do w/compatability i guess
so resurch doesnt always help. like i read on the internete that balas only grow big if u feed them alot. and my brother got 1. so it can be faulty at times.

 

[Becca]

Just a thought to touch up on WRS's post...

People asking questions on forums, like this one, is a form of research. Of course, if you have an idea of what you want, then perhaps you should ask first - if nothing else, it'll save you and the fish an extra trip.

 

[david27]

I think it would be optomistic to believe that we can all go through our fish keeping hobby without screwing up, this might be buying a fish on impulse, it might not cycling your tank properly, or even misunderstanding stocking level rules. I've purchased a fish which I didn't ID correctly and have had to move on but does that make me a bad fishkeeper? I hope not.

I don't think there are ANY stupid questions, IMO I would rather see lots of questions about the basics, than newbies put of from asking for advice by people implying that they should go and look in book and don't bother us advanced perfect fishkeepers, because that is how some of this topic reads.

KEEP THE QUESTIONS COMING, IT SAVE'S FISH AND IT SAVE'S YOUR MONEY plus you get answers from people who want to help you to the best of their abilities.

Well thats my piece said

David

 

[StanTheBetta]

Because some people don't care unfortunately. My gf keeps bugging me to add a rosy barb, a pleco, and a blue gourami to my 10 gal tank. I've explained several times that my tank is already pretty fully stocked as well as the fact the pleco will get to be 12" long. I also tried to tell her rosy barbs prefer others of there kind. She just won't listen though

 

[BeccaBlain]

Don't get me wrong, I admit sometimes you just get a "bad" fish... just like you get "bad" people. My complaint is with those who just buy a fish because it is pretty - or a dog because it is cute, then go "Oh my god I bought this now I can't take care of it!"

5 minutes of research can give you enough of an idea of whether or not you want to look further into the fish or pet. Let us take a salt water aquarium. You do a search for salt water fish care, and you'll see its trickier than fresh water fish care. You should find information that says why its more difficult.

My complaint is with people who go to a pet store, see something cute or pretty, and don't bother to even find out if they can take care of it.

Not with those who get bad fish, or have been misled. If they've been misled, it means they at least tried.

Its those who buy and don't care until they start having problems that annoy me.

Thats all.

 

[Becca]

Becca - in regards to what you just said, I agree with you. I was in PetSmart last night buying some plants for my new Aquascape and noticed a Ziploc baggie of about 6-7 Baby (maybe 2-3 months old) Convict Cichlids.

I asked if someone had brought them in from a successful breeding batch and the guy said "No, this lady who bought them from me last night said they didn't fit in her tank. They kept nipping at her Angelfish." The first thought that went through my mind is why didn't she at least say "Hey, I have an angelfish, will this nip at him?" Cichlids - especially African - from what I can find are best kept with other African Cichlids...and they even nip amongst themselves from time to time.

And this is where your theory proves good. If she would have taken just a second to ask the clerk, or hell - even pick up the book on Cichlids RIGHT NEXT to the tank holding the Cichlids, she would have learned to just move on to the next tank and saved both her, and the fish, the stress of trying to catch them, bag them, drive them to the store, etc.