Don't you love posts like this one:

[anewbie]

Everything is perfect. My water is perfect. My care is perfect. Why are my fishes dying ?
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Hum... lets see everything perfect and you are doing everything exactly right yet your fishes are dying. Doesn't that suggest that something is not quite perfect? I mean isn't the fish dying a hint that something isn't quite right ? Or maybe everything really is perfect and the gods have decided to curse you and just you with dead fishes.


Sigh.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

... everything really is perfect and the gods have decided to curse you and just you with dead fishes.

It can happen. Gotta keep up on them sacrifices...

 

[Essjay]

What they don't tell us is what their ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are; what the hardness is; what's their water change regime.

Of course everyone knows that having poor water conditions, the 'wrong' hardness and no water changes are the perfect way to keep fish

 

[anewbie]

What they don't tell us is what their ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are; what the hardness is; what's their water change regime.

Of course everyone knows that having poor water conditions, the 'wrong' hardness and no water changes are the perfect way to keep fish

Or worse they forgot to put the fishes in water.

 

[gwand]

Sometimes these folks are doing everything right but bought their fish from a big box store. You can’t expect people to be fish vets, especially beginners.

 

[anewbie]

Sometimes these folks are doing everything right but bought their fish from a big box store. You can’t expect people to be fish vets, especially beginners.

The problem is they declare in advance that everything is perfect; provide no information and want us to tell them why the fishes are dying. Isn't the fish dying a hint that something is not quite perfect ?

 

[gwand]

The problem is they declare in advance that everything is perfect; provide no information and want us to tell them why the fishes are dying. Isn't the fish dying a hint that something is not quite perfect ?

I agree with you.

 

[GaryE]

I see the point very well. But at times, the conditions can be excellent (never perfect ). The cycle can be complete and active, temps well chosen, flow solid - but the fish were bought with parasites or tb. We've almost trained ourselves as a hobby not to look at the fish. It's like we think it can be the tank or the water, but not the fish themselves. When you're new, so are your fish, and they can die from things they encountered long before you saw them.
A couple of years ago, it was normal on forums to have people say their fish were covered in ich spots, or had gaping ulcers, and get the response 'what's your test kit reading'? Five appeals for API readings later, someone would suggest a treatment and be ignored. It used to drive me crazy. We've at least gotten past that era, for now. It'll return.

I am annoyed by a lack of info in posts. Catch words like 'perfect' add to that. I've never actually had a perfect tank, unless it was empty and I could plan for it.

I'd like to see tank size, population level, how long ago the fish were bought, newly added tankmates and water change routine in every appeal for health info.

 

[anewbie]

I agree that sometime the user does the right thing and the conditions are proper and the problem is with the fish but from a 3 line post declaring everything is perfect how do they expect us to provide any useful feedback. Worse if you say something like cardinals do much better in warm soft water - some other poster will chimed in that tank raised cardinals are perfectly fine in cold rock hard water.

Sadly one of my newly purchased c. hastatus died this morning. My conditions were prefect why did it die? (oh my conditions are ec 25; temp f76 and 0 0 0 for a,n,n. Ph is around 5.3 and fish was wc brazil.

 

[gwand]

It would be helpful if the website had a form to be filled out by the type of posters you are describing. The form would ask all the necessary questions we want answered. I think anewbie should create said form. The administrators could figure out the rest.

 

[GaryE]

I have a friend who's an emergency room nurse, and she has said fish people and patients present their situations with the same lack of context and information. Sometimes, it's just panic.
All we can do is ask questions and hope the person answers them. If they don't, we can't try to help them.

 

[anewbie]

It would be helpful if the website had a form to be filled out by the type of posters you are describing. The form would ask all the necessary questions we want answered. I think anewbie should create said form. The administrators could figure out the rest.

I hate those forms and refused to make people suffer to them. What do i hate about them - some posters actually provide the information you need and if it lacks info on the form some moron will post a reply saying you need to fill out this form to get an answer....

I've never been structured in my life. Structured is bad. Btw the weirdest thing is my dad was a doctor; a very good doctor by the way but when it came to computers he would call me up and ask me why it didn't work. I would say well what did it print on the screen - and he would say some message about something. I would ask what the something was and he would say i don't remember but i figure you can fix it without knowing what i did or the message said.... sigh.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Some people really want help; others simply want validation and to hear that it isn't their fault. Often, that is actually the case: stores sell sick fish, and it isn't the keeper's fault at all. But I've said it before and I'll say it again: When something bad happens in my tanks, it is generally my own dumb fault.

 

[GaryE]

It would be helpful if the website had a form to be filled out by the type of posters you are describing. The form would ask all the necessary questions we want answered. I think anewbie should create said form. The administrators could figure out the rest.

I help moderate a facebook aquarium club page. The instructions for joining are easy. You have to answer 3 questions. And all the questions do is establish you're a human being capable of writing a short answer no one really cares about. What part of the country you live in, how long you've had fish, how many tanks you have. Simple.
For every member who gets in, four or five try to join without the questions answered. They seem to find 3 word answers very hard to type. People don't use templates like that. They're too logical.

Btw the weirdest thing is my dad was a doctor; a very good doctor by the way but when it came to computers he would call me up and ask me why it didn't work. I would say well what did it print on the screen - and he would say some message about something. I would ask what the something was and he would say i don't remember but i figure you can fix it without knowing what i did or the message said.... sigh.

That...

 

[gwand]

Haha. I retract my suggestion!