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[The Masked Shadow]

I like this forum, but it’s really slow. I prefer going on here daily, but may I suggest AC’s sibling monsterfishkeepers. I don’t have any fish that would classify as monsters, but there is a lot of good information. fishforums. Net is also a good site if you want info on small fish.

Editing this to say T TwoTankAmin nailed it.

 

[NoodleCats]

Noodle, you have not been on the site all that long. My first visit here was earlier than my join date shows. This place has gone through a couple of owners and a few bad periods where some of the better people have walked away. I myself have left the site for extended periods a few times over the last 20 years.

There was a time when this place was very active. Now it is slower, calmer and mostly nice folks.

Before social media it was all forums and chats. Most of these have closed or slowed to a crawl. The two most active general fish sites today are MonsterFishkeepers and Tropical Fish Forums.

The same thing re finding out who actually knows what they are talking about applied to forums. But the net is so big that it is difficult to do. I am pretty good now at being able to sort the informed from the idiots, but it took me time to learn that. The problem with the net is that it is at least 90% idiots and maybe more. I am not willing to do that much work any more.

The other side of the coin is over the years I have amassed a list of true experts I can contact when I am lost.

I have a saying I developed over the years. "You can lead a fish keeper to water, but you can't make them think."

Yup, only been here a year or two, but it's been great while I've been here. And in that time I've left many other forums for various reasons, and this one has been the one that I've consistently enjoyed my entire time on.

One you mention, I've left due to constant harassment from a member there that staff refuse to do anything about, despite many complaints from myself and others.

I'm on MFK though, but never post much mostly as I've not had true "monster" fish until relatively recently. Even then, unsure if goldfish and a common pleco qualifies for much quality posting haha, but its a nice place too, I enjoy reading a lot of stuff there, just don't engage much at all.

 

[Rbishop]

The only thing I use FB for is various groups associated with my Navy Nuclear background. Or to post things I find humorous. I'm not into any one species or tank style to concentrate on a page specific or FB group specific to concentrate on them.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I understand re TFF. I walked away in 2013. I only recently started posting again. So far it has not been bad, but there is more incorrect info there than here.

Everything we do in this hobby is based on science. Water chemistry can drive you nuts if you do not understand what underlies it. Moving water is physics, selecting fish involves knowledge about how fish socialize, how they reproduce, what sort of diet they need etc. All of this has been studied and researched over the decades. Even the habitat needs of the fish are relevant to setting up a successful tank.

How many fish keepers know the name of any of the nitrifying bacteria that are in their tank? This involves microbiology.

It is possible to blunder through all of this and manage to have a decent tank, but it is a lot easier the more one knows.

And it all comes full circle- "You can lead a fish keeper to water, but you can't make them think."