Very Annoyed At Bbc Goldfish Keeping Advice/info

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I was browsing through the BBC news website looking for an old news article on goldfish when i stumbled across this BBC page on goldfish keeping;

http/www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A301005


"They're stupid as the day is long, but entertaining nonetheless"

Actually they're not stupid at all, goldfish are capable of great intelligence and learning capabilities as far as fish go, as are most members of the carp fish family in general.

"Although it is not recommended that you neglect your goldfish, they can endure a little neglect - though not much."

I would hardly call this advice- "endure a little neglect"?! Thats like saying a dog won't die if you don't feed it food and give it water to drink for a few days so its ok to let it endure this once in a while.

"Talk to the pet store employees about what equipment you should get."

Um this is where about 97% of newb fishkeepers go wrong when they first start out in the hobby. Pet shop staff receive very little training on fish and fishkeeping in general, and while occasionally you do get the odd staff gem, most pet shop staff are pitifully ignorant on fishkeeping and are certainly not the best people to ask on fishkeeping matters.

"Make sure to get a fishbowl that is the proper size: not too large and not too small"

I hate the way they use the term "fishbowl", goldfish bowls are horribly inadequate and cruel things to keep goldfish in. And whats with the "not too large"?? The bigger the tank the better with goldfish.

"A bubbler, some gravel, fishfood, and a glass bowl are the absolute minimum."

Bubble pumps are useless on their own in a tank/bowl, and gravel is not a necessity. A glass bowl should never be used to house a goldfish, and all goldfish tanks should be equipped with proper strong filtration (of which is not mentioned at all of in the BBC article).

"Feed your goldfish at least once a day. He will love you for it... or maybe he won't; he probably won't realise you exist, for the most part. This is normal as they don't have very big brains."

There are so many things wrong with this. Goldfish do realize their owner exists and are able to differentiate between their owner and other people. The feeding advice is very poor on the whole.

"Clean the fish bowl at least once a week. If you notice the water level dropping and the fish getting claustrophobic, or the water taking on a yellow tinge, clean the fishbowl. It only takes a few minutes, and requires no heavy lifting or mental strain."

There is absolutely nothing about cycling, water quality and water quality testing and understanding, proper filtration and how to clean etc in the article at all. I can't believe this was posted as advice on the BBC website. Oh wait, they do have an article on how to clean your goldfish bowl out;

http/www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A260245

.....

 

[shelaghfishface]

wow. thats no on!.. i know my goldfish used to make my day when i would go to feed him and he would go nuts trying to get to me fast enough,and i loved him for that!

you should email the BBC, tell them what they have said is 200% wrong, and we have all found it very upsetting, this will cause uproar when everyone on here reads it,and quite rightly so!
i just hope that not too many people rush out to buy a fish today as it requires little or no maintenece( as the BBc say)
my goodness, all the flippin money they get to spend on this sort of thing and this is what they do. what a let down!!
i wont comment on each "fact" they have given, but you are right, it is ALL total crap, and god help the goldfish that will try to survive on this advice!! ooohh makes me sooo mad.. do the email or start and online pertition (sp) and show it to them, then maybe they will have the grace to retract the statment and aplogise for such arrogance

one, very mad shelagh

 

[Corleone]

The article's from 2000, so I don't think they'll really care to do a retraction at this point. Best case scenario is to get the article changed or taken down, but I'll bet plenty of people have tried over the years.

Actually they're not stupid at all, goldfish are capable of great intelligence and learning capabilities as far as fish go, as are most members of the carp fish family in general.

Heck, even this is understating how clever goldfish really are. A Seaborg Award winning project at Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair this year not only taught goldfish to run a maze, but taught one to herd untrained goldfish through the maze to the food.

 

[Scotty001]

The article's from 2000, so I don't think they'll really care to do a retraction at this point. Best case scenario is to get the article changed or taken down, but I'll bet plenty of people have tried over the years.

Actually they're not stupid at all, goldfish are capable of great intelligence and learning capabilities as far as fish go, as are most members of the carp fish family in general.

Heck, even this is understating how clever goldfish really are. A Seaborg Award winning project at Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair this year not only taught goldfish to run a maze, but taught one to herd untrained goldfish through the maze to the food.

wow. thats no on!.. i know my goldfish used to make my day when i would go to feed him and he would go nuts trying to get to me fast enough,and i loved him for that!

you should email the BBC, tell them what they have said is 200% wrong, and we have all found it very upsetting, this will cause uproar when everyone on here reads it,and quite rightly so!
i just hope that not too many people rush out to buy a fish today as it requires little or no maintenece( as the BBc say)
my goodness, all the flippin money they get to spend on this sort of thing and this is what they do. what a let down!!
i wont comment on each "fact" they have given, but you are right, it is ALL total crap, and god help the goldfish that will try to survive on this advice!! ooohh makes me sooo mad.. do the email or start and online pertition (sp) and show it to them, then maybe they will have the grace to retract the statment and aplogise for such arrogance

one, very mad shelagh

I was a little intrigued when i saw this article but also noticed that it was not in the usual BBC format so had a little look for the source. The article itself is not written by the BBC, this information is on a part of the BBC website called H2G2, information provided on is a "Viewers" or the publics opinion on how to do things, EG just like a forum where people can write their experiences on how they think things should be done or are done but with no mos or by the looks of it no one attaching to that thread any criticisms or praises to the written piece, here is a quote from the BBC about the site this is hosted on

h2g2 is an unconventional guide to life, the universe and everything, an encyclopaedic project where entries are written by people from all over the world. h2g2 was launched in April 1999, and the BBC took over the running of the site in February 2001 as part of our drive to develop new and innovative online services.

The Guide is written by visitors to the website - people like you - and already it has thousands of entries on all sorts of subjects. The result is a living, breathing guide that's constantly being updated and revised, driven forward by the very people who use it.

h2g2's inspiration comes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the best-selling book by Douglas Adams (who was one of the original founders of the site). Back in 1971, Douglas lay drunk in a field in Innsbruck, Austria, thinking about the galaxy and how you might find your way around it. His solution, the 'Guide', was an ingenious device that offered advice about almost any place, object, entity or event you might care to name - all at the convenience of your fingertips. This vision is now approaching reality on the Internet and with mobile phone technology in the form of h2g2.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT QUOTE ON THE WEBSITE

Disclaimer

Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. For any other comments, please start a Conversation above.

 

[Corleone]

h2g2's inspiration comes from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the best-selling book by Douglas Adams (who was one of the original founders of the site)

Makes sense that it would be inspired by the Guide, which "contains much that is apocryphal or at least wildly inaccurate."

 

[gaz gun man]

unfortunately this articule doesnt surprise me in the slightest. As someone in the shooting sports/hunting hobby for over 11 years I have seen more than my fair share of inaccurate stories regarding 'high power rifles' and 'illegal air pistols'
If such a topic is not researched, what chance to fish have?

 

[davefish]

I agree with Scotty, you can't say the BBC are responsible for this. Anyone can write whatever they want on that site. It would be like blaming the people who run this forum if anybody posted bad advice. You wouldn't dream of doing that, you'd blame the poster. And rightly so. There's a million sites on the internet that host people's opinions like this. The internet is full of bad advice. Fortunately there's some good advice out there too.

If this really bothers you then you should click on the "Write an entry" link on that website and write your own article about fish care. You'd obviously do a much better job than the idiot who wrote that one!

Just for interest, this is what the BBC have to say about Goldfish care (on their website for children). There's a few articles/factsheets here, and although it's not perfect it's certainly not too bad. Bear in mind it is aimed at kids.
CBBC Goldfish