Why are we still keeping fish?

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I keep fish for the pleasure of having a window into nature sitting in my living room, as well as to add calmness into my hectic life...

I personally don't mind water changes, and actually find it quite relaxing... so therefore don't mind sacrificing my saturday afternoons purely for taking care of my tanks...

As far as expenses go, this hobby is pretty darn cheap compared to a lot of my other hobbies from both past and present, so i can't really complain there...
 
BuffaloPolypteridae said:
that is partially to blame for my own obsession, spending hours trailing small tributaries of Lake Erie to find that perfect fishing spot. I just can't imagine childhood or life w/o fishing or keeping fish nowadays.

another reason I left out in my fist post is similar to MonsterMini, I cannot stand most people in my area. They are materialistic money grubbing pigs for the most part, I can't stand the whole "oh look at my new ipad" or "look at the new BMW my daddy got me". It doesn't help I live in one of the richest areas of NY but nobodys salary in my house exceeds 40k. This has made me feel so so sorry for these people, they just can't live w/o all those fancy toys, when me, all I need is my fishing equip, my aquariums, and my dogs and I'm good

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well said
 
I've been keeping fish since 1979 or so and have only had a short time without fish and that was while I was in bootcamp before joining the US NAVY. I agree with a lot here that I like having a piece of nature in my house and there is several way some keep nature in their house from decorations, etc... I'm actually going to be moving back up north after living 13 years in Florida because I want to be back in nature more and feel the four seasons to include snow.

But, back to fish, they have gotten me through some hard times over the years and just sitting and watching them is so relaxing to me. I do water changes on them every single week and enjoying moving things in the tank, adding, removing, etc... because I like change. This hobby gives me something I need and that is having the ability to change things on a daily basis if I wanted to without affecting other things.

Don't know if all this makes sense, but to some I'm sure will relay to what i'm trying to say. I think that is why I change stocks so much because I like to try to get them all (or catch them all lol). When I get my own house in the future (if that ever happens) I will definately have a room devoted to my tanks after the kids all leave home. This is my hobby and will always be one until I die. Even when I can't get up and down as much in the future, with the knowledge I now have to set one up that is easier to keep :)
 
fishkeeping not only relieves my stress but it has allowed me to find a connection with people that i lost in my late teens/ early twenties

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Because I want to!
 
I've been through a lot of different set-ups trying to figure out what works for me in respect to time commitment and money. I went from having a 240, a 125, a 110, a 75, a 55, and a 29 gallon and almost hating it because I had to do so much work to keep everything running.

I now have a single 125, and I've set it up so that the total amount of maintenence in a 2 month period is:
12 50% water changes that take me 15 minutes each (I timed it)
1 filter cleaning
Drop some food in the tank 5 times a week
Once every 6 months, I clean all components that come off of the tank (lids, filter hoses, etc...)

I now spend very little money keeping my tank up and running in a healthy manner, and the time commitment is VERY minimal. And it looks awesome in our great room.

I have a lot of other things I do. This is by far not my main hobby, and fish keeping does not run my life. I'm an ultramarathon runner, and that's my main thing. I dedicate a LOT of time to running. If fish keeping interfered with my running at all, I'd be done with it. I also am a white water kayaker, mountain biker, boater, clay and handgun shooter, own a house to keep up on, I'm married and we like to travel the world, etc... I believe in having a balanced life, and fishkeeping is a part of it, but I do not go overkill on it anymore. Having to dedicate too much time to it makes it feel like a chore, and it becomes unenjoyable.
 
Adamrhh said:
No No, you know what I'm saying! Obviously water changes vary from person to person but in the end it doesn't take that long! Far less time then taking a dog on a walk, putting new shoes on a horse, etc.
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No you're right. I spend around 2 hours on a Saturday with cleaning and I dont consider it 'too much time'

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Fat Homer said:
I keep fish for the pleasure of having a window into nature sitting in my living room, as well as to add calmness into my hectic life...

I personally don't mind water changes, and actually find it quite relaxing... so therefore don't mind sacrificing my saturday afternoons purely for taking care of my tanks...

As far as expenses go, this hobby is pretty darn cheap compared to a lot of my other hobbies from both past and present, so i can't really complain there...
Click to expand...

yeah right a lot of the things are one time costs that won't need to be replaced for a very long time, if your smart about the equip you buy. Snowboarding and skateboarding are mor expensive and those were my main hobbys before fishkeeping

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