The Essential Fresh Water Aquarium

Never2Bknown

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I picked up a book on aquariums a while back at a local book store because I though it might have some good tips I didn't know but mainly because I had gotten a gift card to the book store and didn't know what else to do with it.

Anyway, at the time, I didn't really look through it that much; actually I never really did until now. But what I saw very nearly killed me.

Reading through the book, I noticed some info that seemed really faulty to me, but I thought that, maybe I just didn't really know it very well. All well and good, until I skipped over to the fish guide section: "fish recommended for amateurs" and "fish for amateurs to avoid." Well, after reading about how nice and hardy mollies are and how great glass catfish are for beginners, I definitely started think that something was very very wrong.

And then I saw IT.

There, on the page, was a picture of a beautiful Rummy-nosed tetra. But it was not labelled as such. It was labeled, "Runny-nosed Tetra."

Runny-nosed Tetra. :crazy: :blink: :dunno:

I could not believe my eyes. At first, I thought that it must be a typo, but when I looked, that was the named they used constantly in reference to the fish. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Reading more, I also found out that rosy barbs are a nice, peaceful community fish and that hatchetfish are also quite hardy, both facts I know to be incorrect.

The really nice thing about this book, however, is that it's also going mainly to innocent, trusting beginners who will believe everything they read and will end up getting a tank full of glass catfish, mollies, hatchetfish, and plenty of rosy barbs and then wonder why they die.

Truly, a WONDERFUL book written for amateurs BY amateurs!!!!

P.S. if I sound overly sarcastic :whistle: , it's because I'm practically sleep walking and I guess I just have a tendency to get rather grumpy when I'm forced to wake up at 5 am and then go to bed at 11 pm. So goodnight!
 
Unfortunately, I see this all too often. Just because someone has written an article or a book on a subject doesn't make them an "expert". What they are writing about are their experiences only, which may or may not be able to be duplicated in your own tanks. You see the same thing in advice given at the LFS. Somebody, somewhere, has had good luck with mollies as a beginner's fish (as an example). You don't know what their water conditions were, or anything else. Most LFS that I go into will recommend mollies as excellent community fish. However, I realize that mollies are brackish water fish and need to have some salt in their water to really be healthy. Check out some of the posts on this very forum regarding mollies for the consequences of not giving them brackish water long-term.

I am to the point anymore that I try to get as much information as I can about any fish that I am considering buying. And I expect to get conflicting information. Because somewhere, what doesn't work for everybody else is going to work for Joe Fishkeeper, and he is going to document that fact in a magazine article or a book. What works for Bob Fenner or Jack Wattley or H.R. Axelrod is not always going to work in my tank, but at least I have that information to build on.

Of course, any time I read about runny nosed tetras my first inclination is to add a box of tissues to the tank. :S :rofl:
 
Never2Bknown said:
There, on the page, was a picture of a beautiful Rummy-nosed tetra. But it was not labelled as such. It was labeled, "Runny-nosed Tetra."

Runny-nosed Tetra. :crazy: :blink: :dunno:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: That's hilarious! I told my sister and she said "Ew." How would you tell if your Tetra had a runny nose? Would it be dripping air? :lol:

As for the rest of the book, well... Perhaps it would make a nice paperweight :p

Yay for your sarcasm :p I'm a very sarcastic person, too :D Always drove my parents crazy...

Pamela
aka Married Lizard :wub:
 

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