How much time do you have?
You might want to sit down this could take awhile.
1. He's a fraud.
Have you ever watched any of his videos where he states he's a "Master Aquatic Horticulturist"? He presents it very formally and you're supposed to impressed that he's such an academic. Except it has nothing to do with academics at all. It's a certificate from the Greater Seattle Aquarium Society. Much like a breeders award program.
You need 600 points to become a MAH and you can get 90 points of that just by growing duckweed. DUCKWEED. Show me someone who can't grow duckweed. So 15% of the requirement just by growing the most invasive plant ever.
2. His products suck.
Read the reviews of his heaters and lights. Knock off or rebranded crap from China. Good for his profit margin not so good for consumers.
3. His forum is nothing more than a marketing gimmick for his online and brick and mortar stores. Don't you dare mention a product he does not carry.
4. He has no morals. His love for fish goes as far as making sure fish puts money in his pocket. I don't begrudge anyone for making money. If any of us could come up with a way to work with fish and really make a living out of it we would all do it. I get that.
But as a business, and content creator you have a duty to the people you serve. That's to get out the best information that will help the most people. But Cory's philosophy is to pander to the beginners and suck them in so he's assured of an ignorant but loyal customer base.
One of the rules is you can't say anything negative about the aquarium hobby? Why? There are negative aspects of the aquarium hobby, just like anything else. But in order to keep everything all kittens and rainbows, you can't bring them up. So he condones hybrids, crossing locales, water chemistry meh it doesn't matter. You want to put an Oscar in a 15 gallon tank? Go for it. You want 4 goldfish in a 20 gallon tank? Yes do it. But don't bring up conservation, invasive non native species or anything where someone with half a brain would go hmmm, that's not right.
Remember this thread?
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/americas/argentina-goldfish-sentient-latam-intl
www.fishforums.net
I posted the exact same story and attempted to discuss this on his forum and was told "this is click bait". No it's not. It's a news story relevant to the aquarium hobby, our rights as fish keepers, and what's proper and ethical for the fish in our care. That was my last straw. After that I told him where he could stick his forum, sideways, dry, and once it got deep enough he could twist around on it. I haven't been back since.
Yes I've placed orders with his company. They were some of the biggest plants I've ever purchased and shipping was quick. Good job there.
I'm truly appreciative of this forum that will allow us to discuss the hard issues, because not everything is easy. Nor is everything all kittens and rainbow. Yep keep em dumb and keep em buying.
