What's Your Favorite Advice for New Nerms?

[MAC]

Quarantine new fish coming in. 

[Wingman12r]

Patience, everything takes time. From cycling, plants, growing out fry,  to treatment ailments. 

Everyone is going to have a different way of accomplishing the same task, sometimes that method will for for you and sometimes it won't. You have to find what works for you. 

 

[Alexa]

1. Do all the research beforehand, but mistakes and failures are the best learning experiences.

2. Do something because you want to and not because the Internet said you should.

[Brandy]

2 hours ago, MickS77 said:

To this point and if you already consider yourself a NERM, I'd get another tank.

MTS pusher...

[Aubrey]

Download and read this book. Some of it is outdated, but most of it still holds true. If it worked 80+ years ago, it should work for you now. 

Chapter 22 has some nerm advice.

[Daniel]

2 minutes ago, Aubrey said:

Download and read this book. Some of it is outdated, but most of it still holds true. If it worked 80+ years ago, it should work for you now. 

Chapter 22 has some nerm advice.

 

Just think, that book was written in 1936 but most of those maxims get repeated everyday here on the forum. Thank you so much for posting that!

[FlyingFishKeeper]

Don't over complicate it, let nature do it's thing. Its been doing this longer than any of the people on this forum. 

Oh, and don't be afraid to ask questions!

Edited January 8, 2021 by FlyingFishKeeper

[Brandy]

😮Now THAT'S patience!

 

[Daniel]

There was just a little more nerm advice in Chapter 22 that has some real jewels in it.

Like:

• age your water
• quarantine your fish
• use a boat load of plants!
• don't resort at once to chemical treatment, check the food and environment first!
• check out native fish!

[Streetwise]

As a sailor, I love a boatload of plants!

I’m going to tell people that I run organic soil tanks for mud leak protection.

[Libby]

Don’t throw any equipment / decor away. I learned the hard way and I could always have used it, even years later! 

[Jennifer V]

6 hours ago, Hobbit said:

 

If you’d asked for advice for someone with their first fish I’d say research research research, but a new nerm will obviously have already researched the heck out of everything. 😉

Definitely! I think I spend every free minute I have researching everything I can find online. 

[Jennifer V]

6 hours ago, FriendlyLoach said:

Bigger tank the better, and do research. 

I got my first tank in October but didn't get it going until December. Now I'm already figuring out space for a bigger one in my 500-square-foot apartment. Where is the best place to buy new tanks? 

[Jennifer V]

5 hours ago, MickS77 said:

To this point and if you already consider yourself a NERM, I'd get another tank. You'll be less discouraged if one tank is awesome and another is just kinda meh until you experiment and get things figured.

I'm already planning my next one! Where do you get your tanks? 

[Jennifer V]

4 hours ago, MAC said:

Quarantine new fish coming in. 

What's the best way to do that? 

[Jennifer V]

3 hours ago, Alexa said:

1. Do all the research beforehand, but mistakes and failures are the best learning experiences.

 

I always tell my employees, the best way to learn is by making mistakes, and I expect them so don't be too upset when you make them. 

Personally, I'm terrified of making mistakes with this "hobby" and causing anything in my tank to die but that's inevitable, right? 

[Jennifer V]

@Aubrey @Daniel what an amazing book and information! I'm so excited to read it!

When I started this whole thing, I just thought it would be a fun way to get more life into my small apartment. I had no idea it would quickly become all I talk and think about it my free time. I never imagined I'd be downloading fish books! It's truly become so much joy. 

[Streetwise]

If you need another book: https://dianawalstad.com

[Chiclid addict]

11 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

So excited about this forum and want to know: If there's one piece of advice us newbies absolutely need to know, what is it? 

Worry less don’t cut short on cycling a new aquarium   

[Alexa]

2 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

I always tell my employees, the best way to learn is by making mistakes, and I expect them so don't be too upset when you make them. 

Personally, I'm terrified of making mistakes with this "hobby" and causing anything in my tank to die but that's inevitable, right? 

Exactly! I mean, we are creating underwater ecosystems in a glass box. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t takes trial and error.

[Fish Folk]

4 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

Where do you get your tanks? 

Early on, it may be worth the wait -- if you can bear it -- until one of the chain stores has a "dollar-per-gallon sale" on. Petco / PetSmart / Pet Supplies Plus will hold these a few times a year. We've driven . . . quite a ways . . . to purchase a carload full of new tanks before. That being said, we also recognize how vitally important a good LFS (local fish store) is to the hobby. So, we opt to spend more money but at our LFS. 

[lefty o]

4 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

I always tell my employees, the best way to learn is by making mistakes, and I expect them so don't be too upset when you make them. 

Personally, I'm terrified of making mistakes with this "hobby" and causing anything in my tank to die but that's inevitable, right? 

do this long enough, and you will kill some fish. it is inevitable.

[Fish Folk]

4 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

What's the best way to do that? 

Quarantine requires a new tank (already!) 😅 It's typically a bare tank run on  well-cycled sponge filters with a heater. New fish go there for a week or two to be monitored prior to adding to your new tank. The purpose is to notice any sickness or problems before bringing illness to your established tank. 

Experienced fish-keepers are religious about it. Honestly . . . some of us are not as careful. I think that it takes a dramatically sad experience to teach you the hard lesson of always quarantining fish. 

Now, some fish stores (e.g. Aquarium Co-Op) are very good at quarantining and medicating their fish before they are put on sale. If your LFS already does that, you're fortunate!

[Fish Folk]

4 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

Personally, I'm terrified of making mistakes with this "hobby" and causing anything in my tank to die but that's inevitable, right? 

Haha! The biggest mistake is thinking you can avoid making a mistake! 😆 

[MAC]

9 hours ago, Jennifer V said:

What's the best way to do that? 

@Fish Folk covered quarantine pretty well. I utilize a barebones aquarium to house new fish for a few weeks before adding to any of my established tanks as a precaution. Its certainly not necessarily but an option to consider if you felt the need to add that extra protection when introducing new fish.