MissMTS

Well I've been holding off telling everyone because I wasn't sure how certain everything was, but here it goes....

My husband and I are making some major changes, not necessarily bad changes, but more like we need to cut back on expenses so that we can start saving money for the future. Business is really slow, and though we are still hanging in there, when you own your own business you never really know when things can go downhill quickly. We almost had to close our business last summer and so we feel that we need to be prepared in the event that something like that happens again, which wouldn't be unheard of in this economy.

I have gotten another job to pull in more money while my husband runs the business and that is helping for sure. However, our lease on our apartment is up in April, and we have made the hard decision that it would be best for us to move into a smaller place. It will be a nicer apartment, but it will have half of the square footage that we have now. Don't get me wrong, it won't be a bad move for us, it will be a good move, but at the same time we are going to have to make some hard sacrifices in order to cut down on our expenses and fit our stuff into a smaller space.

Sadly, I am going to have to sell my three large setups (150, 80, 70). I am so sad because they are my pride and joy and I have put so much work into them. However, with the space constraints in our new place, there will just be no room for me to have them anymore.

Also, due to space constraints and having to work and go to school long hours, we are going to have to find new homes for our dogs. It is tearing me up inside to have to do this, but its simply not fair to them to be cooped up in a tiny apartment when my husband and I are gone almost 14 hours a day. We need to do what's best for them and they will be happier if they have someone who can spend more time with them. We are keeping our kitty though, so I'm grateful for that.

I am also keeping all of my betta babies and even have an empty tank awaiting a new boy which is exciting. I have some plans for some other smaller tanks (maybe one of them a reef) that I will hopefully set up with the money that I get from selling my current setups. I am trying to think of this as a positive change for us. We will be so much better off financially and under so much less stress so I know that this is best for us. Its just hard to make the initial changes and adjust to things at first.

Anyways, thanks for reading I just wanted to update everyone about what is going on with me and my fish babies.

Lucy

Aw, Kate, I'm sorry that your having to downsize and give up your fish and dogs. I know how hard you worked on your tanks
Sometimes the hardest decisions are the right ones.
Best of luck, I know you and your husband will do terrific.

Red1313

That's a hard choice to make <HUGS>
I know you're doing what's best for you and we'll all be here supporting you.

bolivianbaby

Kate, I'm so sorry you've had to make these very difficult decisions.

Please know we're behind you 100% and will help in any way we can.

bruiser

Thats pretty rough, but I know You'll make it. We ran our own business as a family for 25 years and had to shut it down.. That was really hard to do.

What kind of dogs do you have? Not that I need more.. but if your having a hard time finding them a good home, I could probably help you out.

Meenu

Good luck, Kate. I had to give my cats up a few years ago, and it was really hard. I'd had them since they were babies for over 7 years. But it also feels "right" because you know that someone else can give them what you couldn't. *hugs*

You are making a good decision for your family, and that is the most important thing.

I listen to Dave Ramsey, by the way. He's a radio financial advice guy who advocates a debt-free lifestyle. He teaches you step-by-step how to get there. I don't know what your financial status is, but you might want to look at his website. Listening to his show can be inspiring.

Butterfly

Kate your making some hard decisions and i want to pat you on the back for doing it in an orderly and sensible manner instead of putting it off until you have no choice.
(((HUGS) all around
Now I have a question.... Do you have room for one of your aquariums(maybe the big one) at your place of business? I see them everywhere these days in waiting rooms and people love them. Just a thought.

MissMTS

Thanks so much for all of the encouragement and support everyone I know we are making the right decisions for us, but knowing that doesn't always make them easier. I just want to make sure that we don't put ourselves in a bad situation because we are living outside our means or paying for vet bills we can't afford. I would never forgive myself if we really got in a pickle and I had a sick animal we couldn't afford to treat, or if we had to give our animals away in a hurry and weren't able to find them great homes.

Meenu, thanks so much for the advice. I'll definitely look at his website. We aren't in debt right now, but don't have a lot in savings and a lot of months we are barely making it, so it might be insightful to hear what he has to say. I know what you mean about it feeling good to find someone who can take care of my dogs better than I can. They were literally in their crate from 9am to 7pm and that is just too long. I'm hoping to find a family with an enclosed yard for them to play in and hopefully a stay at home mom who can give them lots of attention, but we'll see.

Carol, thanks for the idea. I thought about it; however, since we own a dance studio we have music constantly pounding and literally shaking the walls at times. Lol, I'm not sure my fishies would appreciate it.

Chris, yup its hard to have to think about the business that you built not always being there. Its especially hard because of all of the blood, sweat, and tears that are invested.

I had something really nice happen today though. I went to my LFS and spoke to the owner who I have always been on great terms with and told him what was going on. He told me that he would take all of my fish and give me store credit. He is extremely knowledgeable and all of the tanks in his store are spotless and full of happy fish. This will give me a good amount of store credit to start of my new nano set ups, and make it easier to sell my tanks without worrying about what to do with the fish. He also took me over and introduced me to the guy who runs the saltwater department and had him school me on nano reefs. It was very interesting and I felt very taken care of which was nice. So right now the plans are to set up possibly a nano reef and a smaller planted tank (hoping to keep a few of my rainbows and SA dwarfs, but we'll see). I still need to see what kind of money I'll be getting from my setups once everything is sold, but its nice to have something to look forward to in the midst of all of the yucky things we are dealing with.

Again, thanks so much for being here for me you guys Its really nice to come on here and vent, because nobody really understands how I feel about my fish like you guys do.

MissMTS

Well I take my fish in tomorrow I re-homed my chocolate cichlid and uaru today and I'm very confident that they have a good home, I was still sad though. I'm going to be very upset to see everyone else go tomorrow. Life's tough sometimes, ugh.

Red1313

<HUGS>
I feel your pain, I just signed the lease to a new place, basement suite about a 150 square feet smaller then what I've got now :s

bolivianbaby

Hang in there, Kate! We're here for you if you need us

Slug

Kate all of your hard work and sacrafices will be worth it in the end. Just a temporary thing!

MissMTS

Thanks guys I just got back home from taking them in I almost started crying at the end when I saw some of my fish in their tanks. Its sad coming home and looking at empty tanks too. I want to sell my tanks soon so that I don't have to look at them any more and be reminded of my fish that I gave up

On the bright side, I was able to use credit to get a couple new tanks for my bettas and I have a cube tank and stand on order which will be a planted tank once I get set up in my new place. The way things are looking right now, it may be a while. When our lease is up in April we'll be living with my parents for a couple of months so it won't be until after that, that I'll set it up. At least its something to look forward to though....

Red1313

<hugs>

Tony G.

Oh no! Kate i am so sorry that you had to make these sacrifices. its amazing how you are looking at it positively. Its really hard to get through, but you seem to be doing very well.

i wish you the best,

Tony

harpua2002

Sorry to hear that you're having to downsize, but you'll get back to what you want eventually.

Nano reefs can be really exciting! I've kept several so I'd be happy to help in the future if you need it.

MissMTS

Thanks so much Tony. It is a hard adjustment to make, but I know its for the best. I try to look at it as positively as I can because I don't really feel like I have any other choice.

Thanks Harpua. I'm sure eventually I'll be back to having the setups that I had before. I'm going to probably hold off on the big tanks until hubby and I buy a house though because moving large tanks when we live in apartments is just such a hassle (as is having to break them down and sell them when we have to make a move like this). Thanks for the offer to help with my nano reef. I'll let you know once I get the tank and everything that I need. I'm still trying to sell all of my equipment to get money for the new setup. I'm sure I'll have tons of questions for you though.

harpua2002

If I might offer a word of advice- start with a 20 gal at least! I started with a 2.5, then upgraded to 5.5, then upgraded to 8... you can see where I'm going with this. For me, the upgrade cravings for a nano are even worse than they are for FW! Hubby and I kept a 20H for about 8 months before upgrading to a drilled 50 that we already had. It's a pretty good size, not too difficult for starting out and still enough room for a nice variety of coral. Of course, bigger is always better, but nanos are definitely cheaper to set up than bigger tanks. In SoCal you may run across a good deal on a used all in one tank like Biocube or nanocube. The all in one setups have their limitations as far as lighting, etc. but they are really easy for a SW beginner IMO. You might like those.

MissMTS

Thanks for the advice I think I may have to start with a FOWLR tank at first and work my way up to a reef tank if I start with a 20 gallon+ tank. I'm gonna have to see how much of a budget I have for the SW tank after these tanks are sold and I have everything I need for my freshwater planted cube. I've decided to do a high tech setup with CO2 and the works, so it might cost me everything I make off the old tanks to get it set up. We'll see though. I'm hoping I have money left over because I really would like to try a saltwater setup.

I have seen those Pico Reef set ups on sale at DFS and I am wondering how one of those would be with just some low light corals such as mushrooms and a shrimp or goby. $42 seems like a great deal. I know that smaller is definitely harder, but it just depends on my budget. How did your pico tank go when you had your 2.5? I would like to go bigger, but we'll see.

harpua2002

It went pretty well, but I ended up with a lighting upgrade so it was more money than I expected to spend on a small setup. I upgraded it within a few months because there's only so much you can do with a pico IMO (some will disagree for sure).

If you want low light corals and you're on a budget, I'd look for a used Biocube 14, Nanocube 12, or Aquapod 12. That's JMO. All of them are plug and play setups that could house a couple of small fish, and for low light corals the lighting is sufficient. I even kept a small frogspawn in my old Biocube 8.

MissMTS

Thanks I totally know what you mean about it being somewhat limited. I'll keep my eye out for a used Nanocube or Aquapod. I'm not looking to have anything high maintenance because my work and school schedule is just absolutely nuts right now. Having more water volume would definitely make my tank more stable and easier to care for. The guy that runs the SW department at my LFS referred me to a great forum to buy used reef equipment in my area so I'll look on there and keep my eye out.

harpua2002

Joining a local reef club is always a great idea too. I've gotten tons of incredible deals through reef club members. Last week the club had a meeting where every member got 4 free frags just for showing up.

MissMTS

Wow, that's pretty incredible. I'll look into what we have in my area. I'm pretty sure we have something, I just have to look into it.

MissMTS

So today we found a couple of prospective homes for my dogs. I'm happy we have some good candidates, but at the same time I am so scared of choosing the wrong one. I have heard of so many horror stories of bad things happening to dogs that are adopted out for free. We are going to go to both of the family's homes and see their house, yard, other pets, etc and see what we think. Its such a hard decision to make because I want to make sure that the new family gives them a forever home and loves them just as much as we do. If anyone has any tips of things to watch out for or questions to ask, I'd love to hear them. We are just trying to make sure that we cover all of our bases and make the best decision.

aquarist48

I'll be keeping you in my thoughts MissMTS!
Best wishes. I know you'll be fine
Ken

ryanr

Hi Kate,
I haven't been here long, but just read your post.
I haven't read the other posts, I came to tears reading your 'announcement'
I have dogs and fishes, and it'd kill me to have to give up either.
We put so much work into them, but as a community, we understand and appreciate your dilemna.
If I was in the US and local, I'd offer to help, but I know you'll make the right decisions. I know it doesn't help, but we all understand.