I am disenchanted with this hobby

Dick wrote:
On 31 Mar 2005 15:53:16 -0800, "
wrote:

Hi guys,

I own a tank for more than a month now and right now I have mixed
feelings about it.

It is not what I expected it to be and I am starting to think of
getting rid of it.

It has nothing to do of taking care of the fish, the money spent on
hardware.

It's just I like animals and it stresses me to see fish die and I am
the one to blame for it due to my inexperience and for putting fish
into a tank and play with their lifes...

I had fish that died because they got sucked into the filter,
because the water didnt have the proper qualities and now because of
disease...
It's a constant battle for me to take care of the fish and I am
losing
it.

Sorry for my venting but I am frustrated.
Thanks

Great you felt you could vent here. It is hard to play God. Things
get ill, die and then we gods make mistakes. I have known friends,
when I was in my twenties, that said they would "never fall in love
again" after a breakup with someone they "loved."

I have had to put my pet dogs to sleep for various reasons. I have
cried over them more than over the deaths of my parents. It hurts a
lot if you have any feelings. But, I cannot live without my lovely
dog friends. I have a 14 year old greyhound living on the edge. I
know I may have weeks or months with her and it hurts to think of it,
but I welcome every morning to see her and love her.

You may not be able to cope with such feelings. One must balance the
good and the bad. It is part of life. Perhaps you cannot live with
the bad things that happen. I know, as I approach 70 years of life,
I
have rid myself of responsibilities so as to avoid unnecessary
stress,
but my dogs and my fish are my closest companions. I don't want to
face a new morning without them.

You must do what is right for you. Stress is not a good companion.

dick

Hey remember: They are just fish!!! They are cool and all but at the
end of the day they are still just fish!! I lost many in the last 2
months and flushed a few meanies. It sucks when you find a dead sucked
into the filter, but still it is fun and for the bad problems I will
still keep fighting the dreaded ICH!!! and keep my tanks, and look for
more tanks. Because it is cool when the fish come to the top of the
tank to eat color brite pellets one at a time as I drop them in. So
don't give up!!!

Some people look at fish as pets not something disposable which they
can flush down the toilet (which by the way is very cruel) when they
are no longer wanted. Just my two cents!

"Tom Randy" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 02 Apr 2005 02:16:06 +0000, Angrie.Woman wrote:


"Tom Randy" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 19:21:48 -0800, wrote:

Thanks guys...

I just had a gourami that quit on me literally. it had popeye and I was
coming home with some medecine... too late... I am still battling Ich
but I thing the worse is gone for now.

Damn fish like them too much.


I just had to have my dog put down. That is FAR WORSE. She was nearly
15. Losing fish stinks but not as bad to me as losing a dog. It's like
losing a kid to me.


Oh Tom,

I'm so sorry for your loss! They leave such huge holes when they go.

A


Thanks. This hole will take a while to repair that's for sure.

I put mine down when she was 17.5, probably 5 years ago now. I still miss
her every day. But, and I know this is a very personal choice, I got a new
dog almost right away. I didn't plan to, but the house felt so empty
without her. I was such a basket case, I had to try something. I got a lot
of comfort out of the new dog.

A

"bettasngoldfish" wrote in message
oups.com...
Some people look at fish as pets not something disposable which they
can flush down the toilet (which by the way is very cruel) when they
are no longer wanted. Just my two cents!

I'm with you. They're not "just fish" to me either. If I had a meanie, I'd
have to just go huy another tank.

A

Angrie.Woman wrote:
"bettasngoldfish" wrote in message
oups.com...

Some people look at fish as pets not something disposable which they
can flush down the toilet (which by the way is very cruel) when they
are no longer wanted. Just my two cents!


I'm with you. They're not "just fish" to me either. If I had a meanie, I'd
have to just go huy another tank.

Unanimous. Animals suffer too, not just the homo sapien variety. The
difference is that animals don't have a voice to communicate that. Any
half decent, mature adult human would know that.

Nikki

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi guys,

I own a tank for more than a month now and right now I have mixed
feelings about it.

It is not what I expected it to be and I am starting to think of
getting rid of it.

It has nothing to do of taking care of the fish, the money spent on
hardware.

It's just I like animals and it stresses me to see fish die and I am
the one to blame for it due to my inexperience and for putting fish
into a tank and play with their lifes...

I had fish that died because they got sucked into the filter,
because the water didnt have the proper qualities and now because of
disease...
It's a constant battle for me to take care of the fish and I am losing
it.

Sorry for my venting but I am frustrated.
Thanks

Hey today I had a real eventful fishy day....but wouldn't swop it for the
world....

One of my larger Clown Loaches got held prisoner by my Pl*co....see later
post. Thankfully he got free...but watching the other Clown's (I have 6 in
total) sitting around trying to get him free was worth everything....their
joy and dancing once he broke free was priceless.....

I also got a new Betta today to replace the one I lost last week (through my
own ignorance I'm sure)...the delight of seeing him getting used to his new
home and swimming around happily....again it is priceless....

And yes, I've lost some fish along the way on my venture...but have been
fortunate that it has not been too many.....with my latest tank I still hold
my breath when I do the water tests.....still waiting for it to completely
cycle.

The only real answer is to listen to what everyone says regarding stocking
with your new fish...patience is everything.....follow the rules and you
WILL have a happy outcome.

I'm real sorry your experience hasn't been good to date but hang in there
and it will be.....

Sometimes, I am caught by the fact that aquarium fish-keeping is, in
essence, a somewhat "unnatural" hobby. Often, these fish are taken
from different regions and ecosystems of the world, and they are not
evolved to the aquarium "indoor" life in captivity. Why do we do it?
I can't speak for others, but for me it combines a strong nurturing
instinct (I am also an avid gardener - I SWEAR that these 2 hobbies are
related) with a strong response to the challenge of the whole
enterprise. Create an entire mini-eco-system so that fish from South
Africa grow and thrive in an indoor aquarium in Cleveland, Ohio? Hey,
no problem! I can do that!

At any rate, I know it's a hard thing, to lose fish. I lost 3 female
Colisa Lalia (Dwarf Gouramis) to dropsy/bloat in one month. (All from
the same fish store, BTW.) I keep thinking about what I might have
done wrong, and what I could have done to avoid it. I still don't
know. Also, 5 years ago, my favorite fish was a 3-y-o Blue Gourami
that finally succumbed to Old Tank Syndrome (OTS) because I wasn't
experienced enough to known about the importance of water changes when
I was a teenager. I can understand the guilt - and the hurt. We are
SO responsible for the lives of these small creatures!

I would suggest that you keep the faith. It's a neat hobby. To feel
responsibility for the lives of other living things can only be a good
thing, IMO. Don't let the losses get you down too much - it hurts, and
you can feel like a 100% failure, but the real failures never CARE
enough to learn about their mistakes and never try to improve their
fishkeeping abilities. So, you are (much) better than average! With
your sensitivity, I am sure that you will become a great aquarist.
Maybe, I will be one too, someday.

- Lisa in Central Coast CA, USA


Tom Randy wrote:
On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:53:16 -0800, wrote:

Hi guys,

I own a tank for more than a month now and right now I have mixed
feelings
about it.

It is not what I expected it to be and I am starting to think of
getting
rid of it.

It has nothing to do of taking care of the fish, the money spent on
hardware.

It's just I like animals and it stresses me to see fish die and I
am the
one to blame for it due to my inexperience and for putting fish
into a
tank and play with their lifes...

I had fish that died because they got sucked into the filter,
because the
water didnt have the proper qualities and now because of disease...
It's a constant battle for me to take care of the fish and I am
losing it.

Sorry for my venting but I am frustrated. Thanks


I have lost 6 fish in the past month. It happens. I had to put one
down
tonight actually. An albino cory that was sick. I lost 3 rasboras and
3
albino corys. I think the corys had a fungus on their mouth areas and
the
tails looked torn.

Point is, it happens. Don't get too down about it.

You'll do better soon. Really.

Tom