Refilling the Tanks for 2024

[The Morning]

DJ I personally love my little marine tank. While not dedicated solely to zoas they are well represented. With marine comes a new set of problems but once resolved there is a real sense of accomplishment. My salt has been up and running for a few years now and has reached a balance that makes maintenance fairly easy.

 

[dmyersWv]

I have found when I got board I started breeding. Changing species every 6 months to a year. Started checking off cichlids. It really kept things interesting.

 

[cockroach]

Few years back I had big fish. Dats, Pbass, giant gourami oscars etc. It was fun and entertaining but constant work. When the tank had a mishap and a filter piped dislodged from a pump on a short vacation trip. I came back to a tank with half the fish dead. The saddest was a 3 bar dat I grew from a little guy to over a foot. I lost a lot of oomph at that point.
Scaled down everything to a single 75gal with small fish and plants. It was relaxing and fun. Over a year or 2 of playing garden-garden, I got back into it but got rid of all the big tanks.

Now I have small fish and enjoy the hobby more. As soon as it becomes a chore. I take a month or so off. My tanks are all over filtered. So besides a daily feed. There is essentially very little to do. Once I feel it again, I am elbow deep in water playing.

 

[dmyersWv]

That is the worst part of keeping Amps. You have them for so long and I know for me when I loose 1 it makes me question this hobby. I've tried the small fish and it definitely doesn't have the same effect when I lose one or some, but I always miss the personality of the big guys.

 

[Joshuakahan]

My participation in the hobby (as far as owning fish as opposed to participating in forums) has waned over the last 7 years. I had 7 full-time tanks and the odd utility tank prior to 2017.

I moved to the Jersey shore in 2017 and did not add fish while preparing for selling the house and moving the tanks. In 2017 I filled only the 3 big tanks and for a while struggled with filters that all gave up at once and the lack of good replacements on the market.

Then COVID happened and my local club/auction fell apart so no annual group buy.

I have been pondering which path to take next...shut down the remaining tanks or restock. I am going to restock when it warms up enough for shipping. I am NOT going new world like some do after a time with Africans.

Have you ever lost enthusiasm and what path did YOU take?

I moved to a new state October of 22 and prior I had 10 tanks from 55-180g. When I moved I sold everything and when I started back up, i didn’t have the same enthusiasm, so I just set up two 75s, one new world and one rift. But my love for reptiles had been creeping back up. I love my Malawi tank but was pretty bored with my new world tank. So I sold it and bought a tanimbar BTS. I’d been pretty happy with having a nano reef, a Malawi tank and several reptiles. Then I had a death in the family that put me in a pretty bad funk and my wife suggested I get a little more back into fish keeping and maybe do another aquarium project. So I did a ton of research into tangs and that seemed to reignite my passion for fish keeping and I just recently set up a 55 and have a group of tangs coming Friday. Now my only concern is that having a tang and Malawi might make fish collection seem incomplete without a Victorian tank lol