What was your biggest misconception of fish keeping?

[DiverDown]

Recent misconceptions:

That old dresser should be able to hold my new 75 gallon tank.
I can just re-use all this old filtration equipment, so this will be a low-cost upgrade.

Yeah, only it was just a 20 gallon tank and an old shelf made of MDF bought at K-Mart. Good for holding books, not so good at a aquarium. I caught it just as the shelf was pulling apart. My wife still doesn't understand what was wrong.

 

[Joey17]

My biggest misconception was all i had to do was buy them put them in water with a filter and that was it . I had no idea about the cycling a while ago.

 

[crazycat]

that i could stop with just one tank...

 

[flamingonhot]

that it was easy and all you had to do was put them in water with a filter.

 

[StickyTuba]

Cost...Again, just put the fish in the tank and run with it.
Also, I had never had saltwater so that was a new adventure in itself. Especially what fish I could put together and the small number of fish together in a small tank.

 

[megladonsharky]

That a betta would love a halg gallon bowl... heheheh

 

[Zezmo]

I thought that it was a hobby, not a lifestyle.

 

[willowthepoet]

that keeping live plants in a tank would be an easy task. 8O


(of course, i have never been able to keep any plant, aquatic or otherwise, alive for more than a couple weeks.... )

 

[hashbaz]

"live plants are a cheep easy solution to get rid of algae"

Since then, I have upgraded the lights (and then "overdrove" the lights), bought fertilizers, made a new substrate, tried a dozen plants that didn't work, and spent months researching plants and their needs. And I still have algae

 

[dskidmore]

"live plants are a cheep easy solution to get rid of algae"

Since then, I have upgraded the lights (and then "overdrove" the lights), bought fertilizers, made a new substrate, tried a dozen plants that didn't work, and spent months researching plants and their needs. And I still have algae

Have you tried bottled water or an RO unit? That's what kicked hair algae for me. I have no idea what's in my water here, but it's not good for myself or my algae levels.

With my smaller tank, it was pretty cost efficient to get the $0.33 per gallon water machine water at Super-Walmart. The last time I checked the TDS reading on wal-mart water was 7. (Not the 0 that alot of reefers are aiming for, but considerably better than the several hundred most people get out of the tap.) Now that I have a larger tank I'm looking into an RO unit. (More expense on the tank that's already 300% over budget!)

 

[hashbaz]

My algae isn't very bad. I just wanted to whine.

I do have a RO unit. Flourish excel is on the way - I think this will help a little bit.

 

[hardcyder]

Years ago, WAY before the internet, I really used to do this....

Mmm,, they told me I should do water changes once or twice a week? oh my goddd. I hate that. I'm sure three to six months will be ok. Ya gotta put all the fish in one bucket and you have to put all of the gravel and rocks in another bucket and rinse in very hot water and a strainer till all the gunk is gone. Then you have to empty the aquarium. You take out bucketfuls until it is about 1/8 full. That way you can lift the aquarium into the bathroom tub and give it a good cleaning with hot water and a little javex. Rinse it out a bit more to get any javex out. Put the tank back on the stand and clean the outside with windex make it sparkle. Now its time to add the water back in by the bucket method. Now, you take your filter to the bathroom sink and clean both it and the media thoroughly under hot water. Put it back on the tank and you are ready to add your fish, Add the gravel, rocks and fish and you are done!! (the pet shop says to add declorinator or something, but we all know they just wanna make money)

 

[dskidmore]

Years ago, WAY before the internet, I really used to do this....

Mmm,, they told me I should do water changes once or twice a week? oh my goddd. I hate that. I'm sure three to six months will be ok. Ya gotta put all the fish in one bucket and you have to put all of the gravel and rocks in another bucket and rinse in very hot water and a strainer till all the gunk is gone. Then you have to empty the aquarium. You take out bucketfuls until it is about 1/8 full. That way you can lift the aquarium into the bathroom tub and give it a good cleaning with hot water and a little javex. Rinse it out a bit more to get any javex out. Put the tank back on the stand and clean the outside with windex make it sparkle. Now its time to add the water back in by the bucket method. Now, you take your filter to the bathroom sink and clean both it and the media thoroughly under hot water. Put it back on the tank and you are ready to add your fish, Add the gravel, rocks and fish and you are done!! (the pet shop says to add declorinator or something, but we all know they just wanna make money)

Oh My! I've never taken a tank down for cleaning purposes.

 

[kimberly]

hardcyder...I remember doing exactly that with my school 10 gal aquarium a couple of times a school year. Glad to see that I am not the only one who completely misunderstood "water change" way back when!

 

[TomK2]

Hardcyder - Thank God you preserved some of the "conditioned" water with the fish in the bucket! LOL!

 

[vero]

That fish you buy at a lfs are healthy.

I mean... what would you say if a dog/cat/hamster bought at a pet store would die overnight after you brought it, or if he got some disease within the next few weeks and all you could do is toss it... I expected the fish to be as in good condition as any other animal in a pet store. Not so... I have only two lfs closeby. From one of them, all the fish were dying within a few days. I was able to keep only two alive and one of them is batteling rotting of his mouth and now seem to have fin rot also. From the other store... one of the tank I was going to get fish from was totally infected with fin rot. All I can think of this the dozens of dead fish these store have to get rid of each week... would human society do anything?

 

[fish_4_all]

That undergravel filters didn't need to be removed and worked fine for years.
That plant bulbs are easy to maintain and grow in a 10 gallon tank.
That I could put fish in my tank that i just bought and they should be fine, more great advice from the LFS.
That tropical flakes are all I needed for healthy, great looking fish; LFS again.
Never to buy anything from the LFS that is considered hardware, filters, pumps, etc unless you like paying out the nose. i.e. Aquaclear mini for $38.

 

[Ardeus]

- "Heaters have a lifelong duration without problems"

A few years ago I woke up and I was preparing to be out of town for a few days. I passed in front of the tank and all the fish were lying on the bottom. I instinctively touched the glass with the back of my hand. It was hot! And I mean I couldn't put my hand inside without feeling pain.

One fish (an african cichlid) was already dead. The glass tube of the heater was cracked, water inside.

I ran to the freezer grabed fronzen chicken, meat, ice, packages of whatever there was and dropped them in the tank. I took some water out and immediatelly refilled it with tap water. Those fish are still my heroes! Beyond the african cichlid, all the others survived.

This does make me think about those recipes where live animals are put in cold water and then slowly boil. How long does it take?

I'm not sure I should have told you this. This is nightmare material, at least for me.

 

[jrp1588]

8O Thanks for putting that nice thought into my head! poor fish

 

[vero]

That makes me think that a few years ago I had a goldfish in a bowl (poor thing). I usually changed all of the water about once a week (poor, poor thing). One day, I notice it was very sluggish after a water change... I had used really cold water from the tap... you know how it can get very cold in winter...