Why we see so many people come here with dying fish.

[Animallover😍]

So I had 30 minutes to kill today so thought I would take a quick look in the pets at home that was nearby. The fish actually looked fairly healthy but jeez the bad information in this place. Its no wonder we see half a dozen new fish keepers posting about their fish dying every week.

Pets at home method for setting up a new tank:
Fill with water, add heater, filter etc.
Leave to settle overnight.
Test the water (what?!?)
Buy your fish.

They have a fish number system. So a tank has say 16 fish points and a tetra may be like 2 points. The point system takes no consideration for anything else such as shoaling, aggression, water parameters, etc.

Nowhere is there any mention of the nitrogen cycle.

It's easy for us in the know to say people should be doing thier research but when you go to a popular pet store with little to no knowledge and this is what your are presented with you have no reason to not trust it.

I know it's frustrating seeing the same issues come up over and over again and having to try and explaining cycling and fish requirements every few days but if it wasn't for forums like this then these people (and their fish) would never have a chance.

None lfs around here give any info of how to set up your tank, etc. Which is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that the people may(or may not) do their research.

 

[AbbeysDad]

But the arguing back and forth here is pointless anyway because it's so impractical to do it that way.

And here I thought it was just a discussion with different points of view.
Surely you'd agree that someone, or most people anyway, setting up a new aquarium, are not going to have a separate tank to quarantine new fish. Even many experienced hobbyists roll the dice and add new fish to their established aquariums.
Some might even 'argue' that they just don't have the money or the space for another aquarium to dedicate for quarantine which is why I'm always quick to point out the clear bin or tote with a spare heater and a sponge filter that does the job with very little cost and the bin can later/normally be used to store 'stuff'... Like the emergency kit that contains battery operated air pump for power failures and other 'incidentals' we all end up collecting.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

And here I thought it was just a discussion with different points of view.
Surely you'd agree that someone, or most people anyway, setting up a new aquarium, are not going to have a separate tank to quarantine new fish. Even many experienced hobbyists roll the dice and add new fish to their established aquariums.
Some might even 'argue' that they just don't have the money or the space for another aquarium to dedicate for quarantine which is why I'm always quick to point out the clear bin or tote with a spare heater and a sponge filter that does the job with very little cost and the bin can later/normally be used to store 'stuff'... Like the emergency kit that contains battery operated air pump for power failures and other 'incidentals' we all end up collecting.

That’s precisely why I said the arguing (or “discussion”) was pointless. You missed the point again. I’m just saying when you call a new tank it’s own quarantine tank it leads people to misunderstand and think there is no risk involved. Plus it’s just an inaccurate statement. So the only thing I’m saying here is I don’t think it’s wise to phrase it that way.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

You can argue a topic without it being a hostile exchange btw