Every so often there are fishkeeping myths that emerge, and they can prevail, kept alive as ‘folk wisdom’ and regurgitated without question. 

One of my ongoing goals since starting with PFK has been to call out the orthodoxy wherever it appears stale or dogmatic, and while fishkeeping doesn’t have many hold-the-front-page Watergate style scandals or stunning revelations, I like to promote stories that chip away at commonly held beliefs where I find them. This month my contributors and I have kept true to that tradition — Chris Green questions the wisdom of keeping freshwater ‘sharks’ singly, while Rebecca Bentley asks why we don’t scrutinise what we feed our catfish. Max Pedley brings us good news of conservation success with livebearers, while I try to tackle our innate fear of barbs, one species at a time. 

It has been a fun issue to curate!