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so it starts out innocent enough...

you meet a new group of friends, they have a few things in common with you, you get along great

All of a sudden, one of then says to another that they just got a 3' tank yesteray and put in 6 neons and 6 guppies and that after they don't die, they might add lots more guppies or maybe ditch all the little fish and get a salmontail catfish...


WHY!??

Why can't non-fish people STAY NON-FISH? at least until you have had a chance to prove to them that you are the person to come to when things like this are in the planning?

WHY DO THEY HAVE TO RUIN IT by stuffing up really badly and forcing you to explain the importance of cycling?? WHY WHY WHY?


*cries*


Its ALWAYS happening to me! its not that I don't like people wanting to try fish, its just that they jump in, boots and all, and then compound the problem without even knowing that the problem exists! And of course i am ethically bound to fix the stupid thing and of course fish die in the process making me look inept and making them distrust me and generally making it look like i am a big old over-reacting fishkiller.

Tell me its not just me that it happens to.. tell me i'm not cursed!

Last edited by Callatya at 03-Jul-2005 12:18

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

yep.....nuff said. There's nothing you can do but try to help. Show them how(and what) to keep successfully, and if they choose not to listen, there just isn't anything you can do. I think it's happened to everyone who is a conscientious fish keeper and animal lover. Eventually they will become disinterested and quit.

Don't feel bad, you've done what you can.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

That's why i set up tanks for people that want to get into fish They come to me first, rather than later

It would be interesting to know the statistics on how many people start with the aquarium hobby each year, what kind of fish/tanks/etc. they use for it, and how many of them are still in the hobby after about 3 months.
I would not be surprised if over 50% quit, mostly because they do exactly what you mentioned above and then get frustrated.

Given that I am into this hobby for only 5 months now, I can still remember very well how it all started. Typical 1G goldfish tank for the kids, neon gravel, no filter or light. No surprise, fish died after 2 weeks (now, don’t yell at me).
Did I do that on purpose? No, certainly not.
Well, then why did I do it? Because I didn’t know any better.
Did I think I would need advice on how to hold a simple fish? Hell no, how hard can it be?

As said, 2 weeks and a dead fish later, I had a choice – forget about it or learn. Obviously I picked the second option. And this time, I didn’t do it alone, I got my neighbor to help me (he has a tank for a few years now). And, I listened. Man, I had no idea how complex the whole aquarium hobby is. Today, 5 months later, I still consider myself a newbie, but at least I know what a cycle is and maybe some other things (you know).

And how did I get to my current status quo? With people like you.

To sum it up, will this happen again to you? You bet ya. Keep on doing what you are doing. Don’t feel bad if your rescue efforts fail, you tried your best. And don’t forget that many of us here at FP listen to every advice you can give us (well, we might not follow it, but we for sure value it).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

never happens to me.... coz i dont have any friends :#(

nah my worst case is my ex girlfriends mum, she got into fish because i was trying to help the 2 oscars she was keeping in a 10G ]:|

the more i explained, the more interested she go in fish. now she has a 6ft, 2x3ft, 3x4ft, 2x5ft and a handful of 2fts around the house. ALL badly stocked! Oscars with frontosas and syno's, 3 gibiceps in a overcrowded 4ft with over 15 rift lake cichlids, all constantly overfed. and just coz most of them survive (her husband is constantly cleaning them) and she has convicts breeding like rabbits she things she's freakn Ad Konings!

Most of my other friends see how into aquariums i am and ask about questions, when they realise there is more then meets the eye they are more then happy for me to help setup their tanks.

Its just that they don't know, tell your friend about fp or something. Then say,
Either go sign up on fishprofiles, make a couple of posts, or, I will bore you with everything I know about keeping fish.
& instead of using common names, use really complicated scientific names... That should work



Last edited by dude_dude at 05-Jul-2005 01:15

IME they usually just see a nice looking tank somewhere, TV or a magazine or something and think it would be a nice "living painting" for the living room or whatever. Most of the time they are just taken in by really immoral salespeople that are just trying to make commission and would rather make it seem easy and make a sale as quickly as possible rather than take the time to properly educate. A lot of the time they won't listen to what you have to say because this apparent "professional" has given them a bunch of misinformation. Most of the time LFS employees are just taken more credibly because they "do fish" for a living or something and it makes more knowledgeable people look stupid.

Most of the time I just try my best to help, if they aren't willing to listen I expect a nice equipment inheritance in a few weeks when the fish die.