Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

[cope]

So you got a fish tank...... well here is what will eventually happen......... be sure you keep extra mad money... you will need it.....
So you get one tank..... you buy what the clerk suggest because you have no clue at the moment.... happily you go home and set it up..... Remember to cycle the tank... yep... about 2 weeks of just water..... you won't be able to do it.... go ahead and get a couple fish... what will it hurt?   a week later the fish are dead..... Oh and within that week you have been to the fish store everyday... picking up goodies... new fish net  (big one & small one) and the isle with all the liquid drops... and test kits.....one of each... whats this.. salt? yep get some of that.... oh look  that fish is cool... give me 2.... go home and put your fish in..... testing the water everyday sometimes twice a day.... each timeyou go back to the store, you look at the tanks... yep you will want a bigger one.... go ahead and buy it.... oh yes and get a second helping of all the stuff you already bought....... cycle cycle cycle....... hate that part...... now you are becoming obcessed...... checking the fish all the time...checking the water..... OH water changes... yep once a week.... need buckets.... buckets just for fish... notyour car wash bucket...... oh  and towels... need plenty  of towels because you are making a watery mess every time you do water changes........ what this?   someonehas a huge tank for sale....... oh please can I have it... (you ask your wife)  OK now you have 3 tanks...each time they get bigger.... more fish, more gravel....... what is this? planted tanks... Oh man they look awesome.... yep  one more tank.... Oh your not done yet...... many more tanks in your future buddy.......

now you are sick of the water changes with the buckets.... so your get a python..... $$$$$$   every time you talk to some one they have great suggestions that you must try...... $$$$$..... oh yes now you are converting the garage into fish kingdom...... new work bench and plastic containers for extra fish stuff....... figuring out ways of running water to each tank.... all the time buying new fish and rocks and gravel and sand and searching the net for cool lighting......... traveling across town each weekend to try that new fish store......

this is what you are in for....... but I got to tell you... it is worth every minute and every dollar you spend...... to sit and enjoy the beauty in what you have created and to care for these lovely creatures is beyond explanation.....sadness when you loose one..happiness when you discover babies.... making the aqua scape just perfect for your viewing and the happiness of the fish..... and the enjoyment you get showing of the small world you helped create....... it is just wonderfull.........

this comes from my own experience... I have only had tanks for a little over 2 months now ... and yes I am looking for a even bigger one.....the above story is a condensed version...... I think the dollar amount is prob close to 4 grand  so far (prob more)  

good luck in your new found hobby.... the people on this site are a great source of info and they are all giving of the knowledge.... just super people...

Oh, and be sure to post up pictures... we all love to see other ideas.........

[fishlady]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

a very nice way to put into words the addiction process of fish keeping there cope.....bravo my friend....
and good luck in that search for the bigger tank.....

[Zulaab]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

Thank you Cope !!!   It was great to meet you and your wife at Mike's Friday Btw :)  :) : ) :)

[Cichlidiot]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

You've pretty much nailed the addiction process but you left out one part. Thats the part where you start getting rid of furniture just to squeeze in one more tank. Go on and admit it, that couch is taking up valuable aquaraspace.

[Zulaab]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

He has not been to the Geeks or Geoff_Tropheus yet....  then he would have remembered.   What...  no need for a couch.. just another tank and a smaller coffee table and we are there :)

[dblondfemme]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

<----dining room table is disassembled and under the bed....I now have a "junk room" full of spare tank parts and the chairs that go to the dining room table.  Uh oh...space beside the tv? I now have a saltwater tank.... that now takes me to 17 tanks..... I think....

[NewAquaMom]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

OMG this post is right on the money and should be read my every newb. I'm about the same distance in to the hobby and admittedly (hangs head in embarrassment and complete acceptance) I no longer have a couch or a love seat. And really who uses a coffee table..or those pesky side tables.. Tanks go anywhere that has stable and solidly made support like Bathroom counter tops...Oh and lets not forget the funny looks from friends who were over right before THE HOBBY arrived and then come over recently to find you basically have a show room in your house...

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

Yep!   Sounds like there are a lot of us!

Let's see...what have we done that people outside of the hobby just don't understand....

Like dblondfemme, our dining room table is disassembled and in the garage.  The dining room is a fish room instead.

We put a couch in storage in order to put a 135 in it's place.

We literally knocked down walls...built a loft above the garage so we could turn the boy's room into an office and turn the office into another fishroom.

That puts us at 16...17 if you count the one in the garage that is down for cleaning....:)

[Zulaab]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

I believe there are only a few out there that have passed the 1000g mark.
I know the geeks have and I believe Geoff_Tropheus is there or just below the mark
I am only a member of the 300 club...  :(

[rickykline]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

im a member.... i fit that description to a t .... minus coming home to the dead fish... if my fish die its cuz of another fish eating him..

[dblondfemme]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

<---memeber of the um... *tallying quickly*  420 ish (not include 5 betta tanks lol) club..... I guess that's not too shappy....  oh wait.... I forgot the salt water tank and the tank in the bedroom...  and the other tank in the back bedroom.  I am a member of the 500 gal club WOOOHOOooooooooo

[wvgdiscus]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

I am down to the 850 gallons now.
But with my discus back to spawning now.
I will be setting up the 200 & 350 soon so I will be well above the 1000 gallon mark again.

[edmlfc]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

Well said. I did really good for 8 years, 1 tank, 1 fish. My fish died and I couldn't decided which fish I wanted so I got them all. Now I have 9 tanks and an unknown amount of fish. I am in the 400 club.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

I was a member of the 1K club before my last move.   I had to sell my big tanks 140, 75, 55, & 6 - 29g and now with small tanks, I'm almost down to 500 if you don't count my 25 -1g betta breeders & 100+ - 1/3g for baby bettas.  My garage is enclosed, insulated, paneed & full of fish tanks while my car(s) sit by the curb.   :chatterbox:

[pam916]

Re: Humorous look at fish hobby (from a new guy)

Well, I should have known better.  I used to keep fish years ago back in the late 70's.  I had so many tanks that I spent all my evenings taking care of them and Sunday's when I was off work, I spent the whole day cruising all of the lfs buying more.  I kept fresh, salt and even had a tank dedicated just to local native fish (gar, perch, etc.).  It finally got to the point that I was the one in the bowl.  I ended up applying for a position at the fort worth zoo aquarium and went to work there as the keeper of the salt water section.  Since my days were full of nothing but water changes, acquiring new fish and feeding I didn't feel the need to do it in the evenings at home and I donated a lot of my fish to the zoo aquarium, I mean I was spending all day there anyway.  Then I went through a divorce in 1980 and sold all of my fish and tanks and did not even think about getting more fish until three years ago, my husband kept asking me why I didn't set up a salt water tank in our living room and I told him that fish keeping could be a very expensive hobby especially salt water and I just didn't want to get into it.  Then I decided to set up a pond on our covered front porch for the summer and put some livebearers and plants in it, I mean it wasn't as if I was buying an aquarium for the house and it was only for the summer, what could it hurt.  Of course we got immense enjoyment out of the little pond I made from a children's wading pool and cruising the lfs buying all different colors and varieties of livebearers was a blast and at the end of the summer it was such a success that I had hundreds of fish and  was able to stock the local dog grooming/pet store's small fish room's empty tanks with all kinds of livebearers and the owner and staff just thought it was great and they asked how I did it and I explained how simple it was with one small filter and water changes with a plastic hose to siphon out the water into the yard and I refilled with water from the faucet via the garden hose and then threw in some chlorine remover and then one of the staff who was about my age made a comment about how I must have kept fish many many years ago and I said yes and thought what a strange thing that was for her to say.  But I still had a problem, there were a large number of fish that I just could not part with and I needed to keep them inside for the summer, I purchased large plastic containers to keep them in  and then I finally broke down and bought a couple of used aquariums and you can guess the rest of the story, my office is now full of aquairums and just like it was mentioned above I keep moving the furniture out of the office because that bookshelf or that file cabinet is taking up space that would be perfect for a 55 gallon tank, in fact if I move this or that I could squeeze two 55 gallons side by side and still be able to just get into the file cabinet. So far I have been able to limit my tanks to fresh water but my sister keeps asking me why I don't set up a salt water tank like those cool ones I used to have years ago and my husband agrees that it would be great to have a salt water tank in the living room and I keep saying the only place to put one is where our veiled chameleons large cage is, the problem with that excise is our chameleons are almost 4 years old and they normally only live 3 years and they are really beginning to look geriatric and we are having to handfeed them because they can't get around like they used to and it is only a matter of time before they both die from old age and I don't think I have to tell anyone on this forum what that means.