What excuses do you Use?

[Pipedreamer86]

Dude I just have a 150, a 2 tens, and a turtle(which is her sons) and the other night she went ballastic saying I spent more time with my fish than her! We live together, sleep in the same bed, and have.the same schedule! If youve got an idea share it! I've tried to.get her involved and she helps some, but no.passion for tje.hobby... I even tried the "I could be one of those guys whose hobbies keep.him out of the.house" argument!

 

[MikeWidd]

Dude, you seriously need to set up at least four additional tanks!

See that's what I'm saying!

 

[jetajockey]

I'm lucky in this department because my girlfriend is cool with all of the fish tanks, and I also met her after I had most of them, so it came as a package deal.

 

[MikeWidd]

Dude I just have a 150, a 2 tens, and a turtle(which is her sons) and the other night she went ballastic saying I spent more time with my fish than her! We live together, sleep in the same bed, and have.the same schedule! If youve got an idea share it! I've tried to.get her involved and she helps some, but no.passion for tje.hobby... I even tried the "I could be one of those guys whose hobbies keep.him out of the.house" argument!

She was Ok with it at first. Considering I put the first 55g on the kitchen table....lol And I kid you not there was just enough room to sit down with a plate. We spent many nights eating dinner like that, till I moved it.

 

[mudraker]

You might need to set up a 5th tank for those ghost glass cats of hers....

 

[Laurie]

My husband has his own hobbies (gaming, vintage stereo stuff, guitars) so it all evens out. He knows it makes me happy. Although if I brought home another dog (four dachshunds right now) he might divorce me. I don't think that's a money issue though. Doxies and aquariums are like Lays chips. You can't have just one! LOL

 

[marsh]

Dude I just have a 150, a 2 tens, and a turtle(which is her sons) and the other night she went ballastic saying I spent more time with my fish than her! We live together, sleep in the same bed, and have.the same schedule! If youve got an idea share it! I've tried to.get her involved and she helps some, but no.passion for tje.hobby... I even tried the "I could be one of those guys whose hobbies keep.him out of the.house" argument!

You sound like my (clueless) husband. No offense, he is my fave guy in the whole world but he also doesn't understand the difference between time together vs. quality time or romantic attention.

When was the last time you..... (Husband test coming)

Brought home a ridiculous huge bouquet of flowers that WERE NOT roses? Roses don't count, roses only fly on valentines or mom's day, just lazy.

Said "don't touch those dishes honey I will clean the kitchen BEFORE BED because dinner was fabulous and you are as gifted in the kitchen as you are in the bedroom"

Went shopping for expensive lingerie in her size and made sure not to mention the salesgirl who picked it out for you (ha 50 bonus points if you have this one under your belt)

Hired a gardener because she can't stand the weeds in the driveway.

Offered to send her to a day spa ($300 for 4-6 hours) because she has had a terrible week of work or nursed the whole family with a flu for a week.

I'm sorry buddy, sleeping in bed with our husbands every night is not exactly a luxury, you snore, sweat, stink and mess up the sheets. Quit taking her for granted and allow your mind to leave the topic of aquaria long enough to nurture the one who supports your whole life and cleans up after you!

Edit: for what it's worth, I'm the aquarium addict and my hubby could care less about my new aquascapes or snail discoveries or when Marshall bites his tail again, and that hurts too. I'm sorry if your wife doesn't "get" the hobby.

My man is all into audio stuff and I have to feign interest in vintage synthesizers and moog machines till the cows come home, and I can't tell you how many hours I've spent looking at the carpet in used music shops.

I emptied out our spare bedroom(saved the closet space for myself) and told him make a "beat laboratory" like in the movie stepbrothers. <mod edit>

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Haha yall are to funny

If I have spare tanks I just set them up while she is away lol. When she gets home I say oops well I didn't think you'll get mad and I had this great idea so I did it. It always stays

When it comes to buying a new tank
She may say no but if I have the money I just put it on the table grab the tank and walk to the car. Lol she doesn't get a chance to say anything, till in the car that is. I work nights and she works days so we don't see a lot of each other anyways. Haha I win at least in my thoughts till she says hey you bought a tank the other day you get to take me to dinner in a movie. Lol ok I enjoy those two things too once again in my thoughts.

Anyways ive told her many of times to get a hobby its not my fault she doesn't have one, right? Well then she started saying I want a reef tank lol win win again for me lol

That's the thing, the community tank is pretty much hers. but she's got those Ghost catfish that don't do anything and guppies. I remodeled the bedroom, both bathrooms, and I am putting a 55 in the wall in the living room. I think I deserve it. I thinking a 55g Piranha tank.

Like I said I'd just do it the couch is more comfortable anyway lol plus then you can lay there and look at the new in wall build and think about stock. Win win lol just my opinion

 

[Tetra1990]

Here is an idea. Let him/her pick out fish that they like, but with guidelines. Last weekend, I moved some fish from my 10 to the 'big 29 gallon'. I let my mom stock the 10 gallon. I also got new plants, she told me to buy them!

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

Luckily I don't have that issue.
My girlfriend was the one who got me interested in the hobby after a few hit or miss episodes of "Tanked".

I started out with an overstocked 5 gallon ( TY Petco employee- 4 platy's, 4 mollies, 2 snails and a pleco!!!). Obviously, I lost half of my stock in a matter of days.

She looked on Craigslist and found a used 38 gallon included everything. We got it- and 2 months later we took it down bc the tank began to bow!!! So then we found a 37g marine land tank on sale at Petco and bought that.

My platy's had babies and we have kept them thus far in that original 5g tank.

They're entirely too cramped in there, so TIME FOR A NEW TANK!!!! Found a used 20g.
Now, time to set it up.

I'll use it for the fry until they are big enough to re-home and then stock with something else.

End result, she doesn't wan to help with the tanks. But she does love sitting in front of them for hours and compliments me on the new scape or my choice in fish ( my blue angels won her over hands down ).

Good luck and just keep trying. Make sure to pay attention to her as much as you do your your tanks and make sure something is in it for her.

 

[jcolon]

Ha ha ... I said it from the beginning this was going to open up a can of worms.

 

[Laurie]

My man is all into audio stuff and I have to feign interest in vintage synthesizers and moog machines till the cows come home, and I can't tell you how many hours I've spent looking at the carpet in used music shops.

We are sisters. Truly.

 

[Mrc8858]

Ha ha ... I said it from the beginning this was going to open up a can of worms.

Doesn't it always lol... So, a word of advice for you bachelors and bachelorettes. Find yourself another fish junky so this isn't an issue lmao

 

[Tetra1990]

Doesn't it always lol... So, a word of advice for you bachelors and bachelorettes. Find yourself another fish junky so this isn't an issue lmao

True, but the fun is in converting people. Either into fish keepers or your other interests. And yes, with time, it can be done.

 

[Wyomingite]

I have (2) 55g Cichlid setups, 40g Community, and a 20g breeder tank. The problem is I still have 2 more 55g and a 30g sitting out back. They are calling my name everyday. How do you guys sell this to your Wives/Girlfriends. I cooled off on the tanks for awhile earlier this year then I brought home a dog and 2 cats. She say's NO MORE, but come on guys you can never have enough tanks running.

Who's with me?

Step 1 - If ya have kids, get up at 6:00 AM, get 'em ready for school, drop 'em off and bring her a cup of Starbuck's and a croissant on the way home so she can sleep in. No kids? Get up and get her the coffee and croissant anyways.
Step 2 - Vacuum the house thoroughly.
Step 3 - Wash and fold all the laundry so she doesn't hafta do it on her day off.
Step 4 - Wash the dishes, or at least take 'em outta the dishwasher and load up any dirties.
Step 5 - Dust.
Step 6 - Take out the garbage.
Step 7 - Change the bedding. Refer to Step 3.
Step 8 - Buy her a bouquet of her favorite flowers. NOT roses, roses are a cop out 'cept fer Valentine's day.
Step 9 - If yer like me, DO NOT cook for her (impossible), but take her to her favorite restaurant. If ya can cook, show off yer culinary skills with her favorite dish! Ensure ya ask the proper questions 'bout her day and initiate conversation that she can become involved in. DO NOT bring up aquariums at this time! Fatal mistake.
Step 10 - A good chick flick.
Step 11 - Tell her how much ya love her and what a special person she is.
Step 12 - Tell her YOU wear the pants in the family and you ARE settin' up those fish tanks whether she likes it or not.
Step 13 - If yer still alive after Step 12, yer good to go!

(For a lady tryin' to convince a man, skip Steps 1-6, buy a case of his favorite beer and pop a DiGiornio's in the oven, put a good action flick in the DVD, refer to Step 7 'cept don't worry 'bout changin' the bedding 'til later, and then tell him ya wanna set up another tank. He'll be putty in yer hands!)

This is from a guy with 55 tanks, buddy! It works! 'Cept ya really should ASK if ya can wear the pants in the family before ya tell yer settin' up the other tanks...

WYite

 

[BobandBecca]

True, but the fun is in converting people. Either into fish keepers or your other interests. And yes, with time, it can be done.

My old lady fell in love with the tank in about 3 days.....

 

[Pipedreamer86]

Step 1 - If ya have kids, get up at 6:00 AM, get 'em ready for school, drop 'em off and bring her a cup of Starbuck's and a croissant on the way home so she can sleep in. No kids? Get up and get her the coffee and croissant anyways.
Step 2 - Vacuum the house thoroughly.
Step 3 - Wash and fold all the laundry so she doesn't hafta do it on her day off.
Step 4 - Wash the dishes, or at least take 'em outta the dishwasher and load up any dirties.
Step 5 - Dust.
Step 6 - Take out the garbage.
Step 7 - Change the bedding. Refer to Step 3.
Step 8 - Buy her a bouquet of her favorite flowers. NOT roses, roses are a cop out 'cept fer Valentine's day.
Step 9 - If yer like me, DO NOT cook for her (impossible), but take her to her favorite restaurant. If ya can cook, show off yer culinary skills with her favorite dish!
Step 10 - A good chick flick.
Step 11 - Tell her how much ya love her and what a special person she is.
Step 12 - Tell her YOU wear the pants in the family and you ARE settin' up those fish tanks whether she likes it or not.
Step 13 - If yer still alive after Step 12, yer good to go!

(For a lady tryin' to convince a man, skip Steps 1-6, buy a case of his favorite beer and pop a DiGiornio's in the oven, put a good action flick in the DVD, refer to Step 7 'cept don't worry 'bout changin' the bedding 'til later, and then tell him ya wanna set up another tank. He'll be putty in yer hands!)

This is from a guy with 55 tanks, buddy! It works! 'Cept ya really should ASK if ya can wear the pants in the family before ya tell yer settin' up the other tanks...

WYite

You, my friend, are a BOSS. I wish I had the money to have 55 tanks running... one day hopefully... My lady isn't really TOO bad about it, when I posted earlier the argument was still fresh in my head. She doesn't argue if I want to set up a new tank, it really does just work like you said, maybe not step by step, but the idea is the same. Show them affection and attention, and compromise comes easy.

 

[BobandBecca]

BTW Wyominite is 100% correct!!! That's pure gold.

 

[Zactheninja]

Actually I've been taking down tanks recently.
I got to a point when I couldn't do anymore and I still wanted to do new projects.
So I combined a few tanks, sold a few fish, but the tanks I still have look better than ever.

 

[Pizza101]

Just be the man of the house! Enough said..