I seem to have lost interest

[jessonthenet]

Haha, room isn't big enough.

The larger tank option is a no go, I already have as much tank space in the house as is possible

Well that is your issue , restriction, except yours is space and mine is money. You can't have or do any more so you come to a dead end and stuck there long enough you get bored.

Replace the fish and perhaps get rid of the bookshelf.

If I was unrestricted I would have the whole wall from left to right and top to bottom one huge tank but like I mention not just restriction causing issues, you have to be sensible and compromise. Throw the kids out or make them share then you have a fish room and so on. Sell the kids on Ebay and buy panaque.

 

[Jo Crane]

The product of a busy life mate when the cold nights kick in you will be back on it

 

[xingu]

The product of a busy life mate when the cold nights kick in you will be back on it

Lol, cold nights?

Winter means you can go outside here, not that you have to stay in, high of 42 degrees today!

 

[FF MkII]

Im feeling you mate, im going through it too.....lost **** load of fish lately for no apparent reason (all plecs) and the one thing that has kept me going is the breeders upstairs although nothing is breeding and the snakeheads.... recently i have thought about selling all the plecs i have and getting a few smaller predators. i go through it every now and again.

What you really need is to move back here so we can go on some fish shop tours ;-)

 

[bre]

We all go through it. We sold up everything we had except for the main tank, now I couldn't really care about that. I thought of selling everything in it and starting again. Prob is I have a that monster Gibbi and that makes aquascaping and finding tankmates to suit around him our biggest issues.
Seems like most of us who have been around here since the forum began are the ones going through this lack of interest.

 

[ccole]

Really crap to hear about all of you going through slumps. I to know how it is due to shear frustration of not being able to physically do the things I want with my tanks. I found the biggest thing is not being able to do what I want or as the other half says 'being a spoilt brat'lol.

What I have done is create a small sketch book filled with different ideas on tanks, occupant variation and design. I know that unless something magic happens most of the things won't happen but I flick though the book and sometimes have a brain wave and all of a sudden something seems possible and I get to do it.not sure if its being a designer but having stuff out of my head and being able to hold it makes things seem more tangible.
I agree with others keep up the basics and dream a little.
Take care of yourself
Cc

 

[zeebo]

well that is certainly uplifting cc, although i am coming out of my slump slowly, rescaping helped and i want other fish ..just a matter of the long drive . Still no plecs and the empty caves still bum me out , but I will get more , and that will bring me out of this funk. Whether it comes from loosing a mass of fish, or just a personal funk, no matter which, you inspire and I thank you for that. It does help to know others get the feeling too, but good to know if it's in our blood, we pull out and get back to business.

X- I hope you are considering keeping your fish, we miss your great photos !

Steve, sorry for your losses, esp with no reason, prehaps your town was doing work and added something to the water ? whatever it was , hope to see you continue as well , you always had the most awesome tanks and plecs/pics ,I am in awe of your tanks and the plecs you chose to keep, would love to see you find your plec spirit again and look foward to more photos, too.

 

[JackGillett]

I think the biggest problem i have is i see great tanks and think why the f cant i do that with mine?

 

[Tener ds]

I think the biggest problem i have is i see great tanks and think why the f cant i do that with mine?

Lol jack,seen a pic of a stuning tank on a web site that looked the nuts. I'd love a tank like that but just don't have the time, cash etc to keep a tank that good.
I'm not going off fish keeping, just happy with what I have. Apart from the tetra problems I had all are ok. Tanks look after them selves, just doing water changes 3x a week, feed fish 3x a week and the odd trim here and there to keep plants in good nick.

 

[JackGillett]

Im going back to a semi community. Im getting a pair of rams and some cardinal tetra maybe plants too

 

[Tener ds]

Im going back to a semi community. Im getting a pair of rams and some cardinal tetra maybe plants too

good luck mate,don,t forget the pics..

 

[JackGillett]

I wont mate

 

[Zebra Pleco]

Since fracturing my back in 2 places (twice) last year, I have found keeping fish a nightmare. Everything was done by hand, water changes the lot. I now have a rack system and have nearly everything automated.

Now I am bored, I have nothing to do compared to what it was like 12 months ago.

My Zebs and Queens get all my attention and the others 333's, 411's etc are just ignored (not neglected though).

They get fed, bi-weekly water changes and gravel cleans and thats it. Poor weeee things, someone give me my enthusiasm back.

 

[ccole]

Hello there
I am so sorry to hear about you hurting your back like that-can't imagine the pain both physical and mental.
I do understand how things can be overwhelming and things that used to be a breeze are now nothing but. I am lucky enough to have lots and lots of help otherwise I would not be able to keep fish at all.
I found that to enjoy the hobby still the key was pacing myself-being very selective when and what I do to make sure I have the time and the energy to do what I want rather than what I have to do. I also had to make some very hard choices. I had to get rid of a large tank so couldn't face the nagging feeling that I was just maintaining a tank in the hope one day I would have the time and energy to enjoy it again.
Once I got rid and sold the fish to good homes I felt loss for a while but found not having that nagging feeling so much easier to enjoy the tank I had left.

I can't tell you how to loose that feeling but I know for me that I had to face that things had changed and so I had to change things to match my new life.

My best wishes are with you
Claire

 

[Brengun]

If you would like something fiddly which will make your tanks look great, try growing anubias on dw. After a time they can be cut and new plants cemented onto new dw.

I have just discovered a paint on superglue with a little brush inside the tiny bottle. Worked a treat mounting anubias and seems non toxic to fish. Loads easier than tying them on fish fishing line or such.

See what sort of masterpiece creations you can make with a bit of wood, an anubias, a bit of frilly java fern and maybe a bit of bolbitus fern.

 

[basicsimple]

Hi xingu,

I do have some idea that will be challenging, need to use ur camera, need sense of art and is a job of a aquarist...just a suggestion, not sure u will like it or not. U can try planted tank and enter ADA competition to get to the top of the world.

Try to keep and breed some most challenging fish eg altum angel.

Regards,
John

 

[plecsarebetta]

What I did when I had a boredom phase was get a total different species tank so that its something new to research and master etc.... I went with a piranha tank which as it turns out wasn't a great choice as Red Belly Piranha are extremely boring lol... Had them a year or so then sold all my tanks and wanted a total break... have had 4 years without any fish and started keeping reptiles to fill that gap but now I am in the initial planning stages at what tanks/fish I want to keep again