Before Posting Problems

Subject: Before Posting Problems Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:59 pm

It is important for a member of a forum, to know what info to post, when creating a thread about their own problem. There are some simple and easy-to-learn guidelines that can be followed to help make the experience for all members, much more enjoyable on the forum. These guidelines are going to be centered around fish questions, and do not cover other animals.

Water Parameters:
You must first ask yourself, can the water chemistry be the problem, or solution, to my problem? It is important to ask this before posting your problem, and if it does apply, then post the water parameters.

Tank Size and Stocking:
Can the other fish affect my problem? And does how large the tank is, affect my problem? You should also ask yourself these questions before posting. The fishes behavior and the size of the tank can change a fishes behavior and health drastically, not to mention future stocking. So it is very important that these questions are taken into consideration.

Maintenance Schedule:
How often, and how much, are water changes done? Do you change the filter cartdrige, or wash it? These are just two questions that should be asked about tank maintenance. These can affect the water parameters drastically, and should be added if their are health problems with the fish. And of course, when dealing with filter problems or cycling problems, these questions should be immediately addressed.

Past Diseases and New fish:
A parasite and a disease can live in a tank without the fishkeepers knowledge, the entire time the tank is set-up. So it is important that the fishkeeper addresses any problems that they had in the recent past, that could affect the current fish. These problems can repeat themselves, and it is important that everyone knows what happened so that the same mistakes don't get repeated.

And new fish, when not properly QT'd in a separate aquarium, can introduce a new disease or parasite to the tank. If a fish is not QT'd, it is important to tell post what fish you acquired, how many, where from, and how long ago? The new fish can be causing a great deal of trouble, as the already settled in fish, get affected by the new disease.

I hope this can help some people that are new to posting about their aquatic problems. And remember that these need to be addressed prior to posting, as not all of them need to be addressed in a post. But this info is necessary to diagnosing or figuring out a problem, and can help stop confusion and frustration before it happens.
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The only difference between the animal and the human, are the letters that they are spelled with.