Whenever somebody drags up an old post I am always struck by the names of people who no longer post or even visit the site any more. Threads from two years ago that have 15 or 20 responses from posters I have never even heard of before. Some of these people had some pretty impressive post counts too. Where do they go? Did they lose interest in the hobby? Maybe found another forum they liked better? Do they still have tanks and just got bored with posting anymore? Makes you wonder about the longevity of this hobby among individuals. Anybody else think about this?
Do Aquariums tend to be a short lived hobby?
- Thread starter Karnaaj
- Start date
Maybe they lost interest in the internet. Doubtful though. It's a goldmine.
Some people just move onto other things I guess. I kept coldwater fish for about 8 years. Then had several years without tanks because my lifestyle at the time was too busy with other stuff. Now I'm back at it for the last 2 years but with tropical fish and plants.
Some people just move onto other things I guess. I kept coldwater fish for about 8 years. Then had several years without tanks because my lifestyle at the time was too busy with other stuff. Now I'm back at it for the last 2 years but with tropical fish and plants.
My initial response would be that, yes, it is a short lived hobby for most people. The ones that jump in on impulse due to kids or whatever. It's not surprising when you consider the fact that many people don't think they need to research how to successfully enjoy this hobby. Bad advice from typical LFS complicates it even more.
I count myself in that group. I grew up in the seventies with the typical 10 gal. guppy tank with snails...complete with a clear plastic filter box with floss/charcoal in it, and air pump with UGF, and a cool looking deep sea diver with bubbles shooting out the back of his head. Unfortunatley, water changes, minimal feeding regimens, and a lot of other things never entered our mind. The "hobby" usually lasted around 4-6 months or until the last fish died...whichever came first.
About three years ago I decided to repeat the cycle by getting my five year old son an aquarium for his birthday. I bought an Eclipse 12 from Petco and set it up. After cycling it for 24 hrs or so I decided that should do it and dropped in some tiger barbs and a chinese alge eater. Amazingly, they didn't do too bad, but eventually problems surfaced when water changes were something I considered only if the tank needed to be completely torn down and washed out. We decided to let it sit empty for about a year until I decided to learn how to do this thing the right way. This is where a lot of people put the tank in a garage sale. I think this is the route a lot of them take.
I stumbled across this forum shortly after setting up the tank again. This time with 2 Silver mollies, 1 Sunburst platy, 2 ADF's, and 2 oto's. Fortunatley they survived my cycling ignorance. I added live plants soon afterwards, along with a master test kit. Last Thursday my platy gave birth to 20 fry.
With all this fun I decided I wanted to get a larger tank, so I bought a 55 gal. on sale a couple of weeks ago and am cycling it now. Once someone takes the time to do it right I would think this begins to be a life-long hobby. I check into the forum daily as I continue to climb up the learning curve. My wife looks at me a little funny but I'm having a blast so far. Can't wait to bring my gouramis home!
Sorry about the long post.
I count myself in that group. I grew up in the seventies with the typical 10 gal. guppy tank with snails...complete with a clear plastic filter box with floss/charcoal in it, and air pump with UGF, and a cool looking deep sea diver with bubbles shooting out the back of his head. Unfortunatley, water changes, minimal feeding regimens, and a lot of other things never entered our mind. The "hobby" usually lasted around 4-6 months or until the last fish died...whichever came first.
About three years ago I decided to repeat the cycle by getting my five year old son an aquarium for his birthday. I bought an Eclipse 12 from Petco and set it up. After cycling it for 24 hrs or so I decided that should do it and dropped in some tiger barbs and a chinese alge eater. Amazingly, they didn't do too bad, but eventually problems surfaced when water changes were something I considered only if the tank needed to be completely torn down and washed out. We decided to let it sit empty for about a year until I decided to learn how to do this thing the right way. This is where a lot of people put the tank in a garage sale. I think this is the route a lot of them take.
I stumbled across this forum shortly after setting up the tank again. This time with 2 Silver mollies, 1 Sunburst platy, 2 ADF's, and 2 oto's. Fortunatley they survived my cycling ignorance. I added live plants soon afterwards, along with a master test kit. Last Thursday my platy gave birth to 20 fry.
With all this fun I decided I wanted to get a larger tank, so I bought a 55 gal. on sale a couple of weeks ago and am cycling it now. Once someone takes the time to do it right I would think this begins to be a life-long hobby. I check into the forum daily as I continue to climb up the learning curve. My wife looks at me a little funny but I'm having a blast so far. Can't wait to bring my gouramis home!
Sorry about the long post.
I'm guessing a lot of folks come here to learn, like me. My post count has risen rapidly mainly because I enjoy the research aspect of answering questions for people, as it -- you guessed it -- helps me learn. I suspect a lot of these folks still have tanks, but feel like they learned the basics and may only come back when they have a problem or want advice.
I'd say it depends on the person rather than the hobby. Even hobby has people who try it only for a short time.
There are lots of people who buy fish like piranha and oscars too who don't think things out. Soon enough they need a bigger tank and they don't want to pay for food. These can be great fish to have, they just need a little extra care that some people are willing or able to give.
There are lots of people who buy fish like piranha and oscars too who don't think things out. Soon enough they need a bigger tank and they don't want to pay for food. These can be great fish to have, they just need a little extra care that some people are willing or able to give.
It’s always fun to have a new toy. Sometimes that’s what Aquaria Central is but then the euphoria wears off.
Could be posting burn-out, too.
Let’s just take “salt” for an example. Somebody comes on asking about it. Someone new often as not posts “…but only use aquarium salt because….” Then comes the posts correcting this mis-information. After setting the record straight a few dozen times, it just might get tiresome.
Could be posting burn-out, too.
Let’s just take “salt” for an example. Somebody comes on asking about it. Someone new often as not posts “…but only use aquarium salt because….” Then comes the posts correcting this mis-information. After setting the record straight a few dozen times, it just might get tiresome.
My guess would be that it must be for a lot of people, based on the numbers of fairly new tank set-ups I see being put up for sale all the time!
I bought my solid oak, custom made stand and canopy, a 135g tank and a major filter (which I then sold on e-bay for $100) for $400 from a guy who's wife wanted it OUT! We then bought a new 125g tank, because we were nervous with a used tank that big being put in the living room... The 135g is still in my garage right now. We plan to get another stand for it sometime and make a big terrarium in it.
Then, luckily for me, my uncle had been in the fish hobby for about 4 or 5 years, and he was just over it. He had as many as 7 tanks running in his house at one time. My brother happened to mention to him that I just purchased my 125g and he told me not to buy another thing until I went through all his old stuff first... you have no idea. 3 giant rubbermaid tubs full of heaters, filters, plants, decor, nets, foods, meds... etc. Nearly every single thing in my tank right now is from him.
I think there are a lot of people that either get into the hobby and don't realize the costs involved or don't realize the maintenance necessary... and they bail out. It's unfortunate, but their loss is our gain!
I bought my solid oak, custom made stand and canopy, a 135g tank and a major filter (which I then sold on e-bay for $100) for $400 from a guy who's wife wanted it OUT! We then bought a new 125g tank, because we were nervous with a used tank that big being put in the living room...
The 135g is still in my garage right now. We plan to get another stand for it sometime and make a big terrarium in it.Then, luckily for me, my uncle had been in the fish hobby for about 4 or 5 years, and he was just over it. He had as many as 7 tanks running in his house at one time. My brother happened to mention to him that I just purchased my 125g and he told me not to buy another thing until I went through all his old stuff first... you have no idea. 3 giant rubbermaid tubs full of heaters, filters, plants, decor, nets, foods, meds... etc. Nearly every single thing in my tank right now is from him.
I think there are a lot of people that either get into the hobby and don't realize the costs involved or don't realize the maintenance necessary... and they bail out. It's unfortunate, but their loss is our gain!
I was explaining to a nonfishenthusiast co-worker that an Eheim is worth the extra money as they will last decades as opposed to years. He replied: "will you still be as interested 20 years from now? Good question.
I hope so.
I hope so.
Well, a few of us have been in the hobby a heck of a long time. Most however only last a short time, especially on the web. I admit I have to do radical changes in the way I keep fish and the fish I do keep every so many years, or I am in danger of burnout. Without challenges, anything gets old. After you have done just so much with community tanks, with Cichlids, with catfish, with salt water, you have to find new interests to keep your enthusiasm. If you are not interested enough to seek out new horizons and challenges, sooner or later the tanks are garage sale items.
And on the web in particular, there are some questions I just cannot respond to again at anything like the rate at which they reappear on the boards. At lot of formerly active posters burn out on this aspect of the hobby due to that, as it is very frustrating when so many folks want to be spoon fed detail, or only want magic bullets which can be purchased and dosed and forgotten. Very few of us are really interested, or want to invest the time to understand semiclosed systems. The few who do are worth paying attention to for me - like teachers in class, you learn to spot those who want real info, and who then use it and expand on it. They are the payback for me, and sufficient payment for the hours on the boards.
Plus the bonus points of always learning new things - not constantly, but offen enough to help keep my interest alive.
And on the web in particular, there are some questions I just cannot respond to again at anything like the rate at which they reappear on the boards. At lot of formerly active posters burn out on this aspect of the hobby due to that, as it is very frustrating when so many folks want to be spoon fed detail, or only want magic bullets which can be purchased and dosed and forgotten. Very few of us are really interested, or want to invest the time to understand semiclosed systems. The few who do are worth paying attention to for me - like teachers in class, you learn to spot those who want real info, and who then use it and expand on it. They are the payback for me, and sufficient payment for the hours on the boards.
Plus the bonus points of always learning new things - not constantly, but offen enough to help keep my interest alive.
obsessive-compulsive
What you described is probably very typical of many internet forums. I bought a new bicycle a couple years ago...a very fancy Eddy Merckx. I was addicted to bikeforums.net while shopping for that bike and a few months after buying it. But, now I hardly ever visit anymore. That doesn't mean I've stopped biking, though. (Just waiting for the snow to melt, actually). I guess the point is that forum visiting comes and goes like busboys in a restaurant. But, the hobby itself keeps going regardless of how much one chit-chats on the 'net. Of course, I guess the main point of chit-chatting is to resolve a problem. I've kept aquariums my whole life (on and off). Now, I'm "on" again and have just discovered this forum because of the rekindled interest. I imagine I'll be addicted to this forum, now!
What you described is probably very typical of many internet forums. I bought a new bicycle a couple years ago...a very fancy Eddy Merckx. I was addicted to bikeforums.net while shopping for that bike and a few months after buying it. But, now I hardly ever visit anymore. That doesn't mean I've stopped biking, though. (Just waiting for the snow to melt, actually). I guess the point is that forum visiting comes and goes like busboys in a restaurant. But, the hobby itself keeps going regardless of how much one chit-chats on the 'net. Of course, I guess the main point of chit-chatting is to resolve a problem. I've kept aquariums my whole life (on and off). Now, I'm "on" again and have just discovered this forum because of the rekindled interest. I imagine I'll be addicted to this forum, now!