Take a look at Luther Photo Op
Totally not the biologist point of view. Logical? No. Fun? Yes.
Not wanting to keep fish after losses
- Thread starter Supergeorge123
- Start date
Totally not the biologist point of view. Logical? No. Fun? Yes.
I had a dog that died when I was about 16. Smartest most beautiful German Shepard. Sort of light tan. Got her from the pound. Family loved that dog. Never had a dog since. So I know the feeling. Had a great tank (big c. loaches huge black tetras, dats.) that was destroyed in a quake. Not really the same but when we got another tank it wasn't the same. Fell out of caring about fish for a long time.
Had a couple of major losses over the years. Once while I was away a breaker tripped, and with no filtration I lost a breeding colony of frontosa. Another time I went down to the basement and had a leaker. Lost a tankful of tropheus. Never replaced either species. Still hurts to this day. Those were my two favorite tanks.
One of the things I found helped during power outages (when I lived in Wisconsin) and was a very inexpensive solution, was covering the back, bottom, and sides of the tank with styrofoam panels, to lessen heat loss, and also had a panel cut out for the front, and top to easily tape into place when needed.
I also like painting them black on the tank side for the look, and in that way didn't need to paint the glass.
I also like painting them black on the tank side for the look, and in that way didn't need to paint the glass.
I carry on and won't hesitate to replace a beloved fish with the same kind again. Sometimes there is a pause but I aways bounce back.
I don't think it matters whether it's 100% the hobbyists fault for maybe forgetting to turn a heater back on for example, or 0% the hobbyists fault, if an earthquake hits for example.
If a tank is wiped out, although understandably traumatic at the time, you should try and take some positives from it. Look at it as an opportunity to try something new.
I've so many things I want to do yet, but space constraints mean that the only time i'll be able to try new set ups and new fish is if a current tank goes down which would enable me to evolve onto the next stage. I can't even give fish away where I live, let alone sell them so moving my stock on that way is a non starter.
If a tank is wiped out, although understandably traumatic at the time, you should try and take some positives from it. Look at it as an opportunity to try something new.
I've so many things I want to do yet, but space constraints mean that the only time i'll be able to try new set ups and new fish is if a current tank goes down which would enable me to evolve onto the next stage. I can't even give fish away where I live, let alone sell them so moving my stock on that way is a non starter.
I can share a recent personal experience about losing a fish that meant a lot to me.
During my "vacation" from mfk, I ended up having a power outage that lasted long enough for there to be problems that caused my (overstocked) 75 gallon tank to run low on oxygen since the power outage lasted a day or so. I had to go into town for various reasons and when I came back into the room I noticed that they were having a hard time breathing and I had to move them now or lose the majority of them. I go to reach for a bucket and on the floor I saw my 5.5 inch Ctenopoma acutirostre almost completely dried up. I tried everything I could to save him but he was just to far gone by the time I had found him. I loved that fish, I got him at the size of a quarter 3-4 years ago if my math checks out and had fully expected to have him die of old age, I never expected anything like that. He had never jumped before and there was only 1 small space where a fish could get through and he never went by it. The odds were against him jumping but luck was not on my side.
I bury my losses (him and a few other fish) and change a few things which will help for future power outages.
3-4 years put into that fish and it's gone within a day but it didn't stop me from getting another one when I was ready.
During my "vacation" from mfk, I ended up having a power outage that lasted long enough for there to be problems that caused my (overstocked) 75 gallon tank to run low on oxygen since the power outage lasted a day or so. I had to go into town for various reasons and when I came back into the room I noticed that they were having a hard time breathing and I had to move them now or lose the majority of them. I go to reach for a bucket and on the floor I saw my 5.5 inch Ctenopoma acutirostre almost completely dried up. I tried everything I could to save him but he was just to far gone by the time I had found him. I loved that fish, I got him at the size of a quarter 3-4 years ago if my math checks out and had fully expected to have him die of old age, I never expected anything like that. He had never jumped before and there was only 1 small space where a fish could get through and he never went by it. The odds were against him jumping but luck was not on my side.
I bury my losses (him and a few other fish) and change a few things which will help for future power outages.
3-4 years put into that fish and it's gone within a day but it didn't stop me from getting another one when I was ready.
This thread had me thinking that if I lost my w tire stock, I might quit the hobby.
I lost a 21+ year old clown Loach that jumped out in July. I figured I must have startled him when I was cleaning and didn't notice he jumped out. I had clutter around the tank and only figured it out when, two days later, I got worried that I could t are the third loach.
I still get upset that I wasn't more careful, but I figured it could never happen as they never jumped from tank except for one of five originals doing it in the QT tank back in 1995-96 (not exactly sure when I got them).
Now, the sides of the tank are clear when I do water changes and I try to keep the covers on when I'm draining or filling , unless I am directly over that area.
I did get inspired to adopt this lone clown Loach in late November that I probably would not have taken if that Loach hadnt jumped out.
I lost two fish last week. I wasn't as attached to them as this 21+ year old Loach but it upset me.
One rummynose ate a giant piece of Canadian frozen Mysis that I guess he couldn't digest or pass. I no longer feed that food to the fish in the QT tank. One rainbowfish got stuck in the small opening of this flower pot and died. That spurred me to remove that pot and any potential hazards in the main tank. There are still three pieces I should remove as well, but I have at least a year before I should worry about fish getting stuck there.
Anyway, it's hard but I try to.move on but again, I'm not sure if I'd be able to if I lost my main stock. That's one reason why I'm planning on replacing my 22 year old glass 125g with a 300+ acrylic that should out last my life span. I also have an inkbird controller to shut power off to the heaters in case they get stuck on. I have a Ziss filter with a battery backup pump that turns on automatically if power shuts off (to keep aeration and some filtration going on if I'm not home). I also have sensors that will alarm if the tank starts leaking. These things are just some backups for piece of.mind.
I lost a 21+ year old clown Loach that jumped out in July. I figured I must have startled him when I was cleaning and didn't notice he jumped out. I had clutter around the tank and only figured it out when, two days later, I got worried that I could t are the third loach.
I still get upset that I wasn't more careful, but I figured it could never happen as they never jumped from tank except for one of five originals doing it in the QT tank back in 1995-96 (not exactly sure when I got them).
Now, the sides of the tank are clear when I do water changes and I try to keep the covers on when I'm draining or filling , unless I am directly over that area.
I did get inspired to adopt this lone clown Loach in late November that I probably would not have taken if that Loach hadnt jumped out.
I lost two fish last week. I wasn't as attached to them as this 21+ year old Loach but it upset me.
One rummynose ate a giant piece of Canadian frozen Mysis that I guess he couldn't digest or pass. I no longer feed that food to the fish in the QT tank. One rainbowfish got stuck in the small opening of this flower pot and died. That spurred me to remove that pot and any potential hazards in the main tank. There are still three pieces I should remove as well, but I have at least a year before I should worry about fish getting stuck there.
Anyway, it's hard but I try to.move on but again, I'm not sure if I'd be able to if I lost my main stock. That's one reason why I'm planning on replacing my 22 year old glass 125g with a 300+ acrylic that should out last my life span. I also have an inkbird controller to shut power off to the heaters in case they get stuck on. I have a Ziss filter with a battery backup pump that turns on automatically if power shuts off (to keep aeration and some filtration going on if I'm not home). I also have sensors that will alarm if the tank starts leaking. These things are just some backups for piece of.mind.
I have avoided keeping fish species that I've had die before, but after a while I'll usually get over it.
