New aquarium diary

DKLS

Thank heavens the OP didn't decide to keep marines or African cichlids.

Froglet

Filters do NOT cost £5 plus a week,how ridiculous, nor water additives £10 a month.Yes, set up costs and initial outlay do cost,,but you can shop around.Why bother having fish if you are not prepared to spend time and money on them?

Oh of course you don't need a testing kit for the pond,that's where we've all been going wrong.Testing the water,huh,whoever heard of such a thing?

How come "the fish are fine and will always be fine" but then it's
"2 babies gone but 1 left doing well and getting bigger. Not sure they will last though."

I give up. Poor fish.

DKLS

ds1980 wrote: »

The next thing you'll be telling me is to get a testing kit for the pond!!

Move on guys you'll feel better for it.

Depends if you have a natural pond or a pond stocked with 30K of koi carp.

Froglet

DKLS wrote: »

Depends if you have a natural pond or a pond stocked with 30K of koi carp.

What it DOES depend on,whether coldwater,tropical or pond,is whether you actually CARE about the creatures you have taken on, who totally rely on you for their life,and how it is lived.

DS1980 has already stated she has no affinity for any of her animals and wants to save time and money.

So why have them? Most people on this board would go without to make sure their pets were happy.

DKLS

Froglet wrote: »

What it DOES depend on,whether coldwater,tropical or pond,is whether you actually CARE about the creatures you have taken on, who totally rely on you for their life,and how it is lived.

DS1980 has already stated she has no affinity for any of her animals and wants to save time and money.

So why have them? Most people on this board would go without to make sure their pets were happy.

I would have posted my maintenance of my two african cichlid tanks for the OP, but I think it would be wasted.

My view whether I keep cichlids, marines, or cheap community tropicals, I owe them the best husbandry possible.

Froglet

You are right it would be wasted.ds1980 seems determined to prove that we are all wrong and just make it up about the amount of care needed.

I bet when all the fish die she won't even admit then that she should have listened to those who have been looking after fish for years(23 in my case) and DO care.

You can't help some people when they don't want to listen.

Careful_with_that_Axe

I understand why this has provoked strong feelings but I would be interested to read a diary like this as I have just taken over a mature, established aquarium and acquired a real interest in this.
Anyone happy to share their knowledge in this way?

breezerockz

You DO need to do a water change of around 10%-15% per week.

You DO need to test water regularly.

You DO need to rinse foam filter out in container of TANK water, so you can remove dirt, but not lose the good bacteria.

As someone has mentioned, when foam filter needs replacing you have half old filter and half new filter, so you don't lose all the good bacteria. so that makes
the filter last two changes, water changes don't take much time either.

I think OP should try living in very dirty air and see how it affects their health over time?

Claire_Bear

People who abuse their animals through ignorance is one thing, but people who are abusing their animals and still sticking to their guns that they are right is another thing altogether. I feel very sorry indeed for all of your pets as they obviously aren't loved, and if you can't be bothered to pay for your fishies basic wellbeing then I wonder what state your other animals are in? Letting your fry die because 'that's the way nature intended it' and you can't be bothered to buy a birthing tank is just another example of your neglect. Being in a tank (especially such a substandard one as the one you're providing for your fish) isn't a natural environment and your fish rely on you for everything, unlike in nature. So when you fail to provide this then you've seen what happens - the baby fish die. And it's more than likely that your other fish will die prematurely too. Not that you care

Fire_Fox

ds1980 wrote: »

We have chickens, fish, birds, cats, dogs, etc etc they all get treated very well thank you but at the end of the day they are pets. I have no affinity to any of them but that doesn't mean they get neglected or mistreated they have a better life than most animals would.

Look this is a money saving website. I'm just trying to put the point across that it doesn't have to be as expensive or time consuming as people make out.

Time is money for me so the less i can spend on the pointless bits the better. When someone can prove to me theyre not pointless then ill let you know. The fish are fine and will always be fine. If things change i'll be the first to let you all know.

I know others have asked this as a rhetorical question, but I am genuinely confused. Why do you keep so many animals if you have no affinity for then? If you want to save time and money why have pets at all? :huh: