Why aquarium dabblers suck

'Dabblers' is a sad reality in all things. A few years ago I got a boat...a 17' ski 'n fish boat. The whole family took the NYS boater safety course put on by the Sheriff's department. Then later I took a course offered by the coast guard. I see a lot of foolish, unsafe stuff out on the water and 'kids' on wave runners are the worst.
Some people see aquariums and fish much differently than other 'pets'. Few take the time to really learn about N2 cycling or proper filtration/purification. Many tanks are destined to fail because of lack of knowledge, understanding and decent maintenance. Even if courses were offered, it's unlikely the people that need it most would bother.
I wish I had an answer.
 
Some would say that anybody with a tank less than 10,000 gallons is a dabbler, and that it is the Internet forums that are to blame for the circulation of misinformation. For the true non dabblers are those men and women who have dedicated there lives to the study and preservation of our oceans, lakes and rivers. How would you like to be responsible say for the maintenance of one of our public aquariums?
I am a dabbler and i am dam proud of it. I have tinkered and experimented my way through many enjoyable hours. I have made as many mistakes and caused as much suffering as anybody. And through it all I came to realize that simpler is better and that good things take a long time to happen. I am proud to say that my tanks are simulations of natural environments, and at the same time I realize that if I left an empty tank in my back yard and allowed it to accumulate dirt and water for many years, unattended it could do better at sustaining life without my assistance.
So welcome into the hobby the dabblers, the misinformed and the soccer moms, for amongst them there are a few who will make great contributions. And hope that at the very least they will shed a tear and realize how important and fragile life in our oceans and rivers really is.
 
Well there are dabblers and then there are dabblers. It's one thing to learn as you go and strive to improve, it's another to setup a tank and sit around until everything dies....but I hear your philosophy. I'm dabbling with living and hope to hang on as long as there are things left to enjoy (even if it's just reruns of the honeymooners)!
:D

dhvService said:
Some would say that anybody with a tank less than 10,000 gallons is a dabbler, and that it is the Internet forums that are to blame for the circulation of misinformation. For the true non dabblers are those men and women who have dedicated there lives to the study and preservation of our oceans, lakes and rivers. How would you like to be responsible say for the maintenance of one of our public aquariums?
I am a dabbler and i am dam proud of it. I have tinkered and experimented my way through many enjoyable hours. I have made as many mistakes and caused as much suffering as anybody. And through it all I came to realize that simpler is better and that good things take a long time to happen. I am proud to say that my tanks are simulations of natural environments, and at the same time I realize that if I left an empty tank in my back yard and allowed it to accumulate dirt and water for many years, unattended it could do better at sustaining life without my assistance.
So welcome into the hobby the dabblers, the misinformed and the soccer moms, for amongst them there are a few who will make great contributions. And hope that at the very least they will shed a tear and realize how important and fragile life in our oceans and rivers really is.
Click to expand...
 
dhvService said:
Some would say that anybody with a tank less than 10,000 gallons is a dabbler, and that it is the Internet forums that are to blame for the circulation of misinformation. For the true non dabblers are those men and women who have dedicated there lives to the study and preservation of our oceans, lakes and rivers. How would you like to be responsible say for the maintenance of one of our public aquariums?
I am a dabbler and i am dam proud of it. I have tinkered and experimented my way through many enjoyable hours. I have made as many mistakes and caused as much suffering as anybody. And through it all I came to realize that simpler is better and that good things take a long time to happen. I am proud to say that my tanks are simulations of natural environments, and at the same time I realize that if I left an empty tank in my back yard and allowed it to accumulate dirt and water for many years, unattended it could do better at sustaining life without my assistance.
So welcome into the hobby the dabblers, the misinformed and the soccer moms, for amongst them there are a few who will make great contributions. And hope that at the very least they will shed a tear and realize how important and fragile life in our oceans and rivers really is.
Click to expand...


If i had the money and time to buy, keep, and maintain a 10,000 gallon fish tank( obviously with plants and livestock) i would dedicate that tank as a native species tank. I would try to get my hands on the fish that used to thrive in my area ( Massachusetts) and find a way to legally reintroduce those fish back to their natural habitat. For example, the alligator gar used to live in most of the continental U.S states including Massachusetts and i would love to one day see these back where they belong because they were here before humans and have just as much right to their natural habitat as we do in our habitat. I would do this not just as a conservation project but to teach future generations the beauty of the world and to not take it for granted because one day there wont be all this life to observe if we go around destroying their habitats.
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dhvService said:
Some would say that anybody with a tank less than 10,000 gallons is a dabbler, and that it is the Internet forums that are to blame for the circulation of misinformation. For the true non dabblers are those men and women who have dedicated there lives to the study and preservation of our oceans, lakes and rivers. How would you like to be responsible say for the maintenance of one of our public aquariums?
I am a dabbler and i am dam proud of it. I have tinkered and experimented my way through many enjoyable hours. I have made as many mistakes and caused as much suffering as anybody. And through it all I came to realize that simpler is better and that good things take a long time to happen. I am proud to say that my tanks are simulations of natural environments, and at the same time I realize that if I left an empty tank in my back yard and allowed it to accumulate dirt and water for many years, unattended it could do better at sustaining life without my assistance.
So welcome into the hobby the dabblers, the misinformed and the soccer moms, for amongst them there are a few who will make great contributions. And hope that at the very least they will shed a tear and realize how important and fragile life in our oceans and rivers really is.
Click to expand...

In your experimentation and "dabbling," are you just doing it just because, or are you trying to learn from it and improve? If you're trying to learn, you're not just dabbling, you're a hobbyist.
 
dhvService said:
Some would say that anybody with a tank less than 10,000 gallons is a dabbler, and that it is the Internet forums that are to blame for the circulation of misinformation. For the true non dabblers are those men and women who have dedicated there lives to the study and preservation of our oceans, lakes and rivers. How would you like to be responsible say for the maintenance of one of our public aquariums?
I am a dabbler and i am dam proud of it. I have tinkered and experimented my way through many enjoyable hours. I have made as many mistakes and caused as much suffering as anybody. And through it all I came to realize that simpler is better and that good things take a long time to happen. I am proud to say that my tanks are simulations of natural environments, and at the same time I realize that if I left an empty tank in my back yard and allowed it to accumulate dirt and water for many years, unattended it could do better at sustaining life without my assistance.
So welcome into the hobby the dabblers, the misinformed and the soccer moms, for amongst them there are a few who will make great contributions. And hope that at the very least they will shed a tear and realize how important and fragile life in our oceans and rivers really is.
Click to expand...


semantics. And most of the people I deal with get their info from... who knows where, but it's not the internet. I suggest joining forums or surfing google, but "they know enough about fish."

And the OP was directed at people who would rather buy a fish to kill it prematurely than commit to the responsibility of a full lifespan
 
In defense of at least one fish store, my local Petsupermart I went in the other day looking for something to put in my pond. Had a die off of all large fish bout 2 dozen. Got a bunch of minnows though. Well any how said since your pond water is so warm (85deg) they wouldn`t sell me anything for the pond. I like that kind of integrity. There are some good fish stores.
 
dhvService said:
Some would say that anybody with a tank less than 10,000 gallons is a dabbler, and that it is the Internet forums that are to blame for the circulation of misinformation. For the true non dabblers are those men and women who have dedicated there lives to the study and preservation of our oceans, lakes and rivers. How would you like to be responsible say for the maintenance of one of our public aquariums?
I am a dabbler and i am dam proud of it. I have tinkered and experimented my way through many enjoyable hours. I have made as many mistakes and caused as much suffering as anybody. And through it all I came to realize that simpler is better and that good things take a long time to happen. I am proud to say that my tanks are simulations of natural environments, and at the same time I realize that if I left an empty tank in my back yard and allowed it to accumulate dirt and water for many years, unattended it could do better at sustaining life without my assistance.
So welcome into the hobby the dabblers, the misinformed and the soccer moms, for amongst them there are a few who will make great contributions. And hope that at the very least they will shed a tear and realize how important and fragile life in our oceans and rivers really is.
Click to expand...

And some would say it's odd that your first post on AC was this...welcome! I'm pretty proud to say that, in my opinion, AC has a good reputation of not spreading misinformation. You tend to see more of that coming from people after purchasing things from their local store. In fact, it's one of the reasons I quit working at a LFS. I was tired of having to suggest unnecessary products to those who didn't know any better, or having to deal with my superiors giving out archaic information on how to setup a new tank.

And regardless of size (which is not really the point the OP was making anyways, I've seen plenty of well done and even award winning small tanks), there is a big difference between keeping established tanks for years compared to those who jump in haphazardly and keep aquariums for months or (more likely) weeks.

There is also a big difference between a hobby and a profession (those in public aquaria, research and conservation work, etc.). In many instances they mix, but I personally know there are big differences between natural and confined systems.

And I would be very surprised if I left an aquarium outside in my backyard and grew anything but mosquito larvae...;)
 
jpappy789 said:
And some would say it's odd that your first post on AC was this...welcome! I'm pretty proud to say that, in my opinion, AC has a good reputation of not spreading misinformation. You tend to see more of that coming from people after purchasing things from their local store. In fact, it's one of the reasons I quit working at a LFS. I was tired of having to suggest unnecessary products to those who didn't know any better, or having to deal with my superiors giving out archaic information on how to setup a new tank.

And regardless of size (which is not really the point the OP was making anyways, I've seen plenty of well done and even award winning small tanks), there is a big difference between keeping established tanks for years compared to those who jump in haphazardly and keep aquariums for months or (more likely) weeks.

There is also a big difference between a hobby and a profession (those in public aquaria, research and conservation work, etc.). In many instances they mix, but I personally know there are big differences between natural and confined systems.

And I would be very surprised if I left an aquarium outside in my backyard and grew anything but mosquito larvae...;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome. I was drawn to this fine forum because of a interesting thread created by deedeek on the topic of freshwater deep sand beds. I remained a lurker on this forum, mostly because I completely lack the social skills required by this subculture. So if you will forgive me, I will say what I need to say then quietly slip away. Just one last thing, mosquito larvae is a good source of nutrition, give the tank more time it will soon attract even more wildlife.


http://gagne.homedns.org/~tgagne/contrib/unskilled.html


Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments
Justin Kruger and David Dunning
Department of Psychology
Cornell University


Abstract
People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error. Paradoxically, improving the skills of participants, and thus increasing their metacognitive competence, helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities.
 
Thanks for the welcome. I was drawn to this fine forum because of a interesting thread created by deedeek on the topic of freshwater deep sand beds. I remained a lurker on this forum, mostly because I completely lack the social skills required by this subculture. So if you will forgive me, I will say what I need to say then quietly slip away. Just one last thing, mosquito larvae is a good source of nutrition, give the tank more time it will soon attract even more wildlife.


http://gagne.homedns.org/~tgagne/contrib/unskilled.html


Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments
Justin Kruger and David Dunning
Department of Psychology
Cornell University


Abstract
People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error. Paradoxically, improving the skills of participants, and thus increasing their metacognitive competence, helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities.
 
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