Hello everyone.
I haven't kept fish for the last ten years, but before that have kept them for 34 years. I have recently set up a tank .
I am amazed at how things have changed in fishkeeping. I suspect due to the internet.
I used to be a regular member of a fish club, and often took part in the "inter club" contests. This meant getting your "entry" into a small tank (about 9" long), keeping it warm on the journey (often many miles), putting it on the bench, and then nervously watching as the judges slowly moved along the line. My best ever fish was a Synodontis Angelicus - I entered it but never really thought that it could win as it was too small. It didn't win, but after the judging - one of the judges gave me his phone number and asked if ever I wanted to get rid of the fish, give him first refusal - it was a beauty.
How have things changed?
I never de-chlorinated water. What we did was, use a brewers bin, fill it at high water pressure (so a lot of the Chlorine comes out as a gas), leave for two days, stirring often (again to get the chlorine out of the water and into the air as gas).
I never tested my water. I did hear of folks taking a water sample to their LFS when they had problems. I'm not being bigheaded here but I never had problems.
I always used under gravel filtration. Loads of gravel and power head pumps. When I kept Malawi's I added two external canister filters as well.
Water changes? I never obsessed about this. I used a gravel cleaner (vacuum thingy) when required - probably every two or three weeks. I never tested the water temperature of the new water - just stuck my finger in, and thought "yep, that's about right".
The rule about water changes in those days was "an inch a week". Not that I did that.
It seems that fishkeeping has become Hi-Tech and very scientific.
I have ordered a water test kit (should arrive tomorrow). I will use it.
What do you think about the "old ways" compared to what you all seem to do these days?
I haven't kept fish for the last ten years, but before that have kept them for 34 years. I have recently set up a tank .
I am amazed at how things have changed in fishkeeping. I suspect due to the internet.
I used to be a regular member of a fish club, and often took part in the "inter club" contests. This meant getting your "entry" into a small tank (about 9" long), keeping it warm on the journey (often many miles), putting it on the bench, and then nervously watching as the judges slowly moved along the line. My best ever fish was a Synodontis Angelicus - I entered it but never really thought that it could win as it was too small. It didn't win, but after the judging - one of the judges gave me his phone number and asked if ever I wanted to get rid of the fish, give him first refusal - it was a beauty.
How have things changed?
I never de-chlorinated water. What we did was, use a brewers bin, fill it at high water pressure (so a lot of the Chlorine comes out as a gas), leave for two days, stirring often (again to get the chlorine out of the water and into the air as gas).
I never tested my water. I did hear of folks taking a water sample to their LFS when they had problems. I'm not being bigheaded here but I never had problems.
I always used under gravel filtration. Loads of gravel and power head pumps. When I kept Malawi's I added two external canister filters as well.
Water changes? I never obsessed about this. I used a gravel cleaner (vacuum thingy) when required - probably every two or three weeks. I never tested the water temperature of the new water - just stuck my finger in, and thought "yep, that's about right".
The rule about water changes in those days was "an inch a week". Not that I did that.
It seems that fishkeeping has become Hi-Tech and very scientific.
I have ordered a water test kit (should arrive tomorrow). I will use it.
What do you think about the "old ways" compared to what you all seem to do these days?
, messy, dirty, restrictive and noisy. No thanks *shudders*, give me an internal/external power filter any day! You can use sand... you can change your substrate. You can easily seed other filters (fair enough you can dangle some gravel in the new tank if using undergravel... but it's easier to just move a pad). Power filters are easier to clean, you're never going to mess up your water stats by giving the substrate a good clean... 
