Why aquariums?

Ever once in a while I feel like just taking down my aquariums and scaling down or parting ways with the hobby all together. I get bored with the current state of my aquariums or the contents there in.
But then something reinvigorates my interest usually and either my focus changes or a new challenge presents it self.

what draws you to this hobby, or keeps you interested for a prolonged period of time?

I left the hobby a little over four years ago when my wife and I started out business. We had 4 tanks at that time. About a year ago a friend gave me a 10g and I had wanted to try a shrimp tank. Curiosity and reading led to interest in doing a planted shrimp tank which has evolved into constant learning about aquatic plants and their care. I share your sentiment of boredom. I feel like once I've "mastered" the challenge I set for myself I want to find a new challenge.

As for now I keep myself interested by creating artificial challenges, such as only trading for equipment, only getting the best deal of used equipment, or pushing the limits of DIY. Now having our first baby my artificial challenges have slowed my progress to a bit of a crawl, which is frustrating. I've been tempted to break some of my rules for the sake of progress.

Really though, the biggest drive to keep pulling me in is my desire to have a 180g some day. So I keep tinkering and working towards that pinnacle. I know a lot of members are already at and beyond this goal, and they will hopefully have an answer for what to do beyond that, but in general I guess I strive to push the limit of my skills.

All that being said, if I had to pick a completely different reason for staying interested it would be to create a simple, reliable, and repeatable technique for planted tanks.

That was a bit of a ramble wasn't it.

Sorry.

Aquascaping, and watching plants and fish grow. I do like the community WaFishBox and how we barter and trade, and in general discuss stuff. . GSAS is pretty cool, and I appreciate what Cory has done to the N Sound fish Community. These are the things that keep me going. I wish to get back into large fish but having issues with my life partner compromising about the instillation of a 400 gallon tank in the living room, LOL!

fishNAbowl wrote: I wish to get back into large fish but having issues with my life partner compromising about the instillation of a 400 gallon tank in the living room, LOL!  

Thats easy... just tell your life partner a 400gal tank would fit into the living room much better then just converiting the livingroom into a 10kGal tank

I second the aqua scaping and raising the fish part. Right now I am Done with big fish not only because of cost, but also I am finding I like active fish and bigger fish just are not as active. My tastes are now turning towards smalled cracked out fish with ADHD and shrimp tanks!

Chiisai wrote:

fishNAbowl wrote: I wish to get back into large fish but having issues with my life partner compromising about the instillation of a 400 gallon tank in the living room, LOL!  

Thats easy... just tell your life partner a 400gal tank would fit into the living room much better then just converiting the livingroom into a 10kGal tank

Hahahahaha!

Chiisai wrote:
I second the aqua scaping and raising the fish part. Right now I am Done with big fish not only because of cost, but also I am finding I like active fish and bigger fish just are not as active. My tastes are now turning towards smalled cracked out fish with ADHD and shrimp tanks!

Its a neat switch! I wouldn't switch back , just want to raise both now. Peacock Bass can be lively. I had a school of them and they would be zippy in my 7' tank. Drop a handful of live food and watch em go nUts!!

My problem is im out of room or not allowed more room for tanks.  I have done the African cichlid tank,  dwarf shrimp tank,  walstad planted aquascape tank, planted angel tank, and planted grow out tank. But I'm not done. My goal tanks are "big fish" SA or CA cichlid tank and saltwater tank(reef).  Maybe when I get bored with the Africans I guess I can do a SA or CA cichlid tank.  Or take out the little  community fishes out of the dirted tank and put angels in the dirted tank.  Then make the angel tank, a saltwater reef tank. Possibilities or some dream I cant accomplish due to limitations.

hobbyorobsession wrote:

what draws you to this hobby, or keeps you interested for a prolonged period of time?

First...the beauty of this hobby is unparalleled I think.  The ability to grow an indoor underwater garden...takes my breath away really.  Also, the variety of projects that are available through fishkeeping, aquascaping, and aquatic gardening.  This hobby is so diverse and has so many options and choices of projects that you can become involved in it is sometimes overwhelming which project or task to start on next.  There are so many innovators in this hobby who are always trying new things.  If you are creative...there is the DIY aspect also.  I have more wanna do projects on my plate than I have room to try them.

Limited tank space ... do nano tanks.  You can do shrimp, small planted like the wabu-sabi tanks, small tropicals both rare and common

Moderate space for tanks...grow a little...have a couple of tanks, try different things.  Run one type of tank for a while then change things up.  I have noticed that a lot of successful hobbyests will have one type of tank (say a species tank) for a while then they will sell off the stock in that tank, rescape and try a new species.  How fun to be able to do that.

Lots of space...go big.  I had to give up my biggest tank ... a beautiful 155G bowfront and only keep the largest size I could keep in the house...the 125's...but maybe some day I can go back to that big size again and if not at some point I'll change up my stock in the 125G tanks and try some new venture.  CA/SA cichlids probably.

The long periods of time thing...I think you have to be patient with fishkeeping.  First you have to be patient with yourself.  There is a big learning curve with many aspects of this hobby.  Give yourself time to learn what it is you are trying to do.  Experiement...allow yourself to make mistakes...that is how you will learn.  Some species take years to fully develop and mature.  Many people want flash in a pan and instant color and size.  The nice thing about fishkeeping is that you can find "both" of those options.  And if you start with the wrong option, remember you can always place or rehome the fish you have and try something different.

Joining a aquatic club as well as following and participating (when I can) in fish forums also has helped my hobby. I have learned so much from other fishkeepers. Sharing spawns and trading fish and just learning what another fishkeeper is keeping and how things work for them inspires me to do things with my tanks. Hearing great speakers talk about particular types of fish or aspects of the hobby inspires me.

This is not a static hobby as I see it...it is a diverse and ever changing hobby...always growing, always changing, always catching my interest in some way or another. It kinda reminds me of riding a train...sometimes you go slow, sometimes you fast, sometimes you are the passenger, sometimes you are the conductor or the engineer, and sometimes you are the hobo jumping on board to ride the train to who knows where but doing it with a glint in your eye and a smile on your face as you look forward to the next adventure.  I love it.

I got out of the hobby as a young adult and it took me 20+ years to get back. I was still a lurker and would check in on stores every now and then. After the closure of many of the local stores I would visit, I stopped in a Petsmart and was blown away by the fish section and how reasonable the fish prices were. I then started looking online at different fish and saw 'flowerhorns' for the first time and I thought 'where did they find these?' After finding they were man made I realized I had been away for awhile and started researching heavily, then bought a tank, then another, then another. Been back for some years now and am constantly looking and researching anything about fish.

I love having a living conversation piece in my family room. So much life and habitat going on in a four foot long acrylic box.

cichlid-gal wrote:
First...the beauty of this hobby is unparalleled I think.  The ability to grow an indoor underwater garden...takes my breath away really.

  That's it exactly.

My dad had a 20g with livebearers when I was a kid. I took my fixation with house plants (got that from my mom), threw that together with a long time desire for an aquarium, and it was all downhill from there.

For me, it has been and still is 20+ years later, watching cichlids breed. Two fish that would normally kill either other coming together to guard eggs and fry with a teamwork that most NFL teams would envy. It's simply amazing to watch.

That's why I call Malawi cichlids tetras ... they may be pretty, but the don't show that amazing pair protection that other cichlids do.

Why I still do it? I like the challenge and when I feel I'm bored with one direction of the hobby I change it up and go a different direction with it. Like shutting down my high tech planted tanks... now I can't stand not having one to tinker with and am going to restart one again this week (even though I have 21 other tanks going I don't get the enjoyment out of them that I do a planted tank).