Not motivated :(

[StripySnailGirl04]

Hello everyone,

Sorry, I haven't been online for a long time again. Recently, I haven't been motivated to do anything related to the fish-keeping hobby.
Everything in my tank is dying. I'm down to 5 fish now and 2 snails. The anubias is unwell, especially the one on the coco cave that I have. The only thing thriving right now is the java moss that has expanded a lot.
I am not really motivated to do anything to my tank, and due to inflation, it is unlikely that my parents will even allow me to get new stuff for my aquarium, not even to get another one.
My water conditions are quite specific, and if I gave away my fish, they would almost certainly die straight away because there is no guarantee that their new tank would be cycled (for example). I really can't do anything at the moment.
My only plan right now is to wait until all the fish pass away (what else can I do, new fish wouldn't be optimal either for multiple reasons) and maybe use my current tank for breeding rabbit snails?

Hopefully I can get back into the hobby soon but in the meantime, I won't be contributing a lot on this forum.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hey Girl. So sorry about your situation. Sometimes, despite your best effort, a tank just doesn't respond. There is one thing to do. That's to make sure you perform your weekly water change. If you're not already, gradually work up to the point you remove and replace most of the water every week. The cost is minimal and I think over time, you'll see a big difference in your fish tank.

"Keep the Faith"

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[GaryE]

If you keep the water changes coming , your fish could be good for 3 to 5 years of life, if I remember what you have coreectly So hang in, take care of them (they are not responsible for your motivation and deserve a good life). Some time between 2025 and 2030 you can get rabbit snails.

In the meantime, you sound very blue and may want to talk to someone about that.

 

[Back in the fold]

That’s life. Keep in mind that this is just a hobby and that it’s something you want to do and not something you have to do. There’s nothing wrong at all with stepping back from it occasionally. Take care of what you do have and keep your eye on things because sometimes an aquarium will do its own thing despite what you want it to do.

 

[Wills]

Hello everyone,

Sorry, I haven't been online for a long time again. Recently, I haven't been motivated to do anything related to the fish-keeping hobby.
Everything in my tank is dying. I'm down to 5 fish now and 2 snails. The anubias is unwell, especially the one on the coco cave that I have. The only thing thriving right now is the java moss that has expanded a lot.
I am not really motivated to do anything to my tank, and due to inflation, it is unlikely that my parents will even allow me to get new stuff for my aquarium, not even to get another one.
My water conditions are quite specific, and if I gave away my fish, they would almost certainly die straight away because there is no guarantee that their new tank would be cycled (for example). I really can't do anything at the moment.
My only plan right now is to wait until all the fish pass away (what else can I do, new fish wouldn't be optimal either for multiple reasons) and maybe use my current tank for breeding rabbit snails?

Hopefully I can get back into the hobby soon but in the meantime, I won't be contributing a lot on this forum.

What are the fish you have now? Could you try breeding them? A way of adding new life to the tank and its very rewarding!

I always think a good rescape can be how to reinvigorate your enthusiasm - research some ideas and themes that you can do with what you have or what you can find and set aside some time to indulge in it

If your Java Moss is doing well have you thought about doing a moss wall? You just need 2 pieces of mesh to wedge them between and let it grow. Looks really effective as well. I've never had much luck with moss so jealous that it goes easy for you If your Anubias is not doing too well try removing the worst affected leaves and maybe try splitting up the rhizome. Both of those things will encourage new growth that while slow might be a bit healthier than the older leaves.

 

[StripySnailGirl04]

I am still doing weekly water changes and feeding the fish, after all, the longer they live, the better. Im expecting my remaining cardinal tetras to die soon (I've had them for about a year and they don't last long in hard water). I have 2 Rosy Barbs that seem good for now and my last danio has been alive for 5+ years and may be immortal at this point (there should be a danio fish of the month contest soon hopefully, I'd love to participate in one).

The Java moss wall is a good idea, should I have a fine mesh so fish don't get stuck in it?
And I should probably separate the anubias soon.

Also, what happened to the marketplace on this forum?

 

[Essjay]

The classified section is still there, but not used much these days.

 

[Wills]

I am still doing weekly water changes and feeding the fish, after all, the longer they live, the better. Im expecting my remaining cardinal tetras to die soon (I've had them for about a year and they don't last long in hard water). I have 2 Rosy Barbs that seem good for now and my last danio has been alive for 5+ years and may be immortal at this point (there should be a danio fish of the month contest soon hopefully, I'd love to participate in one).

The Java moss wall is a good idea, should I have a fine mesh so fish don't get stuck in it?
And I should probably separate the anubias soon.

Also, what happened to the marketplace on this forum?

Hmmm that is a tough mix but something a lot of us end up in sometimes. What size is the tank? Are you sure, should you get the spark back, new fish are never going to be an option? A couple of nice Endlers or Guppies could be a good choice to put in a load of colour and activity but low enough numbers for them to be easy to care for plus they are pretty inexpensive - I've been seeing some truly awesome strains recently and they are £3-£5 each so £9-£15 would get you a great little trio and let them go from there, you dont need to worry about schooling numbers, you don't need to worry about hardness as they do great in hard water and its just something to keep your hands in the hobby.

I didnt quite get your point about your current fish being in very specific water and being at risk if you rehomed them? The thing to remember in this situation is that your fish are not, not at risk as if you're not fully engaged and they are not in their schools I'd probably say its a good 50/50 if they will end up better off - though if for example you were in a store and saw they had a big group of Rosy Barbs, I'd say your two will have a better future than they do with you now. But I might be missing something with the water levels that you mentioned.

There are a bunch of good guides on YouTube for moss walls - I'm not sure how to describe the mesh you use its quite stiff sheets and I think its used for some kind of craft? Not sure which though. You fasten it quite tightly so I don't think it would be a risk to fish.

Wills

 

[StripySnailGirl04]

Hmmm that is a tough mix but something a lot of us end up in sometimes. What size is the tank? Are you sure, should you get the spark back, new fish are never going to be an option? A couple of nice Endlers or Guppies could be a good choice to put in a load of colour and activity but low enough numbers for them to be easy to care for plus they are pretty inexpensive - I've been seeing some truly awesome strains recently and they are £3-£5 each so £9-£15 would get you a great little trio and let them go from there, you dont need to worry about schooling numbers, you don't need to worry about hardness as they do great in hard water and its just something to keep your hands in the hobby.

I have a 40l tank.
My tank is quite small (which by itself is not a problem) but I have really hard water. I don't mind keeping snails and not returning to fish keeping unless I get a bigger tank. I used to keep guppies but there were many babies and 3 would die every day to a very creepy looking disease. I wouldn't want to see dead guppies again but given my tank size that is the only option, as well as endlers.

I didnt quite get your point about your current fish being in very specific water and being at risk if you rehomed them? The thing to remember in this situation is that your fish are not, not at risk as if you're not fully engaged and they are not in their schools I'd probably say its a good 50/50 if they will end up better off - though if for example you were in a store and saw they had a big group of Rosy Barbs, I'd say your two will have a better future than they do with you now. But I might be missing something with the water levels that you mentioned

My remaining fish had to get used to my water and be resistant to things that might be in the water. I have some of the hardest water in the UK (which is not good for any fish species I have right now) so to rehome them to someone with soft water, I'll probably have to travel quite far to transport the fish. My danio and barbs have lived in my tank for 3+ years and since they are very used to my tank conditions, rehoming them where the water can be different, they may die from a sudden and different water environment (I think). I could rehome my barbs (I have a male and female) but the rest of fish I will probably keep.

 

[Wills]

I have a 40l tank.
My tank is quite small (which by itself is not a problem) but I have really hard water. I don't mind keeping snails and not returning to fish keeping unless I get a bigger tank. I used to keep guppies but there were many babies and 3 would die every day to a very creepy looking disease. I wouldn't want to see dead guppies again but given my tank size that is the only option, as well as endlers.


My remaining fish had to get used to my water and be resistant to things that might be in the water. I have some of the hardest water in the UK (which is not good for any fish species I have right now) so to rehome them to someone with soft water, I'll probably have to travel quite far to transport the fish. My danio and barbs have lived in my tank for 3+ years and since they are very used to my tank conditions, rehoming them where the water can be different, they may die from a sudden and different water environment (I think). I could rehome my barbs (I have a male and female) but the rest of fish I will probably keep.

I can definitely sympathise with the hard water 20Gh out of the tap for me at the moment! It sometimes goes down to around 14 but nothing I can really do. I've been doing my best with it and finding the right tropical species but finally decided to lean into it more and embrace the Malawi side of the hobby now - hoping to tackle Tanganyikans at some point too.

If you live in a hard water area though, anyone who buys them from your nearest good LFS will likely keep them in hard water too but potentially in a bigger school that will ultimately benefit them. I agree to not taking them far away to a soft water LFS is not ideal as they will risk the shock but you could probably think of it as a sliding scale. At the moment they are in low numbers in hard water and you're not totally up to date with your maintenance, so if you took them to a store (thinking something like a Maidenhead Aquatics) they'd go into a tank with more of their own kind and potentially into a new home tank in a bigger group, their new owner could be as likely as you are currently to do the maintenance but they would still be in hard water so you'd be looking at fixing 2 out of 3 which I think is reasonable for them and you.

Your original post showed me that you're not loving this great hobby right now but you can tell that you want to and I think keeping your current fish isn't really fair on you or them.

Having a smaller tank, the cost of restocking it actually goes in your favour if you think about it. You're not going to be in a position to have loads of species and combinations so keep it simple and go for something that does well in hard water, and does not get too big, you can keep in a good-sized group and go from there.

If Guppies/ Endlers don't work for you how about a school of Galaxy Rasboras, you often get them for about £2 each and a school of 10 would look great in there. Another option would be to be a bit more adventurous and go for a pair of Shell Dwelling Cichlids, again only 2 small fish usually £12-£20 for a pair and £10 for a bag of snail shells from Amazon.

Another good hard water fish are Dwarf Puffers, depending on your footprint this could work too with a small group of 5 fish in a 40-litre tank. But they are a little more expensive, usually around £5 per fish (though sometimes a bit more).

Wills