What's your reactions when.....

[HiNtZ]

...you see your standard looking plastic planted, multi-color gravel "bubblin' pirate chest 'o gold" type tanks??

Personally I die a little inside. I mean I'm not judging, everyone is entitled to their style.... but you know. I just see the lost potential I suppose.

What about for your kids? Planted tank, or novelty? I'm setting up a really nice natural planted shrimp tank for my Godson in the coming weeks which is where this question came from really. Wanted him to have something proper and "real", as it were. All I have to do is make him forget about Nemo for a bit

What do you think?

 

[Guest]

Me too😉 http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/child-friendly-aquascapes.40521/

 

[Manisha]

Many hobbyists start at this point (sunken gallows, biorb etc...) not sustainable long term & sad for livestock... However, without a point of interest & ability to relate, most people would move on & not attempt a planted tank. I think Oliver Knott is a very professional aquascaper who can appeal to beginners also ☺

 

[PARAGUAY]

Many hobbyists start at this point (sunken gallows, biorb etc...) not sustainable long term & sad for livestock... However, without a point of interest & ability to relate, most people would move on & not attempt a planted tank. I think Oliver Knott is a very professional aquascaper who can appeal to beginners also ☺

It can be a marmite thing this,you can show someone a fabulous Amano aquascape your enthusiasm clearly obvious and they are equally or unbelievebly impressed by a sunken galleon with a LED gaudy submerged pink light .Ah well

 

[zozo]

Already think from the first time i saw it long time ago, that this toy crap should be banned. As long as children are not educated far earlier and better when it comes to the responsibility involved with take care for animals in general. This stuff makes kids and even adults get the impression animals are toys too. Schools do absolutely nothing in this part, i have a friend and his daughter is in highschool, it is named the biological school i do not know how this would be called in english. Anyway you probably understand what kind of school it is. But she has a fish tank also and when i see it the hairs on my neck stand up. Not to speak of children following an education in another direction.

When you bring it up.. Many parents reply with an eye wink and say cmon it's a child, let it be a child it's learning 😉 That's where the education already failed long time ago with the parents it's learning starting at the wrong end. Fish dies and tomorow we by a new one.. That's what makes pet fish and especialy goldfish as number 1 the worst treated animals on the planet, millions per year go down the drain after dying an agonizing death. Just for the fun of it..

I'm missing something here obviously, for what i am much to stuppid to understand.

My reaction when i see it? I bite my lips and turn away.. Saying something i would make a fool out of myself..

 

[HiNtZ]

Me too😉 http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/child-friendly-aquascapes.40521/

Haha, yes, I see - like me you just can't seem to be convinced! Although tmiravent in that thread started something that has potential. Ok, so there's toys in there but with a few tufts of HC, maybe some DHG and other plants it would look pretty awesome.

Many hobbyists start at this point (sunken gallows, biorb etc...) not sustainable long term & sad for livestock... However, without a point of interest & ability to relate, most people would move on & not attempt a planted tank. I think Oliver Knott is a very professional aquascaper who can appeal to beginners also ☺

I've seen a few of his tanks and I really like them, as an example "Dragon Hunter" would be a brilliant tank for kids. His other stuff is really really good too though, pretty wacky and different but I like that.

It can be a marmite thing this,you can show someone a fabulous Amano aquascape your enthusiasm clearly obvious and they are equally or unbelievebly impressed by a sunken galleon with a LED gaudy submerged pink light .Ah well

Exactly. I've got my fair share of friends like that who see it as "just a tank" and the same as any other tank.

Already think from the first time i saw it long time ago, that this toy crap should be banned. As long as children are not educated far earlier and better when it comes to the responsibility involved with take care for animals in general. This stuff makes kids and even adults get the impression animals are toys too. Schools do absolutely nothing in this part, i have a friend and his daughter is in highschool, it is named the biological school i do not know how this would be called in english. Anyway you probably understand what kind of school it is. But she has a fish tank also and when i see it the hairs on my neck stand up. Not to speak of children following an education in another direction.

When you bring it up.. Many parents reply with an eye wink and say cmon it's a child, let it be a child it's learning 😉 That's where the education already failed long time ago with the parents it's learning starting at the wrong end. Fish dies and tomorow we by a new one.. That's what makes pet fish and especialy goldfish as number 1 the worst treated animals on the planet, millions per year go down the drain after dying an agonizing death. Just for the fun of it..

I'm missing something here obviously, for what i am much to stuppid to understand.

My reaction when i see it? I bite my lips and turn away.. Saying something i would make a fool out of myself..

Very good points. Start as you mean to go on then.

Those plastic plants when I see them are so jagged and sharp, they just make me cringe. As for the gold fish, well here (UK) they are trying to ban the giving away of free goldfish at fairs etc

 

[Gage Harford]

Ugly tanks are restaurants are the worst, why even have it. The tank in my daughters classroom was pretty bad, I added a light, driftwood, crypts, anubias, and java fern. It still has blue gravel and plastic plants but it's a start.

 

[HiNtZ]

Ugly tanks are restaurants are the worst, why even have it. The tank in my daughters classroom was pretty bad, I added a light, driftwood, crypts, anubias, and java fern. It still has blue gravel and plastic plants but it's a start.

Yeah I know what you mean about the restaurant tanks - cringy.

Hopefully that blue gravel will get a more natural shade over time. I suppose it would since it probably won't be getting washed weekly with chlorine water after you made the additions

 

[Guest]

Well I'm with Marcel on this, my philosophy is similar to Takashi Amano's in that a Nature Aquarium is a little slice of nature designed to increase awareness of the wider biophysical environment.

When it comes to educating children's perception of nature, in particular, I consider this (that is increasing awareness of the wider biophysical environment) vitally important especially since their immediate environment is becoming overwhelmingly technologized and increasingly divorced from nature.

It’s this formative perception which will ultimately inform their decisions and therefore how they interact with nature, ultimately as adults. Some perceptions are useful because they embrace reality more accurately, whilst others don't and are therefore less useful.

It's why people interact with the environment in a wide spectrum of different ways; some good, some not so good.

In short...plastic plants and toys within the context of an aquarium containing living organisms do not embrace reality, and are therefore not particularly useful in increasing awareness of the wider biophysical environment...perhaps not the best way to encourage an interest in nature...

 

[Aqua360]

I agree with the point mentioned above about plastic ornaments etc creating the idea that fish are toys. In that regard, I disagree with their use; especially as I'd say most of us want to create an environment that makes fish feel secure etc, yellow spongebob ornaments and bright blue gravel isn't exactly suitable.

On the other hand, the hobby has to be born somewhere for young people to keep it going; and tacky "easy" ornaments, plants etc seem to be the preferred entry.

 

[zozo]

Well I'm with Marcel on this, my philosophy is similar to Takashi Amano's in that a Nature Aquarium is a little slice of nature designed to increase awareness of the wider biophysical environment.

When it comes to educating children's perception of nature, in particular, I consider this (that is increasing awareness of the wider biophysical environment) vitally important especially since their immediate environment is becoming overwhelmingly technologized and increasingly divorced from nature.

It’s this formative perception which will ultimately inform their decisions and therefore how they interact with nature, ultimately as adults. Some perceptions are useful because they embrace reality more accurately, whilst others don't and are therefore less useful.

It's why people interact with the environment in a wide spectrum of different ways; some good, some not so good.

In short...plastic plants and toys within the context of an aquarium containing living organisms do not embrace reality, and are therefore not particularly useful in increasing awareness of the wider biophysical environment...perhaps not the best way to encourage an interest in nature...

Some countries do have some very nice laws, like Germany.. Many other countries could take that for example.. Like they have an official law against keeping fish in a to small invironment. Now i do not know how this is controlled in a private way.. But it is already a very nice step towards efficient social control among the citizins to make them aware this law excists. And they do, for example i heard Jurijs say in an interview about what are nice fish sp. to keep in a nano tank. He said not able to answer this because he might be taken accountable for his words regarding this law.

Also if you want to go fishing in a pool in Germany you need to take a course and do an exam in how to respectfully catch and release a fish..

I realy wonder what a politicians answer would be from other countries finding it less important and not having such laws. Whatever the answer is, these people are not worthy of having that job.

Once a son of a friend of mine he was about 5 of age at the time.. Asked me to find the poe bear edducational computer game for him.. I did and listened to it first to check if it was correctly burned to the cd. The game started with an introductional story about poe bear. In that story was in some words stated "He was just a stuppid bear with a small brain so how could he know things". Sorry but it shocked me a bit and tossed that cdrom in the trashbin and told the kid i couldn't find it. I'm not going to teach a 5 year old that animals are stuppid and have a small brain and know nothing! Why is this still happening? I'm i stuppid? You can't expect from a 5 year old to interpret such a statement between the lines with a pinch of salt. Nice way to start your live, thinking animals have a small brain and there for are stupid. Duh!? What's the point of teaching this to a kid? Who the hell in his or her educational proffession and right mind makes such a product and sells it to parents to teach their kids?

 

[rebel]

My reaction is how to make the tank better. I always mention things that they could improve on. One step at a time though. If they question my 'expertise' I show them a picture of one of my tanks and tanks I one day aim to achieve from IAPLC. It never works though. Most don't even want to do a water change. They just 'top up' you see. 🙂

 

[roadmaster]

If a five year old want's pink/blue gravel, and pirate chest with scuba diver,then By god that's what they should have. IMHO
If your older than fifteen with same desire,well...Time to expand your horizon's a bit me think's.

 

[Guest]

Well that's kind of the point I was trying to make in post 9...
Educate children to respect living organisms and nature in the first place and then perhaps when it's 15 years old it won't need to expand its horizons beyond the desire for pink/blue gravel, and a pirate chest with a scuba diver...

 

[zozo]

If a five year old want's pink/blue gravel, and pirate chest with scuba diver,then By god that's what they should have. IMHO

If the rest what comes with it all is in order and maintained by an adult who knows what he or she is doing to keep the fish in such invironment healthy.. And supervising the kid to respect the fish living in it, but a 5 year old should not be the caretacker of it. It yet simply can't understand it fully. Then there shouldn't be a problem.. It's not the pirat chest, nor the scuba diver hanging to it nor the rainbow colored substrate doing any harm they are nothing more then silly inert harmless objects. That's a matter of taste anybody has the right to have. That the whole concept nothing has to do with learning a kid about nature is beside that. Even the fancy goldfish in it, which shouldn't be in there in the first place also has little to do with nature. But ok one has a toy dog the other a toy cat so why not a toy fish that's a matter of taste too. I can find what i want, but my opinion if i find it beautifull or not means zip.. And that's not the issue.

The issue is that the bottom line message it sends is teaching kids absolutely nothing of any value. If it has an educative value it starts at the wrong end again, in general it teaches how not to do it. Where only a fish again has to suffer for.. Why does an animal first has to suffer to teach us anything? This is completely trivialized with silly meaningless excuses. After all the majority of the adults thinks "cmon don't be silly it is just a fish!?" Hence the kids think the same, that's the message they get from their parents.

Sincerely i ask myself why?? What's wrong.. Who is learning us to think like this? And why?

It's the same as taking kids to a dolfinarium to applaud and aw to dolfins and whales in captivity doing silly tricks.. It sends a message, but actualy not a nice one.
The same messages send by commercials on tv without many of us realizing it. There is a lot of psychology put in those commercials sending us messages.

The same psychology applies to this it sends a message. One of those message is i already heard a dozen times in my life.. 🙂 "Cmon man, It's only a fish!?"

It's a rather bizar way of entertainment.

 

[Guest]

Good point Marcel...for the general record my last was an attempt at being metaphorical...

 

[zozo]

Thanks Tim.. 🙂

You got me thinking, you hit the nail on the head.. This is the answer to the topic title as breef as it can get..

an attempt at being metaphorical.

That's what it is all about..

Lets get to mcdonalds for a happymeal and see what we get to put in our tank..

 

[HiNtZ]

If a five year old want's pink/blue gravel, and pirate chest with scuba diver,then By god that's what they should have. IMHO
If your older than fifteen with same desire,well...Time to expand your horizon's a bit me think's.

LOL - yeah I'd be a bit concerned if a 15 year old wanted all of that.

Other points made in here, very good. I was expecting this to be pretty black and white!

 

[Lindy]

I have a 5yr old and would absolutely never let her choose things to go in the tanks as at that age they have little idea of providing the best environment for fish or any animal. If they want a tiny "frozen" tank with blue gravel and figures in it then fine, but don't be putting fish in there with them. That is like buying your kid a dolls house for a pet hamster to live in.
It is just like kids wanting a pet rabbit because it looks cute and fluffy. My daughter was very disappointed when I told her they kick and bite and don't like being picked up.
My daughter would love a rainbow ornament or something similar but that is because young kids are attracted to colourful things. I've given up trying to get her interested in the tanks but recently she noticed within 12 hrs that I'd put a completely new fish in the big tank so there is hope yet. It is up to parents to instill respect for living creatures. That if we keep pets we have to provide the optimum environment for them and not what we like.
My daughter has pink glittery wallpaper and lots of cute pink things in her room but that is her room. Sorry to ramble...just bugs me when parents say oh my child must have that sponge bob figure there. Buy them a wee tank and just fill it with crap. Kids will love it. Just don't ask something to live in there!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[zozo]

I know a 22 year old girl (woman) having it (family relation). A maybe 8 liter sqaure pot, because a fish bowl is not done anymore.. 🙄 With fire red colored gravel, fortunately 1 little live plant.. Or it most have been a very good fake one.. And 2 fancy goldfish she said, but the only one left called Henry.. The other one died rather soon.. Very strange all.. She even is convinced the fish also sleeps, because at the end of the day it lays very quiet with it's belly on the substrate and only moves if you wake it up by knocking the glass.

When i explained her about poop and amonia and oxygene etc. she felt kinda guilty, went straight to the shop and bought a 54 liter tank, but she only filled half to prevent spilling any water over te edge and still give the fish more room.. Woow 14 litres more!! It must be realy happy now! And she proudly sends me a pic of the major improvements.

Probably expecting a compliment, which ofcourse i indeed did give.. After all we are nowadays taught to show and have emphaty towards eachother. After all we are all so sensitive and not having nor showing emphaty is rude isn't it?

And that's a 22 year old, even after explaining still not realy having a clue what it means.

Never mind the fish it's sleeping anyway..