5 Years into fishkeeping, and adulthood.

[The Morning]

Biggest difference for me is that as an adult I have the funds and the space to do more….by more I mean in my youth I had many tanks but none of them were a ascetically pleasing. Basically I had a lot of tanks but none of them were particularly pleasing to the eye. Now with added funds and a much larger house I made the choice to go for quality over quantity. Each of my tanks, IMO, looks like art in my rooms. Bare tanks on cinderblocks have given way to plants, hidden filters and 3D backgrounds. The tanks just look more grown up. Lol

 

[Ogertron3000]

[QUOTE=" Still waiting for those disposable income days!

[/QUOTE]

Enjoy them days when they arrive,you will have a brief window of time in your life before “real” adulthood and responsibilities take over your wallet.

 

[Ulu]

I wondered where Hendre had got off to...
Congrats on adulthood. It’s certainly the best.

I am officially a geezer now (over 65 years) & 5 of my grandchildren are now about Hendre’s age (18~21)

It amuses me a bit to hear them use the term “adulting”. Like they are so special as children that they had to invent a new word for regular life. None of them keep fish anymore, as they are all too busy with jobs, life, and boyfriends.

I couldn’t keep fish as a child because we moved a lot. 16 times from 1954 to 1974.

Now it is all different.

I am Post-Adulting now. I don’t work for money (only desire) yet I still work every day.

Mostly I do it all to avoid getting fat and lazy.

That is a part of adulting that I hope you never learn.

 

[Hendre]

I remember when you were still brand new here.. man you posted a lot lol, but it's genuinely great to see how far you've come both as a fishkeeper and personally as well!
I'm in the same boat somewhat.. joined this forum as a high school kid with lots of time but no money, then was a student with less time and still no money.. I actually almost got out of fishkeeping completely because I was sick of having to cut corners and improvise or DIY everything.
Fast forward a bit and I'm now working full time and as you say it's hard! I actually even work somewhat in the aquarium industry industry so I definitely have good access to the stuff I need for good prices. However I will admit that working for 8-10 hours a day on this stuff makes you less motivated to spend time on it after work, too.

The bottom line is that we're all MFKs because fishkeeping is our passion and no matter the obstacles nobody will ever get us out of this hobby completely ?

Damn yeah back in the day I posted a lot. I found DIY to be the fun part, making a lot of my stands, lights, etc. Working will definitely reduce your interest somewhat but hey passion comes and goes but never leaves. I will probably always have some sort of tank set up, even if just with some plants

Biggest difference for me is that as an adult I have the funds and the space to do more….by more I mean in my youth I had many tanks but none of them were a ascetically pleasing. Basically I had a lot of tanks but none of them were particularly pleasing to the eye. Now with added funds and a much larger house I made the choice to go for quality over quantity. Each of my tanks, IMO, looks like art in my rooms. Bare tanks on cinderblocks have given way to plants, hidden filters and 3D backgrounds. The tanks just look more grown up. Lol

That's definitely a big plus, I love my plants and will probably invest more in co2 systems for other tanks when I get older. My aquascape is by far my favourite tank visually and also my easiest to keep clean. It's definitely an improvement on the big gravel, taped on background of the past tanks I had

 

[JAYBIRD1011]

I'm 57 going on 58 soon. I didn't enter the hobby until age 40. That was the first chance due to life. I bought my 1st house instead of apartments and condo living. I just read a lot of books on the subject and killed a lot of fish through trial and error. I finally got decent at it, but this forum has been a game changer for me! I dove deep into the threads and tried to make better decisions. My experiences in fish keeping have gotten much more enjoyable. More enjoyment, less aggravation and less loss of life. You are already better off, knowledge wise, than I ever was. Follow your goals and don't let anything distract you.

 

[Fishman Dave]

and killed a lot of fish through trial and error. I finally got decent at it,

Not sure it reads how you meant, ?but I sure have felt like that at some points through my fish keeping life, when stupid mistakes or unknown issues have led to losses.

 

[esoxlucius]

Not sure it reads how you meant, ?but I sure have felt like that at some points through my fish keeping life, when stupid mistakes or unknown issues have led to losses.

Absolutely, we've all been unwillingly decent at killing fish at some time or another during our lives in the hobby, lol.

I'm pretty decent at keeping them alive at the minute, though I don't fully understand how! Maybe i'm coursing through a rich vein of luck, I don't think it's skill, lol.

 

[JAYBIRD1011]

Not sure it reads how you meant, ?but I sure have felt like that at some points through my fish keeping life, when stupid mistakes or unknown issues have led to losses.

Yeah, I didn't realize how that was going to read, in hindsight. Somehow, it's accurate either way you take it! ?

 

[jjohnwm]

"Yes, officer, he was all over the road! I had to swerve several times before I hit him..."

 

[nzafi]

I hear you. I go my first real tank back in July of '99. It was the summer between high school graduation and college. I still remember going to the store and getting my black piranha with my twin brother. We spent awhile trying to find a place that actually sold them instead of red bellies. We managed to keep that guy alive until 2017. I decided then to stay in the hobby and even got my first giant aquarium (535g). Unfortunately, it had a leaky bulkhead during the winter and I have been fishless for 7-8 months for the first time in 22 years. I debate everyday if I setup that tank again or just leave the hobby permanently.