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Are fishkeepers the nerds of the pet owning world?


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Some people I live with... (the mrs shall remain nameless)... Seem to giggle at the fish keeping until a fish does something cool or dies, then they own it and it's super awesome or super sad :facepalm:

But yes, fish and nerd go together in my friend's point of view.

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I think there's a couple of things about fish keeping that may encourage the 'nerd' label (imo):

- fishkeeping rewards you for sitting still and observing what is occuring with your pets

- possibly more attention to detail needed to keep pets alive and healthy; there's a bit more to it than just chucking food in a bowl, we're the ones responsible for maintaining suitable water conditions (and that may require a bit of reading about what is 'suitable'). This leads into us using 'chemicals' e.g. water ager and also treating fish ailments ourselves - rather than taking the walking carpet to a vet.

- greater variety of species kept - so when asked "what's that?", rather than "it's a dog" we're: "neon tetra, bristlenose, guppy, mollie, pleco, bronze cory etc etc" and potentially rattling off this long list of different fish may add to the perception of nerdyness.

Does it bother me - not all, I enjoy fishkeeping, couldn't care less if that gets me labelled a nerd or "fish geek" as my sister says.

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- greater variety of species kept - so when asked "what's that?", rather than "it's a dog" we're: "neon tetra, bristlenose, guppy, mollie, pleco, bronze cory etc etc" and potentially rattling off this long list of different fish may add to the perception of nerdyness.

If people ask about my tank and fish I dumb it down for them, "Thats a yellow fish" lol

My partner thought I was a fishy nerd because I knew more about it than her. BUT now she has here own little community tank and every time the filter makes a weird noise or a fish disappears, I get a call, "Hello... Needa Nerd, somethings wrong with the filter so I turned it off, and opened it and water wouldn't stop going everywhere"! haha. Shes a funny one. Ive had to recycle her tank twice for her now. She is slowly learning. But she likes her 'Cuddly kitten' better. :roll:

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I don't get called a fish nerd because I keep fighting fish. My friends think this is infinitely cooler than when I had guppies. 8)

I also don't tell them all the 'weird' stuff I have to do to look after them. (checking pH, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, doing daily water changes, growing micro-worm cultures for the babies, defrosting blood-worms for them.... You know, all the stuff people don't do with their gold fish. :wink: )

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Haven't had that much flak for owning fish... At least the aesthetics of a tank/fish appeals to most people.

But if you don't like being judged for your hobby/pets, definitely don't go for rats(/mice/ferrets?)! I get soooooo sick of ignorant people making comments about them. get things like this:

it look better in a cats mouth or a very big fish,,,
ie from the rat thread from every other moron you come across :roll:

Fishkeepers have it light in comparison :lol:

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i geuss people stereotypically think most animal lovers are geeks in some form or another.i geuss id be classified as that but i am not a stereotypical geek use to be a boxer/skateboarder/professional rugby player and have always been a physical worker so peoples perceptions of geeks is very broad.is a cat lover who has 10 cats more geeky than a person with 10 fish tanks?

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I have had very positive comments about my fish. I think a lot of people think that keeping fish is really labour intensive, and it can be but it doesn't have to be. People seem to think when you clean your tank you have to empty the whole tank and scrub it.

I have however noticed a definite correlation between people who seriously keep fish, and people who collect medieval memorabilia, dragons, like the colour purple, listen to heavy music, go to jousting tournaments,......

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Hey, nothing wrong with being a fish nerd! :smln:

I find that the nerdier you are, the better off your fish are. Think about it - do dog owners analyse the ASH CONTENT of dog food? No way! It's just, yep, I'll get this cheap bag of food from the supermarket - the dog will be fine. I know I am not alone when I check the ingredients that go into my fish food to see if it's the highest protein content I can give my monsters.

How about the science involved with fishkeeping? I hated chemistry at school, but I can tell you which bio media has the most surface area for beneficial bacteria; that water holds more oxygen at lower temps than higher; that pH and temp affect the toxicity of ammonia.

I still find myself staring at my SUMP to try to figure out if I can get it to run better. My fiance recently caught me staring at the tank and commented that I was always staring at my fish. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was actually staring at the SUMP lol! :gigl: (She knows I'm crazy, just not to this extent.)

I think that I am smarter and more relaxed (mostly) because of fishkeeping. So, nerd on! :smln:

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Think about it - do dog owners analyse the ASH CONTENT of dog food?

A lot do. Also BARF diets, organic diets, etc.

I know I am not alone when I check the ingredients that go into my fish food to see if it's the highest protein content I can give my monsters.

Most fishkeepers don't. They just buy the cheapest flake off the shelf. Most of the remainder buy whatever's made by a company with a good reputation.

How about the science involved with fishkeeping? I hated chemistry at school, but I can tell you which bio media has the most surface area for beneficial bacteria; that water holds more oxygen at lower temps than higher; that pH and temp affect the toxicity of ammonia.

People on an enthusiast messageboard will tend to select for people who are more enthusiastic about a hobby. :) The vast majority of people with fish don't even know there are fish MBs and the extent of their knowledge is "Feed them and change the water or something."

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I think there's a couple of things about fish keeping that may encourage the 'nerd' label (imo):

- fishkeeping rewards you for sitting still and observing what is occuring with your pets

- possibly more attention to detail needed to keep pets alive and healthy; there's a bit more to it than just chucking food in a bowl, we're the ones responsible for maintaining suitable water conditions (and that may require a bit of reading about what is 'suitable'). This leads into us using 'chemicals' e.g. water ager and also treating fish ailments ourselves - rather than taking the walking carpet to a vet.

- greater variety of species kept - so when asked "what's that?", rather than "it's a dog" we're: "neon tetra, bristlenose, guppy, mollie, pleco, bronze cory etc etc" and potentially rattling off this long list of different fish may add to the perception of nerdyness.

Does it bother me - not all, I enjoy fishkeeping, couldn't care less if that gets me labelled a nerd or "fish geek" as my sister says.

Good reply, thanks Rob. helps me deal with my friends weird remarks better

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My work college gives me a hard time constantly about it, he's a hunter and fisher and just can't understand what I see in little fishies.

I personally can't understand what's weird about it, to recreate an aquatic environment from the Congo or Asia or South America is a fascinating hobby as far as I'm concerned.

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