Major Breakdown!

[MermaidMel]

Hey guys, I've not been around much, had one of those 'hate my tanks' periods in my life. I have the tanks/stocking in my sig but have been really off fish, even sold tanks recently.
I've been racking my brains, I think having no time or no space in my house makes one feel slightly depressed!! I have made a big decision. I am breaking down both tanks. I am selling most of my plants, all my bogwood, most of my fish and keeping just my Trigon in the lounge, with either a rock formation landscape or I will keep my sumatra wood and crypts as the central display and just keep my black neons and congo tetra. They are both hardy and peaceful fish, as well as stunning to watch. They are not messy either. The plecs are gorgeous but too messy for me, my huge synos and huge hoplo are also very messy, my pandas are cute but pretty useless and need a bigger shoal anyway which I don't want and rest of the fish I have don't interest me anymore.

So what do you think, a rock formation display for my new stocking or keep the wood and the crypts I've been growing for so long that are now really huge???

Do you think this will be a nice stocking? just 2 types of fish?

 

[minxfishy]

Dont know what to advise on the set up, but I can sympathise with the feeling of 'hate' towards the tanks/fish. Been going thru it myself lately, no reason I can think of, just fed up with them, so Im back down to one tank and even that one, Ive found myself wondering if I should just rehome the fish and sell up completely

 

[MermaidMel]

Dont know what to advise on the set up, but I can sympathise with the feeling of 'hate' towards the tanks/fish. Been going thru it myself lately, no reason I can think of, just fed up with them, so Im back down to one tank and even that one, Ive found myself wondering if I should just rehome the fish and sell up completely

Is it the tank in your sig you still have? That is one seriously beautiful set up
I think I have winter blues hun, but not sure what your reason is, don't you find it goes up and down - the excitement is in the setting up of and stocking of new tanks, once it's done, there doesn't seem as much reward because you aren't doing anything other than maintenance, hence so many of us keep buying tanks and selling them then buying again

 

[minxfishy]

Your right there, I get depressed, cheer myself up with another new tank, stock it etc, then get bored, buy another etc, then so fed up with doing all the work on then, sell them all again.

Yeah the one Ive got left is the one in the sig, I keep changing it around, happy with it one minute, then changing it around again the next! Im sure the fish just roll their eyes at me and think Im bonkers, they dont even flinch when I start messing with their home.

 

[mr130gallon]

i think the funnest part is setting it up, or taking on challanges, like trying to breed fish, then when successfull try a different kind or fish, or even try a kind of fish that hasnt ever been bred in captivity, that would keep the suspense and hope going

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I get far too attached to my fish. I treat them like family members. I've had a lot of my fish for many years (only newbies are my 2 blue Jack Dempsey's bought May this year. They came to the cinema with me and my kids after I bought them and had to sit through Wolverine in Leister Square. I spent the whole film worrying they'd be stressed by the noise levels.
I do enjoy setting up new tanks but not seperating from my fish. I did, at one time, have up to 16 tanks running but I was breeding bettas. I stopped after my oldest girl passed at the age of 3. I have a tattoo of my fave old boy (done after he passed some years ago at the age of 2+). Still miss him.
P.
P.S:The J.D's were both fine and have doubled in size now.

 

[Knox213]

I get far too attached to my fish. I treat them like family members. I've had a lot of my fish for many years (only newbies are my 2 blue Jack Dempsey's bought May this year. They came to the cinema with me and my kids after I bought them and had to sit through Wolverine in Leister Square. I spent the whole film worrying they'd be stressed by the noise levels.
I do enjoy setting up new tanks but not seperating from my fish. I did, at one time, have up to 16 tanks running but I was breeding bettas. I stopped after my oldest girl passed at the age of 3. I have a tattoo of my fave old boy (done after he passed some years ago at the age of 2+). Still miss him.
P.
P.S:The J.D's were both fine and have doubled in size now.

My moms oscars where my brother's

Shame she sold them!

After all she has 4 kids

Im One of the four
1 brother
2 sisters

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I'm one of three. I have 2 brothers. We weren't allowed pets of our own as kids. Nowadays I keep cats, a bearded dragon and fish. My daughter has 2 gerbils living in a huge vivarium that used to belong to my beardie as a baby.
P.

 

[shelaghfishface]

mel have you thought about marine? maybe a new challenge is all you need.. bet you have room for a little nano tank there somewhere, maybe worth thinking about

but i definately know what you mean about getting fed up with the tanks

hope you find a solution that makes you happy

shelagh xxxx

 

[Amberleaf]

Don't get rid of your Betta, 'Cameo'. Bettas are absolutely *awesome*. ^^;

I'd say breed Bettas, or try marine, like shelagh said. =P =)

 

[Kaidonni]

I've had a bit of this lately too, all down to the fact my tank of almost 7 years started leaking one morning back in August. Had to do an emergency evac - within an hour or so, meaning saving as much water as possible, setting new (smaller ) tank up, and getting the fish in there. Lately, my fish have been showing signs of disease, or at least irritation, and I now find my tank is theoretically overstocked (granted, I have Clown Loaches, and the idea is they can grow to massive sizes...although these ones have ceased to grow, and I've had them for 4 years at least now *touch wood*). I got all resentful, thinking that if I gave up some of these fish, I would give them all up (lost enough fish in the emergency evac...5 red phantoms and a neon tetra...surprised the Clown Loaches held up so well, when they were moved by actual hand, couldn't catch them any other way *touch wood*). Been through too much to just lose some of my prize fish...it wouldn't be worth continuing if I couldn't enjoy the fruits of my labour...

 

[meguro]

Maybe consider a new hobby/ies. And this doesnt mean u have to abandon fish keeping either. Play a sport, learn an instrument, read a book, paint etc.

This would divide up your time between the fish tank/s, as you would be spending time doing something else, therefore lessening the time you have to think about hating the tank/s.

Either that or take on some massive project like:
DIY your own tank
High maintenance planted tank (using difficult plants)
Keep fish that aren't easy to keep (wild Altums or something)
Breed fish that aren't easy to breed
Breed show fish (bettas, apistos, guppies, discus, angelfish)
Breed "rare" fish and sell them back into the community (true a. rivulatus, true a. pulcher, or some of those livebearer species)

 

[Betta5]

It never lasts. I have been fishless plenty of times but everytime im at the pet shop getting frozen mice for my snakes I cant help but look in the fish section and just sucker myself back in. I find the more tanks you have, the more it becomes a task to keep fish and its not fun anymore, its a chore. So I limit myself to 1 tank at all times, although I always end up with more.

 

[MermaidMel]

There is a lot of excitement in moving things around or getting new stock. When you are fully stocked and have no reason to go to the LFS and buy new ones, it can get a bit boring and miserable just watching the same fish day in and day out. As much as I do love them it's not like they can come for a cuddle!

I have decided today, I'm going to move my congos into my 35 gallon with my black neons and my L066 and L260 then use the 50 gallon to try keeping keyhole cichlids and add to my panda cories to make a bigger group, they have similar colouring to keyhole cichlids. it will be nice to try something new.