Tell Us Your Biggest Mistake

[hooterhead]

1. buying a trigger...cool fish but belong by them selves. mine turned on my clown and hawk after a year with no troubles what so ever.
2. reaching into the water to get the light that just fell in. while it was on. but i thought it would kill the fish. i was trying to save them....
3. getting started in this f&%#$&% "hobby" (addiction)

 

[RanRoc]

(note to self: if light falls in tank, unplug first, then stick hand in water)
Thanx for the heads up! I'm glad that you are alive.

-RY

 

[Craig Manoukian]

1. buying a trigger...cool fish but belong by them selves. mine turned on my clown and hawk after a year with no troubles what so ever.

Great example of what can happen when you don't follow compatability guidelines! Most species will be true to their aggressive/non-aggressive behavior traits over time.

Welcome hooterhead! :bigbounce

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Anemones, anemone, anemone those were my biggest mistakes. I'm not ready for one but I rushed and lost 3. It was a perfect example of eyes bigger than stomach disease or as others may say new tank syndrome. I just call it an extremely stupid thing I did 3 times and will never do again.

 

[Jiddy]

Got emeral crabs, since they are oppurtunistic ominvores and i havent enough algae to make them happy, they snatch my little fish in the night, Hey witty how do i join the "CAE" club?

I dont care what anyone says about get the biggest tank you can afford, should be more like, the biggest tank you can afford to maintain, lol, i agree the biggest mistake was gettin into this hobby, everyone knows that a beautiful tank is someone elses, no WC's

 

[Woodstock]

...............I dont care what anyone says about get the biggest tank you can afford, should be more like, the biggest tank you can afford to maintain, lol,......

NO KIDDING! I have managed to resist the urge to upgrade many, many times by simply realizing that the weekly water changes would double :columbo: No Thanks! I'll keep my practical 90 gal

 

[misbehavior]

I think this thread just saved me 2 years of problems. Thanks for the laughs as well!!!

 

[RanRoc]

I think this thread just saved me 2 years of problems. Thanks for the laughs as well!!!

That's what we're here for.
-RY

 

[Witfull]

my biggest mistake,,,,having two salt buckets next to eachother, and going to do some syphoning,,,,walking by the buckets quickly with hose in hand...i scoop up a bucket. bent sideways a bit (im 6-3) i snatched the wrong bucket up. i accidentally grabbed the brand new full bucket of salt and it hurt like hell!! couple of months of pain and getting worse,,,back surgery~~ i dont lift buckets any more!!

 

[My2heartboys]

I agree with Craig, the experiences we encounter are monumental in the way we learn from our tanks.If everything went smoothly, what would keep you from not making anyone of the mistakes listed on this thread.Trying to rush or hurry the situation is a human behavior that goes away usually after the first tank is well established.Making future tanks a lot easier to manage.

Even if we DON'T learn from them the owners of our local LFS will by us telling the stories.

I have lost count of the times dh and I have gone into one of the LFS stores and started chatting with the owner or his wife. Usually with something we have heard-or a stupid mistake getting a filter online or some other dumb thing. They just give us a look and start cracking up. We usually wind up getting a few laughs in return-which is a good thing.

Anne

 

[My2heartboys]

Biggest mistake......? hhhmmmmmmm

Ordering that magnesium test by Seachem!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have NEVER in a long time have had a test make me feel like such an idiot.

BTW-mg level was a little low.

Anne

 

[My2heartboys]

Oi!

Blindly believing what I was told in a LFS.

BUY BOOKS!

Cheers!
nigle
!~!

Depends on how reliable your LFS owner is. I have found that the one here in town that employs the fewest is the most willing to take time out and talk to you and is more likely to help you find a way to make it work for you.

Anne

 

[My2heartboys]

1. Adding a few mushrooms to the tank several years ago.

2. Getting caught up in the Great Crystal Sea Bioassay Salt Migration. That took two full years to completely recover from.

UUUUHHHHH?

Anne

 

[My2heartboys]

Anemones, anemone, anemone those were my biggest mistakes. I'm not ready for one but I rushed and lost 3. It was a perfect example of eyes bigger than stomach disease or as others may say new tank syndrome. I just call it an extremely stupid thing I did 3 times and will never do again.

Saw a BEAUTIFUL flower anemone the other day at the LFS--wanted to get it so badly--but ended up walking away from it. Mind you-I still regret doing so, but......

Anne

 

[RanRoc]

I think you made the right decision, Anne. If I could do it all over again...I would have a dedicated tank for my anemone(s)<----my BTA split last year, so now I have three...and they are not too happy fighting for light. I'll remedy this as soon as I have the $$$.
-RY

 

[Blackness]

I hated doing this. I added a purple psuedo to my tank a couple years ago with 2 seahorse and 2 pearly jaws. That %^&*er killed all seahorse and jaws just by harrasing them. A very stupid mistake.

 

[john]

have to agree with the above.lost a lot of fish jumping in with the love but not the knowledge.also jumping i thinking id have a 180 gal reef for 500 bucks!! lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[scuba22]

I turned my filter off to change it -got distracted-was called out of town for bussiness and LEFT THE FILTER OFF FOR 5 DAYS! (The extra power head was running), and my 'fishkeeper' didn't know any better. why I arrived home and realized it was morning and I had to go to work, so instead of cleaning the damn thing right then, I turned it on.
Luckily, as a newbie I learned a very valuable lesson - I lost a FD worm a few snails and a peppermint and cleaner shrimp but no fish.
That night I rAced home - did a water change -added charcoal and prayed.
thanks for listening...
newbie screwup# 33 (never try this at home!)

 

[john]

i posted already but i have another??? had a light over my sump"taped" on and it fell in my sump!!needless to say,the salt corroded the batteries and the acid got in my tank and wiped it out!!!!!!!!! not very proud but sharing it anyway.

 

[Barnacle Dave]

First big tank and didn't know I was suppose to level it.

Secondly I used crushed coral and tried to change it out to sand.

Thirdly - Buying a bio ball sump that barely held a return pump and a cheap skimmer. When I could have use my 2 gallon tank that was just sitting doing nothing.

Fourth- Cheap skimmer- Get what ya pay for here.

Fifthly- Used Rio pumps and power heads that were shocking.:columbo: