I've found a big problem

[KeddyPie]

Well, I think this is probably a common problem, maybe one that some of you have not gotten over even yet.

I seem to never be satisfied with my tanks or fish - I always want CHANGE. For the last 2 or 3 months, I've just been regularly changing my tanks... Layouts, plants... And I'm satisfied with my main tank... But now I'm unsatisfied with my fish. I keep thinking "Oh, I would MUCH rather have....". I'm never simply satisfied with what I've got. Before I was satisfying this by simply getting more fish... But my tank is now to the "Slightly overstocked" point... So the only way to create change is to get rid of fish.

I try to commit myself, and I would feel guilty if I got rid of my school of bloodfin tetras simply to get something else (I was thinking of having a female betta tank, there is already 2 in there)

How do you all get over these urges to get more fish? To constantly change? I can't just get another tank (though I am tempted). I'm poor, and completly out of space. I have a 20 gallon, 2 5.5 gallons, a four gallon, and a 2.5 gallon... There is no more space. I am not sure what to do to satisfy my desire to change my fish tanks. How should I handle it?

 

[Elisabeth83]

And I thought I was alone in feeling like this For me it's not so much that I am unhappy with the fish that I have it's just I keep thinking I want to try this fish but darn I have no room and the only way I could get it is to get rid of some other fish I have. This is one of the reasons why I have 7 tanks because I want to keep so many different types but also not part with others I already have.

In the past 2 months I've been switching things up in my tanks. I've gotten rid of some of the original fish I kept when I first set up my tanks. The more typical beginner type fish. I then went out and bought fish I have never had before and well some ended up not being what I expected so I returned them. It made me feel bad but sometimes you just have to experiment.

What I have learned is to make sure you really really want the "new" fish. Take time to research and think about things for awhile. I have gotten a lot better than I used to be. Now I'm able to go into a shop see fish that I would love to have but have the control to say no. Remember there will always be fish you want!! It kind of comes and goes in phases. One month I'll think to myself I have to have that fish but then a week or two will pass and I'll find out about another fish I got to have and feel relieved that I didn't get the other fish I thought I had to have.

Right now for me it's all about Labyrinth fish, Dwarf cichlids and some of the smaller oddball type fish. I still have some room in some of my tanks to fit things in. I'm just taking my time making sure I get the fish that I really do want and not get ones that I think I want right at that moment and then be unhappy.

When your in a shop you shouldn't feel pressured to buy fish right then and there because when it comes down to it most likely the next week or next month you go in they will still be there and if they arn't then another shop will probably have them in and if they don't then the other shop will order in new ones soon enough.

If I were you I'd save up and get a big tank maybe a 55 gallon or 75 gallon then you will have a lot of space and you'll be able to keep a lot of fish without feeling like you have to return fish to get new fish.

I know my first tank here in Sweden was a 30 gallon and even that turned out to be too small after only a few months. I then thought a 14.5 gallon would give me all the extra room I needed so I bought one..well that didn't last long either before I wanted more fish and needed more room. Anyways the moral of the story is that it's always best to buy bigger than try and talk yourself into being happy with all small tanks.

 

[pseud]

It's called "Tank never looks right syndrome". Most aquarists suffer from it. Along with "Multiple Tank Syndrome".

 

[Ben]

that happened to me, and then i discovered i wasnt doing something right
So i went back to basics, just plants,cories,neons and a few dwarf cichlids. I then wanted to try something easier to maintain, so i now recently went onto African Mbuna Cichlids.
One of the things i was doing wrong was that i was doing the tank for other people, not myself. So it turned out real bad,
You just have to find something YOU feel comfortable with

DD

 

[pica_nuttalli]

perhaps you should heavily invest yourself into "water gardening". go for a couple of Amano-style planted tanks; they require an endless amount of pruning/picking/planting/perfecting.

 

[bunjiweb]

perfectly normal, usually feeds MTS...

Just remember, a fish is for life.....

Ben

 

[KeddyPie]

That isn't a bad idea, pica! I do a lot of maintenence with my plants now (the lilies need trimmed daily, because if the leafs hit the surface it'll change the way it growns new growths) and about once a week I trim all the new shoots off the Hornwart... I'm working on getting a LOT more plants in my 20 gallon slowly (it will be a nice planted tank one day, but considering MOST of my plants are grown from bulbs, it takes time

If I give in and set up my 10 gallon, I'll just put a LOT of effort into making it perfect!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Happens to me all the time... its remedied slightly in the 15 by having some of the rocks touching the filter, when I need to clean it they fall, hence I have to rearrange into a whole new rock pile. I've also just bought a tube of silicone and am busy making a load of slate ornaments.... so, I probably have to sell the plastic, and maybe the silk as I've also found the 'natural fern' things work really well and are much bushier and greener looking.... Pfft. I'm also condensing all my tanks into 3, two divided 3g's for the 4 bettas and the 15g for everything else. And then I'm going to need another divided for the pair of bettas for the first spawn, and I've decided I want to keep 3 from the first spawn.... and i'm doing two other spawns that each need another pair.... Oh I love bettas

 

[ccg]

Remember, before you purchase any fish that you should research them and know EXACTLY what they require etc.. Fish live for a long time, its pretty hard to kill most fish if you care for them, you'll find that they will be diesease free and so on.

Everytime you go to purchase a fish, think of how long they live, and then ask yourself if you are prepared to keep them for there entire life span. If you cant picture yourself keeping the same fish 5 years down the road, then do the fish a favor, and don't purchase them.

 

[KeddyPie]

I'm PREPARED to keep every fish I get. Even the ones I intend to give to OTHER people, incase the plan falls through. And every time I get a fish, I research it first, and think about it. I don't have any fish I didn't decide I want to have. I'm not 'bored' with the fish I have, or decided I don't like them or something... And I did not intend to get rid of them or something. The point it, I just desire a constant change, and was trying to think of ways to dull this desire.

I don't want to get rid of fish. I want to get MORE fish and don't have the room I love all my fishies and would not get rid of them. I kind of feel like it was being implied that I'm someone who goes out and buys random fish with little commitment, intending to simply 'get rid' of them if I decide I don't like them any longer. I've only ever bought 2 fish on a whim, and only did because I already knew all about them (both were bettas) and I had empty tanks already set up at home.