The toxicity has just gotten so bad that I find this hobby so unenjoyable anymore. People also like to assume (you guys clearly didn’t cycle) they stated they did in the video all you see is them adding plants then the fish thats all. The husband also being an experienced fish keeper as well. Everyone saying now only 10+ is acceptable calling them horrible people and names and etc. saying they don’t even have a heater, which they state there house temperature is consistent and the tank temperature has been consistent. I don’t even need a heater In my tank which I unplugged cause it’s just useless my tank is always 80 degrees and my heater never turns on. I’m just done I can’t at this point I don’t want to keep fish anymore.
https://i.redd.it/b2fad4rsuvqg1.jpeg
Posted by Positive_Dog_6990
14 Comments
People in the fish community are definitely very toxic.
Yea. This happens with most beginner species, unfortunately. The groups get overrun by virtue signaling new keepers that just don’t actually understand the aquarium (or reptile, small animal, etc. ) keeping hobby as a whole.
Is your hobby fishkeeping or posting about fishkeeping? One of them is not toxic the other can be.
Fish keeping post pandemic is best enjoyed as a solitary hobby imo. People are too ornery now. Three years into this, my bruised ego finally processed that the LFS cashier you’re enthusiastically gushing to about your fish room doesn’t actually give a single crap about anything you’re saying and just wants to get to the next customer. People online are, at best, politely disinterested in your projects but they’ll answer your questions. At worst, they virtue signal at your expense. I find that by and large, reaching out to the “community” isn’t worth it. The random negativity you’ll receive will always substantially outweigh any occasional good advice or praise. Don’t take it personally. You don’t need any of these people. Reddit and online forums have all the knowledge you need. All of your questions that you’ll ever have about fish keeping will have been asked before in the past dozens of times for you to reference. Don’t give up. Enjoy your wonderful fish. The setup looks very cool!
I posted once and that was enough for me. No thanks! I’ll stick to enjoying my time with my betta and family and not be told how I’m doing it all wrong by an army of keyboard warriors.
I find some hobbies to be worse than others, in that way. Certain ones just seem filled with purists, gatekeeping, and unkind comments. I’m all for giving advice, but you can do it in a kind, constructive way. I also think it’s unnecessary to bash someone just because the aesthetics of their tank isn’t your preference, particularly when they weren’t seeking ideas on how to change it. If I see a tank that isn’t my style, I just scroll on by.
I saw one instagram reel of an experienced fish-keeper explaining that he’s downgrading his betta’s tank from a 7 gallon to a 3 gallon because he is old and cannot swim as well. He showed the process of decorating a gorgeous aquascape in a 3 gallon cube, only for the comments to call him abusive. He reiterated several times that his fish is 3+ years old, lived in the 7 gallon his entire life, and needed a smaller tank alone with lots of plants to rest on.
The comments weren’t having it. One guy that called him an abuser said it would’ve been better to euthanize the betta instead of keeping it in a 3 gallon tank.
People are wild.
i prefer to lurk and give advice when i’m confident in what i have to say, reddit hobbyists in particular are EXTREMELY volatile towards beginners and the vast majority of the time they assume terrible things of people who are genuinely concerned for their pets. it’s exhausting to be exposed to all the time, so i completely understand why people aren’t having fun with the hobby/engaging with the community anymore.
Just don’t listen to them???? That’s what I do and it works.
Sounds like you have a problem with an Internet forum vs a problem being a fish keeper.
This is why we don’t seek validation from the internet ! Hobbyists shouldn’t stop what they love to do because of other’s opinions
I’ve noticed this in the aquarium and reptile community. It’s kind of insane. I don’t really want to share anything of mine. I just use subs for answers that I search up.
You need to stop getting so emotional over comments from random strangers on the internet. It’s not that serious I promise you
Keyboard warriors.
I don’t post for this exact reason. Over a decade ago, I had a Betta survive an accidental pine-sol bath (bottle of the floor cleaner was left on tank by somebody else, and it fell over, and emptied over 1L into tank… just for her to also survive two more tank emergencies where the tank mostly emptied (one when filter was knocked over overnight, and it was shooting filtered water OUT onto the floor… and the second was a tank crack because rambunctious dog got rambunctious and it was a domino affect of unfortunate things happening…)
She lived almost 2 years until a fucking little $0.50 goldfish ate her.
Sigh.
All this to say, They’ll be fine.