At What Point Do You Ask For Help
- Thread starter emmsy
- Start date
shelaghfishface
the one and only
i have to say, this all sounds like a terrific idea,tho as many of you will know, im not bad at asking " silly questions"- but saying that when i joined the forum in january, i was brand new at fish keeping, y`know, fish in the tank then realised and learned about cycling and all the rest of it, i think the idea of a " pop up" with basic Q&A`s would be a fab idea.. one of the questions i asked once was what is the basic first aid kit for fish,y`know like you would have calpol and plasters for kids,what would i need for fish??? and i have to say, i havent had the answer yet- so now when i buy a fish ( like when i bought my clown loaches i also bought meds for illness that they are more likely to be prone to) i always make sure i have the basics, and i dont always quaratine unless the fish has come from a grotty looking tank or i think it looks a bit" not right" -- but i always do if i get them online- i put this down to the fish being more prone as i havent seen the tank it came from and also it has had stress in transit.
---touch wood--- i havent had any poorley fish for quite a while,and then i almost held wilder as hostage lol getting advice from her,so to get most of the basic info without having to feel like a twit ( posting lots of seeminly silly q`s ( which on here are NEVER treated as such anyway)would be a great big fat bonus to the forum-- everyone has to be TOLD to read the pinned sections, wouldnt it be better if you took those to the peeps???
yeah ill shut up now !! lol
shelaghxxxxx
---touch wood--- i havent had any poorley fish for quite a while,and then i almost held wilder as hostage lol getting advice from her,so to get most of the basic info without having to feel like a twit ( posting lots of seeminly silly q`s ( which on here are NEVER treated as such anyway)would be a great big fat bonus to the forum-- everyone has to be TOLD to read the pinned sections, wouldnt it be better if you took those to the peeps???
yeah ill shut up now !! lol
shelaghxxxxx
drewry
Fish Herder
i think this topic is excellent
i mean we all keep fish but at one point they do get sick one way or another good thinking emmsy
u get the thumbs up from me on this topic
and thats a great idea PRW1988 if the mods could do something like that it would make life allot better for the more experienced fish keepers and the newbys
i mean we all keep fish but at one point they do get sick one way or another good thinking emmsy
u get the thumbs up from me on this topic
and thats a great idea PRW1988 if the mods could do something like that it would make life allot better for the more experienced fish keepers and the newbys
At what point do you ask for help, discuss & debate.
For me it’s two days or less if I am confused at all. Post #32 in this topic is an example, and it is not my fish; http
/www.fishforums.net/content-page/240...stule-/page/20/
This is not the first time I have done this for other people’s fish, and Steve is a great help when I have angel related questions. It also helps that I throw a good sum of money his way, not going to say how much lest my wife read this.
This forum, and other online diagnosis sites, are only the beginning in my opinion. They may open doors to other resources, many which are more specialized. This is where I play devil’s advocate.
Properly diagnosing a fish’s, or any living thing’s condition is difficult at times live & in person. Online, with pictures, is even more difficult. The angel link is a perfect example, in which it may be HITH, I may have missed the very beginning stages, and come to a wrong conclusion. This may come as a surprise with all the angels I have worked with, but does not surprise me, as when you have less information to work with the possibility of a misdiagnosis increases. There is no observation of the fish’s behavior, no observation of the actual conditions, fish, tank, & otherwise, and nothing close to what a vet experienced in the treatment of aquatic life would like to see before offering a diagnosis.
If a vet would require more information than is able to be offered through online communications, who are we, with no formal education in veterinary science, with the exception of Emmsy, to think we can properly diagnose an ailing fish online?
Let’s use the example of a human with back pain. It may be something as simple as a strained muscle, it could be an aortic aneurysm, or anything in between. If it were your back would you take the word of some online forum, with people you really know little about, as being gospel on your condition? I hope not, me & my back go to the doctor, live & in person.
Now don’t get me wrong, all this hand shaking & agreeing to help is a great thing in my opinion. The camaraderie of this forum is one of the things that have kept me coming back for as long as I have. This in itself, without resources, is a good start, I suggest we make a list of resources, such as the vet Bloo linked to in his angel post. Having known & proven professionals, with locations, is something that is being missed, especially with the difficulty obtaining meds in the UK. Having a list of resources like this is one way to cut down on the lead time between noticing something wrong and treatment.
Another resource unavailable online, due to copyright laws, is books. I’ll start by recommending Dieter Untergasser’s “Handbook of Fish Diseases”, as well as Nelson Herwig’s “Handbook of Drugs and Chemicals Used in the Treatment of Fish Diseases”. These are the ones I check online sources against, as they have a proven track record.
Many of us have pets besides fish, most often a cat or dog, if not some of both. My little terrier is due for his yearly checkup, a few questions regarding a vet specializing in aquatics will be presented. Even if it is never needed by me, the information made available on this forum may help others.
For me it’s two days or less if I am confused at all. Post #32 in this topic is an example, and it is not my fish; http
/www.fishforums.net/content-page/240...stule-/page/20/This is not the first time I have done this for other people’s fish, and Steve is a great help when I have angel related questions. It also helps that I throw a good sum of money his way, not going to say how much lest my wife read this.
This forum, and other online diagnosis sites, are only the beginning in my opinion. They may open doors to other resources, many which are more specialized. This is where I play devil’s advocate.
Properly diagnosing a fish’s, or any living thing’s condition is difficult at times live & in person. Online, with pictures, is even more difficult. The angel link is a perfect example, in which it may be HITH, I may have missed the very beginning stages, and come to a wrong conclusion. This may come as a surprise with all the angels I have worked with, but does not surprise me, as when you have less information to work with the possibility of a misdiagnosis increases. There is no observation of the fish’s behavior, no observation of the actual conditions, fish, tank, & otherwise, and nothing close to what a vet experienced in the treatment of aquatic life would like to see before offering a diagnosis.
If a vet would require more information than is able to be offered through online communications, who are we, with no formal education in veterinary science, with the exception of Emmsy, to think we can properly diagnose an ailing fish online?
Let’s use the example of a human with back pain. It may be something as simple as a strained muscle, it could be an aortic aneurysm, or anything in between. If it were your back would you take the word of some online forum, with people you really know little about, as being gospel on your condition? I hope not, me & my back go to the doctor, live & in person.
Now don’t get me wrong, all this hand shaking & agreeing to help is a great thing in my opinion. The camaraderie of this forum is one of the things that have kept me coming back for as long as I have. This in itself, without resources, is a good start, I suggest we make a list of resources, such as the vet Bloo linked to in his angel post. Having known & proven professionals, with locations, is something that is being missed, especially with the difficulty obtaining meds in the UK. Having a list of resources like this is one way to cut down on the lead time between noticing something wrong and treatment.
Another resource unavailable online, due to copyright laws, is books. I’ll start by recommending Dieter Untergasser’s “Handbook of Fish Diseases”, as well as Nelson Herwig’s “Handbook of Drugs and Chemicals Used in the Treatment of Fish Diseases”. These are the ones I check online sources against, as they have a proven track record.
Many of us have pets besides fish, most often a cat or dog, if not some of both. My little terrier is due for his yearly checkup, a few questions regarding a vet specializing in aquatics will be presented. Even if it is never needed by me, the information made available on this forum may help others.
Thank you for the input Tolak. I think as I said in my first post, the forum is just words on a computer screen, and I am aware that many people are not "Qualified" parsee, but just because I am a vet doesnot make me an (expert) on fish. I just happened to be a vet that keeps fish. To me, the real experts are the afore mentioned authorities and some of you guys. As someone said earlier in this thread, that they are YOUR fish. You look after them every day, you should begin to know when something is wrong by a gut feeling, but sometimes it is missed. What I was getting at with this thread, is why many people leave it till the condition is very serious.
Being Qualified to do something is little trade for experience IMHO. I know 2 JCB drivers for example. One has been on a course and has a certificate, the other used to live on a farm, and has driven and operated all manner of hydraulic equipment since a very young age. Who do YOU think is better to operate the JCB?
Shelagh raised a good point too. Being a noobie, needed all the help she could get, and in her case, got it with amazing results. This goes back to my "Education" lesson. Because she has now come a certain distance in fishkeeping, this makes her "Qualified" to give advice on silmilar situations she found herself in.
Being Qualified to do something is little trade for experience IMHO. I know 2 JCB drivers for example. One has been on a course and has a certificate, the other used to live on a farm, and has driven and operated all manner of hydraulic equipment since a very young age. Who do YOU think is better to operate the JCB?
Shelagh raised a good point too. Being a noobie, needed all the help she could get, and in her case, got it with amazing results. This goes back to my "Education" lesson. Because she has now come a certain distance in fishkeeping, this makes her "Qualified" to give advice on silmilar situations she found herself in.
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
Tried to do this ages ago, posted up details of my vet who will treat fish and asked others to do the same for their local area to build up a database. few people said yeah what a great idea but i don't think anyone actually went away and found out if their vet will treat fish and put the details up.
shelaghfishface
the one and only
i wouldnt give advice as such, i would give my own personal experiences with " but,maybe,and it may not work for you" and i would always recomend that they ask a more qualified person, im not very confident just yet, tho i expect this will come with time,and knowledge,so to have this actioned ( pop up-or such) would be fab,imho- and im def all for it 
shelaghxxxx
shelaghxxxx
moll
Fish Fanatic
Ok time and time again I see people posting in the emergency section and they don't give enough info in their first post so possibly a help form that they can use would work so as a pop up topic that says if you ask for help copy and paste this then fill in the bits to get help.
Tank size
litres _____ us gallons____________uk gallons_________
length ___ width___ height____
Water stats
PH_____Ammonia______ nitrate_______nitrite______
When was tank set up?____________
Fish in tank (please list all)
Symptoms (please give as many details as possible)
etc more could be added but it would save a lot of time waiting for people to get back with the information needed and it would also ensure the fish get help ASAP
Tank size
litres _____ us gallons____________uk gallons_________
length ___ width___ height____
Water stats
PH_____Ammonia______ nitrate_______nitrite______
When was tank set up?____________
Fish in tank (please list all)
Symptoms (please give as many details as possible)
etc more could be added but it would save a lot of time waiting for people to get back with the information needed and it would also ensure the fish get help ASAP
beany_bot
Fish Crazy
Couldnt be more off-topic if I tried but Emmsy your hot. And thanks for the help! LOL
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