Here's the thing

[itiwhetu]

There has been a modern revolution in fish keeping going on for around 50 years. ( Of which I have been apart of for 45 of them ).
Fish keeping has now been taken over by big business. You are encouraged to buy all sorts of things to improve your ability to keep fish alive and to grow plants. I have been watching this revolution take place.

New ideas come forward all the time which is a good thing. But all of these involve spending more money. You never or very rarely see a new idea that will mean you will spend less at the LFS.

We now vacuum tanks, change more water, add fertilizers for plants, use RO water in tanks, forget about pH concentrate on hardness, buy expensive test kits, get larger tanks with fewer fish, change our substrate for sand and the list goes on.

What I would ask everyone of you to do before you go and spend the next $50 at the LFS is to go to your second hand book store or online and buy a few old Aquarium Handbooks with that $50 and read them.

Then have a look at what you are doing. Fish keeping has been around along time and is very simple if you just follow some basic rules.

 

[Guyb93]

I agree with your point about companies owning the hobby, but like anything people gain more knowledge over time
Late 50s doctors used to endorse smoking saying it was good for you fast forward 60 years and NHS is spending money to stop people from smoking ,
I don’t think there anything wrong with information being updated for the better such as increased water changes and gravel vacs but all the Chems ferts and other crap big company’s put there name on is just deceitful

 

[itiwhetu]

I agree with your point about companies owning the hobby, but like anything people gain more knowledge over time
Late 50s doctors used to endorse smoking saying it was good for you fast forward 60 years and NHS is spending money to stop people from smoking ,
I don’t think there anything wrong with information being updated for the better such as increased water changes and gravel vacs but all the Chems ferts and other crap big company’s put there name on is just deceitful

So my point is asking the members of this forum to go back and reevaluate what they are doing. Have a look at what was being done 40 years ago and compare it to today. Just make sure you are making the right decisions.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

But like anything in life, things change and evolve don't they? Because, science! Research and experimentation has taught us the better way of doing things eg larger water changes, better filtration etc

I agree that there's money to be made and there are businesses who absolutely take the mick and charge extortionate prices for things that are completely unnecessary...but its up to the consumer what they want to spend their money on?

Some people would argue that all you need for filtration is a sponge filter that costs peanuts and does a decent job. However, I love my canister filter that (depending on the brand) cost an arm and a leg. That's my personal preference and I'm happy to pay it

 

[Guyb93]

So my point is asking the members of this forum to go back and reevaluate what they are doing. Have a look at what was being done 40 years ago and compare it to today. Just make sure you are making the right decisions.

But books and information can be dated and misleading for people , you need some base knowledge to understand what’s useful and what’s not , honestly if I read a book from 50 years ago and it said do 20% water changes I would rip it up and carry on doing 50% and that’s how the hobby improves in my opinion it’s like giving trainings doctors medial books from 60 years ago to learn with , there out dated and wrong

 

[itiwhetu]

But books and information can be dated and misleading for people , you need some base knowledge to understand what’s useful and what’s not , honestly if I read a book from 50 years ago and it said do 20% water changes I would rip it up and carry on doing 50% and that’s how the hobby improves in my opinion it’s like giving trainings doctors medial books from 60 years ago to learn with , there out dated and wrong

And there is the problem, I will never water change a tank more than 25%.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

 

[Guyb93]

And there is the problem, I will never water change a tank more than 25%.

That works for you and I would encourage you not to change . But would you honestly recommend that to someone else

 

[itiwhetu]

That works for you and I would encourage you not to change . But would you honestly recommend that to someone else

No body should do more than 25% water changes on their tanks. As simple as that. I have breed over 100 species of fish including Silver Dollars, Kissing Gouramis, whiptail catfish. I have never changed more than 25% of my water per week.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Fishkeeping is one of the few pastimes where it literally is a "one size does not fit all"

There are so many variables....starting from the water out of the tap. Forty odd years ago it didn't have fluoride, chlorine or anywhere near as many additives and treatments as it does now. So you are forced to adapt your water chemistry...whether you want to or not and that sadly means buying a chemistry lab's worth of stuff sometimes just to keep the most basic fish alive.

I miss the simplicity of fishkeeping from years ago.....I miss it alot

But at the same time I accept that things will never be like it was back then.....even doing a Walstad standard aquarium is not as straightforward as it maybe used to be cos there are so many variables that you have to master nowadays that maybe were not an issue decades ago

 

[itiwhetu]

Fishkeeping is one of the few pastimes where it literally is a "one size does not fit all"

There are so many variables....starting from the water out of the tap. Forty odd years ago it didn't have fluoride, chlorine or anywhere near as many additives and treatments as it does now. So you are forced to adapt your water chemistry...whether you want to or not and that sadly means buying a chemistry lab's worth of stuff sometimes just to keep the most basic fish alive.

I miss the simplicity of fishkeeping from years ago.....I miss it alot

But at the same time I accept that things will never be like it was back then.....even doing a Walstad standard aquarium is not as straightforward as it maybe used to be cos there are so many variables that you have to master nowadays that maybe were not an issue decades ago

The big business world of fish keeping has got into your head perfectly. They score one point.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

The big business world of fish keeping has got into your head perfectly. They score one point.

Why say that when none of my aquariums use any medications or conditioners and I have never had any illness/disease in my fish?

I am absolutely NOT filling the aquatic supplier's bank accounts stuffed one iota

 

[itiwhetu]

Why say that when none of my aquariums use any medications or conditioners and I have never had any illness/disease in my fish?

I am absolutely NOT filling the aquatic supplier's bank accounts stuffed one iota

You did say "buying a chemistry lab full of stuff". Why?. And that you miss the simpler times. Why?.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

You did say "buying a chemistry lab full of stuff". Why?. And that you miss the simpler times. Why?.

OK...yes of course I said the chemisty lab cos 50% or more who own aquariums are basically forced into it by their tapwater, firstly, and those who are not experienced in the "old" ways are told to buy this and that by the shopkeeper...they only realise that they actually did not need to buy most of the stuff when they come to forums like this after everything has gone pearshaped.

I miss the times with my dad (he died in 1996) and the simple way he had his aquariums and ponds and learning from him as a kid (40+ years ago now), before the water supplied from the tap had a multitude of treatments added as they are now, before fancy filters and when everything was basic. I miss him too, his wit, his knowledge....times change and not always for the good but you have to get on with life and do the best that you can with what you have

 

[itiwhetu]

OK...yes of course I said the chemisty lab cos 50% or more who own aquariums are basically forced into it by their tapwater, firstly, and those who are not experienced in the "old" ways are told to buy this and that by the shopkeeper...they only realise that they actually did not need to buy most of the stuff when they come to forums like this after everything has gone pearshaped.

I miss the times with my dad (he died in 1996) and the simple way he had his aquariums and ponds and learning from him as a kid (40+ years ago now), before the water supplied from the tap had a multitude of treatments added as they are now, before fancy filters and when everything was basic. I miss him too, his wit, his knowledge....times change and not always for the good but you have to get on with life and do the best that you can with what you have

So buy a book and reinvent what your father did, Simple. Don't make excuses about water etc. Work through those things and bring your findings back to the forum.