Why is this hobby so addicting???

[JAnders]

Started with a gifted goldfish bowl.

Fast forward a year and the goldfish is in a 29g, we have a 10g in the finished basement (guppies), a 4 gallon in my wife's home office (shrimp) and a 55g in my home office (cichlids).

I'd get a 125 but I have no room and my wife won't let me sell the living room couch to make room!

I will sit and watch these guys for hours. Better than TV.


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[Andy Sager]

That's amazing! To be honest...sometimes I kinda stress about fish keeping. I love watching the tanks and fish, but sometimes i stress out about not doing enough water changes, or worrying that I'm doing something wrong. Hopefully it will become more relaxing with time but for now, I find myself worrying about the health of my tanks and my fish.

It gets easier the longer you are in the hobby.

Mebbid is right in that it does get easier the longer you are into it. You develop systems for doing things and they eventually become as routine as clockwork. It defeats the hobby if you are stressing about fish keeping. The best way to de-stress in the beginning is to do your water tests every 2-3 days once the tank has cycled. IF you are seeing any elevated levels in 2-3 days, your tank is either overstocked or you are over feeding. Higher ammonia or nitrite levels can be remedied quickly with Seachem's PRIME after doing a water change ( nothing drastic). Nitrate levels have to be pretty high in order for them to be dangerous to the fish so if you see them climbing, increase the frequency of your water changes (opposed to doing 1 major water change) until they are under control. This again, will be a sign of overstocking or overfeeding or under water changed in an older aquarium.
If you look at my thread: "Wigglers 2: Birth of a hatchery" you will see one of my racks with tanks. This is the rack with all my breeder fish and fry under 30 days old. When I do water changes, it takes me about an hour to do 17-18 tanks. That's because I have a system. I don't stress about it, I just do it because it needs to be done. But if you read through the thread, you will see some of my results ( i.e. baby fish ) That's why I do it.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brookster123]

This to this in a year.. lovin it..

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[Mebbid]

This to this in a year.. lovin it..

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But where did Bikini bottom go!?!

 

[ppo8820]

Mine all started with a gift card from my staff for Boss's day. I got a 5 gallon, which I dont even have anymore. Its been 6 months and I have a 29 tall, heavily planted, and I love it.

 

[NigelK8485]

Yep, too many cool fish. And it seems like whenever you find the next one that you absolutely need it won't work in your current tank so you need to set up another. I went from a 5.5 gallon betta tank in June to now having 2 5.5 gallons, a ten gallon, an empty 45 gallon, and a 150 gallon.


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[Nortzy21]

This hobby really can't be any more addicting! I've got 2 tanks running. One 75 gallon turtle/fish tank and a 20 gallon planted tank in the works. I don't know what I'd do without my fish..... I spend hours daily just browsing the Internet and planning out what I'm gonna do next on my tanks. Lol ?


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[Nortzy21]

This to this in a year.. lovin it..

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Absolutely love the planted tank! Awesome work


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[Mebbid]

From this

to this in a year

Then I got really into this

which led to my planted tank looking like this

It's on it's way back to looking nice though

I still have that same amazon sword that I had back in the first pic that was hiding behind the driftwood. Some of the same fish too actually.

 

[fishychick]

Mebbid and Brookster,
Those are beauuuutiful! I love seeing tanks like that because it gives me something to shoot for. I'd love to have tanks like that someday! But I have a lot to learn and a loooong way to go.


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[fishychick]

This hobby really can't be any more addicting! I've got 2 tanks running. One 75 gallon turtle/fish tank and a 20 gallon planted tank in the works. I don't know what I'd do without my fish..... I spend hours daily just browsing the Internet and planning out what I'm gonna do next on my tanks. Lol ?


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If my job finds out how much time I spend online checking out fish stuff....I'm screwed! Lol.


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[Mebbid]

Mebbid and Brookster,
Those are beauuuutiful! I love seeing tanks like that because it gives me something to shoot for. I'd love to have tanks like that someday! But I have a lot to learn and a loooong way to go.


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I started a thread forever ago for people to post the progression of their tanks. It was pretty popular there for a bit.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271475

 

[fishychick]

Mebbid is right in that it does get easier the longer you are into it. You develop systems for doing things and they eventually become as routine as clockwork. It defeats the hobby if you are stressing about fish keeping. The best way to de-stress in the beginning is to do your water tests every 2-3 days once the tank has cycled. IF you are seeing any elevated levels in 2-3 days, your tank is either overstocked or you are over feeding. Higher ammonia or nitrite levels can be remedied quickly with Seachem's PRIME after doing a water change ( nothing drastic). Nitrate levels have to be pretty high in order for them to be dangerous to the fish so if you see them climbing, increase the frequency of your water changes (opposed to doing 1 major water change) until they are under control. This again, will be a sign of overstocking or overfeeding or under water changed in an older aquarium.

If you look at my thread: "Wigglers 2: Birth of a hatchery" you will see one of my racks with tanks. This is the rack with all my breeder fish and fry under 30 days old. When I do water changes, it takes me about an hour to do 17-18 tanks. That's because I have a system. I don't stress about it, I just do it because it needs to be done. But if you read through the thread, you will see some of my results ( i.e. baby fish ) That's why I do it.



Hope this helps.

I feel like I had just gotten comfortable with my 10 gallon and my 5 gallon. Just like you are talking about, I knew my tanks, I knew how much to feed, I had figured out how many water changes I needed and when.... And then I blew it all up for two bigger tanks! Lol. I'll be glad when I get back to that place with my new tanks. But it's good to hear from folks with a lot of experience about how to balance and upkeep without going crazy. I think once my two new tanks are established and stocked I might just relax and enjoy them for awhile. I hope, lol. I'll check out the thread for sure!


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[fishychick]

I started a thread forever ago for people to post the progression of their tanks. It was pretty popular there for a bit.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271475

What a great idea! I love looking at other peoples' tanks.


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[creno9210]

Yah well what sucks for me is i have one year before we get stationed somewhere else.
So should I really put the time and money and effort into having a planted tank , just to move in another year? I don't know how long a plant can live in a sealed bag of tank water, so if anyone has any tips, let me know.
I'm pretty depressed about this.
I live fish keeping. It's my absolute joy and hobby. Besides my 1 year old. Haha.

Any tips on moving and starting over with plants, lmk.

I just adopted a red ear slider, and found out you pretty much can't fly with them. Even if they're in cargo! What **** is that ?

29 gallon~ 5 giant danio, pleco, chinese algae eater
35 gallon~ red ear slider, soon to add guppys and shrimps

 

[creno9210]

^ after this year we move
Then in another year we get stationed somewhere else for a few years.
(Husband has 2 years of school in the Navy, before we get stationed.
Just to clarify.

29 gallon~ 5 giant danio, pleco, chinese algae eater
35 gallon~ red ear slider, soon to add guppys and shrimps

 

[Mebbid]

Yah well what sucks for me is i have one year before we get stationed somewhere else.
So should I really put the time and money and effort into having a planted tank , just to move in another year? I don't know how long a plant can live in a sealed bag of tank water, so if anyone has any tips, let me know.
I'm pretty depressed about this.
I live fish keeping. It's my absolute joy and hobby. Besides my 1 year old. Haha.

Any tips on moving and starting over with plants, lmk.

I just adopted a red ear slider, and found out you pretty much can't fly with them. Even if they're in cargo! What **** is that ?

29 gallon~ 5 giant danio, pleco, chinese algae eater
35 gallon~ red ear slider, soon to add guppys and shrimps

I wrap the plants in moist paper towel and then stick them in plastic bags. They hold for 2 to 3 days that way.

 

[creno9210]

I wrap the plants in moist paper towel and then stick them in plastic bags. They hold for 2 to 3 days that way.

Okay so basically fill the tanks as soon as we get to where we are going.

Do you know how long a filter media sealed in tank water would last before the bacteria starts to die?

29 gallon~ 5 giant danio, pleco, chinese algae eater
35 gallon~ red ear slider, soon to add guppys and shrimps

 

[Mebbid]

Okay so basically fill the tanks as soon as we get to where we are going.

Do you know how long a filter media sealed in tank water would last before the bacteria starts to die?

29 gallon~ 5 giant danio, pleco, chinese algae eater
35 gallon~ red ear slider, soon to add guppys and shrimps

I wouldnt worry too much about bacteria. Its sturdy stuff.

 

[creno9210]

Okay. I'll probably just shove That **** in my purse. Food saver, so I have a guarantee seal lol. Thank you.

29 gallon~ 5 giant danio, pleco, chinese algae eater
35 gallon~ red ear slider, soon to add guppys and shrimps