Fishkeeping burnout, what now

[beastie]

So I am suffering from a fishkeeping burnout. I still like my fish and will watch them, but I am not in love and having fun now. 

It started a month or two ago when we were considering moving, so I decided to stop any remakes or purchases to any of my tanks and started looking at how to downsize or what to do and how to move, if even.

We now do not need to move, so I do not need to downsize or tear down, but I still dont know. I have two old tanks that can break at any point. I am not happy with at least two of my tanks, and other two need work, but I am unsure what work and if I am feeling up to it.

For those of you who experienced it, how did you handle?

I have 6 tanks. I still do maintenance, I still feed, I still hatch live food, I have a fry I am raising, but there is also algae, one of the tanks needs a moss trim ( and has been needing it for months now), one tank looks empty cause balance in it shifted and I am unsure why. I am not super excited at any of my fish at the moment. The fish I like the most is barely visible in a tank that doesnt look nice to me anymore but I dont even have a good picture, as the tank is in a location where there is such a light glare all pictures are unusable.  The only tank I could easily tear down is the smallest one and the newest glass, so that makes no sense. 

 

Should I wait for the mood to come back? Should I have a talk with some fishkeepers which way to go? Will that motivate me? Should I purchase new tank and remake and regroup some fish? I just dont know. And the more "advanced" you are in fishkeeping the less answers you receive in any forums or for any questions asked and it always leaves me so sad.

[Guppysnail]

Fish keeping us very much like dating and marriage.

First comes the infatuation stage full steam ahead.  Then comes more tanks and commitment.  
 

When the new honeymoon phase wears off is when decisions need to be made.  Is this something you want in your life or does it need to retire to a fond memory.

When I have the disenchanted phases I take down tank any tanks I’m not loving and rehome any fish that I have not bonded with.

As I whittle away the excess and have less fish chores, for me the spark reignites because I spend more time with each fish.
 

 For others they decide the last tank or few tanks are still there just because they were not yet ready to let go of an era in their life.

It’s something only you can decide.  Maybe even take everything down and take a break  if you miss it you can always come back to fishkeeping.  If you do not then maybe that era has passed  

 

[TOtrees]

Every time I sell or give away or discard something I'm not using at the moment, I feel good about shedding things and simplifying. Same with fish I don't have plans for. Instead of asking what can I do with these fish, or this tank, I ask what my fish room or hobby or time budget will look like without it. I literally have gaps in my shelves where I've rehomed the fish and shut down the tank, and sure it would be easy to get something else in there, but I'm actually in the same boat as you, and want to have more time for other things, not less. So I totally empathize. Maybe I'm more dispassionate about my choices, and that's not something I can force on anyone. But I can share how much it helps me to be that way. 🙂

[jwcarlson]

I have a dip in fishkeeping enthusiasm this time of year always.  It's nice out, there's things to be done outside, kids want to play more, etc.  I'm sitting in the basement feeling like a shut-in watching my tanks fill back up.  It's OK to part with fish, it's important to give yourself that permission.  I struggle A LOT with that, in truth.  It's some sort of mental block as I feel like this with any animal I have including my honey bees.  I feel like I enter into a pact with them almost.  

In the end, it's easy to overdo it and it's OK to step back.

[Tanked]

There is a thin line separating burnout, boredom, and frustration.  I think most of us experience one or the other periodically.  Two of the big problems with this hobby are: the lack of absolute answers to some questions, and the ‘I’ve got everything the way I want it, now what?’ moment.

You are unhappy with 6 tanks, why make it 7?  It is time for reflection. I would sit back with a beverage of choice, and review: 
•    what isn’t fun anymore 
•    what were your goals, did you meet them
•    what do you like/dislike about each tank
•    Does each tank have a different purpose or theme, or is it just another box of fish

I also would consider downsizing even though you don’t have to.  Along with answering some of the questions above, downsizing will present a challenge, and may spark a renewed interest.
Finally, don’t undervalue the small tank.  I keep a 10 gallon “project” tank.  It is fishless, so I can break most of the ‘rules’.  I can make drastic changes in minutes, and the only risk is a few plants or some pest snails.  It helps keep the interest up.
 

[VanDogh]

I haven't been into fish keeping for that long but maybe you could have Walstad tanks?

The fish that can be kept in a low maintenance tank you keep, the rest you sell. You can always resume your ambitions when you feel like it, fish keeping should be fun and rewarding. 

[mynameisnobody]

Agreed with @Guppysnail. After reducing things, I usually have a realization of how strong collectoritis is. Each time, I do this, I reduce less and less. I haven’t had burnout in quite a while because I thoroughly enjoy everything I keep. Everything in the house is a sum of 4 rounds of reductions. From this point, I’d probably add 1 or 2 75 gallons, but other than that, I’m tapped out. 

[NOLANANO]

On 6/6/2024 at 4:19 AM, beastie said:

For those of you who experienced it, how did you handle?

When I get a little burnout, I either need to start planning a rescape or find some sort of fish that I have never kept before and get excited about it. At the moment I wouldn't say I am burnt out but my tank is fully stocked and scaped well so I don't have a ton to do. My son, however, wants a crested gecko for his birthday so I have been reseraching that a ton.  A bioactive vivarium is very similar to a planted aquarium so I am having fun looking into different plants and setups and budgeting for this. Maybe downsize your aquariums and get another oddball pet like a gecko or small snake or something.

[Tlindsey]

On 6/6/2024 at 5:19 AM, beastie said:

I am not happy with at least 2 of my tanks.

Rehome the fish and break down the 2 tanks. If you are still not feeling the fishkeeping take a break. It's ok to step away life is like that.

 

[beastie]

Thank you everyone. I meant a new tank to replace one of the older ones not get another one.

I am sort of on the fence of giving fish away as i tried few times and people don't keep fish in the correct environment and last time i offered a fish i had no takers, even for free! 

I don't enjoy aquarium plants nor do I have the lights/green thumb for it. Most of my plants are low maintenance, i don't do any co2 not much fertilizing. I already have a lot of indoor plants and I have a garden with vegetables and I am not a gardening enthusiast at all :))

I travel a bit too much for new pet so that is out of the question and I was vetoed all of the ones I asked for, no chickens, guinea pigs, snakes... But a solid advice.

another slight problem i have is, some of the fish species i have i havent had for long and i don't like giving them away because i have not experienced all of their behaviors. I think it would help if I wrote what I have exactly as I see downsizing as a slight problem. Most of the fun fish are the ones in the smallest tanks :))

 

[Tony s]

On 6/6/2024 at 9:11 AM, jwcarlson said:

I'm sitting in the basement feeling like a shut-in watching my tanks fill back up

That’s exactly why I don’t have a fish room. I really don’t want to be down there by myself. Instead I’ve covered most of the flat surfaces and empty spaces with fish. And my wife is only partially annoyed…. Most of the time 🤣

 

@beastie  everyone slows down from time to time. As long as you’re not damaging your animals, it’s fine. Sometimes reducing tanks helps. Trying something new helps. Or taking breaks helps. If it feels like work, you’re doing it wrong. It’s a hobby, it’s supposed to be fun. But the hobby requires a lot of work. That’s what Cory from coop has been saying. It’s better to do less, and enjoy more. Maybe find what you really like, add more of it. Eliminate everything that’s not part of that. One tank, your favorite animal. That would be enough. Or just take a complete break, do what’s best for you. Cause if you don’t love it, you may end up hating it. 

[beastie]

So the one easiest to downsize would be a 25 liter that maybe has some leftover indostomus paradoxus that I thought died out but I saw one recently. It also houses two clown killifish for hopeful breeding though so far no luck. This is one of the new glass.

On the same shelf is an old 40 liter that houses the remaining 6 clown killifish and three recently purchased dario hysginon, one may be females most likely not though. Two males spar too much so I though about rehoming one for sure somewhere.

Another old tank is a 60 liter cube that i am most disappointed in, as most of the fish hide now. It has two dario, maybe one female and for sure one male. Some pygmy codydoras that disappointed me heavily, though maybe I didn't provide the correct environment for them. It also has a group of 11 least rasboras that are stunning and until month or two ago were not shy. The tank also has algae issue cause it is powered by an ikea lamp and the window. The cabinets it stands on most likely will not support a heavier tank though it is a shame cause i could get a larger one and maybe group some tanks together.

An older but not bad tank, maybe in bad location and badly scaped houses my beloved pseudomugil luminatus. They are shy fish and look best in dim lighting, so that works but the tank is not nice to look at. It also has rabbit snails which means no other plants survive and no other fish can be added. I already gave half away, I am considering giving the rest except the oldest snail as it is not gift able anymore.

My two larger ones are ok-ish. One is no heater rocks and full of moss. 40 or so white cloud minnows, 7 panda garra, one last sewellia and so much shrimp it ain't funny.

The largest tank is questionable. Remaining group of hatchetfish, sort of new group of pearl gouramis, new trio of guppies i took from someone. Remaining part of ember tetras i can't give away and same with rummynose (would never catch those). Lovely bolivian ram (four of them, great group) and for me boring sterbai codydoras that may have internal parasites and recently acquired pepper cory that is three times as large as the other cories. Several otocinclus. Forgot the not so long ago added kuhlis loaches that are actually active, but only five survived. Don't love the plants but rescaping means tearing it all down. Might be a fun project.

 

 

Edited June 6 by beastie
Forgot my kuhli

[TOtrees]

On 6/6/2024 at 11:47 AM, mynameisnobody said:

 After reducing things, I usually have a realization of how strong collectoritis is. 

This sounds like a real affliction, has a strong ring of truth. I feel like you could find it in a pathology manual. 

[mynameisnobody]

@TOtrees after years of addiction to heroin, I understand addiction better than most. I’ve been clean for 13 years now, but the behaviors still remain in other aspects of life so I try to keep it as fresh as possible in my head. 

[NOLANANO]

On 6/6/2024 at 1:40 PM, mynameisnobody said:

I’ve been clean for 13 years now,

Congrats. Keep fighting the good fight!

[Tony s]

On 6/6/2024 at 2:40 PM, mynameisnobody said:

I’ve been clean for 13 years now

Congrats!!! We've helped raised 30 kids from people with that kind of problem. I get how difficult it is. I've watched people choose that over their kids. and you know they don't want to, but they stop believing they can kick it. So very nice job, hoping it's getting easier for you!

[mynameisnobody]

@NOLANANO @Tony s it does get easier, but the perspective remains, which in my case benefits me. Fish keeping has a ton to do with keeping me clean and most importantly, sane. Thanks for the kind words

[lefty o]

it comes, it goes. id cut back on the number of tanks you currently have set up, and if you get excited about it in the future, you have the tanks.

[Kunersbettas]

I had burnout, until I came here, and began devoting myself to chatting to fellow hobbyists and finding something to work on.

[AtomicSunfish]

To me, the cure (or prevention) for burnout is to not overextend yourself. That will vary from person to person, but basically if you’re running yourself ragged maintaining tanks, you’ll get stressed and your enjoyment will decrease. Think about how many tanks you actually want, and downsize to that number. Personally, I like having just 2 or 3. Any more than that and I’m liable to worry I’m not giving each one enough attention.

[Little Guys]

Perhaps find a newbie keeper and tutor them to get them started with the tank product you  have loved so much.   They can purchase their own tanks and you can put yours away until you are completely sure you don't want to keep any more.

[Tony s]

On 6/6/2024 at 8:46 PM, AtomicSunfish said:

Think about how many tanks you actually want, and downsize to that number

@beastie And ,honestly, you could go up in size with fewer tanks. Get more of what you like. Much less of what is just meh. It doesn’t really take that much more time to maintain fewer, bigger tanks. One really big tank filled with your favorites is enough.

[Biotope Biologist]

I experienced burnout for roughly 6 years.

 

Story time (skip ahead of paragraph for what I did to reinvigorate my love): When I was 2nd year college student I stepped up to a big person apartment. I bought a 128g custom acrylic tank for a steal. It was going to be an amazon biotope. I already had baby angels, neon tetra and some very expensive at the time phantom plecos. By this time I was already a decade into the hobby so felt comfortable with this tremendous undertaking…. Anyway blah blah blah skip ahead 4 months my tank gets a nasty algal bloom and kills all my fish save 2 by depleting the oxygen in the tank. Overnight.

 

Devastated at losing my fish I was done. Lost all passion completely. Left the hobby on read and went on with my life. I still visited my LFS and worked at one, but with no passion left it didn’t stimulate any feeling. 6 years go by and it was genuinely engaging with this community that brought me back. When I came back in I decided to do what I love again but only allowing 1 fish tank at a time to devote myself to. Yeah the passion still ebbs and flows but having one project to maintain and watch slowly grow over time has kept me interested. I have other projects I want to do such as a brackish mangrove with figure 8’s but I got nothing but time now. I will outlive my fish and when I do I can start anew. I have also stopped taking my mistakes so seriously.

 

Anyway despite my ramblings I think each keeper is different and each keeper will have to do different things to maintain passion. Or don’t. Let it die and take a break. Sometimes thats what people need too. You will come back with a different perspective and outlook.

[Guppysnail]

On 6/6/2024 at 1:44 PM, Tony s said:

do less, and enjoy more.

Most solid advice I have ever seen. 

[tolstoy21]

On 6/6/2024 at 6:23 AM, Guppysnail said:

When I have the disenchanted phases I take down tank any tanks I’m not loving and rehome any fish that I have not bonded with.

I do the same. And then use the opportunity to re-think the now freed up tanks. What kind of fish will I try? Something I've never kept before, or maybe a single species, giant school of something? How a I going to re-scape this? Minimal rocks and sticks? Lush water jungle?

This kind of gets me excited again cause I have something to day dream about until I actually pull the trigger on starting a tank over.

Edited June 7 by tolstoy21