Modern Aquarium Supplies Marketing; My Aquarium Box, etc.

In speaking with others in this industry, especially those I admire and trust who have mentored me to where I am today, it seems we have entered a new era in this hobby & industry where listening to those with more experience, trusting those who have paved the way, and promoting honest products is no longer what matters.

I will list a few points and let readers decide for themselves:

• Mentoring. This is how I learned and continue to learn. Yes, I gain a lot of experience from my aquarium service route, but I still ask questions and read, often well beyond the 3 minute Youtube video or 4 paragraph copy/paste aquarium blog.

  

  However of late, this seems to not be the case with how many get their information.
  You see popular Youtube channels with otherwise knowledgeable aquarium keepers promoting products such as Poly Pads that are excellent when used properly, but ignoring the proven affect these products have on aquarium redox. Yet this information is easily found if they just try and expand outside of their circles of friends!!

  You have a Facebook group [F.A.M.E.] that one mentor shared with me, that invited him in, only to edit anything he brought into the group to expand their understandings such as again aquarium redox, and prevention of common aquarium diseases. This group even attacked him when he corrected their misunderstandings about fish foods and a certain brand in particular.

  Further Reading:
  Redox in Aquariums



• Patents/Copyrights I have seen patents copied, mostly with products coming from China, where they brazenly copied modular designs of products such as the AAP/ATI Hydro Sponge Filter. One notable example here is the Deep Blue Sponge Filter. The Deep Blue along with the Aquarium Solutions filters are infringing upon the patent rights of ATI (originally Lustar), so when you purchase these filters, you are in fact receiving stolen goods!!
  Worse, is you have marketing ideas such as “My Aquarium Box” that promote this product. What in the end is this going to this hobby/industry if no one can develop a product without the fear their time is wasted by someone in China copying their design and then promoted those with popular marketing ideas, but clearly no interest in the future of the hobby/industry and reliable content!

  In fact speaking of content and “My Aquarium Box”, I know in speaking with a friend/mentor in this industry that when it comes to fish food, they most definitely are all about the marketing and not at all about the facts in that they spewed back incorrect information about Paradigm, all the while showing no class in how they backed out of a deal to market a truly science driven food developed by fish food guru Clay Neighbors that utilized my friends years of experience too. My jaw dropped when he shared his communications with this marketing company.

  Later “My Aquarium Box” used a plagiarized formula from Paradigm [not Clay Neighbor’s updated energy optimized formula either] and branded it as their own. Then they claim there are multiple dehydrated fish foods available when is fact there is really only Clay Neighbor’s formula.
  In my thinking, this shows their character, and that they are NOT about good information driving good products. AVOID “My Aquarium Box like the plague!

  Resource:
  What is an aquarium sponge filter?

• Inexperience Posing as Experienced You have websites and Youtube channels where persons who have been in the hobby and industry sometimes only a few months and often just a year or so posing as experts in everything. For experienced aquarium keepers, these persons are easy to spot, but for the undiscerning or inexperienced, these people are sharks!

  A good example is NorthFin USA where the owner also has a Youtube channel and poses as a fish food and fish medication expert.
  He simply reads labels of fish medications like this is going to solve everyone’s problem when in fact if you looked at most API Antibiotic treatments such as Triple Sulfa and Furan 2 you would see that everyone of these matches the next! So what kind of information is this??

  You need to first look at causes and parameters, then symptoms, then finally what to treat with, which may also include changing how you feed, house, filter, etc. your aquarium.
  No wonder this guy pushes a fish food with energy levels that long term are not all that healthy for fish!

  A good place to start for REAL information in fish medications/treatments:
  Fish Diseases | How to Treat Sick Fish
  My Fish are Sick, What do I do?