[JSA]

This article from Discovery News caught my eye, and I thought I'd share.

ANGRY FISH INHABIT MOST HOME AQUARIUMS

http://news.discovery.com/animals/most-home-aquarium-fish-110923.html

Julia

 

[theemptythrone]

that is interesting, but the thing about most articles is they dont ususaly look at the whole picture, sure theres people who over stock their tanks, and dont take proper care of their fish/inverts, that can lead to unatural actions, like the cannibal example given in the article, but even chickens eat eachother when housed in terrible coditions, but then theres people like all of us on here that take the time to do the proper research, and take precations to provide the absolute best care of our critters

 

[Betta Maniac]

Doesn't seem like rocket science. Any animal kept in subpar conditions will suffer, and suffering often expresses itself as aggression.

 

[tuffgong]

Article seems kind of pointless. All you have to do is go to a big box pet store and look in the cichlid tanks to observe every point this article attempts to make.

 

[houseofcards]

Unforuntately fishkeeping to the masses is a still dominated by kids walking into a big box with Mommy. Most don't do any kind of research before buying thus the old Goldfish in the bowl mentality. It's interesting because in several countries now they have actually started to outlaw the goldfish bowl and there is a minimum size now to house fish. At least it's a start.

 

[JSA]

OK. Follow up question then. How many of us here, who practice enlightened aquarium husbandry of course, started as that 13 year old with a goldfish or a betta, and just got hooked?

I'll go first. My first tank was a 10 gallon. I was 12 and this was well over 40 years ago. We filled it with aged water, some decorations and a corner filter, and threw in 15 or 20 of the prettiest fish we saw. When the population got low, or the angels killed the other inhabitants, we'd go the the fish store and get some more. I kept that tank for 3 years and only took it down when we moved.

By today's standards, I'm ashamed of myself, but I would bet that many if not most of us here started this hobby in a state of ignorance and our pets suffered for it until we learned enough to take care of them properly.

What about you all? How did you start out?

Julia

 

[jreich]

i'll admit it, when i was under the age of 10 (dont remember exactly how old) i won a goldfish from a carnival. we put him in a tiny little fish bowl, maybe 1.5 - 2 cups of water. my mother changed his water on a weekly basis, but that fish lived well over 3 years. a few years after that i moved up to a lightly stocked 10 gal that i took care of on my own all while under the age of 10.

 

[DrewWoodside]

Started the exact same way. What's interesting, is my pair of Angels actually bred in that 10 gallon! But yes, for most beginners it's difficult to leave the petshop without a new fish. Sounds to me like the author of this article does not own a fish tank. Why even provide the link of that ridiculous aquarium he showed at the bottom. It's really not relevant in any practical sense to the people he cited in his statistics.

OK. Follow up question then. How many of us here, who practice enlightened aquarium husbandry of course, started as that 13 year old with a goldfish or a betta, and just got hooked?

I'll go first. My first tank was a 10 gallon. I was 12 and this was well over 40 years ago. We filled it with aged water, some decorations and a corner filter, and threw in 15 or 20 of the prettiest fish we saw. When the population got low, or the angels killed the other inhabitants, we'd go the the fish store and get some more. I kept that tank for 3 years and only took it down when we moved.

By today's standards, I'm ashamed of myself, but I would bet that many if not most of us here started this hobby in a state of ignorance and our pets suffered for it until we learned enough to take care of them properly.

What about you all? How did you start out?

Julia

 

[StygianSteel]

Read this article too. I see this sort of stuff all the time. We all know it happens. A lot of people out there go I like Fish A and Fish B so they should be in this tank where they physically fit. It's unfortunate and unlikely to change. All anyone can hope to do is provide good homes for their own fish and offer advice where possible. The article may (and hopefully) seem pointless to Us, but if it makes a few people stop and think about their choices when it comes to aquaria... good.

I myself didn't really keep fish as a kid. Didn't start up my first 20 gallon community (still active btw) until I was an adult and there was much research involved first.

 

[fresh.salty]

The article is sorta fluffy. I'd like to read the published paper but not enough to pay $34.00. lol