Hello All,
I've been keeping fish for the last 20 years continuously except for a short 8 month stint between moving countries.
as with most here it all started with a goldfish and a tiny tank for an 8 year old.
Growing up my dad had fancy goldfish, Koi which later grew into their pond and are still alive now.
Then he got bit by the cichlid bug and kept Mbuna which progressed to Tangs, which then progressed to a marine Reef.
I went from Goldfish, to Tanganyikan cichlids, to regular tropicals, to Mbuna, to marine, and then to american cichlids.
The excitement that I felt at trying something new is all but gone because I seem to get nostalgic for a particular type of set up and then tire of it when I set it up again.
I have done Mbuna several times and although nostalgic for them I Don't think I will try them again soon.
In the last 5 years I embraced planted aquaria and have since found them to be just as time consuming and expensive as marine aquaria. I probably won't go planted again.
For a while I had a planted SA cichlid tank with Geophagus and I found myself having to do water changes every few days to keep the quality up and as soon as I slacked I saw the fish get sick and fade away.
I have always been drawn to oddballs, and I have kept several over the years.
Currently I have group of Placidichromis Milomo and a few misc. cichlids in a 75 with sump. & a 120g with Severums, Electric Blue acara, a single Caquitaia Spectabilis and many small Steatocranus Casuarius (which I longed to keep and breed for many years, I have succeeded that goal)
My point is this, I am about to get my first house and after shutting down my tanks, I will be setting them up within the next year or so. This gives me plenty of time to think about what I want to put in it. I have been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of research. I do have several ideas but more than anything I don't want to set something up only to feel myself not enjoying it.
Back to basics with fancy goldfish? try something more niche and different, a break? I'm unsure what would be a good idea.
I really liked the idea of going with something room temperature but I'm not sold on that.
What have other members here done when this inevitable slump in their fish keeping hits them? I have read about it before but I just wondered how other people figured it out.
FYI, I live in Canada where we have no online fish retailers and native keeping is provincially illegal in AB.
Thanks in advance, Rafini
I've been keeping fish for the last 20 years continuously except for a short 8 month stint between moving countries.
as with most here it all started with a goldfish and a tiny tank for an 8 year old.
Growing up my dad had fancy goldfish, Koi which later grew into their pond and are still alive now.
Then he got bit by the cichlid bug and kept Mbuna which progressed to Tangs, which then progressed to a marine Reef.
I went from Goldfish, to Tanganyikan cichlids, to regular tropicals, to Mbuna, to marine, and then to american cichlids.
The excitement that I felt at trying something new is all but gone because I seem to get nostalgic for a particular type of set up and then tire of it when I set it up again.
I have done Mbuna several times and although nostalgic for them I Don't think I will try them again soon.
In the last 5 years I embraced planted aquaria and have since found them to be just as time consuming and expensive as marine aquaria. I probably won't go planted again.
For a while I had a planted SA cichlid tank with Geophagus and I found myself having to do water changes every few days to keep the quality up and as soon as I slacked I saw the fish get sick and fade away.
I have always been drawn to oddballs, and I have kept several over the years.
Currently I have group of Placidichromis Milomo and a few misc. cichlids in a 75 with sump. & a 120g with Severums, Electric Blue acara, a single Caquitaia Spectabilis and many small Steatocranus Casuarius (which I longed to keep and breed for many years, I have succeeded that goal)
My point is this, I am about to get my first house and after shutting down my tanks, I will be setting them up within the next year or so. This gives me plenty of time to think about what I want to put in it. I have been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of research. I do have several ideas but more than anything I don't want to set something up only to feel myself not enjoying it.
Back to basics with fancy goldfish? try something more niche and different, a break? I'm unsure what would be a good idea.
I really liked the idea of going with something room temperature but I'm not sold on that.
What have other members here done when this inevitable slump in their fish keeping hits them? I have read about it before but I just wondered how other people figured it out.
FYI, I live in Canada where we have no online fish retailers and native keeping is provincially illegal in AB.
Thanks in advance, Rafini
