People Ignoring/insulting Good Fishkeeping Advice?

[FishySarah]

I don't want to hijack this thread, or be flamed, but as to the bettas...

I have three now in separate two and a half gallon tanks with no heater or filter. I would be willing, if I had heard this before, not to get them in the first place- but I have them now- and there is simply no way I can afford new setups for them, with filter, heater, what have you. That would cost about 40-50 dollars each- I simply can't afford it.

I could bring them back to the store, but I can just about guarantee they won't get a better set up than mine. I have never talked to or heard of anybody who keeps bettas in five gallon tanks with heaters and filters. I'm not meaning to be ignorant or unfeeling- I always want to do right by my fish. But I really don't see how this is feasible.

 

[Inchworm]

When it comes to keeping fish, there is often more than one way to do things. That's what makes posting on a forum interesting. You can not only share your methods, but you can learn how others do things. It helps if you not only explain the what of your comments, but the why as well.

It's always good to keep an open mind. If you can't do that when it comes to a certain topic, just click on and read something else. There are so many threads with members who would be happy to take your advice that it's a shame to waste your time with someone who won't.

 

[Tolak]

On the one hand, on occasion you have someone who is doing something that sounds really way out there, and has been doing it for a while that way successfully. The first person to feed cow organs to South American cichilds was probably looked at as some sort of nut job. These are the folks who you want to have a more in depth discussion with.

On the other hand you have the folks who have an answer predetermined, and want to hear an echo of their answer, no matter how wrong it is. In these cases silence is the best answer.

 

[unknowntbeast]

Another explaination at their arrogance is that they go in to thinking that having fish is a simple job. Then as they find out that you should really cycle your tank, dechlorinate the water, have a heater and filter, they realize it will cost them a lot more than the $5 to buy the fish. In the end the total cost might end up around $100. They think to themselves, "Oh the fish will be fine, why bother with all that other stuff for a $5 fish?" Then they wonder after the fish has died that they should have listen.

 

[Tolak]

This is not unique to fish either. How many of us have seen the person with a dog or cat who gets fed table scraps, never gets a checkup at the vet, and is overweight, has bad teeth or suffers from other ailments? Kept outdoors in all sorts of weather, untrained and often ignored are other common problems. The money and time that needs to be dedicated to any pet is often overlooked by many people. This is due to poor planning and research before jumping in, and probably occurs in other facets of these folks lives.

I often wonder how people who can't keep reasonably good care of a pet end up raising kids.

 

[saz326]

People do seem to think that if a fish is alive - It is in a suitable home and happy.. If ONLY fish could talk or scream then the world would see them differently. Same as for any other pet (e.g. birds in cages instead of aviarys)

Generally in my experience with most things (not just pets) - Unless someone does something daft that hurts their wallets or hurts them emotionally or physically, they dont learn.., and WILL NOT be told - especially by somone they have never met before.

If a £2 fish dies then its the fishes fault - If a £50 fish dies then they look to see why they died.

..It is such a shame

 

[rabbut]

If someone ignores your advise on a forum, just ignore them. If they ignore you in real life, try to avoid offering advise unless they explicitly ask for it and are actually prepared to listen.

The exception is in LFS jobs. Believe it or not, an LFS is obliged by law to ensure all live stock they sell goes to an appropriate home where it has enough space, the correct diet and there is nothing about to cause it stress or harm. This means that LFS staff should be asking questions and offering advise. It can often lead to friction between LFS staff and customers. I have been known to tell particularly suborn customers at work that want to do something like put 6 Oscars into a 10g tank, to go and find a less reputable dealership to buy from as I'm not selling the animals to them, end of. They get the message particularly clearly if you walk off at that point and warn the other staff. When everyone else there refuses to serve them, 9 times out of 10 they'll come back to you for suggestions on more appropriate fish to take, and almost always leave with something more appropriate

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Inchyally]

I know it is bets to just ignore it when a person wants a specific answer and ignores advice. But sometimes, you just get irritated when nobody cares when a fish is suffering. As an example, this.

STUPID PEOPLE. goldfish are NOT NOT NOT coldwater! they can live in water UP TO 90 DEGREES! it's a 75g

4 days ago
do some research and stop just regurgitating the info other people put up in this section

When people told them the fish would suffer, they just back lashed rudely.

 

[OldMan47]

I like the way that Laurence said it. It cuts both ways really. I find that some people will really insist on not listening or learning but just as often I see someone with a real problem get a canned answer from a relative newbie that does not know how things fit together. They will give the "stock answer" that may or may not fit the circumstances. I feel, and it may just be me, that when someone has troubles they deserve more than a textbook answer. They deserve that you give the question some thought in context and if you don't know what the answer might be, at least let them know that you care enough to have read it but admit you don't know their answer. People come on all the time that have fish in uncycled tanks because of bad advice and they just get chastised by some people. That is not helpful and won't help their fish get through the ordeal safely. Take the time to really read through the question and answer the best that you can and you will grow in your abilities to diagnose problems through practicing.