What this hobby can do to you!!!

mduros aka Mary: Another person that takes this offensive? Geez, that's not good. Not good. Not Good. Oh well. With all good intentions allow me to say this. If you take offense on what was said then that means it is offensive to you, like stated before. All I can say is follow you instincts, they shall not lie to you. But that is not to say I called you or anybody old. For I do not remember such words coming out of my mouth.
Anyhow, people are different, you know?
 
As for everybody else.....
I never said that I am not enjoying this hobby. I still enjoy it a little, not as much as I did when I first went into this. I know that when I first started I went literally crazy about this hobby, I mean every aspect of it. For example, most people when they first go into this hobby they like to keep thier tank kind of simple, you like fake plants, little "No fishing" decorations that you can usually buy from Wal-mart and your LFS to put in your tank. With me it was different, I opted not to go with fake plants and all the other crazy stuff they have and instead tried to learn all I could about growing live plants to make my tank look more natural. I have to admit that it was fun learning about all the many different aspects that this hobby offers.

You could say that all that excitement was just excitement of doing something new. I diagree with that though, I always wanted to have a nice fish tank. I guess starting that first tank was like realizing one of my dreams. Perhaps I had too many expectations of this hobby. I really don't know what it was that made me change some, but not entirely, how I felt about this hobby.
Perhaps it was all the things that I hear every day about LFS, Wal mart, and what have you. How bad they are, how they mistreat fish/pets...how they do this and do that.... These are the hot news that surrounds this hobby nowdays. It's all that you hear about. Those kind of things get old with time. Perhaps that's what I intended to say, that things/such repeated news get old with time, just like people.

To all, disregard anything that might have raised your temper. Again, I sincerely I apologize I by any means I have here wasted your time. Keep doing what you do and enjoy. Anything to make you happy.

Remember we are in search of a solution, not another arguement.

With all due respect,
-Yuri
 
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Yuri De Lima said:
Perhaps it was all the things that I hear every day about LFS, Wal mart, and what have you. How bad they are, how they mistreat fish/pets...how they do this and do that.... These are the hot news that surrounds this hobby nowdays. It's all that you hear about. Those kind of things get old with time.
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There is a lot of information you can read about that has nothing to do with what you're bored of seeing (mistreatment, walmart, etc). So you must have a good grasp of biology and chemistry, how to maintain a planted tank, CO2 injection, the kH relation to pH, fertilization, breeding, raising fry... and I haven't even mentioned marine yet. How about a nano-reef for a challenge?

Money a limiting factor? How about DIY projects? Craigslist? Within a month of looking, I've already got 3 tanks for free, including a 30g with a stand and a magnum 350 for $20. Gravel/sand can be bought in 50lb bags for a few dollars if you're willing to look for what would work. Fish can be obtained from people who don't want them anymore. People who maintain planted tanks often have clippings they're literally throwing away. Split a 2L of excel with some plant nuts, build your own T8's, get some dry fertilizer, and you can maintain any planted tank under 30 gallons for over a year, all under $50. You can piece together anything. Test your creativity and ingenuity!

Maybe I'm too new to this, but I don't see the limits of this hobby being breached by anyone. I got sick of the walmart and mistreatment threads within the 3rd post I saw, so I simply stopped reading them, and moved on to more interesting things. If you're getting sick or bored, it's because you're sticking to what you already know. Learn more chemistry and biology! Test conventional knowledge and push the known limits so that you can lay claim to new boundaries.

We are in the golden age of biology. The genomes of several organisms have been sequenced, leaps are being made in stem cell research, incidences of cancer are in a decline for the first time in like 80 years.. and humans are finally beginning to understand the impact we have on our environment. Learning to balance the ecology of your mini-fishworld can have the beneficial side effect of helping you understand these important issues surrounding our lives.

You're already king of your pond; get out and explore the ocean!
 
I love the Hobby, but i agree it can be a tad expensive, but you do get your money's worth. For me, the personal satisfaction from raising a Fry to a large speciman is enough for me to pour thousands into it.

My job requires travel every week, Sunday evening through Thursday evening i'm out of town, so keeping any other type of pet is out of the question. And it's cool to come back after a few days and see that your Fry have actually grown.

My only regret was nickel and diming it for my first large tank. I ended up getting a larger one 6 months later with all the fixings.

P.S, i'm 26, so i dont think i'm that old either
 
I have 2 main tanks going right now, a planted 75g and a brackish 40g. I have spent alot on them despite alot of diy stuff. It can be very expensive. Alot of the expense is from problems with water chemistry leading to fish/plants dieing and replacing. Or you wanting the change things and try different things. Its a huge challenge at times, and very few people dont have any problems, especially with thier first few tanks. Even under perfect conditions there is still expense, like water (my city water bill is very expensive), electricity (since I am running several tanks now and 2 computers continuously my e bill has gone up about $20-50 a month), and food (I go through a ton of frozen food, spend several times more on fish food than I do dog food), and so on. It also takes up alot of space and time. But I still love the hobby and friends always rave about my planted tank and homemade stand. There are alot more expensive hobbies out there too. Try restoring a muscle car or building up an off-roading rig(I am doing both), downhill skiing (I spent about $1500 on gear, and the average lift ticket is about 40 bucks a pop)... Hobbies are expensive and consume time, there are few exceptions. But if one doesnt enjoy it and is willing to put the time, money, and effort into it, then one will be dissapointed. I know you probably just wanted to vent a little, thats ok. But if your having doubts then you might want to get out before you get in deaper.
 
Since we were talking about tank costs earlier I wanted to mention a cheap tank setup that served several purposes for me:

$0 - 20 Gallon tank & hood free from friend (or like $20-$50 at lfs)
$0 - Misc left over substrate from other tanks, gravel & sand
$0 - water (well almost $0)
$10 - plant bulb (cant remember for sure but it was around $10)
$9 - 3 pairs of fancy guppies
$0 - a bunch of snails taken in from my goldfish pond outdoors
$0 - excess plants from my 75g plant tank
$1 - a tiny amount of plant fertalizer added every so often
$1 - I use the tiny crumbs at the bottom of my left over flake food cans to feed the guppies
$0 - no filter
$0 - no air pump
$0 - no heater
-very little maintanence: since the water is room temp it takes months for enough to evaporate for me to add any water. No filters to change. Have never had any algea (probably do to the cooler temps, low lighting and the amount of plants in there sucking up all the nutrients). And there is no noise at all.

The reason I set this tank up was to house excess plants and cuttings from my bigger 75g planted tank. Also, I needed to raise snails for the puffers and some feeders too, and guppies are prolific breaders and also look great too!
 
Not sure what 'solution' you are looking for? Plain and simple - if you don't like it, don't do it, give it up. As for the cost, there is no difference from other hobbies. Some people use $200 golf clubs, some use $2000.

To some people, watching TV or movies can be a great hobby. Do you need other suggestions?
 
Hey Yuri, when can I pick up your equipment cheap? I've got seven tanks running, all are healthy, and are very easy to maintain. I've bought a lot of perfectly good used equipment very cheap at garage sales, online auctions, online trading posts, etc. So far it's been worth every penny and I don't mind spending the money on something as enjoyable as being an aquarist.
I suggest you find another hobby that doesn't require time, effort, or money.
 
i dont know what age has to do with anything?? yur do what yur wnat to causw yur enjoy it right. if you find its not worth the cost (time,money,efort..) find something or invent something that will be worth yur time money ... you really think you could find someone on this web site that wants to quit.most of us are challenge by the task of creating a unique ecosystem of our own and enjoying the endless possibilities that can occur in the little worlds we manage... it is a realaxing and enjoyable hobby.dont let it control you yur $ or anything. put the tanks away and if you are still interested read books articles forums and when you have the time money and maybe when you get old enough(just kidding) you might enjoy it better. maybe you have too many other things that are competing for the same thing (your time ,money...) and that is why your having second thoughts. well i hope you build a bridge get over it and are a better person for realizing what you really want or need.Good luck
 
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