Approach to irresponsible fishkeepers

[Rowangel]

this is how they introduce newbies to the field..it needs to be an effective price point..
the bottom line is most new entries into aquaria..seek to do so at the best price they can..once they get started they can 'upgrade'

Well put. If I had known how much I would eventually spend on my three set-ups before I started this hobby, I might never have started.

Almost everything I first bought over a year ago has been upgraded to something more appropriate since then….lights, substrate, filter, heater and pumps, even décor to real plants/wood. Maybe in the long run it would have been cheaper for me if I had started out right, but more likely I would have been discouraged by the price and never started at all.

 

[nerdyguy83]

Nerdyguy, I spent 15 years in retail ..ever heard of preplanned obsolesence??


we have the technology to make cars that get great gas mileage.and won't wear out prematurely..the fact remains that they products won't hit the market.

the same line of logic applies to all levels of retail.
the cheap filter work.and will get someone started..but the companies that make the products will continue to use the run of the mill 'starter' set up.

this is how they introduce newbies to the field..it needs to be an effective price point..
the bottom line is most new entries into aquaria..seek to do so at the best price they can..once they get started they can 'upgrade'

they need to decide which is best for them..you like the biowheel..I like the aqua clear..

yes the aqaurium industry can set up better quality equiptment...but the cost needs to be deferred to the customer..the price of mfg the better equiptment and support it..plus pay for R&D is reflected in the price of the equiptment.

once people get into the field..they increase thier education..the formula works.

aquaria and aquarium keeping is constantly growing..and the education is constantly improving..as the industry grows..so does the education.

But the fact remains that while technology for beginners is better, the actual education to understand why that new technology works better isn't there in the newbs. You can buy an Eclipse system for 60 bucks, follow the directions, and have a successful tank without ever knowing about the nitrogen cycle or anything else. That isn't education, that is a company coming up with a system that, while it isn't fool-proof, is at least resistant to the most common types of fools. This type of system does not help the market in the long run. It generates one-time buyers who have fish that live a little longer than those kept in poor setups, and then when fish die because of a lack of water maintenance, the person who already spent 60 bucks on an aquarium plus more on gravel, decorations, and fish is going to be even more frustrated than the person who spent 10 bucks on a bowl and a betta. He will shove that Eclipse tank in an attic and never think of it again.

Planned obsolesence is always going to be present and so are people who buy the cheap filters and the bowls and the bettas without knowing what they are doing, but if (and this is a huge hypothetical IF) the majority of people became educated to the point that you get to if you stick with the hobby for more than a few weeks (whether gradually through trial and error like most of us did it, through a mentor who knows what he/she is doing, through a book, or through a program that could be offerred by an LFS), there would be a dramatic shift in the way people thought about aquarium keeping.

Education is the answer!!!

 

[Star_Rider]

Nergyguy, I think you're getting close but miss the point..

education is a personal responsibility..it is not the responsibility of mfg to come up with the fool proof wheel..education is the responsibility of the person who ventures into something new.

the mfg can only supply equiptment and the directions(most of which atleast try to explain the who, what , where's and when's)

and the fact of the matter is...those who are lazy and don't want to learn and the ones who place the aquarium in the attic..or better yet..sell it in an ad so those who want to learn can get the 'starter' kit at a much more reasonable price.
education is something you have to work for..we must not forget the 'human factor'

as you can see here Aquaria Central thrives on people who want to learn..and have taken atleast enough responsibility to learn by seeking advice.