Fishaholics Anonymous--How Bad Are You?

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aclockworkorange

Dovii
MFK Member
Jun 24, 2010
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Rose City
I belong to another "anonymous" support group for a "real-life" addiction, and with support have been sober for over two years now. Now, this is NOT a serious thread and no commentary on issues outside of this hobby is needed but it gave me a great idea for a thread... please treat this thread with humor--I seriously doubt this hobby has ever really been a negative addiction to anyone! It's all part of the fun.

I think most of us around here take this hobby pretty seriously, and might have done some interesting things along our paths.
So, here is your chance to anonymously confess to all your fishkeeping misdeeds. :naughty:

My name is aclockworkorange, and I'm a fishaholic.

I have hundreds of gallons of fish tanks in my house, and my landlord has no idea. I sneak them in under the cover of darkness so none of my neighbors see. This has being going on for quite a while now.
I spend entirely too much time researching and caring for fish. I took a low paying job at a fish wholesaler (about half of what I was getting paid before) for a few months simply because I wanted to learn more about the hobby. I had been making more than what my new boss currently made before I started working there, and I did a LOT of algae scraping and caring for guppies. But also saw a ton of rare species in a great facility and loved it.
I've literally faced times where it was a choice between buying high quality fish supplies and eating well--I choose the supplies and ate Ramen. I spend about 25% of my paycheck on fish stuff easily now.
Most of my friends here locally since I've moved are from MFK. We have a great little community up here in the NW and I wouldn't want it any other way.

There are some of mine! I love this hobby and am happy to have something that's fun and interesting and always has something new to learn. How bout you?
 
Ok I admit it I to am a fishaholic thats almost all I have on my mind lately, I have been having some health problems lately and it seems to relax and mellow me out. I drag my wife and kids around to fish stores all the time looking for that "missing piece" , when I wake up the first thing I do is check my fish and turn the lights on so I can feed them . I had downsized because I was too busy but now im getting more and more :nilly:
 
Hello clockwork,

My name is Cliff, you can call me "C" (fishmamma started that one). I am a fishaholic (also a long time member of jeepaholics! :) )

I started out with a simple garage sale, plastic, hex, 1.5 gallon aquarium. My daughter wanted a goldfish. I thought, "you know, just one isn't going to hurt anything". We went to the store to get the fish, but ended up with two. I soon realized 1.5 wasn't enough, so I bought a used 29. Now, since I had all this extra room, I thought I could get more fish. Soon, it became too much again. So, I bought a used 150! Wow, now I have some room! A short time later, I realized one thing...once you start, you can never have "enough". I started buying packaged deals...you know, 29g with stand complete, 29g complete less stand, 20g tank and lid...all for $40. It was too much! But, instead of cutting back, I bought a used 55 complete.

I went from 3 gallons to 300 gallons in two weeks.

My cravings were appeased for a short time...but then, I saw it. A brand new 125g complete for under $700! And then I found MFK and started realizing you could build these things out of plywood!

I currently have well over 70 fish, 100 if if you count fry. I went from paying $2 a fish at Petsmart to buying specialized breeding groups for $200.

Currently, my addiction and cravings are in remission. But, I avoid the MFK Marketplace just in case. I find it easier and easier everyday to avoid temptation.

BTW, anyone have an extra FX5 for sale?

lol...thanks man!
 
My addiction counselor once said that the definition of addiction is not being able or willing to stop after said actions cause repeated problems in daily life. These problems were listed as legal, marital, employment etc.

So does that mean I am not a "fishaholic" since I have never been fired, divorced or arrested because of fish? Hmmm. Maybe I don't have a "problem" after all. I should get a new tank to celebrate. :D
 
I started out with a 10g tank and a betta four years ago, then it grew until i had about 12 fish tanks and over 120 fish, mostly cichlids. Now I have cut down on the fish (waaaay to much work), to just 2 tanks, one of which will be shutting down shortly. I'm mainly interested in cichla.

:)
 
I went from a 30 gallon with fake plants and blue rocks I bought myself for Mother's day 2009 off CL to a 150, 125, a 45 and several 20's. I thought the 30 was soooo big!! I quickly NEEDED to have live plants. Then I NEEDED to have Discus. Now I NEED severums and geos!! I am always amazed at how hard I have to talk myself out of buying "fish stuff"!!

I have always thought of myself as having an "addictive" personality. I am an ex-smoker, could easily be a problem gambler, amongst other things I won't mention on a family forum. So, in the grand scheme of things buying fish instead seems an ok trade off!! LOL
 
Hi my name is **** and I'm a fishaholic. Not only do I spend a large amount of my time looking at my fish, but I also research them a lot, spend way to many hours here and on AC, and I even sneak new fishies into my tank without my wife seeing them. But...the fishies has replaced a liquid habit which had become a big problem for me...which replaced an herbal/fungal/powder habit that had existed for quite a while.
 
My name is Aaron and I'm a fishaholic. Fishkeeping keeps me at home where it's much harder to get arrested than out in the streets bumbling around with other drunken idiots. I've turned a bottle-a-day habit into an hour-a-day hobby that's way more interesting and actually costs less overall. My wife will never realize the truth of what else I'd have my fingers in if I weren't so busy with my tanks. And I'm glad she'll never have to know that other person, thanks to fishkeeping.

10 tanks, many fish, scuds, fry, etc. Always something new going on.
 
Let's see here...

I built my house around my sump - literally. It is a 300 gallon Rubbermaid tub and I had to put it in the foundation before the floor joists went in.

I have a bit over 600 gallons of aquarium water in my house/garage.

There is over 100' of 1" braided vinyl tubing and around 40' of PVC drain piping running through my house.

I change 96 gallons of water per day, and I plan on increasing that by 50% soon.

My school pet Snappy lives in a 300 gallon acrylic prominently displayed in the lobby of our tiny school.

There are empty tanks in my shed, in my garage, in my barn, and in my mom's barn.



On top of all that, I think about fish all the time.

I spend a lot of time researching fish and browsing MFK.

I constantly am trying to get my water just a little bit clearer.

I am always trying to figure out an excuse to set up one more tank.

I spend more money that I should on equipment, but I still want more.



The more I think about it, I'm really not a fishaholic at all. I can handle my fishkeeping just fine. I could quit any time I wanted. I've been doing it for thirty years now without a break, but that is because I want to - I'm not hooked. :screwy:
 
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