Unpopular Opinion: The 'Fish Police' Just Care
I've seen a lot of posts lately about how 'the fish police are crazy' or 'people on this sub are so mean'.
And yes, sometimes that's true. There are for sure people who are rude, blunt, impatient, or unnecessarily harsh when giving advice. This is the internet, and fishkeeping communities are no exception. If someone is genuinely trying to learn and gets dogpiled, thats fucked.
That said, I think a lot of people are overlooking why so many of these arguments happen in the first place.
Most experienced keepers are not getting frustrated because someone is new. They're getting frustrated because someone asks for help, receives advice, and then argues against the suggestions or shys away from providing info.
If you come here saying, 'I'm new, I want to do what's best for my betta, please help me', most people will happily spend time explaining cycling, tank size, water changes, filtration, plants, medications, and anything else you need to know. People answer the same beginner questions every day because they genuinelyy care about fish.
Where things tend to go wrong is when someone asks why their fish is sick, gets told to do something like test their water, and responds with something like, 'I don't want to buy a test kit.' Or 'Ive kept fish in small tanks and they always do fine so this vase is sufficient'. At that point, what are people supposed to do? Ammonia poisoning is one of the most common causes of illness in fishkeeping. If someone refuses to even test for ammonia but still expects a magical solution, there is only so much advice that can be given.
The same thing happens with people who reject basic husbandry information, insist that established care standards are wrong because they don't feel like following tehm, or dismiss concerns with comments like 'it's just a fish.'
Do I think some people could communicate better? Absolutely. I think a lot of experienced keepers forget what it was like to be new, and frustration can sometimes come across as hostility.
But I also understand where some of that frustration comes from. When you've seen hundreds of preventable cases of fish suffering from poor water quality, tiny unheated bowls, or complete refusal to follow basic care advice, it gets difficult to watch the same situation play out again and again with callous behaviour
Nobody expects perfection, nbody expects beginners to know everything. Most of us made mistakes when we started. But there is a huge difference between 'I didn't know' and 'I know, but I can't be bothered.' One of those should get patience, advice, and support. The other is usually what starts the arguments.