Tropical Fish Forums

ak dylpickles · Regulars Joined: 16 Feb 2010

I didn't keep them. They were brought to my lfs
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46 gallon-reef

rales12 · Regulars Joined: 03 Nov 2009 Location: Wyoming

And you know, dyl, not having experience isn't a bad thing. Everybody had to start out at the beginning at one point or another. Admitting that you have only a year's worth of experience isn't a bad thing. I think its a good thing to ask why they can do something that you were specifically advised not to do, because you can then learn how to get to where you CAN do something like that. But you also have to acknowledge that it's going to take time and probably a lot of research to get there.

But trying to pretend that you aren't inexperienced? That's just silly. Any regular here knows that you're young, which means you can't have that much experience, because you simply aren't old enough to have ten years or more of experience.
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- Rachel

Topper · Advisors Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Location: New Jersey

Well said rales, well said.

As I stated, I don't want to seem overly harsh. You are experiencing the exact same things any long-term fish keeper did when they started in the hobby. Personally, I listened to very little advice my first couple of years (as I always knew better) and subsequently lost more fish than I can count.

The hobby seems simple enough but in truth it is not. It is a combination of biology, chemistry, mathematics, botany, ichthyology, scientific observation, optics, commitment and most importantly practical experience. And you can also throw in "opinion" as quite often two highly experienced fish keepers will disagree on a fundamental practice.

This site is a wonderful tool. There are folks here who are not only experienced but also capable of conveying that experience in a straightforward manner. I have kept thousands of fish. I have bred them, sold them, maintained tanks, set up hundreds of tanks (both fresh water and marine), worked in a LFS and also belong to aquarium clubs. Yet I still learn things almost every time I log on to AoA. The community Marcos has created here is pretty unique compared to other sites.

Your enthusiasm is excellent and you will be a true asset to this hobby for years to come. Keep it up and understand that the advice given here is not personal.
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You're gonna need a bigger boat...

ak dylpickles · Regulars Joined: 16 Feb 2010

Yeah thanks guys. I do feel I over reacted a bit. I'm still learning very much. I really do like this site. I love the way Marcos made it easy to navigate. I wish I could start over I feel like I got of on the wrong foot with my discus. Even just in a year I feel like I have matured a lot after that. I do try to do lots of research but wish I could do more. The one thing I'm trying to learn is being patient. I also got kind oflike an internship at my Lfs so I'm learning even more. Sorry for over reacting. I guess the way I saw it was like your mom saying you can't have a lolipop but then she buys another kid one. Thanks guys!
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46 gallon-reef

rales12 · Regulars Joined: 03 Nov 2009 Location: Wyoming

Learning patience is always a good thing! It's helpful in more areas of your life than just fish... Smile

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- Rachel

Caton

To me, just in my opinion, you can speed up "experience" , most people at some point or another will fail to see something and when you are younger you make more of them (I made a mistake recently by buying 9 tiger barbs thinking my tank would be big enough but turns out it is a little to small for them). Dylan, you "work" (intern) at your LFS, you see more and learn more in a day than I can simply because I do not have that resource. Having years of experience is one thing, but when you have trial and error on a daily basis, you can learn a whole lot. Like topper, he has like 30 years or experience, you are starting at around the same time I did (I have only been on the forum for like a year a half, so not that far apart...). I have only kept around 15 species of fish, you have had tons of experience with different kinds of fish. I am not saying by any means you are a expert, but just saying, use your resources that some of us don't have. I envy you with your job.

ak dylpickles · Regulars Joined: 16 Feb 2010

Thanks Caton!! And some people say that the longer that your are in the hobby the more you know. I have been in the hobby for about 3 years with people who have been way longer trying totell me that I can keep koi in an aquarium or that my Oscar can live on a 30 gallon. With the lay few months I've been able to work at the Lfs I have learned more about each species and had experience than I would robably have learned in a few years.
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46 gallon-reef

Topper · Advisors Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Location: New Jersey

"A doctor can never be great until he kills a patient"

A professor in college told me that a long time ago and it made no sense to me then. It does now.

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way" Mark Twain

I certainly learned a lot about products, cleaning tanks, different requirements for different species, aquascaping and the like when I worked at the LFS. But nothing is a substitute for practical experience with trial and error. Just try to keep the error to a minimum! The most important ingredient in experience is time.
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You're gonna need a bigger boat...