new animal planet show = tanked

[WendiDell]

I watched the show with the beer keg tank too. And the original design was the size of a Keg. Wayde decided that it was way to small, so they made a mold from a larger wine barrel and the tank ended up approx. 89g. Which is a good size for a lot of (not all) African Cichlids.
A Short long tank is best for African Cichlids, but fish are adaptable. Not that they should have to be, but they can. Also inside the ugly fake coral were a bunch of holes going through it that could be used for hiding, similar to a rock wall.
There are people that have all male Malawi tanks. It's done in order to not have to deal with the enormous amount of fry that African Cichlids produce. You can read the article below to find out the how to's and why's of it all.

All-Male Malawi Tank

The Kegger fish tank isn't the ideal or natural tank that would be preferable, but that's not what the show is about. It's about the unique, one of a kind tanks to fit any human's requirements.
How well any of the fish do in these elaborate & unique tanks we'll never know, unless we build a few of our own as an experiment. Which would be a bit to costly.
And they may only have that many fish in the tank for the show, we don't now. After the filming is done they may remove some for the health of the fish. A tank that is really full of beautiful, bright colored fish films better than a few fish that immediately go into hiding.
There is so much that we don't see that goes on. All we saw was them filling the tank up with water from a garden hose, no de-chlorinater or water conditioner of any kind. No heating of the water, basic stuff we all know they have to do or all the fish will be dead within 48 hrs.
The people buying these elaborate tank don't know anything about fish but the tank builders do. And if you watch them at the fish warehouses when they are buying fish, it obvious that they really love fish and know a lot about them. But they still have do do what looks good for the camera first. Then when the cameras are gone, I'm sure they put things right for the fish.
If they were killing the fish they never would have been able to build up the kind of business they have.

 

[zooking12]

Valid point... I guess it makes sense to do that for tv.

 

[barterking85]

I watched the show with the beer keg tank too. And the original design was the size of a Keg. Wayde decided that it was way to small, so they made a mold from a larger wine barrel and the tank ended up approx. 89g. Which is a good size for a lot of (not all) African Cichlids.
A Short long tank is best for African Cichlids, but fish are adaptable. Not that they should have to be, but they can. Also inside the ugly fake coral were a bunch of holes going through it that could be used for hiding, similar to a rock wall.
There are people that have all male Malawi tanks. It's done in order to not have to deal with the enormous amount of fry that African Cichlids produce. You can read the article below to find out the how to's and why's of it all.

All-Male Malawi Tank

The Kegger fish tank isn't the ideal or natural tank that would be preferable, but that's not what the show is about. It's about the unique, one of a kind tanks to fit any human's requirements.
How well any of the fish do in these elaborate & unique tanks we'll never know, unless we build a few of our own as an experiment. Which would be a bit to costly.
And they may only have that many fish in the tank for the show, we don't now. After the filming is done they may remove some for the health of the fish. A tank that is really full of beautiful, bright colored fish films better than a few fish that immediately go into hiding.
There is so much that we don't see that goes on. All we saw was them filling the tank up with water from a garden hose, no de-chlorinater or water conditioner of any kind. No heating of the water, basic stuff we all know they have to do or all the fish will be dead within 48 hrs.
The people buying these elaborate tank don't know anything about fish but the tank builders do. And if you watch them at the fish warehouses when they are buying fish, it obvious that they really love fish and know a lot about them. But they still have do do what looks good for the camera first. Then when the cameras are gone, I'm sure they put things right for the fish.
If they were killing the fish they never would have been able to build up the kind of business they have.

Well said Wendi flash and dash behind tge scenes I am sure it's a different story

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I watched a couple episodes of this show with my boyfriend tonight and honestly, I couldn't handle it. They are making fish keeping look too glamorous and I have a feeling that lots of people are going to start a fish tank due to this show. On their Animal Planet/Discovery Channel website, there is a link to go to "proper fish care" which has crap about not putting too many fish in the tank while cycling and all the other pitfalls.

This show just seems irresponsible. Throwing sensitive fish into a brand new tank, even if it is seeded and all that, there is still at least a mini cycle. And they use dechlorinated tap water for saltwater tanks! That's a no-no.

I got pretty upset at these guys. Yea, they make some awesome tanks and it's super pretty, but fish are more than a decoration piece, they are pets. Not bothering with this show again...

 

[barterking85]

Research is always up to the individual

 

[Fishguy2727]

This show is definitely not about teaching responsible fishkeeping. It is a view into the entertaining fraction of aquarium setup (with some very out of the norm clients).

It is entertaining, but not much more.

 

[Ausfish]

But considering how stupid people are it's also irresponsible to put on a show like this. I mean if discovery channel makes a show about heroin being healthy people will start shooting up tomorrow.

 

[ilostnemo]

people over react lol. its american chopper made over! these guys know what they are doing. they are one of the biggest acrylic aquarium desingers out there. they have made tanks for customers as far away as i know in europe and the house was designed around the tank too. it was 40 feet tall. if we are gonna argue how they do it and bash them. why doesnt someone shoot them a email asking how they do it? they are doing it to show what the tanks can look like. most people in the aquarium trade probably do only know what petsmart tells them. ever think this could open their eyes to see theres more to the hobby? i for one have my theory of how they are cycling their tanks. and its something not avabile for sell and yes it is a chemical.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

I understand they are one of the best for aquarium building, but they were making their own mistakes and then have sitting right next to their online clips, wrong information, just like the chain stores provide. If they were legit, would they push the correct information? It's not like any normal person can even afford them, so they aren't losing our business.

And it is very much staged and for entertainment. Like the wife just had to go into that shark tank to fix the huge ornament pieces? No, she didn't. All they needed was a ladder and a pole to push it around(which they had).

Oh well. I'm sticking to Jeremy Wade. He's a fox.

 

[Johnstamos003]

Watched this show with high hopes - pretty much awful reality TV - could not even watch the whole first episode - these guys are either morons or the producers have them act like morons. Everything about this show is tacky - not just the fake coral.

 

[barterking85]

Well everyone is gonna have their opinion but don't you think they wouldn't have made it this far if all the fish died wouldn't be good for business there is WAY more behind the scenes just take it as a fun show to watch don't take it so seriously they have shows about reptiles and other exotics but nothing about the care it entertainment people and if your not entertained don't watch

 

[absolutangel04]

Well everyone is gonna have their opinion but don't you think they wouldn't have made it this far if all the fish died wouldn't be good for business there is WAY more behind the scenes just take it as a fun show to watch don't take it so seriously they have shows about reptiles and other exotics but nothing about the care it entertainment people and if your not entertained don't watch

I agree. If all the fish just died the next day, these guys would not be in business. Just my opinion, but I also don't think the show is irresponsible. Yes, people can be stupid, but it is not the responsibilty of every single show in existence to educate them in every aspect. They discussed quarantine tanks and acclimation and finding proper tankmates. They even mentioned that the yellow tangs at the fish place were sustainably collected! Is it perfect? No. So what. Again, just my opinion. I can understand if people do not like the characters or all the fake coral and stuff though.

 

[ilostnemo]

I understand they are one of the best for aquarium building, but they were making their own mistakes and then have sitting right next to their online clips, wrong information, just like the chain stores provide. If they were legit, would they push the correct information? It's not like any normal person can even afford them, so they aren't losing our business.

Do they determine what goes on the website no. And you actually can afford them out here in knoxville tn I think there's about 5-6 tanks from them.

 

[Fishkeeper26]

I agree with nemo, they are a legitimate company. They have their own website, which they do control what goes on, the animal planet website they don't. You may think you can't afford one of true aquariums, but have you actually looked online to see the prices? They only show the biggest and coolest aquariums on the show, however they do adverse to a much wider class than just the upper class. If you wanna get on the show, sure you'll probably have to buy a really big and elegant aquarium. However, not all their tanks are like that.

 

[WendiDell]

There is so much that we don't see that goes on. All we saw was them filling the tank up with water from a garden hose, no de-chlorinater or water conditioner of any kind. No heating of the water, basic stuff we all know they have to do or all the fish will be dead within 48 hrs.
The people buying these elaborate tanks don't know anything about fish but the tank builders do. And if you watch them at the fish warehouses when they are buying fish, it's obvious that they really love fish and know a lot about them. But they still have do do what looks good for the camera first. Then when the cameras are gone, I'm sure they put things right for the fish.
If they were killing the fish they never would have been able to build up the kind of business that they have.
TV is part of the entertainment industry, if they had to worry about every stupid thing someone may or may not do, nothing would ever be filmed. Every show shouldn't have to post a " DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" because some people don't fully examine something before they jump into it.
Speaking of jumping into fish keeping, how many of us started out that way but found our way to AA for the health of our fish? In a perfect world everyone would realize that there is more to know than what little we see on TV.
Tanked is for entertainment only, not educational purposes.
I find the tanks & the fish to be interesting, but the cast annoy the heck out of me. I know zip about SW tanks and although I find them to be incredibly beautiful, I have no desire to run out and start one. I know it's beyond my knowledge to have a SW tank and most people that tune into the show will know that too. Of coarse there will always be a few people that don't think first, but you can't revolve the world around them. We have to move on in spite of them.
Either way, no matter how you feel about the show, you've got to love what the show did for the 3 year old little boy that is facing another, in a long line of open heart surgeries. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, it was really special. For anyone that missed it, the show was called "Good Karma".

 

[pictuslover23]

I don't know why I haven't thought of it before and maybe I'm wrong, but what if they bring their own tank of saltwater to the buildsite? I've seen companies do that before.

 

[Cichildlife]

Nicely said wendy wow!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Nicely said Wendi! Couldn't agree more myself. Yes I agree that the show and it's characters are very hard to watch, but this is all about the tanks, NOT the fish. People want to see elaborate tanks come to life. And that's all that really matters.

For example, did any of you see last night's episode? I was really surprised how the tank they made for a three year-old boy who had open heart surgery turned out. It was a beautiful ship tank with a bed beneath it and a looking hole above the bed so he can see in the tank while be recovers. I thought that was really sweet.

Also, if anyone saw that episode you would've also seen the Feng Shui tank and realize that these guys know what they're talking about. The Feng Shui tank IMO was their best so far, I loved the concept and the way it turned out was SPECTACULAR, I couldn't believe it. It was like one harmonium of balanced, peaceful aquatic life and I wish they had showed more footage of it. Also they did talk about refigiums, flow, and high lighting for all the corals so I'm pretty sure they're knowledgeable on fish.

 

[meegosh]

I watched most of last nights episode... missed the Feng Shui reveal but saw the boat tank for the 3 year old. Made the wifey cry!

I think everyone should just relax and enjoy the show, IMHO.

I'd love to take a tour of that wholesaler they always visit.

 

[Cichildlife]

Ikr id sooooo like to see the wholesaler thwy buy from its cool!