Ever lose interest in the hobby?

yes and no... my girfriend recently broke up with me rather sudenly. So i threw all my time and efort back into the tanks i have been maintaning since college. its funny the things we try to fill voids with.

probably not that much, but I did notice once my tanks have stabilized and are healthy, and I have no room for anymore and there are no room to buy anymore fish, that I'm not as obsessive about it. Not that I'm no longer interested, but all of a sudden I don't think about it day and night.

People go through cycles. I have been hot and heavy into the hobbie for years and have had a few times when it was a chore to take care of the tanks. I have never been one to design a tank and set it up, to me that just seems like you are trying to reach a goal and when it is hit then what. I set up my tank with a few cool things and fish and let it go from there. As fish die I find new fish that fit my mood at the time and are compatable with what I have. I have craigslist in my area and it is big, people give fish away all the time and I will rescue the ones that fit my community. But what I have found is that when I get board of my tank all I have to do is spend some time looking at my fish and I realize how relaxing the tank is. Some people get so tied up in the hobbie they forget to sit back and enjoy their fish and what they have. But usually looking at my tank gives me an idea of what to add or move or remove and I do little things to my tank.
I guess I am saying that it is normal for other things in your life to take the front burner, and you will probably get back into the hobbie but it will never be at the same level. Some people come back stronger some never come back. All I have to say is take some time to enjoy what you have...

This seems more like General Chit-Chat than General Freshwater, but in any case...

Once you've bought your tank, aquascaped it, researched fish and plants and equipment, added compatible fish and ensured that everything is stable and healthy, there isn't really much "excitement" left is there? Maintenance and quiet enjoyment of the fish is all there really is to do. Maybe you can rekindle things again for a while by starting up another tank, and things get exciting again, until that one is researched, created and stabilized. At a certain point you have to stop acquiring more tanks and fish and just be satisfied with what you have.

For me, the thrill of the hobby (if you can call it a thrill) is in the creating of a beautiful balanced little eco-system. After that, it's pretty zen. It's hard to get much of a kick out of doing water changes.

When the situation gets too dull, perusing the board and helping newbies often helps to keep my interest in the hobby alive.

same thing here. while i was getting my 29 up and running again I couldn't get enough of this stuff, but once it stabilized I've been just making sure everything is working ok and that's about it. but now I'm starting to get interested again and that's a good thing (except for my wallet).

the same thing happened after I lost my green terror a couple years ago (and I'm just now getting back into it) and I was just drained from the whole thing I decided it was time for a break (I'd been keeping fish for about 5 years non-stop at that point).

anyway, once things are running smoothly other things attract my interest unti lI have some money to sink into my tanks again and then it starts all over again

What you need is three or four hobbies to rotate between. A list of possibilities:

Photography
Gardening
Reptile breeding
Vehicle customization
RC aircraft
Jewelry fabrication
Leatherworking
Knifemaking
Painting
Any musical instrument

I'm totally serious. Each of those hobbies requires a massive amount of research and the absorption of tremendous amounts of knowledge. That's the part that keeps you occupied. Half of those hobbies are mine and the other half are on the "to do eventually" list. Every few months, you just need to switch from one to the other. Just make sure you keep up with your water changes while you're looking for a good deal on mandarin garnets.

monkey_toes said:

Half of those hobbies are mine and the other half are on the "to do eventually" list.

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Looking at your avatar pic, I'd say you forgot "Gene Splicing"...

i just get tired of cleaning it but i still do atleast 1 per 2 week usually weekly tho

they need people like pool boys aquarium boys to clean your tanks i'd prefer a nice lady but whatever floats your boat

Alestro Bakai said:

Looking at your avatar pic, I'd say you forgot "Gene Splicing"...

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Whaddya mean? That's a self portrait.