Does Fish Keeping Excite You?

I’m just wondering how everyone feels about the hobby. I’ve noticed lately that I’m not as excited about fishkeeping as I used to be, but I’m thinking I’ll probably get more excited about it later on. Do other people go through this?

 

I'm pretty new to it and still learning a lot, so it still excites me. That's usually how new things tend to go though, but yea I'm having fun with it

 

I’m just wondering how everyone feels about the hobby. I’ve noticed lately that I’m not as excited about fishkeeping as I used to be, but I’m thinking I’ll probably get more excited about it later on. Do other people go through this?

Cant say ive had a dis interest in it at any point. If anything ive wanted to learn more considering i just got into the breeding part of it. I have a guppy about to drop babies so its very interesting to me.
Fishkeeping has been my peace during this hard time in my life. Im currently going through nerve damage therapy and medicine adjustment and this is the only hobby that makes me not lose my mind

 

They certainly keep me busy; but excite? No they make me sad because they run and hide when i walk over to the tank.

 

Usually my excitement goes on and off during the year. I love keeping them, which is why I continue, but I can't find myself actually excited to clean their tank and such. I know it sounds contradicting; the process isn't a cycle by any means, but there are times when I enjoy it more than the other.

 

I usually really enjoy it. I love daydreaming about the other tanks I might get. But right now, it's hard. My fish has Fin Rot, tore some scales off yesterday, and he is super oblivious to the fact that I spent hundreds of dollars to give him a larger better tank than most Bettas, owned by owners that were giving misinformation. He usually just sits in one place all day. It hurts to look at him. Although he has been happy and much more active today. But this is the only day I don't feed him arrg!

 

I would not say fish keeping “excites” me. It fascinates me. Distracts me. Entertains me.

 

I would not say fish keeping “excites” me. It fascinates me. Distracts me. Entertains me.

I am with Sorg. Water may get stable but I like the maintenance process, water testing, trimming plants.

When I sit in front of my tank. My fishes gather in front waiting for their food.

And I have only one small 15g tank !!

 

Right now, I only have one tank. It still is wonderful, but I wish I had an ongoing project. However, yes, I would say its still exciting and interesting because I'm on fishlore and my fish are fun to watch and care for. Its nice to talk to others who keep or have kept fish and its always good to learn new things.

 

Excite? Like everyone else has said....not really the right word! It is entertaining, educational and sometimes downright frustrating. I love my tanks but maintenance time is not exciting for me. It is worth all of the effort when you open the top and all the fish come up to eat!

 

I think it doesn't exactly excite but sparks curiousity in one's mind.. I feel that recently I have been emersed in a lot of research regarding aquatic animal just at the delight of learning more...

and as always, maintenince time does not excite me

 

No. I find it peaceful and a somewhat zen experience, which is why I do it.

It's calming.

 

Like others have said, I wouldn't call it exciting but would have to say I enjoy all aspects of the hobby. Even doing the necessary water changes. It is occasionally exciting though. Exciting to find unexpected fry or getting new water pets. Just in the past month I got some new fish, Blood Fin Tetras and then just a few days ago my very first shrimp.

 

I do find it exciting at times. Usually only when I find a new fish that I could potentially get. The researching and anticipation is exciting. Otherwise, not really. Until two weeks ago I hadn't found the hobby exciting for months. As others have said, it's fascinating, entertaining (sometimes). I like the educational side of it the most, "researching" into different fish and critters and so on. I do like water changes unlike many people it seems, my fish seem to enjoy them too.

 

I do get excited about it. I'm always looking to learn new things, and that's a huge part of the excitement for me. For a while this past year I stopped paying as much attention because 1. I didn't have the time or money to add to my setups the way I want to, and 2. one tank that I really loved had been pretty much crashed into a slimy algae disaster and I couldn't stay on top of it. Now I have more time and bought a bunch of new stuff, and I'm back in it to win it. I always need a new project or i get a little bored. Never stops me from loving to watch them though.

 

I get excited about new tanks and new fish. Not super exciting right now at least. I enjoy watching my fish. Though my tanks are a bit of a mess right now, so not as enjoyable to look at. Water changes bug me to no end. Not a fan. I put enough plants in one of my tanks so that my nitrates stay completely constant so if I slack off for a day or two it's no big issue. The sooner I'm in a position to set up an automatic water change system the better I think I would be more excited if I was able to get a few more tanks up and get a breeding project going. That would be exciting every day to wake up and look for eggs/fry! I do get very excited when I find a berried shrimp, or little shrimplets scurrying around the tank. Unfortunately haven't had that for a few months now. Otherwise it's just pretty cool and fascinating.

 

No, it calms me.

 

Some of the best days of my youth were spent waist deep in the local creeks & ponds. Boulder hopping, seining for minnows & crawdads with my Grand-
Pa was the ultimate weekend adventure.
Discovering the fishkeeping hobby added a whole new dimension of happiness. Imagine, bringing a little of the creek into my living room in the form of an aquarium.
"Excitement" might not be the the proper word to describe the overall feeling derived from the hobby. Maybe; Does Fishkeeping still " Satisfy" you? works better.
Does it satisfy my love of living art, the challange of aquascaping & maintaining a healthy community of colorful exotic fish, or my apparent need to be a nerdy amateur
Ichthyologist. Then I would have to say "Yes".

 

For me it’s a hobby that doesn’t take me away from home so I can balance it with also maintaining my family life. I enjoy the learning and research as well.

I think the fish can affect it as well. I’ve kept so many different fish in life and for a while it was always about just exposing myself to everything I could. But I think after while you find a school of tetras, is a school of tetras. I have enjoyed my recent go around if angels and watching them grow and seeing the huge personalities. As well as playing around with a planted tank now. Lots of fun with that on a weekly bases!

Biggest mistake I made when I first got Into the hobby was too many tanks. And it got to the point that it was more of job then a hobby. Now I was also in high school, working part time and trying to be a kid lol.

But a few years later after giving it a go again I can say it was so easy to pick it back up again!

 

I started keeping fish when I was really young & have had a 20 gallon since I was 14. I would say from the age 17-23 it was not a priority for me, and you could say I 'lost interest'; maintaining it was a chore, but I always loved watching my fish! I am 25 now and more excited than ever! I now have three tanks, im getting into aquascaping, and I would love to try breeding fish!

I think lull's in any hobby happen, and life always happens!

 

Used to a lot more. Now it excites me when I have the time to be excited. Once you spend all your money and time on it, it kinda takes some fun out of it

 

Fish keeping more than excites me, its one of my main passions and my favorite of my hobbies! Fish keeping has been such a large and important part of my life that I'm hoping to turn it into my profession some day. Nothing is as rewarding to me as taking care of my tanks and seeing my fish and plants thrive.

 

I personally find it somewhat exciting. I love learning. I adore doing researches in paper and like the real life trials obviously without hurting anyone in the process lol

Ive caught myself going to my tank and talk to Ray when im crying... Hes the first thing i care to see when i come home. I do have a very very special fish tho. He comes to me. Follows me. Eats out of my hand and i swear guys, he listens to me too!!

So yes, when i go up to his tank, i look like the little girl in Nemo!!! Im SO excited to see Ray and feels like he is as well! Hhaha

As for the care tho, i have to roll my eyes.. I love vacuuming and aquascaping if you may call but i dont find cleaning exciting... lol

 

I personally find it somewhat exciting. I love learning. I adore doing researches in paper and like the real life trials obviously without hurting anyone in the process lol

Ive caught myself going to my tank and talk to Ray when im crying... Hes the first thing i care to see when i come home. I do have a very very special fish tho. He comes to me. Follows me. Eats out of my hand and i swear guys, he listens to me too!!

So yes, when i go up to his tank, i look like the little girl in Nemo!!! Im SO excited to see Ray and feels like he is as well! Hhaha

As for the care tho, i have to roll my eyes.. I love vacuuming and aquascaping if you may call but i dont find cleaning exciting... lol

I go sit with my fish too when I'm feeling sad!

 

I get most excited when I’m planning for a tank or when I’m showing someone my result/tank.

the time periods where I don’t change my tanks or get new fish it’s mostly just part of my life but I usually find myself learning about a fish or getting ideas.

Like right now I’m thinking if I get rid of my 20 gallon and 10 gallon I could possibly get a saltwater. A lot of my ideas just stay ideas though, but it’s fun to plan or fantasize.

Every morning when I wake up the first thing I think of is to feed my fish so I guess you could say I get exited about my fish a lot.

 

I thought about sitting with my fishes; but I can't figure out what to do with the water in the tank while I'm in there. Every time I get a foot into the tank a lot of water starts overflowing the top

I go sit with my fish too when I'm feeling sad!

 

Fishkeeping keeps me sane

 

With my adhd I have learned I have to keep things moving constantly, or executive dysfunction will take over and make me an involuntarily horrible fish keeper... maybe a year back I fell into a rut with fishkeeping and kinda let my tanks do their thing, and couldn’t find it in me to really care about them. (Thankfully none of them got sick or died, all the aquariums were pretty well established)

Than I started to study fish more, which made it so all I could think about was fish.
I tend to ‘hyperfocus’ on fishkeeping, whether it’s watching my fish, watching fishtubers, or reading articles, literally nothing can tear me away.

As long as my mind is kept stimulated, I do the very best I can for my pets, maybe sometimes spoiling them.
I always have a project going- be it breeding a new type of fish, shopping for new additions to my aquarium, or rescaping a tank.

So yes, I would say fishkeeping excites me (Maybe too much ), it’s one of the only things my crazy brain has stayed enthralled with for more than a few months.

 

I've grown tired of it once in a while, but not to the point I wanted to get out of it completely. I've definitely downgraded some to make it more manageable. I also experiment with new things to keep me interested, like using CO2 and better liquid ferts.

 

I’m just wondering how everyone feels about the hobby. I’ve noticed lately that I’m not as excited about fishkeeping as I used to be, but I’m thinking I’ll probably get more excited about it later on. Do other people go through this?

I've started as a child back in the '70's and it kept me fascinated ever since till this very day on...
But everyone is not the same. So, there might be people outhere that may have the same feeling as you have...

 

I grow tired of it sometimes when I have a disease outbreak or it gets expensive. But I always come back to it and have no regrets!

 

I’m just wondering how everyone feels about the hobby. I’ve noticed lately that I’m not as excited about fishkeeping as I used to be, but I’m thinking I’ll probably get more excited about it later on. Do other people go through this?

Phases, yes. I put fish keeping only excites me a little . I have moments, but I like fish because they CALM me!

 

I can suggest you get into planted tanks. I started out with just fish and recently got into plants and it changed everything. Keeps me interested in my tank and my fish get to benefit from it too. I keep a couple planted tanks and I try new plants and new looks and it keeps me entertained. It is nice to see the change after weeks and months.

I personally find it somewhat exciting. I love learning. I adore doing researches in paper and like the real life trials obviously without hurting anyone in the process lol

Ive caught myself going to my tank and talk to Ray when im crying... Hes the first thing i care to see when i come home. I do have a very very special fish tho. He comes to me. Follows me. Eats out of my hand and i swear guys, he listens to me too!!

So yes, when i go up to his tank, i look like the little girl in Nemo!!! Im SO excited to see Ray and feels like he is as well! Hhaha

As for the care tho, i have to roll my eyes.. I love vacuuming and aquascaping if you may call but i dont find cleaning exciting... lol

What kind of fish is Ray?

 

I've always been interested in animal behaviors and fish are no exception. I also enjoy breeding my guppies and let different strains mix randomly.

 

Cant say ive had a dis interest in it at any point. If anything ive wanted to learn more considering i just got into the breeding part of it. I have a guppy about to drop babies so its very interesting to me.
Fishkeeping has been my peace during this hard time in my life. Im currently going through nerve damage therapy and medicine adjustment and this is the only hobby that makes me not lose my mind

I always loved landscaping and animal husbandry, but moving boulders, trimming trees, and building chicken coops is getting more challenging as I have aged- it is good to be able to exercise those creative urges.

 

I’m just wondering how everyone feels about the hobby. I’ve noticed lately that I’m not as excited about fishkeeping as I used to be, but I’m thinking I’ll probably get more excited about it later on. Do other people go through this?

I have been keeping tropical fish for about 40 years. Yes I sometimes am not so excited about the hobby but this doesn’t usually last long. Over the last 40 years I have been without a fish tank maybe only a year or two. I usually have multiple tanks.

Roger

 

Speaking as an old lady who has been keeping fish for over 50 years.

Yes it still excites me.

The main reason is that in over 50 years of doing this, there is always still something new to learn or try.

Right now I'm in a position that was not available to me through much of my fish keeping experience, that being the internet. Instead of having to go with what lfs employees tell me, or finding books at the library (I still love the library and no amount of internet info will ever change that, I'm a believer in the written word), I'm able to get info instantly. This kind of instant info sure would have helped me make a whole lot less mistakes.

But the main reason I'm still excited is for the fact I already said, there is always something new to learn and try and even at my age, I'm into always learning, especially if it's about something dear to my heart and I wouldn't have been keeping aquariums all this time if they were not dear to my heart.

 

No it makes me anxious! Hahaha what's that mark? why can I only count 5 corys? where is the 6th? Stop chasing! Why is one gourami such an jerk? But then I sit infront of the tank for 45 minutes at a time and feel really relaxed