Bored with the Hobby!

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Fish tank burnout happens to everyone. I've been keeping fish for 30+ years. Lots of maintenance involved. Last few years I get more enjoyment out of my ponds than fish tanks. If it wasn't for my aquarium club and all the wonderful people I have met, I would probably be out of the hobby. And yet I will still occasionally buy a new fish. LOL!
 
You can always go salty...I started about a year ago after i recieved my trio of goonch. I waited 6 years to get em and when i finally did i felt like my fish search ended for freshwater species. Its sometimes nice to not have to look anymore hah...But anyway i started with a 55 gallon salt setup and now i have 8 salt tanks and an erray of new species. Triggers,groupers,moreys,angels,butterflies,puffers,tangs,clowns and sharks. It opens up another endless page of fish to aquire and really got me back in the hobby a while back. I still have my bread and butter though of course and hold my freshies close to my heart hah..happy fish hunting, it will never stop.
 
If you're bored with the hobby, just leave it [for a while] and find another one. Why stick to it when there's no enjoyment? It's not like a marriage where you would try to make it work; it's only a hobby. My 2 cents!
 
Miguel said:
In my experience, during our ' bored ' periods is when our fish fare best! The least we are fretting and watching and oing this and that, the better they are...
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Agreed. But to the OP point, im never bored as I don't view it as a game, but a way of life. :)
 
Miguel said:
It happens. Keep what you have and put youself in sleeper mode. Just maintain it and do as little work as you can with it.
Skip MFK for a perido.

One word of advice after 38 years of fishkeeping. The bug will not quit. It is in your blood. It will bite back with a revenge. Of that you can be assured ( even if you sell everything and stay fallow for years )

M
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so true.. it was actually nice to catch up on some other things while I was out of the hobby. Got back into sports a bit, did some car work that needed to be done long ago (it seems car maintenance never ends). Then a couple of months ago, I bought a fish for my cousin's birthday. Had to maintain it until his big day and back in this loop I am lol might I even say the bug bit harder this time.

what had me going before was my search for the best for my fish (food, water parameters, small details). But when you get to the point where you know what makes your fish happy, it feels more like maintenance than fun. if anyone can relate, it's like modding cars.. the build is more fun than plateauing with a final result imo
 
I think everyone needs a break at time.

The tough thing about this hobby is that when you are bored, you still need to do water changes and maintenance.. then it becomes another chore instead of something fun.

I used to have a full fishroom in the basement at my old house.
After we moved, I got one 300 gallon, upstairs in the living room. I have a nice couch in front of it, so it's a lot more comfortable to view than the racks in the basement. I have a nice water changing system, so that's no longer a chore. It's nice to sit in front of the tank when on the phone, etc.
That increased my enjoyment. A big tank is generally easier to take care of than 2 smaller tanks.

However, the bug recently acted up again.. I had a bunch of empty tanks.. I have 8 set up now.. Most are just temporary grow out tanks..
Eventually I will be down to just the 300 (africans) and a 75 gallon community tank though.
I just can't do breeding constantly anymore.. lol.. I usually end up giving away all the offspring anyhow.

So, OP, if you are that bored, why not just give away your last 3 fish, and take a break for 6 months or longer?
 
get a large pond if you could, and put everything in there, accordingly, which is what I do when I got tired of my fish. Besides, the fish seems to be doing better in the pond rather than in the tank.
 
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