Having Second Thoughts About Fish Keeping

[CrazyDiamond88]

I've had my betta for about 9 months and my catfish for about 6.

I'm having so many problems with my tanks lately and my Cory are dying from a bacterial infection. I believe this is because I rarely gravel vacuumed because I found it hard to do with the plants in the tank.

Now I have to get another tank up and running, move the shrimp there, and treat the Cory tank.
By the way, the betta in my other tank has some kind of illness now too, I assume from cross contamination from using the same equipment across both tanks. Stupid of me but I never really thought of having separate equipment.

Now I'm really wondering what on earth I'm doing. I am clearly not in the right space to be looking after these creatures. I think I'd be fine with just the betta, but the cories have given me so much stress.

What if I decided to get rid of them? Do you think I could sell them? Surely not if they have an illness right? the shrimp too I guess. I would rather have one tank and I want to keep my betta.

Or do I have to stick it out now I have the fish?

I don't have friends in the area who keep fish who could take them on by the way.

I'm at my wit's end here. I cannot handle the stress due to some health issues I have. It's all too much.

 

[Fishmanic]

Do you have a test kit?   what are the tank's ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?    

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Yes I do. I checked the other day, ph7.6, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate about 10 from memory.

Anyway that's not really the point.

I'm just tired of messing up with this.

 

[Chad]

People go in and out of the hobby all the time. For me it's a greater shame to stay in it when you know you aren't in the right space to do it right than to say "hey, I'm going to scale back for a while".
 
Most LFS will take fish in and it's easy enough to sell used equipment on the Internet. However, if you have any thoughts about getting back into it more deeply later I recommend finding a place in your home to store the equipment so you don't have to buy it again when you come back into it.
 
This is a hobby and it's supposed to be enjoyable. If you find it is not bringing you that joy then there's nothing wrong with deciding to stick with a single fish (like a betta) that brings you that joy.
 
Many people still enjoy the hobby by reading about it, looking up and researching fish on the Internet, reading books, going to aquariums, or finding fish in the wild to observe. It's a broad hobby with room for all sorts of activity and interaction with the animals and environment they live in. 
 
So...I say do what is best for your life at this time and what will be best for the fish in the long run.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Chad... Thank you so much for your post. It is great to have understanding and from someone who clearly has seen this before or has been through it before.

And I think it's a great idea to keep everything on hand. Maybe one day when I have more time I will come back to it.
It's true that it's meant to bring you joy, and for me this hasn't been the case lately, I've been worried to the point of losing sleep which I'm aware is disproportionate to the problems I'm having but it's just the way my health is right now.

Thanks again.

 

[l_l_l]

Hi there!
 
Don't be worried, it happens to everyone.
If you really feel like taking a step back, do it, and come back when you feel like it!
Your fish have travelled across great distances already, I'm sure they wont mind the trip to your lfs
 
Hope all is well!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sorry to hear you've been having some troubles.
 
Think that does happen to a lot of us, if you feel its too much, do take a step back and have a break from fish keeping.
 
Dr Rob has lots of good suggestions, i would just hang onto the tank equipment and you may feel like coming back one day, would save buying all the equipment again.
 
Your health is the most important thing, do not feel you HAVE to stay with fish keeping if you are not getting full enjoyment out of it.
 
Good luck, and let us know how things go.

 

[Freedom]

You may also be able to move out the fish by posting them on craigslist.   Someone who is already set up with a hospital tank may well accept them.

 

[DrRob]

Dr Rob has lots of good suggestions, i would just hang onto the tank equipment and you may feel like coming back one day, would save buying all the equipment again.

 
Thanks Ch4rlie, although that was Chad.
 
I now feel that I have to say something deep and meaningful to live up to my reputation, but to be honest Chad is right. We've all been through the ups and downs of hobbies. The fun of planning and starting a new tank, followed by the lows of illness and time pressures. I'm in a bit of a low ebb at the moment just keeping the tanks ticking over as my schedules clear a bit and I can get back to moving them on properly, and I've been without tanks for periods during my 25 years of fishkeeping, some voluntary, some enforced by rentals and work commitments.
 
So yes, if at all possible keep the kit, 2 of my tanks are 25 years old and still going strong, although they're a bit scratched now.
 
As for the fish, yes, the LFS's may take them and occasionally you'll get good results if you post in places like here saying that the fish are available. I've seen fish move on easily sometimes in obscure out of the way places and other fish not move at all in big cities, so you never know.

 

[Ch4rlie]

 

Dr Rob has lots of good suggestions, i would just hang onto the tank equipment and you may feel like coming back one day, would save buying all the equipment again.

 
Thanks Ch4rlie, although that was Chad.

 
Oops 

 
No idea where i got that from, my mistakes, apologies to all.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Hello, and thank you so much everyone who made a post here.
 
Someone is arriving at my house shortly to pick up the corydoras and shrimp.
 
I put an ad on gumtree this morning and got overwhelmed by responses!
 
I appreciate everyone's input and reassurance thank you for being so supportive.

 

[Gruntle]

Get yourself well. Once you have your health sorted you can always have another go.

 

[thefishnoob]

Yup, I am sure many have gone through this, I know I have. Good luck!

 

[Freedom]

Well THAT didn't take long, did it?!  Making the decision can take time; once you get into action, things happen.