Failures, Screw-Ups, and Learning Experiences Journal

[Sarina]

This will be a journal where I post about things I am not proud of, in an effort to break stereotypes about skilled/experienced aquarists making rookie mistakes and failing at certain aspects of the hobby. We all experience failure and errors and I think we should be talking about it, because I believe it makes us better caregivers for our animals if we are open about our hard lesson-learning moments. Join in if you are comfortable doing so, I will ensure this thread stays judgement-free. 

First one to kick it off:

Yesterday I arrived home and immediately checked on the paradise fish, which had been recently added to their permanent home from quarantine. I couldn't find one of the males, and I had left the lid off the tank. My heart sank, and I knew he had jumped while I was out running errands. Sure enough, I find him on the carpet, miraculously still alive even though he felt nearly dry to the touch. He is currently in a breeder basket, shedding his slime coat and looking like he is knocking on death's door.

He is clearly exhausted, and feeling pretty bad. I treated with Ich-X immediately to stave off fungal or bacterial issues as he regrows his entire slime coat. 

It's hard to not feel like a bad fishkeeper when stuff like this happens, but I have to remind myself that mistakes are normal, and that beating myself up about it is not going to help him recover. I have a fresh batch of BBS brewing for him, and I have some twin wall on order so I can make a lid that is easier for me to open and close without having to rearrange my equipment to get into the tank. He will be getting plenty of Vita Chem-laden Repashy to help him gain his strength back, as well. 

What I learned: The right equipment can make a huge difference. The makeshift eggcrate lid sags, and it makes it hard to get into the tank because in order to remove it without breaking anything, I have to remove the lights and carefully weave it through the rest of the equipment and set it on the floor. If I had purchased a proper lid, or made a lid out of the correct material, I would not have left it off long enough for this to happen. I know that my ADHD brain struggles to remember to put stuff back where it belongs, which means I knew this could potentially be an issue and I ignored my instincts because I was busy and stressed. Moving forward, I will not leave a tank unattended without a lid, especially when the tank houses anabantoidei species. 

[Guppysnail]

So sorry for your little guy. Paradise fish are tough cookies. Hopefully he will pull through. 
 

One of my mistakes, and there are many was not plugging a heater back in on a GBR fry hatch tank. They were free swimming so I was just starting to make the water deep enough to include a sponge filter. Only enough water to cover the heater. They were eating so required lots of water changes. 
 

I really had a lot going on in the fish room and no space to work in. I already had a GBR hatch growing in their grow out. Rather than be patient as I should have and waited I hatched them. I could barely get to the plug and could not see it. 
 

I lost the entire batch. I know my limits on time and how much I can properly care for and when that is exceeded I get sloppy. The fish always pay the price. 
 

From that I learned no matter what if I cannot set up properly and dedicate time to any fish project then it’s best left undone. 

[Odd Duck]

I’ve been keeping fish for a very, very long time.  I’m pretty sure I’ve made just about every mistake you can possibly make.  Forgot to unplug heaters, forgot to plug heaters back in.  Forgot to unplug filters, forgot to plug them back in.  Waited too long to clean prefilters to the point where it killed HOB’s.  Left sponge filters go so long they were collapsing on themselves (yep, that long).  Had fish yeet themselves out and not noticed in time (found a dried up Betta persephone on the floor about 2 weeks ago).  Ignored that little patch of black beard algae until it took over the tank, after all, it doesn’t hurt the fish - well, until your plants are nearly covered and not doing their job anymore.  That’s a major struggle to fight back from.

You name it, I’ve probably been there, done that, didn’t even get the T shirt over all these decades.  It happens to all of us sooner or later.  We will do something that compromises the health of our pets.  How we handle that and learn from it is what makes us better aquarists, eventually.  We do have to absorb those lessons and not ignore the results of our actions or our inactivity.  I’ll be honest, mine is usually an inactivity - feeling burned out at work, about life in general, or just too tired to get everything done that’s on my “to do” list.  I often feel like I’m always trying to catch up on things.

Lists help me, but I have to take the time to make lists, then I have to pay attention to the lists.  Too many big things on the list and I get stuck in “getting ready” mode instead of moving into actually doing mode.  So then I make lists within lists so each thing is smaller and more achievable.  I’m at lists within lists for the Offish that I’ve been trying to do for over a year.  But I got some things done today (well, technically yesterday) and I’ll get more done tomorrow (later today? 😝).  And I’ve got a rare Sunday off, so I’ll get more done on Sunday, too, since it’s been raining too much to play paintball.  😉  Might even get water changes done on every tank this week by the time I’m done!  Maybe.  😆  Definitely getting my linear air pump and air manifold set up tomorrow for my rack.  That will make it easier to move once I make a space for it to move to in the Offish.  Might go crazy and work on resetting my volcano tank.  It’s a mess right now.  And my list grows.  But as long as I keep growing and keep pushing, keep learning overall, and keep learning my limits, that’s what counts.  I’ve bred more fish in the last 3 years than I ever did “back in the day”.  So I guess that’s at least some progress in growing as a fishkeeper.  Now if I could just keep up with my lists a little better.  😆 

[Pokey]

Thank you @Sarina  for starting this. I hope your Paradise Fish recovers! And thank you @Guppysnail @Odd Duck for sharing. I tend to worry so much about not doing things right that I talk myself out of doing them at all! Especially when it comes to live creatures.

As a beginner, it’s a good reminder that things aren’t always going to go perfectly and we just need to do our best and not give up!

[Sarina]

On 10/28/2023 at 1:52 AM, Odd Duck said:

Too many big things on the list and I get stuck in “getting ready” mode instead of moving into actually doing mode

This is one of my biggest annoyances with myself, and it has a name: executive dysfunction. It comes from being ADHD and Autistic, and although I know where it comes from and have tools to help myself with it, it still bogs me down far more often than I would like. I have learned that sometimes I can motivate myself to just do the thing by watching YouTube videos of other people doing fish related things, or by listening to one of Cory's live streams. Sort of like body doubling, but without actually having a person there with you. It doesn't always work, but I still try it every time I feel myself getting stuck in a "prepare and wait" loop. 

@Guppysnail as of this morning, he is still alive and slightly more angry, so I'm taking that as a good sign 🤞

[Guppysnail]

On 10/28/2023 at 11:20 AM, Pokey said:

Thank you @Sarina  for starting this. I hope your Paradise Fish recovers! And thank you @Guppysnail @Odd Duck for sharing. I tend to worry so much about not doing things right that I talk myself out of doing them at all! Especially when it comes to live creatures.

As a beginner, it’s a good reminder that things aren’t always going to go perfectly and we just need to do our best and not give up!

I am a beginner at every new adventure I try. I learned the more things I try and fail at the more I learn. No such thing as failure only a learn what not to do experience. 
 

Right now I’m attempting daphnia magna culture. I’m terrified I’m going to crash it. I’ve asked a million questions (getting ready to post another now).