We’d like to give you a chance to share your thoughts and advice with fellow hobbyists in our annual magazine, Aquarium USA. You may have some hints to help answer some of these questions — and your answer could be published in Aquarium USA! You can send an answer to one of these questions or all of them — as many as you’d like!
1. What do you find easiest/hardest about fishkeeping?
2. If you’ve been in the hobby for a while, what would you have done differently as a beginner?
3. If you keep reef tanks or high-tech planted tanks, explain the benefits/joys of reefkeeping/planted tanks to someone just thinking about it.
4. Fishkeeping is a great hobby. Explain why it is that you are willing to spend tons of time and money on it.
5. Is there any advice you’d give fellow hobbyists who’d like to keep plants for the first time?
6. What advice would you give to other hobbyists to make tank maintenance easier? Do you have any special methods?
7. Do you have any tips to give to others about breeding fish? Did you have any fish-breeding challenges, and how did you overcome them?
8. What fish would you recommend to someone because you think it’s really great that everyone should keep it at least once? Fresh or salt (or both).
9. What do you think people can say to convince someone else (e.g., family members) to spend money on a tank?
10. Do you have kids that keep fish? What fish or type of setup would you recommend for kids to care for? Anything to avoid?
11. If someone told you that fish were too expensive, hard or too much work, what would you tell them to convince them they should keep fish?
12. What is the number one important piece of advice that new hobbyists need to know?
To send your answer(s) for possible inclusion, you can write to us in an e-mail or send your answers by postal mail. To make it even easier, if you’re e-mailing us, you can just copy and paste the questions above into your e-mail, then answer them, so you don’t have to retype them. If you’re contacting us by postal mail, you can print out the questions and simply write in your answers.
Please send answers by February 11, 2010. To answer by e-mail, send a message to aquariumfish@bowtieinc.com with the subject line “Aquarium USA Questions.” You can also write to us at:
Aquarium Fish International
Attn: Aquarium USA Questions
P.O. Box 6050
Mission Viejo, CA 92690
All answers are subject to editing.