How Do You Guys Know All Of This?!

[shannin888]

I'll admit, I'm only about one year into owning fish (very simple tanks etc) and never would have guessed fish were as much work as children! I have a betta determined to catch every illness and looking at threads it's often a different language on how to care for these guys. How did you learn all of this as I'm exhausted trying to self teach! Haha

 

[nic1]

We are all mostly self taught, reading and reading and first hand experience, some of us have been in this game for YEARS! personally I've been keeping fish for 20 years or so, and like every dedicated hobbyist you have to know everything!!

 

[Akasha72]

I'm about 5 or 6 years in to my fish keeping journey and I've learned a lot in that time but I'm well aware that I still have so much more to learn. There's some things that I've tried to get my head around and I'm still failing to understand - mostly anything scientific stuff like how pH/kH/gH work together to change water chemistry - but we all have different minds and some of us have practical minds and other have minds more scientific.
 
I find forums are the best place to learn and if there's a thread running that I feel I want to learn something then I'll join in the chat and see if I can pick up some useful info. It doesn't always stay in my head though! lol
 
I think the best thing to keep in mind is none of us are born knowing everything. We live and we learn and so when it comes to hobbies the only way to learn is to get involved and ask questions. We have nothing to gain here from other members other than information and it's all good stuff to learn in an ever changing hobby

 

[the_lock_man]

 
I think the best thing to keep in mind is none of us are born knowing everything. 

 
 
Pfft, speak for yourself....

 

[RCA]

+++1 with Akasha72, and do not worry about LockMan, he is delusional, in a nice way

You learn a lot from your own experience, and willingness to want to know. I must admit prior to purchasing any new species or equipment now, I research, research, research, then decide if they are suitable for my requirements. For example, I recently tried some Panda Chiclids in my favourite aquarium, however, despite quarantining, and keeping a back up male for awhile in another tank, I found the male would succumb to disease in my otherwise healthy aquarium. Eventually I would then loose the females. In addition, in the end although Chiclid behaviour can be interesting I am one for a more peaceful aquarium, than they offered. So now I choose not to keep them.

I also prefer egg layers to live bearers, as you never know what you are going to get as a surprise vs predictability
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/439893-fry-surprise-do-you-know/

The main thing, is keep asking questions. One day you will also be grateful for what your fighter is teaching you.

 

[Akasha72]

hey the OP already know's more than me about betta's .... they are a fish I've never kept as I have no interest in them and therefore I know only the basics - which means I know a male can't be kept with another male, they build bubble nests and they don't like a tank with a lot of water flow. That's it!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'll admit, I'm only about one year into owning fish (very simple tanks etc) and never would have guessed fish were as much work as children! I have a betta determined to catch every illness and looking at threads it's often a different language on how to care for these guys. How did you learn all of this as I'm exhausted trying to self teach! Haha

 
The answer is simple:  Time and dedication.  Keep reading, learning... most of us find it fun beyond anything else.  Personally I find reading most fiction to be a bit trite, but give me a good non-fiction book about a topic I'm interested in... I could read for days and not even notice the time going by.  

 

[Jeremy180]

I think Akasha may have described it pretty well, While most of us don't know everything there is to know about fishkeeping, the beauty of the forums here is that when one person encounters a situation they are unfamiliar with, there is usually somebody else here that specializes in just that area.

 

[RCA]

Indeed ...and unlike friends that do not want to look at or talk about fish, people on forums do

 

[ShinySideUp]

One learns by reading, experience, example and passed-on information. We learn all our lives and everything new we go into we are like new-born puppies.
 
I thought I knew everything there was to know about dogs and then I got my last one and he was (and still is a bit) a nightmare on legs. I had a dog-trainer come in which didn't help much, I used my (I thought) vast knowledge of dogs and all to little avail. In the end I went on a five-day dog-behaviour course run by Shaun Ellis (the 'man who lived with wolves' from the TV) and finally I think I know what I am doing. I like to know a lot about things and I get a bit pee'd off if I find myself lacking. if a subject is too big then I content myself with knowing a lot about smaller sections. For example, I know nothing about Betta Splendens or marine fish or the African Rift Valley, but I know lots about Clown loaches, SAE's, Cory's and many bottom feeders.
 
Little steps. Keep moving forward and nearly everyone will get there in their preferred subject (my attempts at surgery failed miserably -- sorry Mum, hopefully it will grow back)

.

 

[Akasha72]

off topic but I hope you get there with you dog Mr Shiny, my own dog, Tara was a nightmare when I got her 12 and a half years ago. Most of the problems where down to trust and with the help of the behaviourists at The Blue Cross we got over those. She'll always be a shy, nervous pup though no matter what I do. Something seem to be just 'built in'. The do say that nervousness and shyness comes from their Mum but as I never met her Mum I can't confirm that.
 
I remember watching a programme with Shaun Ellis and his wolves ... he's amazing. If anyone can sort a dogs problems I'd say he can. It's true what he (and other behaviourists) says - you can breed and breed but you've never remove the wolf from a dog  

 

[boshk]

there are so much information on forums. Things I never even thought about. 

 

[Far_King]

 

 
I think the best thing to keep in mind is none of us are born knowing everything. 

 
 
Pfft, speak for yourself....

 

 
Claims to know everything, supports Pompey.  Says it all 

 

 

[the_lock_man]

 

 


 
I think the best thing to keep in mind is none of us are born knowing everything. 

 
 
Pfft, speak for yourself....

 

 
Claims to know everything, supports Pompey.  Says it all 

 

 


 
How very dare you!

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

A combination of extensive research, communication between other hobbyists, along with a dash of first hand experience.  
 
It started just wanting a center piece in my room, a nice fish tank to look at and I always loved aquariums. As a child, my dad helped me care for goldfish and ten years later I realized with a job and lots of free time I could put together my own community tank. So last March, with my tax returns, I went out and bought a pretty clean and slick 15 gallon. It came with an internal filter, a really good heater that I'm still using, slow gradual lights and pretty decent ones at that. I had blue gravel and a lot of decorations... then that's where the addiction kicked in. Now my 15 is a heavily planted garden with micro fish, I also have 55 gallon community tank with live plants, and a 5 gallon with a hardy betta fish who started out from a small cup, to a 1 gallon, to a 3.5 gallon and now to a 5 gallon. I also have a 10 gallon quarantine tank, that's 4 tanks I have running, that's ridiculous in my opinion. But people on these forums have way, way more. 
 
I've been reading books, talking to a lot of people, it's all become such a complex and complicated hobby, but I love it. Attempting to replicate different ecosystems is interesting and fun. I see it as a form of art, putting together a tank and keeping your fish healthy and happy gives you a good feeling. You're caring for the smallest of nature's creatures. Soon, I will be dipping my feet in the saltwater side of the hobby, never would of thought I'd go this far. But this hobby has grown on me a lot, and I'm glad to see other people enjoying it, too. 
 
Anyways, the reason people on here know all this stuff, is because their passionate about the hobby, we love it so much a community was formed around it.