IDK what I want from this hobby!!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Well this time I'm gonna try to stick with what I have. I would love to be able to grow my flowerhorn to an adult. Maybe I should name him? Maybe that help me to maintain interest in him?

***60 gallon with 1 Flowerhorn, 10 Mollies and 1 Musk Turtle, 4 Angelfish temporarily with my mom***
 
This is exactly how you wind up with a fishroom and over 100 tanks in your basement. Seriously. Then you start breeding fish, experimenting with line breeding, all kinds of good ways to play around with tanks. I have a section of tanks in my fishroom that are nicely planted, a few that are just shrimp, a few that are nothing but barbs (I love barbs), I have a few that are central american cichlid communities, a couple south american cichlid tanks. Then the african cichlid display tanks, and many many breeding set ups with only one species of fish in them. Mainly killifish, livebearers, and various cichlids.

That is how you wind up after 25 years in the hobby.
 
Mrs. Nicky said:
So what is the solution to this vicious cycle? Do I just keep it going until I find the perfect stock???? Do I ignore the urge to change my stock and just deal with what I have???? I'm just not sure what to do.

***60 gallon with 1 Flowerhorn, 10 Mollies and 1 Musk Turtle, 4 Angelfish temporarily with my mom***
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I went though basically the same cycle your going through. I still actually go through it to a smaller degree. The way I deal with it is wait for about 1-2 months (assuming you stay interested with the fish that long) and over that 1-2 months research the fish to no end. Don't buy anything for the fish, don't set-up the tank for the fish, just research it. I do that and it's worked so far. Towards the beginning it's hard to decipher what route you want to go so before you go through all the trouble of buying a fish, setting up a tank for the fish, and meeting the needs for the fish only to find out you don't want it, you should try and wait out those impulsive urges otherwise you could be doing it for years at a time. You could also do it for years at a time if you want. Thats what some people like to do in the hobby, because they don't like seeing the same stock for an extended amount of time. I only did this, because at the rate I was changing my mind I would be broke with no fish, and these impulse urges which is one of the worst feelings IMO.
 
it's normal that you keep wanting something new after few months until you found a right one for you. This method might keep you stay longer with your fishes: setup an planted tank with fishes that don't destroy your plants, aquascape will keep you busy with re-arrange your decor all the time, so soon you won't focus on your fishes as much and will pay attention on both fishes and plants, it's happy to see your plants spout out a new leaf or change colors from time to time. Hope that will cure your urge to get new fishes :D
 
Just keep the fish that make you happy. For a while I thought I needed to keep every kind of fish, but then I found the fish that are fulfilling for me to keep: Natives, Catfish, and Monsters. To me, there's not much better than a darter standing on its tail to watch you as much as you are it, a bullhead nibbling your fingers because it's hungry, or a a huge fish splashing water out at you.
 
I used to have to deal with this all the time, I would change the stock in the tank almost every 2 months! It was the same with my other tanks too. I even went through a nanofish stage. I just kept changing until I found something Ilove. Every now and then I want to set up a reef again but for now, I'm happy with my rays.
 
azmtns said:
This is exactly how you wind up with a fishroom and over 100 tanks in your basement. Seriously. Then you start breeding fish, experimenting with line breeding, all kinds of good ways to play around with tanks. I have a section of tanks in my fishroom that are nicely planted, a few that are just shrimp, a few that are nothing but barbs (I love barbs), I have a few that are central american cichlid communities, a couple south american cichlid tanks. Then the african cichlid display tanks, and many many breeding set ups with only one species of fish in them. Mainly killifish, livebearers, and various cichlids.

That is how you wind up after 25 years in the hobby.
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Yah, this hapenned to me but with not quite as many tanks
 
Im pretty much the same and so I get multiple tanks and get interesting but hard to keep fish. You should try Armatus or rays. I have found that my army is more interesting than my motoro stingray
 
I think what you are going thru is normal. maybe you can add different elements into your hobby that deal with something other than acquiring new fish... live plants (both aquatic and terrestrial), local collecting (driftwood, rocks, native fish/plants/inverts), and/or diy projects (stands, lighting, filtration, backgrounds, etc) any of these is sure to ignite a spark and draw you away from purchasing new fish all the time. DIY really worked for me; there is a certain pride that a finished project brings.

PS. no pink eye for me :grinno:
 
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