Experiences with Aquarium Burnout

[Gingerbro98]

I know Cory has touched on this in some of his videos and I’ve always been able to relate. 
 

I love keeping fish and I’ve always had at least one tank since I was in fifth grade (I’m now 26 so I’ve had them for a majority of my life lol.)

Every 12-18 months or so, I seem to go through this slump where I’m less interested in my fish and I even find myself  looking at some of my larger tanks and considering downsizing. After a while, I always snap out of this and usually resume my normal routine of regularly perusing facebook marketplace for deals on used tanks and consuming countless hours of aquarium youtube content.

Typically the death of a fish I’m particularly fond of can trigger this. Other triggers have been losing a battle with stag horn algae, lack of success with a particular plant/fish, or just getting tired of an aquascape or a type of fish. 

One interesting thing I’ve found is external stressors, especially ones from my work or my personal life tend to snap me right out of the burnout funk and make me realize just how awesome and therapeutic this hobby is.  

Three months ago, work was fine and my interest in my tanks was lower. Fast forward a few months and I’m as plugged into my tanks as I can be.
 

September is a very busy time of the year for my job and I’m nearing the most stressful time of my professional life. When I come home from work, I probably spend at least an hour or two watching my tank every day. I’m dosing easy green and easy potassium pretty regularly and my tank looks better than it has in at least a year. I look forward to getting through my day so that I can come home and enjoy my tank after work. 

I share all this to ask, what are your experiences with burnout in this hobby? What seems to trigger it for you and what pulls you back into your tanks? 

Bonus: here are some pics of my favorite tank at the moment. I’m thinking about referring  to at as the Anubias Reef. 
 

 

 

 

[clownbaby]

I haven't had burnout with aquariums or fish (yet), but I totally get this way with art. I love sewing and drawing, but sometimes I just can't do it. No motivation at all, and if I try to draw or sew it turns out realllllly bad. They call that art block. Maybe fish block is a thing too?

I think the closest thing I get to 'fish block' or burnout would be not wanting to clean algae off the front glass. I eventually do it but I definitely let that stuff grow out before I give it a scrub LOL. I am sure as I get older going into college now this might happen to me more. It is good to know that even if I do start feeling like fish aren't for me/I should take a break, that it won't last. It's also good to know in advance that this feeling is normal. Thanks for sharing your beautiful fish tank!

[CoryWithAKatana]

Wow what a beautiful tank! Ive had this "fish block" before and it ended with me not doing proper water changes or even adding water to my tank. This was during a time I was traveling a lot during the beginning of Summer (Im a kid so yes I go on many trips :D) This was when some of my cherry shrimp died. One of the things that brought me out of fish block was realizing that I am responsible for these fishes, as fishkeepers we are kinda playing god in a sense as we are responsible for upkeep, feeding and mantinence. So by reminding myself that I dont want my fishes to be sad or hungry allows me to rejuvenate my will to continue. And it pays off with a beautiful clean tank and with healthy fish with fun personalities. 

P.S. What is that red floating plant in your tank?

Edited August 28 by CoryWithAKatana

[JE47]

On 8/27/2024 at 6:15 PM, Gingerbro98 said:

or just getting tired of an aquascape or a type of fish. 

This is what triggers burnout for me just getting tired of having the same fish/scape. I do not have an infinete amount of room or money to get more tanks and fish which doesn't help the variety problem. However I think the solution and als time has come to rehome some of my fish and add new ones. A very interesting topic to think about.

[Ninjoma]

I'm just now getting over my first burnout period. This was triggered by several things. Two of my favorite crabs passed away, most of my anubias rotted and for some reason I can't grow tiger lotus anymore in one of my tanks that used to be full of it. I also had stem plants in most of my tanks that required a lot of maintenance to look correct.

What got me interested again was my fiddler crabs, vampire crabs and crayfish doing well and being adorable. I also noticed that my 2 lower light tanks with slower growing plants still looked quite good despite my lack of pruning and fertilizing for a few months. So now I'm re-scaping all my tanks to be more like those 2.

[govsfabshop]

I've been somewhat going through this right now between moving, selling her house, selling my house, trying to get the new house setup and balancing all of it, when we moved my 40 breeder allot of the rock work i had built fell apart and just had bummed me out, but in the haste to get the tank back running i just tossed in the pieces and got the fish back in, still have the 125 to move up here and while i'm down there every few days to mow feed fish and move stuff out of the old house not having that time to really sit and enjoy definitely takes its toll. I've gone into just maintenance mode, feeding and water changes just waiting for it to settle down and come winter i can sit and enjoy again!

[Gingerbro98]

On 8/27/2024 at 10:49 PM, CoryWithAKatana said:

Wow what a beautiful tank! Ive had this "fish block" before and it ended with me not doing proper water changes or even adding water to my tank. This was during a time I was traveling a lot during the beginning of Summer (Im a kid so yes I go on many trips :D) This was when some of my cherry shrimp died. One of the things that brought me out of fish block was realizing that I am responsible for these fishes, as fishkeepers we are kinda playing god in a sense as we are responsible for upkeep, feeding and mantinence. So by reminding myself that I dont want my fishes to be sad or hungry allows me to rejuvenate my will to continue. And it pays off with a beautiful clean tank and with healthy fish with fun personalities. 

P.S. What is that red floating plant in your tank?

@CoryWithAKatana Those are red root floaters. They’re really cool but they can be tough to keep red. I’ve heard if they don’t have a ton of light or are in water with like more than 20ppm Nitrates, they tend to turn green. Mine are only red because they already looked like that from my lfs and I’ve only had them for about a week or so. I dont have very high lighting so I’m anticipating they’ll start to fade eventually. 
 

Great point about kind of playing god as a fish keeper! I really like that mindset, it definitely gives some good motivation for staying on top of maintenance and keeping my fish happy! 

[Gingerbro98]

On 8/27/2024 at 10:49 PM, CoryWithAKatana said:

Wow what a beautiful tank! Ive had this "fish block" before and it ended with me not doing proper water changes or even adding water to my tank. This was during a time I was traveling a lot during the beginning of Summer (Im a kid so yes I go on many trips :D) This was when some of my cherry shrimp died. One of the things that brought me out of fish block was realizing that I am responsible for these fishes, as fishkeepers we are kinda playing god in a sense as we are responsible for upkeep, feeding and mantinence. So by reminding myself that I dont want my fishes to be sad or hungry allows me to rejuvenate my will to continue. And it pays off with a beautiful clean tank and with healthy fish with fun personalities. 

P.S. What is that red floating plant in your tank?

@CoryWithAKatana Those are red root floaters. They’re really cool but they can be tough to keep red. I’ve heard if they don’t have a ton of light or are in water with like more than 20ppm Nitrates, they tend to turn green. Mine are only red because they already looked like that from my lfs and I’ve only had them for about a week or so. I dont have very high lighting so I’m anticipating they’ll start to fade eventually. 
 

Great point about kind of playing god as a fish keeper! I really like that mindset, it definitely gives some good motivation for staying on top of maintenance and keeping my fish happy! 

[Woowala]

I think this is just normal human behavior, to one degree or another. My interest waxes and wanes too. Success breeds enthusiasm, failure is disheartening. Sometimes fish are a burden, other times a welcome distraction from the human condition. My advice is to know first who you are, and then adorn thyself (with fish tanks) accordingly.  By which I mean, be realistic about what you're willing to do on a daily basis to take care of everything. Keep stuff that plays to your strengths. Try new things and push your boundaries and all that, but set yourself up to succeed. Make all frequent tasks ridiculously easy so you'll do them even when you don't want to. Keeping stuff clean and organized helps quite a bit.