Quitting The Hobby :'(

*Big Hugs!* I'm so sorry for your losses but please don't give up. This is a wonderful hobby and if it's your passion then I don't think you should be giving up on it.

When did this start? What do you mean by slacking on the fish care? Depending on how long it's been and if you havn't been doing water changes, your tank could've maybe gotten Old Tank Syndrome and crashed and is now cloudy because of it. Do you have a test kit? What are the water parameters? Tank inhabitants? How often and what % water changes do you do? Have you messed with the filter media at all?

I have no experience with catfish other than corydoras unfortunately but what is your redtail cat doing that seems weird? Does he look different? If so, how? Can you get some pictures?
If any fish seem off you want to get on it ASAP so if it is something serious it doesn't have a chance to get too bad.

Sorry for all the questions but they will help others help you. I hope you get to feeling better, hang in there!

calm down man. it will be alright. there is a solution to every problem. i was feeling a little defeated cause my tank is bad right now too. but you just have to identify the problem and then you can fix whatever that problem is. you changed something, something is different. figure out what it is you did. pictures and as much info as you can and we can help you thru it.

here is my tank. and the pictures make it look better than it is. its really green and cloudy. side view you cant see anything at all.

TheBroc said:

calm down man. it will be alright. there is a solution to every problem. i was feeling a little defeated cause my tank is bad right now too. but you just have to identify the problem and then you can fix whatever that problem is. you changed something, something is different. figure out what it is you did. pictures and as much info as you can and we can help you thru it.

here is my tank. and the pictures make it look better than it is. its really green and cloudy. side view you cant see anything at all.

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Are you running any activated carbon through your canisters? That may help with the cloudiness or if it's an algae bloom...adding some plants to suck up the nutrients which are feeding the algae may help. Sorry about your tanks guys...keep your chins up

I lost interest for a few weeks after I lost my firewood catfish but soldiered through it and continued with my regular feedings and maintenance even though I was upset every time I did anything fish related. Took a little time but I regained my interest.

Alagae bloom I think. Try adding some carbon to use filtration and see if that helps clearing the tank. I had this issue last month I change my water 50% every 2 days and added carbon after 24 hours it cleared up.

Get a few Daphnia and your algae bloom can be gone in no time. Plus daphnia are fun filter feeders, cool to watch. Great food for killifish or livebearers, maybe you need a few small tanks and something to get your interest piqued about something else in the hobby. There are two paths to take, either get out completely for awhile (many people do as evidence by any craigslist in any city) or add more tanks and try something different. I have been at this for over twenty years and have many tanks, killifish and livebearers have been my passion for the last ten years. Yet I do have many cichlids and even a few big catfish, you need something different to keep you interested when other aspects of the hobby are not working too well. Try some planted tanks, or shrimp. Try breeding fish, that is a great challenge and lots of fun. Or maybe you do need a break and will try something else for awhile.

BlueTailCatfish said:

Man. Things suck lately. It all started with my favorite animals i have ever owned, my 5 year old guinea pig died. I lost my mind after that. It broke me. I started slacking on fish care. My one tank fell apart and i lost my channel cat, 3 loaches, my unique eel, and some others. I also lost my jaguar cichlid. I have also been fighting a uphill battle with my arowana. I think i am going to loose it tomorrow :'( my 220 gallon is always cloudy now for no reason. I have no clue why. It is unbelievable. i just want to quit. I am worried for my redtail cat. He seems weird.

Have you guys ever been in this situation? What should i do?

Without fish i feel like i am nothing. It is my passion in life. I am thinking of shifting to more reptiles.

I do not know what to do.

I am loosing control.


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Hello; First thing to come to grips with is that all of your pets are going to die. I have had fish for over 50 years. After some time they pass away. I have a few alive now that were purchased over eight years ago. Several of their tank mates purchased at the same time are gone. It is a part of the hobby.

Another thing is that I have had periods of waxing and waning interest. My general solution is to not go too extreme when my interest is particularly keen. I have come to keep things at a level at which regular maintence is not too demanding. This, in large part, is accomplished by having comparatively low density stocking of any tank. This way I can have a more relaxed water change and cleaning schedule.

I have read posts of folks having very frequent and massive water change schedules. This sort of schedule becomes wearing over time. With low density stocking and lighter feeding I can stretch out some of the regular maintence.

I have also had periods when my work was too demanding and have reduced my active tanks down to one for long stretches, in some cases years. I was able to keep the empty tanks and equipment in storage and have set them up at a later time. I currently have three tanks sitting empty that I hope to someday set back up.

I went too big to maintain a level over time at one point in my fish keeping and learned from it. This may be somewhat normal is the fish keeping experience of many.

That being said, I do sense something more in your post. The lost of a pet guinea pig should not cause such an intense reaction as to break a person or make you feel that you are losing your mind. Loss of a pet is sad for sure. I have lost dogs and other pets that made me very sad but not to the extreme you indicate. That this loss appears to have led to the neglect of the other pets under your care, seems a concern. If losing pets affects you so strongly, perhaps it is best that you consider avoiding the situation. It may be in your best interest to give up having pets for a time.

Good luck