Ignorant nonsense - a fish story.

[Dimidiata]

Thought id make use of the forums rant section, had to find a forum where i wouldnt run into anyone from a diffrent forum, being the topic of my rant of course.

Im putting up with idiots on a fish forum in a part of. I am on a few but i got banned from this one at one point due to my *Arguing with a moderator* After said moderator was proven wrong i was reinstated(only 6 months later) and now with much more knowledge then i had back then. Unfortuently everyone there tends to be COMPLETE idiots. They simply are 5 generations behind in knowledge. Appearntly PH,GH,NO3 levels in the aquarium are not importent in the least so theirs no reason to test your water, its complete asanine. "as long as you do 50-80% WC what does it matter?" I dont know, the fact that if your city water has a leak and the PH is thrown that a 80% waterchange can throw your fishy into PH shock(not good, and 50:50 survival) "no need to aclimate your fish, in a city everyones water is the same" Yeah...no. Someones tap water and the water in your tank is a very diffrent story. I just cannot stand these idiots, and the mods sit by and let it happen. The sad part, these are senior members that go around giving advice to EVERYONE like they are god. They hate me and make it obvious when i post that they MUST contradict it, every single time. Not even a little let up. Im a relitive betta enthusiast(Ok total nerd) nether of these guys ever owned a betta and yet they claim to have way more knowledge on them then me....HOW? Thats like saying a person whos only kept beardies knows more about geckos then Kelli. I doubt it. Anywho, thats my rant, ill post again when they ban me again.

 

[animeavatar]

Heh, Know-it-alls! I dislike them too.

 

[Dimidiata]

I gave up. We met a mild compromise, i pulled a off topic conversation into play about discus care and then kindly got myself the hell out of dodge.

 

[animeavatar]

Hey! Can you recommend a good water testing kit?

 

[Dimidiata]

API master. It has all you need. Strips are crap so avoid them. Most liquid test kits are fine. All you really need is amonia and nitrate and KH/GH

 

[animeavatar]

Do testers expire?

 

[Dimidiata]

Liquid shouldnt but strips can expire in a day. Or a month at the most. They can be effected by moisture in the air and be korupted.

 

[andrew5859]

I have finally found someone my age that knows more about fish than me! Hahaha
Are you a part of the cichlid forum I can see if they can get you banned over there lol

That is crazy, you absolutely have to test the water! Even with 50% WC you should still check the levels. I know I check mine every few weeks. I'm only part of the cichlid forum but I keep tropical too. I can understand how people can be know it all's and think their way is the only right way. There are some people on this forum that are like that. "No need to acclimate your fish" I dont care if you live out of a mountain spring with the best water in america you still need to acclimate them!

 

[Dimidiata]

Unfortunetly im cursed with fish knowledge, I take a aquaculture course and 3 agriscience courses. I work on the schools big farm for the FFA so i get a TON of animal experince in weather it be snake removal or goat care. My main job though is to Take care of the fish farm, i mainain 3 500gal tanks, 4 fry tanks. 800 fish in total at any given time, i had to learn FAST. I have been breeding since 10years of age with the tropicals so i learned to do it with tilis. Cichlid forum sounds nice and im thinking of joining, i despise most if not all cichlids but yet i keep tilapia.......lol.

Now to elab on my rant. I can understand not testing the water after the tanks been established for 6-8 months, like my 29 only gets tested when i see something off about the fish or plants(keeping trumpet snails helps indicate water issues) but still, you need to be able to test if problems occur. They claim just doing a big waterchange will fix it becuase "thats what youll do if the waters off anyways" but then how do you know when the water is fixed? when the fish stop diying?

 

[andrew5859]

I'm in FFA also lol Accept our school is more "sports oriented" so our AG dept sucks. I do aquaculture CDE's but we dont have much in the ag dept like farms and what not lol. Although we are getting some trout tanks that we will have to raise! I'm taking vet science next semester and we will start the trout hopefully. Cichlids are awesome, I started with tropical and still have a 55 gallon full of them but now enjoy the cichlids way more! So dont knock it till you try it lol

With my 55 I had a HUGE ammonia spike when we changed to a canister filter (not sure why though) and shame on me I didnt test it after we installed the filter and lost almost all my fish. I think even with water changes you still need to test. You dont know the water is chemically correct thus testing so what their saying doesnt make sense.

 

[Dimidiata]

I take Vet assist 1, Horticulture and animal science and services. With a FFA thats one of the top 10 in FL, im in a good position lol. I do CDEs, poultry(im 11th in the state personaly, 4th by group) and floral,hort, aqua, parly pro and so on. Aswell as goat and plant show, small and large animal husbandry. Gotta love us some blue jackets eh? Our school has a 53acre farm, not much but it holds all the animals and crops.

 

[andrew5859]

So far I have only taken animal science 1, wildlife, and then I will take vet science next semester. You guys are lucky with a 53 acre farm! All we have is a shop and a green house Gotta love those blue jackets lol With the CDE's I dont do much large animals if I dont have to. Aquatics, forestry, wildlife, and vet sci is my specialty haha

 

[30secondstobob]

Bettas have got to be the easiest fish in the world to care for as long as you have one ounce of common sense. They simply DO NOT CARE about water conditions as long as you have a way to remove the toxic ammonia. (and of course, dechlorinate) My secret - I simply put a rooted plant cutting in every betta container I own. It doesn't have to be one of those elaborate betta vases (where I got the idea from), just a bowl with some kind of cover to suspend a rooted plant. Every betta, I've ever had generally lives 3+ years in these simple set-ups. I've lived in the northeast where the tapwater is full of acid rain and the Florida water is hard as a rock. I bred betta splendens for a fourth grade science project and betta imbellis as a young adult. Now, if only someone can tell me the secret to make my male blood parrots fertile. Bob

 

[Dimidiata]

Thats simply A LIE. They very much care about their water conditions. Hard water makes their fins curl. Tanins lower their water hardness. GH/KH will help determine the range your water has for buffering these things. Just becuase they LOOK happy doesnt mean they are, they need ample space(why i perffer 5+gals), heating and etch. Its like saying a Leo doesnt care about its housing, complete asanine. Please DO NOT comment here with such ignorance on animal care. You use rooted plants, nice but does that mean all the nitrates are instantly gone, no. Does that have ANYTHING to do with amonia, not a lick. I dont care what you bred, it doesnt make it acceptable to let fish live in horrid conditions. People will come here with their leos who have lived years in horrible conditions, did they know this no. When they changed it did they notice a diffrence in their animals. Yes. Bettas are cursed with the fact that they can TOLERATE(doesnt mean their happy) the terrible conditions ignorant people keep them in. I would be honored if there was a way to close this thread. Im not having an argument over such a simple topic as basic animal care.


EDIT: Bloods are a pain in the backside. Why not just purchase a fertile pair? Why breed them anyways? They have far to many health issues imo. Chiclid forums should be of use to you.

 

[30secondstobob]

Never had a fin curl, never had a fish not thrive. My fish will always willingly build a bubble nest in the presence of a female (and usually in their absence as well). Fish that willingly breed are not seffering from "horrid" water conditions. Sounds like you WAY overthink things, little man and have way too much time on your hands. I can see why you have been banned from other forums. Don't bother responding as I do not care to argue this point with you any further. You're not too far from me - come by sometime if you want to see some beautiful, healthy bettas. Bob

 

[Dimidiata]

Some fish breed in only the most horrid conditions, enough said. That statment was unfounded. I have no wish to see your fish Unless they are in appropriate set ups. Male will bubble nest under stress so long as theres a female, most males should bubble nest without a female, just a behaviour. They dont belong in small containers with a plant, as i said. NO further convo from me on this topic, just not gonna end well for the either of us.

 

[Ozymandias]

Ya betas will build bubble nests almost every where, and that are incredibly hardy fish so that will take a lot of abuse with out people noticing, he'll when I was younger and didnt know better I kept a beta in a gallon jar for two years with maybe a water change ever month or two so getting to 3 years isn't that impressive.

 

[Ozymandias]

Dimidiate I can see can see where there coming from about ph and gh not matering as much, though i would only say that applies to some of the hardier and farm raised fish and as long as your ph isn't over 8.That being said you need to know what the water quality is when it comes out of the tap and what it is in tank.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Im not having an argument over such a simple topic as basic animal care.

I'll just be standing over by the corner post, waiting for the tag. Not that you need the assist, you've got this. Just mentioning it.

 

[Dimidiata]

You know when i see your name on my email on my thread im thinking "Im about to be slayed" or "i just recived major help". I can handle this with ease, if you cant properly care for a freaking fish and donate maybe 30$ for proper tank, food and heat then i want NOTHING to do with you. I mean seriously? Anyways, I myself am still learning everyday, Just this morning my new Copper CT betta decided to go emo/cutter(jk) and bite 1/3 of his tail off out of boredom. Lesson: bettas like enrichment, they do get bored. Tail biting is heavily speculated through out the betta community, every good breeder and owner will agree that our bettas do have basic mental needs for enrichment. Wether it be a mirror for flaring or some cool colorful object outside the tank to stare at.

As far as PH goes, its important to KNOW it but unless its rediculosly high or low it is sometimes best to leave it as is so the fish doesnt need to readapt via osmosis wich puts tons of stress on the animal. Still, certain betta tail types do best with softer water as fins can curl. Doesnt bother them and an unexperinced owner wouldnt be able to tell honestly(it just looks like wrinkles and tightning in the finnage, in CT its actual curling of the fin, ugly).

Also, to 30sec, im sorry for showing my teeth so quickly, please understand that im very passionate about my animals and will never allow a single misinformative piece of info that could effect the health of any other animal slip past me.