Venting my frustration about non-reefers

[Joe.D]

I can see it now the next release in the series will be clownfish struggling with gender identity issues.

Funniest thing I’ve seen today! Thanks for literally making me laugh out loud!

And…GO BLUE!!!

 

[Jeeperz]

I think it's difficult for people outside of the hobby to differentiate. Thing is, when you start in this hobby you research, study, and learn about all types of species so its easy to see the differences. Another thing is over time you also tend to gain the ability to spot very fine detail in things. Majority of the population are going to see those two fish as the same. Just like different color morphs of clownfish (like the black and white ones) people may not even recognize that it's even a clownfish or a "Nemo" at all.

That's true of nearly every hobby. Talk to non muscle car people about muscle cars, it's no different. Non gun people about guns, non cat people about cats, etc...

 

[Jeeperz]

I don't have many guests over, but the ones I do are all amazed that all those "little colorful bits" are actually living organisms. I guess too many people are used to the plastic decorations seen in FW tanks. I have to explain that everything they see is actually a living entity. Then comes the next irritating question "how much did it cost?". I simply say that anyone that comes to rob my house would never know where the money is.

I have zero guests over that are allowed inside my house. My dog will eat them or make it pointless to be inside while in his kennel. Guess I'm lucky.

 

[Joe.D]

I bet there are dog nerds out there who get irked when someone thinks their Belgian Malinois looks like a German Shepherd.

We have a Shiba Inu. We were hiking in northern Minnesota a couple years ago and we passed another family on the trail and hear a 5 year old girl say, ”Mommy, the have a Fox for a pet!”

 

[Tamberav]

We have a Shiba Inu. We were hiking in northern Minnesota a couple years ago and we passed another family on the trail and hear a 5 year old girl say, ”Mommy, the have a Fox for a pet!”

Aww cute fox

I think at 5 it can be forgiven haha

 

[Joe.D]

If I had a dollar for every time we hear she looks like a fox…

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

If given a choice between having to play a Pixar character or the dinner plate, I think it wouldn't mind being misidentified. Because, that guy looks taste.

They are!!

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Start talking about water parameters and they will just shut up.

Weird. That's about all it takes for me to glaze over also.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

I love it when people think you are rich because isn't a saltwater tank expensive?! Yes, that is why I am poor! lol

 

[jonb154]

Even my husband doesn't notice if I add something new. I suppose that's a blessing since he has no idea what I spend.

I saw a meme a while back that said” my greatest fear is that when I die my wife will sell will sell the corals in my tank for what I told her I paid for them!

 

[kartrsu]

I bet there are dog nerds out there who get irked when someone thinks their Belgian Malinois looks like a German Shepherd.

Nothing irks me more than a person asking if my white german shepherd is a husky.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

I bet there are dog nerds out there who get irked when someone thinks their Belgian Malinois looks like a German Shepherd.

As an owner of a Malinois, I wish my dog was a German Shepard and most people are not willing to get close enough to me when he is around for me to hear their comments.
As a side note, don't F@#$ing buy one. Mine was a gift that just keeps on giving.

 

[TheyGaveItToMe]

I'm into Bonsai. People think I torture trees in small pots. If you want to be ignorant and stay ignorant that's on you.

I also have Bonsai, a more accurate description is the trees in small pots torture us. Especially in the summer months when I have to insure they get watered 4+ times a day.

 

[NanoJHB]

Had a cyano problem while my tank was still stabilizing and guests came over.

They didn't mention a single coral or fish just kept pointing to the completely red sand bed and saying how pretty it looked. And asked what it is.

Loved explaining that it was nutrient problem that I was trying to fix daily.

" Don't kill it, it looks so pretty".... sigh

 

[Bob Weigant]

Doesn't bother me at all. Some get it and some don't.

 

[Steph72]

This past weekend, my wife and I had some people over and while sitting in the living room where the aquarium is located, someone commented on my "Dori" fish. The only thing is that I don't have a regal blue tang, I have a powder blue tang. I explained that I don't have a "Dori" fish and showed a picture of a blue tang on my phone so that they could see how different they look. Even after showing the picture, everyone agreed that they looked very similar, and my first reaction was "really?!" The reply was that they both have blue and yellow to which I replied, "so every fish that has blue and yellow on it looks the same?" After a couple minutes of describing all the differences, I gave up because I got the sense that I was making an butt out of myself. It was described to me that they only look so different to me because I am involved in the hobby and am more knowledgeable. But I feel that you don't need prior knowledge, but only eyes, to see that they are not the same. Anyway, I just felt like I was taking crazy pills and wanted to vent my frustration.

Grrrrr! When I hear Dori or Nemo mentioned my skin crawls! Lol

It doesn’t bother me if people aren’t interested or informed about my tank inhabitants. I just feel heartsick for all the fish who have died because someone’s kid wanted a Nemo or Dori as a pet. That’s a whole other conversation though and I could go on and on. Lol

 

[Steph72]

I have zero guests over that are allowed inside my house. My dog will eat them or make it pointless to be inside while in his kennel. Guess I'm lucky.

I have two screaming parrots - few people are brave enough to actually come inside! Hahaha

 

[eqbal9947]

I stopped explaining things to people.

 

[DJMCB35]

Folks who’ve been snorkelling once, 15 years ago, who need to tell everyone what everything is. “Hey, there’s an anemone!” (It’s a leather). “Yes, that’s a cleaner crab!” (shrimp). “You should get one of those sucker fish!” (plecostomus?!?). “You should have one of those castles in there!” (‍)

Grrrr….

 

[Labridaedicted]

I've accepted the complete ignorance of the Normies when they look at my tank. As long as they tell me it's pretty, I'm ok with it. I just start reciting Latin names in my head over and over if I hear Nemo or Dory.

Although. I will say I'm constantly baffled by the people that are more intrigued by the hermit crabs than the fish and coral. *shrug*