What type of aquarist stays in the hobby the longest?

[Stan510]

Out of nowhere,I thought "Big cichlid keepers stay longest because those big fish never die and it takes years to get them big anyways." But- what about the plant and small fish keepers? Reef?..Marine Fish no reef?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Honestly, reefers. They are insanely passionate about the hobby. I know 3+ people personally that have been in for over 40 years, which is crazy.

 

[OliveFish05]

I don't think it has to do with what you keep. There would be sooooo many other factors. Someone who only does planted shrimp tanks could be just as passionate as a reefer. The most passionate fishkeeper could be forced to tear down their tanks because of living conditions, family, life changes, etc. If I had to choose one, I would say koi though. Just the fact that they live in ponds, and most people have ones upwards of 1,000 gallons, it is sort of hard to get out of it, as it becomes a permanent feature of a house.

 

[itiwhetu]

Planted tank. Those with planted tanks look at fish keeping more as keeping an eco-system, than a fish in a box

 

[Stan510]

Vote! do your duty!
I myself thought big cichlid like I said..but, pond and Koi and Goldfish are also long lived.
Planted tank is a relative new niche..but with the advent of LED and nano aquariums..the load on the keepers time can be minimal hence they stay in the hobby? Maybe.
Shortest might be the Spongebob tiki hut type.

 

[itiwhetu]

Vote! do your duty!
I myself thought big cichlid like I said..but, pond and Koi and Goldfish are also long lived.
Planted tank is a relative new niche..but with the advent of LED and nano aquariums..the load on the keepers time can be minimal hence they stay in the hobby? Maybe.
Shortest might be the Spongebob tiki hut type.

How long do you think planted tanks have been around for? Here I am winning the National fish show prize for a planted tank in 1980

 

[Stan510]

In America planted tanks were pretty rare. I know- I go back to when "Dutch style" aquariums were in metaframe tanks and incandescent bulbs. Amano caused the real explosion in the hobby by the 90's.
Congrats on the win!

 

[itiwhetu]

In America planted tanks were pretty rare. I know- I go back to when "Dutch style" aquariums were in metaframe tanks and incandescent bulbs. Amano caused the real explosion in the hobby by the 90's.
Congrats on the win!

Thanks, I am surprised as I thought the USA lead the world in this stuff. We used to travel about 2-5 hours to set these tanks up. My tank was three years in the making. I was 19 when I won this class. Just an indication of my passion for fish keeping.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I am addicted to keeping fish....just watching them interact with each other. Species and aquarium scape not important to me, I just enjoy fish watching

I don't enjoy getting the fish poo in the eye when servicing the filter, but thats a small price to pay for the enjoyment of watching the fish act like lunatics at feed time and waking one morning and doing a head count and discovering some friskiness has been going on

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

IMO large fish 12” plus keepers are in it for atleast 20 years. Most of the time, people who have rare, large fish, are more dedicated. Most people on Monster fish keepers have been in the hobby for 15 years, and that’s on average. Some have been in it for 40-60 years. Imo they stay in it the longest.

 

[GaryE]

55 years in here, and I don't think the type of fish matters. The longest active fishkeepers I've known aren't an option up there - killifish keepers. I had a friend who kept killies for 75 years, and have a friend who has had killie tanks for 60 or so now. I'm a baby with only 32 years since I found my first killie.
I think the activity level matters - the killies they (and I) like have to be bred on a regular basis, with 2 to 3 year lifespans. If they die out unbred, it takes a lot of work to find them again, and sometimes you never do. So in order to keep them, you must DO things.
Passive fishkeepers quit. If you just look at fish, you don't get as engaged.
Reef keepers are active aquarists - the tanks and equipment would keep anyone busy. Cichlid keepers tend to want novelties because raising one fish for many generations takes serious resources few have. They tend to breed fish once or twice, and move on. There is a lot to move on to.
Monster fish are unforgiving - neglect them and they die. So if you take that road, you're busy with your fish.
People like to talk themselves into seeing things as larger than they are - and conservation type projects keep interest high. But again, this is active aquarium keeping.
It's one thing to tend a garden, and another to buy vegetables at the shiny, well lit supermarket (nice LEDs...). Aquarists who choose to be consumers tend to vanish, and aquarists who see fish as puzzles, be they salt, fresh or brackish, enjoy this hobby for decades. Curiosity is at the root of staying power.

You have to have luck, too. I got myself a trade that supported me through my working life, and could always afford a couple of tanks (or more than a couple). I've always had a roof over my head. My hobby was almost destroyed in a natural disaster, but it came at a point in my life when I had the energy to reboot. I'm not in the Ukraine or another war zone. I have a DIY streak. I'm relatively patient. I had access to a lot of aquarium literature at the local library when I was getting into this. I've lived in an urban area. I have an understanding partner. In those things I'm not unlike most of the older fishkeepers I know.

Also, I've died and been resuscitated, been in a work explosion, been in a bad car accident and survived a few other things I might not have. Being alive helps.

Killiekeepers are considered marginal, weird aquarists, but they tend to die with their boots on, enjoying their fish until they can't do so physically anymore. I think livebearer keepers are similar. I have a fish room, and when I go in, I like to look at my fish, but I also almost always find some little 10 minute job I need to do. That, to me, is the key.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Keepers which don't eat their fish.

 

[Herpin Man]

I believe that if you get into the hobby while young, and you develop a passion for it to the degree that it becomes part of your identity, and then your life takes a path which doesn’t force you to take large gaps of time away from fish keeping, you will be more likely to be a lifetime hobbyist.
If you get into it as an adult, on a whim, or have a lot of situations in your life that force you to periodically give it up, you are much less likely to retain the interest needed to be a lifetime hobbyist.
I think the species you keep is mostly irrelevant.

 

[robmcd]

People who keep koi fish. Koi ponds are permanent, unlike fish tanks. The fish also can live forever with proper care and favorable conditions. In the neighborhood where I grew up there was a home with a koi pond in the back yard. I remember seeing it when I was 5 in 1976. I recently was running through my old stomping grounds and passed the home when I saw the owner and asked them if the pond was still there. I was really surprised when they said that it was, and that they were relatives of the original owners. So apparently the hobby gets passed down through generations as well.

 

[DAnCSF]

I'd like to think the longest fish keepers are those who realize the success of keeping fish alive. I'm sure we've all been there, where we got a tank cus it was a good idea at the time. And maybe some people gave up rather quickly cuz the fish kept dying. But then some people kept at it and eventually the deaths lessened and then they really started liking the hobby and the rest is history. Nothing help keep people in a hobby any hobby than some measures of success and perseverance. `I'm that story...currently with 6 tanks ranging from 5 gal to 100 gals.