Balance before burn-out

[Atitagain]

I was up to 23 tanks most of them I tried to keep in “show” condition but I had experiments, breeding, new to plants, and all the other stuff that goes along with so many aquariums to deal with. It was amazing learning and being successful in keeping them healthy. Then a big change within my family duties and major changes at work, ones that required many hours of research and experimentation at home. So something’s got to give but I was so stubborn to cut back on the aquariums and before long my entire fishroom was a mess. Even feedings we’re not being done as often as I was used to. Then I began to only feed and keep putting off the work.

Weeks would go by without water changes or other maintenance. The burn-out was real, and to prideful to admit I couldn’t manage a healthy fishroom and keep other commitments as well. I finally cut back, over a couple weeks of spending most every available minute rearranging and re-homing I was down to 9. A week later the burn-out was still there even stronger now. Uggggg I was really into what I was training for at work and the two worlds collided, considered packing it up and leaving the hobby for awhile. I made another major cut and now I’m down to 3 aquariums and a cull tank. This was much easier to manage but I only felt relief. 

Inspiration comes in strange ways, a video about breeding rummynose tetra was in my suggestions I didn’t even watch went straight to my fishroom and felt the energy that has been missing. It’s been a couple months now and the balance has been restored.

MTS is in my DNA.

 

[Flumpweesel]

Glad to hear you have found a balance,  I had been wondering where you have gone but due to a change in my job I've not been on here much this year either. 

Life is full of things that we can control and things that we can't.  So with what we can we must keep it as stress free as possible.

 

[Guppysnail]

I think it’s hard to keep fishkeeping in hobby perspective. Other hobbies are done when there is time. When there is not they sit there on the back burner waiting patiently for us to again have time. So the enthusiasm stays with us. 
Fish are living creatures and still need daily attention whether we have time or not. It does cause burn out and becomes a Job/ chore when we do not have time. 
Throughout my life I have gone up and down in tank numbers and enthusiasm more than I can count. 
Giving ourselves permission to scale back when we see our other commitments or interests are demanding more from us is so important. 
When I see the balance tipping away from my hobby I evaluate based on loved water pets stay.  Rare/ hard to get fish stay unless my time is to constrained. Then I try to find an adopter that will breed them so I can get some back or return the original group. Project fish and all easy to come by fish are always rehomed at the first sign that I’m coming close to crossing that line of my hobby becoming a chore. 
Kudos to you for making the changes needed to restore the balance. 🤗

[mynameisnobody]

I’ve had bouts of this and once we had our baby and work schedules became a bit too much, I decided that I could limit the amount of aquariums by setting a “no smaller than 75 gallon” rule. Larger aquariums are way easier to care for, maintain, and stock. I sold off or gave away anything smaller. I also limited my YouTube intake of fish content dramatically. I noticed that as I watched someone in their fish room, I was making mental wish lists, and it was getting ridiculous. Collectoritis is a real thing and it was getting borderline corny. I now have a very reasonable fish maintenance schedule which I enjoy, albeit with larger aquariums/stock ponds. I’m a much happier fish keeper now than I ever was and my family appreciates the hobby rather than the hobby taking me away from them for hours at a time. 

[Atitagain]

On 9/10/2023 at 5:51 AM, Flumpweesel said:

 

Life is full of things that we can control and things that we can't.  So with what we can we must keep it as stress free as possible.

 

so true 

On 9/10/2023 at 7:38 AM, Guppysnail said:

I think it’s hard to keep fishkeeping in hobby perspective.

It does cause burn out and becomes a Job/ chore when we do not have time. 🤗

Right, I don’t call my dogs a hobby “ yea this is Emma and Ella their boxers, they are a hobby of mine I’m a K9ist”

such a chore without balance. Finding the sweet spot is an ongoing battle that must be reassessed (⬅️definitely had to look up the spelling on that one) frequently is my lesson learned.

[Atitagain]

On 9/10/2023 at 9:25 AM, mynameisnobody said:I decided that I could limit the amount of aquariums by setting a “no smaller than 75 gallon” rule. Larger aquariums are way easier to care for, maintain, and stock. 

Very interesting take. Floor space restrictions would be another deterrent also much harder to talk wife into bigger purchases.

[Tanked]

Hobby: "An interest or activity to which a person devotes leisure time for pleasure"

I prefer a less is more style.  Fish/aquarium keeping allows me to combine two hobbies without creating a second part time job. That is also where the frustration/burnout begins.  For me there is no point in keeping fish as a hobby unless I can spend time watching them. For that reason, while I admire the dedication of those who keep fish rooms big and small, my fish room is also the family area, and I am limited to 3 tanks.

I'm kind of burnt out on the large community tank.  It holds the last of my adopted fish: a breeding pair of angels and two SDs.  The only real pleasure I get from this tank is from the angels, who even though they just ate fifty of their kids, they still come to the front of the tank wagging their tails like puppies.  I never saw the eggs, and the SDs would have eaten any of the fry that passed through the fence anyway. 

I could combine all of the peaceful community plant eaters, in a different tank, but the TFBs don't want to share their space. 

 

 

[Littlefish]

On 9/10/2023 at 9:25 AM, mynameisnobody said:

I’ve had bouts of this and once we had our baby and work schedules became a bit too much, I decided that I could limit the amount of aquariums by setting a “no smaller than 75 gallon” rule. Larger aquariums are way easier to care for, maintain, and stock. I sold off or gave away anything smaller. 

I have found the opposite!  Any algae out break is so much easier for me to control in a nano tank.  I miss the angels and big fish, though...

[mynameisnobody]

@Littlefish very true if you have 1 nano tank, but for those with MTS, it’s much more difficult to maintain an algae outbreak, plant trimming, gravel vac, and just general water change/maintenance on 10-30 tanks. Plus I don’t have algae outbreaks, duckweed is another way I’ve made this hobby a ton easier for me. 

[Atitagain]

On 9/10/2023 at 12:33 PM, Tanked said:

 

I prefer a less is more style.

I’m really trying to adapt this philosophy, only keeping what absolutely interests me.  It’s been great having the time to actually turn backlighting off and enjoy.

 

On 9/10/2023 at 1:13 PM, Littlefish said:

I have found the opposite!  Any algae out break is so much easier for me to control in a nano tank.  I miss the angels and big fish, though...

Is this always wanting what you don’t have? I would go through this a lot, so I just got both, a few times. 😖

On 9/10/2023 at 1:26 PM, mynameisnobody said:

duckweed is another way I’ve made this hobby a ton easier for me. 

It’s weird I’ve never been able to keep duck weed alive for long periods. I heard Cory say most floating plants don’t like lids. Do you find this to be true? The tank I would want to try again in has a lid that i would not really want to remove. (My Oscar likes to splash a lot)

[Tanked]

On 9/10/2023 at 5:33 PM, Atitagain said:

My Oscar likes to splash a lot

When the kids asked to feed the TFBs I would hand them the food and a towel.  When they asked what the towel was for, I said "you'll find out."

[JettsPapa]

On 9/10/2023 at 12:13 PM, Littlefish said:

I have found the opposite!  Any algae out break is so much easier for me to control in a nano tank.  I miss the angels and big fish, though...

On the other hand, I don't know if this applies to others or just me, but I seem to have considerably less algae in the larger tanks.

[mynameisnobody]

@Atitagain what kind of filtration do you have on your Oscar tank? If it’s a HOB or a canister then that’s probably the reason you’re not successful with duckweed.

@JettsPapa agreed, overall a much easier experience than a nano. I understand most of us don’t have the space for larger aquariums, but something should be said at how it isn’t even close maintenance wise. 

[Atitagain]

On 9/11/2023 at 11:10 AM, mynameisnobody said:

If it’s a HOB or a canister

Yea 2 canisters, duckweed don’t like to much flow. I remember that now and I do keep fairly high flow in most tanks. TY

[PineSong]

I think most of us in the hobby for years have gone up and down in the number, size, and care requirements of the tanks we keep.

I've decided not to increase my number of tanks and to deal with my "collector-itis" by promising myself I can breed a different strain of guppies every year forever, so I don't feel like I need to have a tank of these AND a tank of those, plus some of those over there, etc.

I really like watching the babies develop into fully colored adults, so I want to give myself that enjoyment without having more tanks than I can keep pretty.

Right now I have two 20's and a 29 that are planted and pretty, plus two temporary 10 gallons (hospice and grow out). I think eventually I will have one larger "display" planted community tank and one 20 for my 'this year's guppy strain' and that may be all (other than my pond).