What do you say to people who?

hurricanejedi

hurricanejedi

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Apr 4, 2005
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Raleigh, NC
www.flowerspride.com
This is sort of a rant. Sorry.

What do you say to people who have kept an aquarium a long time and claim their tetras did just fine in a goup of 2. Or other advice they give that dosen't make sense because they have experience and I obviously don't? And these are like close friends or family so you don't want to be rude.

My fiance's father has an aquarium that he's kept for years and years but he never really did any research on it, just sort of trial and error. Right now he has a goldfish in with tropical fish. Dosen't know anything about cycling, etc. So my fiance keeps questioning everything I do as not necessary, or pointless because his father never had problems (they have lost plenty of fish, just not those 2 tetra etc etc).

Yesterday we were in a pet store adn he says "why not get a knifefish?" I said well for one they get big, for another they won't get along with my fish. "But they are community." "Not really," I say. Typical conversation we have. Usually it leads to well my dad did that and they were fine... ugh. I will never be "in the know."
 
Geez, that sounds like my husband.

He's still trying to convince me to put another rtbs or rainbow into the 20G to replace the one that went into the 65! He don't get the fact that that was an emergency rescue, knowing that I had the right home for him waiting to be set up! Maybe I could stuff hubby into the 20G and see what he thinks! (well, first off he'd drown, because he don't know how to swim!)

And he thinks that I spend too much time on here and in books reading up on all these different things! But how are you going to learn if you don't ask those silly questions?
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I'm sure my fiance would love me to get a shark too. He made a comment last night that his friend had one with an angel and they kept each other in check and didn't both the other community fish in the tank. Luckily he won't push me getting one because they are labeled "semi-aggressive." Oh boy...
 
Don't try to change stubborn people. Instead, let them see your good example and maybe they will learn from that.

I had 3 neons in an aquarium, they hung around together some, and they honestly lived very well that way. But when I added another 7 to create what is still a small school, the behavior of the school became MUCH more interesting.

Let the stubborn folks just see your beautiful school of tetras and then they will likely see the difference between what you have and what they have.
 
Thats what I'm hoping for, for the most part. I'm hoping that having done the fishless cycle will result in very few deaths. That might say something right there...
 
YuccaPatrol said:
Don't try to change stubborn people. Instead, let them see your good example and maybe they will learn from that.

I had 3 neons in an aquarium, they hung around together some, and they honestly lived very well that way. But when I added another 7 to create what is still a small school, the behavior of the school became MUCH more interesting.

Let the stubborn folks just see your beautiful school of tetras and then they will likely see the difference between what you have and what they have.
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Unfortunately, even setting the example and explaining as you show your great looking tank to someone who is of their own opinion, doesn't always work..... unless my sister and just more stubborn than most.
 
Emg said:
how about....instead of trying to explain why a knifefish wouldn't do well in your tank......you just tell him...."I don't like them" "???"
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Haha yah except I think he knows that I love them :p: . Actually he was complaining that I don't like any fish he liked. Its not that I don't like them its that they don't fit what I want for compatibility. Though he looooves hatchet fish so I might look to scale down my guppies to 4 and rams to 2 in the far future and that *might* give me room for a small school of hatchets but thats not definite or anything (just playing with the idea). Because frankly they are cool lookin fish :) .
 
My family thinks I'm a fish nerd. I can tell them what I've read and they just don't care. They'd rather stuff 6 large fish in a 5 1/2g tank because they "fit" or whatever. My mom doesn't have a fish tank but she really likes them. Still, she thinks I take this hobby way too seriously.
 
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