Dumbest Aquarium advice you've ever been given?

[Alyxx]

If I ever feel particularly creative and can find a good way to do it, I am putting a buffalo hoofprint in the substrate of a betta tank... That's hilarious. Do buffalos even live in the betta's native areas of Thailand?

 

[Dallascowboys16]

I think water buffaloes are native to Thailand but that's still absurd!

 

[Andy Sager]

I think water buffaloes are native to Thailand but that's still absurd!

If I ever feel particularly creative and can find a good way to do it, I am putting a buffalo hoofprint in the substrate of a betta tank... That's hilarious. Do buffalos even live in the betta's native areas of Thailand?

She's going to be tickled pink when that pleco beastie starts attacking her moors. I had one almost lose an eye from the misconception that fancy goldfish and plecos are good tankmates...

Called the local fish store to ask about Blackwater Extract (because I couldn't find almond leaves for my bettas), the guy had no clue what I was talking about, they've never carried it (they sell bettas and piranhas, 2 species I know are blackwater). When I said it creates a more natural environment for my bettas, he told me that I would need mud to create a more natural environment, because... get this... Bettas live in BUFFALO HOOFPRINTS! <_<

I no longer shop there.

I also enjoy the looks on people's faces when they hear I have a healthy sorority of betta girls. It never occurs to anyone that females can potentially live together.

I hate to burst your bubble(s) but during the dry season in Thailand, wild bettas are sometimes found in the water found in the hoof prints left behind by the buffalo used by the farmers to cultivate the rice patties. The person who said that was not 100% wrong. His answer however, was not 100% correct in the creating the natural environment method only using mud. lol But you know, even a stopped clock is right twice a day

 

[Darkseid76]

I hate to burst your bubble(s) but during the dry season in Thailand, wild bettas are sometimes found in the water found in the hoof prints left behind by the buffalo used by the farmers to cultivate the rice patties. The person who said that was not 100% wrong. His answer however, was not 100% correct in the creating the natural environment method only using mud. lol But you know, even a stopped clock is right twice a day

I was going to say something similar. I've read that wild bettas can be found in rice patties in Thailand. That's probably why they can exist in low oxygen waters.

 

[bettaowner]

They have the labyrinth organ like any other anabantid so that's why they can live in areas with low oxygen

 

[Scottyhorse]

I believe female betas are community, while males are loners
I have a female in my community tank

I have three male bettas in community tanks.
One is with barbs, rams, a guppy, tetras, etc.

One is in with cardinal tetras, and two mollies, will be adding more fish in a couple weeks.

Another had a few neon tetras in his 5.5 gal for a week while I was fattening them up before going into the main tank.

 

[bettaowner]

I was at an Lfs offering to give them one of my koi and they said sorry our holding tank is full. He pointed to a 75 gallon tank full of koi and I believe it had a few African cichlids. The tank was labeled koi and aggressive cichlids.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

Oh yeah. I asked my LFS if a bubble wall stretching across 2/3's of my tank on top of the filter would be okay for my two female betas. "Of course! Of course! The females have shorter fins they like the high currents!"
One of my betas died the next day... -_-' didn't even bother going back. It was the slightly longer finned one.
The other one, at least, is thriving

 

[jhawk__]

My ph was at 7.6 and was told it was to high and that I needed API 7.0 ph buffer to fix it! The buffer just screwed up my whole tank and was better of without it! (This was before I knew about parameters and how to test them)

 

[Alyxx]

I hate to burst your bubble(s) but during the dry season in Thailand, wild bettas are sometimes found in the water found in the hoof prints left behind by the buffalo used by the farmers to cultivate the rice patties. The person who said that was not 100% wrong. His answer however, was not 100% correct in the creating the natural environment method only using mud. lol But you know, even a stopped clock is right twice a day

I was just unsure if there were buffalos in Thailand. It would be kind of hard for something's "native habitat" to be in the footprint of an animal that doesn't live there.

 

[M4M]

@Andy, the rare exception is not the norm. They may take refuge in a hoof print as they sometimes will leave dirty puddles, and try to cross ground to look for more water. A hoof print wouldn't contain enough food to sustain them through the dry season. (Especially for 2, as some of the marketed "Betta tanks" would suggest)

Just like the cramped pools piranhas can be found in during the dry season.

Also, who bases their pet fish's home aquaria on the dry season?

 

[Platiesareawesome]

They must have seen the Sponge Bob episode where they all get ich
and Gary saves the day lol

OMG that's exactly what I was thinking when I read that!

 

[Try-na]

From a FB group:

Problem: my Pleco ate my last yellow blaze baby. Is there a different option for an algae eater that's not going to eat my babies

Answer: shrimp & assassin snails are best for algae control & will be safe with the babies

I butt in: assassin snails eat snails not algae & not all shrimp will eat algae but most cichlids will eat shrimp so probably not a good mix

Result: the person with the original post had already went & spent $70 on blue shrimp, amano shrimp & assassin snails. Their next post was listing these for sale followed by a new post asking to buy a 10 gallon with heater.

How to avoid this kind of failure: always always ALWAYS do your own research when things are recommended to you. While most people are trying to be helpful & legit, some just don't have a clue & it's really hard to tell them apart.

 

[aquandrew]

From a FB group:

Problem: my Pleco ate my last yellow blaze baby. Is there a different option for an algae eater that's not going to eat my babies

Answer: shrimp & assassin snails are best for algae control & will be safe with the babies

I butt in: assassin snails eat snails not algae & not all shrimp will eat algae but most cichlids will eat shrimp so probably not a good mix

Result: the person with the original post had already went & spent $70 on blue shrimp, amano shrimp & assassin snails. Their next post was listing these for sale followed by a new post asking to buy a 10 gallon with heater.

How to avoid this kind of failure: always always ALWAYS do your own research when things are recommended to you. While most people are trying to be helpful & legit, some just don't have a clue & it's really hard to tell them apart.

lol i doubt it was even the pleco that ate the baby

 

[Oohitsae]

"don't get fish shipped to you because they will have transportation shock or be DOA"

False. I laughed when I heard this!
Some may go into shock from a stressful journey, but 95% (IME) don't. I replied to the person that I ship fish priority 99% of the time an have maybe had 2 boxes of DOA's ever, that was because I didn't know what I was doing at first. I have received nearly 75 shipments of fish with maybe 6 boxes with DOA or sick looking fish ever. I've imported fish numerous times with only 1 DOA and no "shocked" fish, and they take 4-6 days each time.

They were pretty quiet after that lol

 

[Try-na]

lol i doubt it was even the pleco that ate the baby

I didn't know enough about plecos to be sure about that but I most definitely do know that assassin snails didn't earn the name "assassin" because of their ability to decimate algae!

 

[SharpieItBlack]

Closed ecosystems work... so does putting a fish in a bowl until it dies.

 

[SharpieItBlack]

I've always wanted an angelfish but my parents always tell me "when I get my own place" I can, because of the required tank size. Haha, oh well.
It was a 5 gallon fish bowl, and the angelfish were still super tiny at the time. It lasted a week to be specific, maybe it was just luck.
They grow pretty fast, after that week it was clear that the bowl wasn't doing justice.

But she does have her own angelfish now, in a 75 gal! (Though it took some time) It's amazing how inaccurate information can be.

I'm holding off on anything bigger than my 30g until I become a home owner myself lol or at least in more stable housing after I graduate college. I just moved to a new college apartment and it was hell moving my goldfish.
I was at PetSmart and saw a 175g tank... lol I need it so bad but it was like $800!!

 

[Fishingforfish]

I'm holding off on anything bigger than my 30g until I become a home owner myself lol or at least in more stable housing after I graduate college. I just moved to a new college apartment and it was hell moving my goldfish.
I was at PetSmart and saw a 175g tank... lol I need it so bad but it was like $800!!

Fish tanks can get really expensive..my dad was really shocked and upset when we first went to buy my tank. Needless to say, I'm pretty much stuck with a 10g for now. But hey, better than a fish bowl! And tax doesn't help either.

Well, I have another one for this thread.
Just yesterday an employee at a local pet store went off on a rant because he thought I was wasting my time cycling my tank. He was like "don't be in the hobby if you're going to waste your time!" Ugh.

 

[Random Fishy]

Fish tanks can get really expensive..my dad was really shocked and upset when we first went to buy my tank. Needless to say, I'm pretty much stuck with a 10g for now. But hey, better than a fish bowl! And tax doesn't help either.

Well, I have another one for this thread.
Just yesterday an employee at a local pet store went off on a rant because he thought I was wasting my time cycling my tank. He was like "don't be in the hobby if you're going to waste your time!" Ugh.

I know right? I've seen hexagon tanks online for like 1000 dollars! (No exaggeration) I've also seen regular 50 or 60 gals for somewhere between $500 and $800! I mean, I know that aquariums are supposed to be waterproof (duh!) and all that but why so expensive?