My fish wore me out this evening!!

Okay so it wasn't all my fish... I cleaned out our "junk room" so we could offically move my children out of the "family stlye" bedroom arrangement, my two boys sleep w/ me because my husband snores so loud you could hear him on the other side of the house... so he sleeps in the childrens room. so they are getting the old junk room. I am planning for my 2 year old to hang fish kites (which I have already bought from the ceiling) and if I can find it nemo stuff for his bed... (he is a fish freak!)
Do you all think between him and his 6 year old brother I could put a small fish tank in their room w/ my maintaning it? If not I will put a fake tank in there for my 2 year old...

Anyways... after that 12 hours of the junk room cleaning..... I had major maintenence due on my 4 tanks... all due for vaccuming.... cichlid rock moving, and water change... then I of coarse cleaned the filter media w/ tank water, checked all that out.... and had to test my mother in laws tank too.... its going through a minI cycle where she got in a hurry and bought too many fish at one time, just a little spike in the nitrites... so I am helping her with that (she had tanks in the 70s and 80s) I thought she would know all that if she bred fish like she did and even sold them. But now its after 11, I am just settling in!!!!!!!! I want to cry! My feet are killing me... but I do have 4 crystal clear tanks and happy cichlids to boot.... .

 

Got up at 245 am.
Worked at the post office from 330 til 1030.
Took an hour's annual leave to go visit a carrier who had injured himself while working on a garage door spring.
11 am - 6 pm on and off water changes on 45 tanks with breaks for checking the boards, eatting and a little Guild Wars.
Now 1230 pm, getting ready to go to bed.
Back up at 7 am tomorrow.
Hour's worth of water changes and bagging fish to take to the board meeting of the Atlanta club for another board member.

I know it is not normal, but that's a typical life for me.

Seems I am not the only one not getting enough rest.

 

just reading all of that makes me tired!

 

You two made me tired just reading it.

 

Yea, we don't have the tanks that Dino's got in the fish house, but spend a good 20-30 hrs a week on tank maint. with our tanks.. usually all day saturdays are part of that.

 

It takes 4 of us working about 60 hours a week total, to keep the fishhouse going.

 

45 TANKS??? DO YOU LIVE IN A PET STORE???

 

That's working pretty hard with how many tanks you've got running.

It takes 4 of us working about 60 hours a week total, to keep the fishhouse going.

 

45 TANKS??? DO YOU LIVE IN A PET STORE???

Pretty much. He is in the process of opening a fish store.

Yes it's tiring looking after our 10 tanks too. I have been changing the betta tanks the past 3 days. Marbles for substrate. I spent $20 at our dollar store on marbles the past few days. I am doing a 29 gallon planted and still trying to find a CT betta to bid on AB.
It seems that fish are on the brain all day long around here. Between feedings, water changes, looking after injured or sick fish. Plus spending time with the betta. One you start this the betta won't let you get away with not visiting them.
It always about fish or the cats here...so with 45 tanks I can't imagine. But someday will have too, lol.

 

Hi!

Sheesh, 45 tanks Dino! No, I'm jealous.;D My 3 tanks don't take up too much time, although I do spend ages looking at them...

 

I couldn't handle 45 tanks! That's a lot to deal with... but it were my job I guess it would be a lot different... But I do have 2 small children that make up for all of that. Luckily on the weekends my mother in law will offer me a "vacation" from them one night so that I can catch up on stuff around the house.

I am thinking of getting another tank.. maybe a 75 or 90 g... more time and maintence I know but it seems like the bigger tanks are easier to take care of for me.

 

wow I feel ashamed all I did yesterday was clean to but I live in a 11' by 14' rectangle so it only took me a couple hours including all my laundry and fish tank.

 

wow I feel ashamed all I did yesterday was clean to but I live in a 11' by 14' rectangle so it only took me a couple hours including all my laundry and fish tank.

I would gladly trade you! I have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms a huge livingrom/den, and then the rest of the house.... plus laundry to do for 2 kids and a husband who works 70 hours a week... its a full time job for me to keep it up, plus I work as a resp therapist part time. and we have a 30lb cat to clean up after and a yellow lab dog outside..... and the 4 tanks.... (yikes... that's a lot when you type it out no wonder I am tired all the time)

 

Last night was "fish" night for us as well. My husband is a little annoyed with me after he saw how dirty the tank was. I am bad to over feed the fish. I know its not good for them and surly not good for the water..my excuse is this.. I don't work outside the home.. my only child is 20 years old and in college and working so my critters are my company while everyone is working/at school. So the fish have gotten quite use to me now and every time I walk up to the tank they think its feedint time and they come running. funny how they have taken on a "lil personality" all of their own.. and I find it so hard to resist them when they gather up and look at me all hungry like. After seeing the crud in the gravel last night I decided id better learn to reisist their little faces and walk away.

 

Last night was "fish" night for us as well. My husband is a little annoyed with me after he saw how dirty the tank was. I am bad to over feed the fish. I know its not good for them and surly not good for the water..my excuse is this.. I don't work outside the home.. my only child is 20 years old and in college and working so my critters are my company while everyone is working/at school. So the fish have gotten quite use to me now and every time I walk up to the tank they think its feedint time and they come running. funny how they have taken on a "lil personality" all of their own.. and I find it so hard to resist them when they gather up and look at me all hungry like. After seeing the crud in the gravel last night I decided id better learn to reisist their little faces and walk away.

after I chewed my husband out a few times and we lost a fish to malawI bloat and I blamed it on his over feeding the fish and the wrong food (we have african cichlids) he won't feed the fish w/o my telling him yea or nay... the thing is they do beg just like a cat or dog and its pittyful to see their little eyes at the glass when you walk by and you know that they are begging for food.... they have learned how to work us humans! I will occasionally give ours a treat but its the spirulina flakes and very little I have the cichlids on a rigid feeding sced when I had the guppies it was a flake here a flake there whenever they begged and I just paid for it when I cleaned the tank. I read about how the puffers give the puppy dog eyes... but I think honestly its all of them.. when I had the guppies they did the same thing, my moms angels do her the same way. They are actually good company, and I catch myself talking to the fish sometimes calling them my little babies... my kids laugh at me when I do it.

 

"I catch myself talking to the fish sometimes calling them my little babies... my kids laugh at me when I do it. "

I am so glad you admited to that LOL.. I talk to ours and I was ashamed to admit it. I even catch myself refering to myself as "momma" when I talk to them.. My family think I'm nuts..

I was a little worried about getting to attached to the fish as we had a lot of trouble getting our tank started (the tiger barbs kept dying) and I didnt want to keep watching them die.. I do believe now that they are all thriving it would be even more heartbreaking to see one die.

 

so............did the kids get a tank in their room?!!! should put one in your room too.....fish are quieter than snoring husbands! and they don't pinch the duvet

 

Sorry I was unclear.
45 was the number of tanks getting a change that day.
We have close to 150 tanks going.

 

Sorry I was unclear.
45 was the number of tanks getting a change that day.
We have close to 150 tanks going.

Oh well in that case...