Fish keeping absolutes

[itiwhetu]

I wouldnt say they are necessary, I would say that they are beneficial... For those that have fish that eat their plants or always dig them up... Sometimes you just dont add plants which is ok. Or people just dont want to deal with live plants. In that case silk plants are just fine

If fish are eating plants, then they need plants as part of their diet. If they dig them up, move them to a spot that they don't dig them up.

 

[Crispii]

You have a 2 foot tall angel?

No, but altums can grow up to 2' tall.

 

[Rocky998]

No, but altums can grow up to 2' tall.

Well I mean it all depends on the species of course...

 

[itiwhetu]

No, but altums can grow up to 2' tall.

How many people keep Altums? Very few I would suggest.

 

[Rocky998]

If fish are eating plants, then they need plants as part of their diet. If they dig them up, move them to a spot that they don't dig them up.

But all in saying is you dont "have" to have plants... Some areas, like where cichlids live dont have plants... Its all really rocky.

 

[Crispii]

How many people keep Altums? Very few I would suggest.

There's some that keep them, but not a whole lot since altums are regarded as difficult to keep than most angels. They are a sensitive fish. Not only that, but not everyone has tanks that can house altums long term. They are a seasonal fish, meaning that they are most available at a certain time of the year and breeding this species is not an easy task. It will take this species at least 2-5 years for them to start breeding and require soft, acidic water with a pH of at least 5. However, there are very few people who are successful in breeding altums, most notably Simon Forkel in Germany and Thomas Lai-Fook in the US.

 

[GaryE]

Heaters are often unnecessary. Too much heat shortens the lives of many fish.
Fish in cycling is fine if you use your brains. I've cycled with fish that were still thriving 7-8 years later. How you cycle is dependent on the mineral content of your water, and you pH. If I had hard water with ammonia production, I'd do things differently, but soft water with ammonium can be approached differently. The best way to cycle is to make friends with a human who keeps fish and cycle your filters in their tanks.

There is only one absolute:

Every species is distinct, and you must learn how it lives. There are no such things as "fish", but there are a lot of similar but different lifeforms that if we keep them, we owe them respect and proper care. One size fits all is a great fish killing way of thinking.

Close to absolute in my world?
You must do regular water changes with all fish.
You must design the tank for the fish first, and not try to make them fit your plans. Plan for them.
Pet store employees aren't the problem. Uninformed shoppers are. We need to do that extra bit of self education before we go to buy. Once you know enough to discuss, you can learn a lot from EXPERIENCED fish clerks. But if you haven't done your homework, you can't have a critical approach to anything - fish included. Our hobby has its own versions of conspiracies and slack thinking. Plus if you want to buy a car, it helps to know what wheels are (speaking as a person who is not mechanically inclined!).

Don't decide you want to do something. then reject all forum advice until someone says what you want to hear.

Plus, I have known a lot of aquarists who wanted to keep a certain fish considered difficult. They did their homework, set up well and established routines, and enjoyed a species that they wanted to enjoy. Don't be afraid unless you know you leave things undone a lot.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I sometimes think that thinking in terms of absolutes limits our thinking to what's right and what's wrong. You come across many that feel strongly about one thing or another, only to discover some others that do nearly the opposite with undeniable success. So what's right and what's wrong?
The truth is there are many approaches to fishkeeping and what works well for me, may not work well for you (or vice versa). I could list several examples, but the point is that although some approaches may seem absurd, we should try to keep an open mind. After all, like most things in life, it's an ongoing learning experience.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

Heaters are often unnecessary. Too much heat shortens the lives of many fish.
Fish in cycling is fine if you use your brains. I've cycled with fish that were still thriving 7-8 years later. How you cycle is dependent on the mineral content of your water, and you pH. If I had hard water with ammonia production, I'd do things differently, but soft water with ammonium can be approached differently. The best way to cycle is to make friends with a human who keeps fish and cycle your filters in their tanks.

There is only one absolute:

Every species is distinct, and you must learn how it lives. There are no such things as "fish", but there are a lot of similar but different lifeforms that if we keep them, we owe them respect and proper care. One size fits all is a great fish killing way of thinking.

Close to absolute in my world?
You must do regular water changes with all fish.
You must design the tank for the fish first, and not try to make them fit your plans. Plan for them.
Pet store employees aren't the problem. Uninformed shoppers are. We need to do that extra bit of self education before we go to buy. Once you know enough to discuss, you can learn a lot from EXPERIENCED fish clerks. But if you haven't done your homework, you can't have a critical approach to anything - fish included. Our hobby has its own versions of conspiracies and slack thinking. Plus if you want to buy a car, it helps to know what wheels are (speaking as a person who is not mechanically inclined!).

Don't decide you want to do something. then reject all forum advice until someone says what you want to hear.

Plus, I have known a lot of aquarists who wanted to keep a certain fish considered difficult. They did their homework, set up well and established routines, and enjoyed a species that they wanted to enjoy. Don't be afraid unless you know you leave things undone a lot.

Fish in cycling could only be “fine” if you think it’s fine to subject fish to undue stress. With even the best fish in cycling technique there will still be a certain amount of ammonia and nitrite that builds up in the water between water changes. So you’re knowingly putting your fish into a toxic environment.

The only possible exception I can think of is if you start with a heavily planted tank and do a “silent” cycle (so I’ve heard).

 

[WhistlingBadger]

There are A TON of opinions about fish keeping. But there are some ABSOLUTES. Here are my absolutes, put yours down bellow.
1. Bettas need a minimum of 2.5 gallons any less is cruel and unusual. They also need filters and heaters and lots of plants.
2. Live plants trump fake plants 100% of the time
3. If you plan on keeping a beta sorority you need to raise them together and keep them in more than 35 gallons.
4. Water parameters matter!!!!! Don’t keep fish that don’t match your water
5. Don’t for the love of god keep goldfish in a bowl
6. Heaters are 100% necessary
7. One male betta per tank
8. Angels need 50 gallons. (I sadly can never keep them)
9. Don’t trust what the pet store employee says 99.9999999999% of the time

What are yours?

I agree with all of these, but there are several I wouldn't call absolutes.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

Only read the title post, but I disagree with this one

6. Heaters are 100% necessary

I have 2 tanks that don’t need heaters because the fish don’t like warm water. In summer I turn my heaters off. And most common tropical fish can survive where I live without a heater. I have cold water livebearers. I have cold water rosy barbs. I don’t think this is an absolute. For the vast majority of fish, yes, but most common, hardy tropical fish can be transferred into colder water fish.

 

[GaryE]

Fish in cycling could only be “fine” if you think it’s fine to subject fish to undue stress. With even the best fish in cycling technique there will still be a certain amount of ammonia and nitrite that builds up in the water between water changes. So you’re knowingly putting your fish into a toxic environment.

The only possible exception I can think of is if you start with a heavily planted tank and do a “silent” cycle (so I’ve heard).

Exceptions: what if you never deal with ammonia, but less toxic ammonium combined with regular water changes?

Right now, I am a week after a long distance move, and all my filters took a hard hit. I'm effectively rebooting a lot of cycles at once. I expect to lose no fish, and I see no signs of undue stress. No red gills, no clamping, no quick respiration. The fish are looking fine. By next week, I expect they will be starting to lay eggs again - the true indicator of how healthy they are.

Most of the fish deaths we blame on the cycle are probably acclimation and shipping damage that would happen in a fully cycled QT tank. They are often the result of overstocking, enthusiastic overfeeding and latent diseases from fish farms. I have unpacked shipments from farms where opening the bag almost took my eyebrows off, from the ammonia. Those fish were QTed, and usually made it through the 2 week period. It is astonishing to see, but it also shows what happens behind the scenes if your fish came from a shipment delayed for a few days by air freight..

If you want to set up a tank in advance, with plants and an established filter (or just plants to carry bacteria to seed the filter), with very low stocking, you can do it with no harm to the fish. The fishless cycle is a nice chemistry experiment to teach you about an important part of fishkeeping, , but proceeding slowly or running your new filter on an established tank work as well, and as humanely.

 

[GaryE]

I have 2 tanks that don’t need heaters because the fish don’t like warm water. In summer I turn my heaters off. And most common tropical fish can survive where I live without a heater. I have cold water livebearers. I have cold water rosy barbs. I don’t think this is an absolute. For the vast majority of fish, yes, but most common, hardy tropical fish can be transferred into colder water fish.

"Cold water" is a term we should scrap. 20c is not cold. But this hobby had about 50 years of popularity and success before heaters were readily available. If you ever stumble across a pre-1960 aquarium book, most of the fish could thrive at average room temperatures. A lot of those fish are still extremely popular.
People will get upset and say it's improper to keep tropicals under 25c, but if you go to capture reports and scientific descriptions and check the conditions the fish come from, you quickly see Mother Nature must be a bad fishkeeper.
Water temps in the tropics can be affected by elevation, forest canopies blocking sunlight, etc. We generalize too much (absolutes?).
Heaters expanded the number of fish we could keep. Cardinal tetras were really difficult for old time aquarists, but neons were dead easy. Cardinals like their water warm, and need it. Neons like it a few degrees cooler. You can't just say they look alike so keeping them must be the same.
Interestingly, I find a lot of temperature creep going on - fish that like 21-22 are being kept at 26-27, with people believing they'll die at the temps they like. Always go back to nature and check the habitat if you can find it before you check the aquarium websites.
Bettas are a good example. If you go to fishbase.org, a scientific website that provides sources for its info, Betta splendens has a natural temp range of 24-30. Seriously Fish, my favourite general aquarium site as far as accurate info goes says 22-30. Say you keep splendens at 22 and you'll get roasted on a lot of forums.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

"Cold water" is a term we should scrap. 20c is not cold. But this hobby had about 50 years of popularity and success before heaters were readily available. If you ever stumble across a pre-1960 aquarium book, most of the fish could thrive at average room temperatures. A lot of those fish are still extremely popular.
People will get upset and say it's improper to keep tropicals under 25c, but if you go to capture reports and scientific descriptions and check the conditions the fish come from, you quickly see Mother Nature must be a bad fishkeeper.
Water temps in the tropics can be affected by elevation, forest canopies blocking sunlight, etc. We generalize too much (absolutes?).
Heaters expanded the number of fish we could keep. Cardinal tetras were really difficult for old time aquarists, but neons were dead easy. Cardinals like their water warm, and need it. Neons like it a few degrees cooler. You can't just say they look alike so keeping them must be the same.
Interestingly, I find a lot of temperature creep going on - fish that like 21-22 are being kept at 26-27, with people believing they'll die at the temps they like. Always go back to nature and check the habitat if you can find it before you check the aquarium websites.
Bettas are a good example. If you go to fishbase.org, a scientific website that provides sources for its info, Betta splendens has a natural temp range of 24-30. Seriously Fish, my favourite general aquarium site as far as accurate info goes says 22-30. Say you keep splendens at 22 and you'll get roasted on a lot of forums.

There are true "cold water" fish, but they are seldom kept because chilling an aquarium is a great deal harder and more expensive than heating one.