Well, I think this might be the end.

[NinjaSmurf]

I think I'm done. My firemouth is gasping his last breath because he starved himself, my guppies aren't exactly the light of my life, I'm down to two cories after a bad move, the tank I was thinking about setting up suddenly doesn't even sound all that appealing anymore, let alone the money it would take to get it going would take away from the money for a vehicle, and it seems everything I want is too freaking big for the tanks I have. So.

I think I'm giving up on tropicals. I'm tired and irate at how things have been going. I don't even like looking at my tanks much anymore except to admire the driftwood. None of the fish turned out to be as expected, the cichlid was not a little piggy or at all interested in me unless is was hiding from me. The guppies... my males hornied another male to death and ate him, and almost killed another one. The all just beg for food constanly no matter how much or what I give them. I think the cichlid bummed me out the most, of all the fish I've ever met a cichlid without character was never one of them, until now.

So. I think I'm going to close my two ten gallons down, decide on what to do with the guppies and cories, and decide if I'm going to try again with another type of cichlid or just get two fancy goldfish and call it a day. Eventually, when I can have a tank large enough to actually hold the tropical fish I want and I can afford it, then I'll welcome tropical fish back. For now, I need a freggin break.


Sorry to rant, but it was that or a hammer to the tanks...

 

[@ombomb]

hornied another male to death

Sorry but.....

 

[laurasmithuk]

dont give up mate...... i had no end of probs few weeks back and felt the same but have stuck with it and touch wood things seem to be looking up............. remember these things are sent to try us

 

[dwarfgourami]

I know how you feel; I've had days when I don't want to look at my tanks. But then I have days when I don't want to remember I've got kids either. I think it's the price you pay for caring for any living creature.

Lots and lots of sympathy... hang on in there, the tide is bound to turn.

P.S. Have you thought of keeping female guppies only? I found my all-female tank (platies and guppies) was a very pleasant community, with minimum hassle. They all seemed to like each other, which made a big change. If female guppies ruled the world....

 

[yvez9]

i feel you
we had a rouogh time with guppies last spring in our 50 gallon. Of about 30 6 month old guppies, 1 survived, wiping out 6 mollies as well, a small pleco and about 4 hillstream loaches. The only survivors were one gold gourami, a hillstream loach and a whiptail catfish!

The community is back up now and everything has been fine since.

Don't give up. Maybe just keep hardy fish for bnow like danios or hardy tetras...

 

[NinjaSmurf]

That's the thing, all my fish are basically hardy. I tried with the firemouth and nothing ended up working after a while, and now none of the fish really seem all that interesting to me anymore. I wanted something more interactive than guppies, which is basically all that I have.

I don't know, maybe I'm asking too much...

 

[Fella]

If you think tropicals are difficult, don't even bother with goldfish.

Sorry to hear you might be giving up though. Where's your fighting spirit?

 

[rdd1952]

Sorry to hear you're having so many problems. I went through it with algae a while back and not have a massive snail problem in my 29 gallon (anybody want about a million tiny trumpet snails). I only started in December and have already seen the times when I wanted to just throw my hands up and give up but as dwarfgourami said, I felt that way about my kids before too. Now I have 3 wonderful grandchildren which were my reward for not killing my kids on one of those bad days. Keep your head up. It will get better.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Fella, I've had goldfish before, and I really enjoyed them. They certainly did more than just smack themselves against the glass like moths to a lightbulb like my guppies do, all they care about is food and sex.

If I wanted something like that I'd get a boyfriend.

Anyways, I'm going to the fish store either tomorrow or Sat., so I'll take a look around and see what catches and holds my eye. Maybe I'll just go back to catching stuff out of the creek and then releasing it later, always worked as a kid.

 

[laurasmithuk]

please dont rush into anything you might regret it. why not give it another 6 weeks see how you go?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would sell the 2 10gal tanks and invest in a 20gal, water quality always gets easier to maintain the more gals you have and one tank will be easier maintanence than 2. Don't buy anymore fish for a while as it sounds like you need a break from a fully stocked tank but try and stick with the ones you got for a while or at least rehome the male guppys and invest in some females instead like somone suggested alreadt as they are alot more peaceful and although all guppys have a habit of paying you attention whenever you go near the tank i think this is a sign of affection more than anything else.
I think fish keeping can somtimes be more a matter of luck somtimes- somtimes you will go along fine for months then have a load of problems and somtimes you get no end of issues at first and then the tank settles down etc.
I know how you feel but don't feel discouraged, your efforts will be paid off soon .