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**JIM** · 02-07-2013, 11:16 AM

Its not just in Texas, or the South, Lee. Its my observation that the new generation has become so zombied out by X-Box, Cell Phones, as big as small televisions, and many other social media sites that fish keeping as a hobby is dying out all together. I have a new forum, and cant seem to get members at all that want to actually join. I use twitter and Google+ just to draw attention, and i get tons of lookers, but no joiners, im getting pretty disgusted with the forum business, im 62 retired and thats about all i hve to do. It sucks

**crazy42bmx** · 02-07-2013, 11:30 AM

Im a very interested hobbyists, yea a lil younger (27) but most definitely well into the hobby and the progression as well. Iv never really been on many forum's other than hfb. But like this very much. Iv been kepping fresh since i was 15 and now breeding tanganyika cichlids.
But i find this to be an awesome page/forum to be a part of. Many cool people and were all into the hobby

**SunnyHouTX** · 02-07-2013, 11:31 AM

Re: State of the Hobby

Originally posted by JIM View Post

Its not just in Texas, or the South, Lee. Its my observation that the new generation has become so zombied out by X-Box, Cell Phones, as big as small televisions, and many other social media sites that fish keeping as a hobby is dying out all together. I have a new forum, and cant seem to get members at all that want to actually join. I use twitter and Google+ just to draw attention, and i get tons of lookers, but no joiners, im getting pretty disgusted with the forum business, im 62 retired and thats about all i hve to do. It sucks

Jim, maybe you're too old to be messing with a forum?

**SunnyHouTX** · 02-07-2013, 11:36 AM

Re: State of the Hobby

Bottom line is that most of us on here at HFB are young, not retired and are very into this hobby in our own way. There are few ppl keeping "classic" fish like angels, but the vast majority of what is kept is unusual and diverse. Hobby is thriving, but it has changed from how you remember it. That is life.

**nightster** · 02-07-2013, 12:14 PM

Re: State of the Hobby

Fish keeping dying out all together bc of social media sites such as twitter and Google+? I find that hilarious.

**Lee** · 02-07-2013, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by JIM View Post

Its not just in Texas, or the South, Lee. Its my observation that the new generation has become so zombied out by X-Box, Cell Phones, as big as small televisions, and many other social media sites that fish keeping as a hobby is dying out all together. I have a new forum, and cant seem to get members at all that want to actually join. I use twitter and Google+ just to draw attention, and i get tons of lookers, but no joiners, im getting pretty disgusted with the forum business, im 62 retired and thats about all i hve to do. It sucks

You are probably correct, Jim. It is not just this hobby either. I am a radio ham and the same thing has happened in that hobby too. It's dumbed down. I keep busy in my own world and restore old transmitters and receivers. We have a small circle of guys who do our own thing. I also am into home brewing beer. In that hobby at least there are a bunch of active guys and the clubs are huge and very viable. Well at least most of them. I belong to a couple of them. One is a new club sponsored by a new home brew store. It amazes me how unprofessional the store is run as well as how poorly the club is run. The other one is a huge club and very successful, The KGB. My brother in law is into model trains and he says the same thing is happening in that hobby too. Kids are not intersted in model railroading. I think clubs can be successful, but they need to be run by guys that have some managerial and people skills. Those attributes are needed more now then in the past due to circumstances you have outlined. I wish I could find a few friends in the fish hobby doing the same thing as I with similar interests.

Lee

**mnemenoi** · 02-07-2013, 12:41 PM

1. Fresh water Angel Fish have been turned into unrecognizable abominations to some degree in my eyes.

Not really sure what to say, there are a few folks on here that dig angels. Many hobbyists have moved to different cichlids as our tap water does not generally work with Amazonian fish.

2. Tropical Fish magazines have just about died out. (I have a negative attitude for TFH which stems from many years ago).

Amazonas is a great alternative, check it out and see what you think. The difficulty is that with online information, many are just reguritations and limited in size when compared to the vast wealth of info offered for free.

3. I can not find any viable well run Tropical Fish Club in the Houston area. The ones listed have oudated web sites, No listing of meeting dates or places. Everything is up in the air and yet to be determined. Calanders from last year, etc. ("We will meet at Jodi's house sometime in February", but no dates, no time, and no address). Officer e-mail addresses which do not work. Seems very unprofessional to me. How do you grow a club with those kind of antics? It appears people as a whole in the South don't have much interest in Tropical Fish other then a casual interest. Maybe it is just true here in Houston.

GHAC (Greater Houston Aquarium Club) is active and has meetings the 3rd Saturday of the month. It is for everyone, but we are a younger club and enjoy having fun when we have our get togethers. We plan months in advance and this is where we post up the dates and general timeframe. Many do not post addresses as these are our homes. We ask that those wanting to come just PM the host and they will be happy to give you their address. As this forum is open to anyone, spammers and who knows could use the address and contact numbers, thus we limit their easy access. The clubs are run and hosted by normal folks that offer free food and drinks, but maintaining numerous websites that state the same thing can get a bit tedious and most just lack the time to be quite honest.

4. Prices are high and quality is low.

Inflation is a sign of the times. Many local aquarists breed fish/inverts/plants and I can say I rarely ever charge anyone and even then it is a trivial amount. I have also recieved the same kindness when I became more involved locally with other hobbyists. As to the LFS, some stores have quality livestock and charge for it. Others are a bit cheaper, but quality and price follow hand in hand.

Hopefully you can make it out to a meeting, we love seeing new folks and the cost is FREE, just your time and gas to get there. I think coming to a few meetings might just open you to different aspects of the hobby you had never considered before and spark new wants and ideas.

**BeefyG** · 02-07-2013, 01:01 PM

A few thoughts in red.

Originally posted by Lee View Post

1. Fresh water Angel Fish have been turned into unrecognizable abominations to some degree in my eyes. There are much worse abominations in the hobby currently. I'm not sure if they were around when you were first in the hobby but now we have flowerhorns, parrots, and short or balloon body of all sorts. Some people abhor them and some people love them. Wild caught angels are still around. I know Houston Aquarium Warehouse gets them in fairly frequently and offers both Scalare and Altums.

2. Tropical Fish magazines have just about died out. (I have a negative attitude for TFH which stems from many years ago). I had a subscription to one at one point but I think forums such as this one have pretty much replaced magazines. You get more information and get it quicker from a forum. With a smart phone, you can still read it in the bathroom as well. (I apologize for my crudeness but it is truth)

3. I can not find any viable well run Tropical Fish Club in the Houston area. The ones listed have oudated web sites, No listing of meeting dates or places. Everything is up in the air and yet to be determined. Calanders from last year, etc. ("We will meet at Jodi's house sometime in February", but no dates, no time, and no address). Officer e-mail addresses which do not work. Seems very unprofessional to me. How do you grow a club with those kind of antics? It appears people as a whole in the South don't have much interest in Tropical Fish other then a casual interest. Maybe it is just true here in Houston. I cannot speak for any club other than GHAC and I do not speak for GHAC in any official capacity. However, GHAC uses their subforum here to organize and disseminate information about the club. Meetings are posted on a monthly basis with a time and address and officers can easily be contacted here. I would direct anyone interested in joining GHAC to this forum. I'm not even sure what is on the website honestly. We are a very laid back group which appeals to the younger generation and the hectic lifestyles that are common these days. Perhaps it could be argued we are laid back to a fault but it suits me quite nicely.

4. Prices are high and quality is low. It depends on where you shop. Often the best quality fish at the best price is from a fellow hobbyist. Some stores specialize in a certain type of fish and have high quality stock of those fish at very good prices. The rest of their stock may not be that great though. Just ask who has the best "fill in blank" fish and we can point you in the right direction.

In short, my recent re-introduction to the hobby has been very disappointing. I'm sorry you have found the hobby lacking. All I can say is get involved on the forum and you may find its not as bad as you think it is. Its not so much worse off as it is just different. Society and the general public demeanor has changed quite a bit in the last 60 years. I'm not saying its better or worse but its definitely not the same.

Lee

**danielp** · 02-07-2013, 01:43 PM

This is hobby made up of 1000's of choices.

If you are a true hobbyist you respect all the choices and don't knock those that take an interest in something you don't like.

My kids are part of the young generation and they get this but unfortunately you are correct in your comment that a large part don't.

Now sit back and watch how this comment is attacked, who the attackers are and home many stupid pages this becomes.

Enjoying what you are doing is all that counts at the end of the day.

**nightster** · 02-07-2013, 01:45 PM

Re: State of the Hobby

Originally posted by danielp View Post

Enjoying what you are doing is all that counts at the end of the day.

+1

**troy tucker** · 02-07-2013, 02:58 PM

Lee, I do angel fish. I have been doing it long enough to have my on wild look strain. I sold a few really pretty Angel fish here on HFB. cheep too. Also stores like HAW have beautiful angels from the wild. and all that info was right here on the Box.

I have beem a member of a bunch of club. everything from the sportscar club of america to gun clubs and to many more. And some of them left a bad tast in my mouth for clubs.
But I see the GHAC. read about what they are doing. the don't Lie about what they do. They have fun and that is what a club is about. (sorry not a member )

I really enjoy my fish. I have some beautiful Angelfish.
Also have grown with the hobby I now have Geophagus. (earth eater) And they are So much fun.

If you wan't to be old ? be old. If you wan't to live bold ? Live bold...

**LordBarron7692** · 02-07-2013, 04:08 PM

Hmmm I understand where Mr. Lee is coming from as I started keeping fish at an early age but I am also young enough to be able to change with the times. Just remember that Mr.Lee is old enough to be most if not all of our grandfather

**mistahoo** · 02-07-2013, 04:31 PM

Re: State of the Hobby

Well said fellow boxers... Well said.... Lee, things change as time progresses. You can't change that. Was the government the same 60 years ago? Was the media the same 60 years ago? Was society the same 60 years ago? No they're not. Same with any hobby. Just because there's Xbox and ps3 and tv doesn't mean that we don't have young hobbyists. There are several young hobbyist who are also members here. I'm young myself (19) and I love the hobby. In fact, my ps3 is gathering dust because I just work and throw myself at the hobby.

As for inflated prices of fish? How about gas?! I'm sure 60 years ago it wasn't $3.75 a gallon! As Mnemenoi already mentioned, prices (of anything) reflect how our economy is doing. Also for the quality of the fish depends on where you're shopping. I live on the NW side of Houston and everything over here is just terrible when it comes to freshwater. Half dead/eaten fish, Brown water, smelly, diseased fish, etc. Now down in SW side, that's a whole 'mother ball game. Everything is much much higher in quality and prices are generally fair (yes, even Fish Gallery has fair prices every now and then).

There were many clubs but they've went down maybe what 5-10 years ago? You've missed out on the party! GHAC (Greater Houston Aquarium Club) and HAS (Houston Aquatic Society) are the only two I know of that are up and running. You commented that HAS was dead on a thread that had a calender for 2013 because they don't have a 2014 calender... They made that 2013 calender back in 2012. I'm sure it is still a bit early for a 2014 calender but they will definitely have it by the end of this year.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

**SunnyHouTX** · 02-07-2013, 04:35 PM

Re: State of the Hobby

Originally posted by mistahoo View Post

Well said fellow boxers... Well said.... Lee, things change as time progresses. You can't change that. Was the government the same 60 years ago? Was the media the same 60 years ago? Was society the same 60 years ago? No were not. Same with any hobby. Just because there's Xbox and ps3 and tv doesn't mean that we don't have young hobbyists. There are several young hobbyist who are also members here. I'm young myself (19) and I love the hobby. In fact, my ps3 is gathering dust because I just work and throw myself at the hobby.

As for inflated prices of fish? How about gas?! I'm sure 60 years ago it wasn't $3.75 a gallon! As Mnemenoi already mentioned, prices (of anything) reflect how our economy is doing. Also for the quality of the fish depends on where you're shopping. I live on the NW side of Houston and everything over here is just terrible when it comes to freshwater. Half dead/eaten fish, Brown water, smelly, diseased fish, etc. Now down in SW side, that's a whole 'nother ball game. Everything is much much higher in quality and prices are generally fair (yes, even Fish Gallery has fair prices every now and then).

There were many clubs but they've went down maybe what 5-10 years ago? You've missed out on the party! GHAC (Greater Houston Aquarium Club) and HAS (Houston Aquatic Society) are the only two I know of that are up and running. You commented that HAS was dead on a thread that had a calender for 2013 because they don't have a 2014 calender... They made that 2013 calender back in 2012. I'm sure it is still a bit early for a 2014 calender but they will definitely have it by the end of this year.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

Well said Steven.

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