Good advice not taken.

[Tannin Aquatics]

This one is dedicated to all of those hobbyists out there who find themselves in a position to give advice to others...Perhaps you might take some comfort in this story.

Like many in the industry, I receive a fair number of emails and calls from other hobbyists, some who just want to "run something by me"- others who have some pretty serious issues with their tanks and need some help.

I've always been a big fan of taking everyone's advice with the proverbial "grain of salt"- in other words, not taking every single thing even your most respected "mentor" tells you as "gospel." Let's face it- there is no single hobbyist who has ALL of the answers to EVERY question, right? (click to read more)

 

[Termato]

That really sucks... thanks for sharing that.

I had a similar experience where a friend of mine never did water changes. He opted on running a 125G on a fx6, fx5, and two Penguin 400s. He thought filtration would make him never have to do water changes...Yea...about that.

Well I told him you should at the VERY least do one every month (that hurt to say, but I when I suggested at least once a week he looked at my like I was insane). Well, his fish started getting sick and slowly dying off. Eventually, his arro started getting sick. It constantly kept trying to jump out of the tank until one day...he forgot to put a rock on the top and it jumped through the glass onto the floor. It really didn't like that water. Once the arro died, he lost all interested in the hobby. After that he sold me his tank and everything. But man, was I sad to see him break down his tank I'd rather him have learned.

It's impossible to simply pour water into an already filled cup without it overflowing.

Love your stories.

 

[Becca]

In my mind I separate people like this from "hobbyists." The woman in this story is someone with a fish tank. A hobbyist actually bothers to learn something about what they're doing and take an interest in doing it well.

 

[Tannin Aquatics]

That really sucks... thanks for sharing that.

I had a similar experience where a friend of mine never did water changes. He opted on running a 125G on a fx6, fx5, and two Penguin 400s. He thought filtration would make him never have to do water changes...Yea...about that.

Well I told him you should at the VERY least do one every month (that hurt to say, but I when I suggested at least once a week he looked at my like I was insane). Well, his fish started getting sick and slowly dying off. Eventually, his arro started getting sick. It constantly kept trying to jump out of the tank until one day...he forgot to put a rock on the top and it jumped through the glass onto the floor. It really didn't like that water. Once the arro died, he lost all interested in the hobby. After that he sold me his tank and everything. But man, was I sad to see him break down his tank I'd rather him have learned.

It's impossible to simply pour water into an already filled cup without it overflowing.

Love your stories.

Thanks for the kids words! It's really tough, as an experienced hobbyist, when asked advice- because you're sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't, actually. Taking the high road and trying to help always seems to be the right thing...just get's a bit frustrating at times!

Scott

 

[Tannin Aquatics]

In my mind I separate people like this from "hobbyists." The woman in this story is someone with a fish tank. A hobbyist actually bothers to learn something about what they're doing and take an interest in doing it well.

WELL SAID!