Why Do You Keep Fish?

[Inchworm]

For a long time I've wanted a fish room, and when I moved last August I rented an apartment with an extra room so I could finally set one up. Now I find that it's full and tanks are back in all the other rooms too. It seems that the more space I have to put them in, the more fish and tanks I want. )

I find that keeping fish, despite all the expense, work, and sometimes heartbreak, is a strangely addictive hobby. It's relaxing to me in a way nothing else is. There is music in the sound of water flowing from the filters and watching a school of fish swimming in unison is like watching a well choreographed ballet.

It makes me feel great to look at my tanks and see a perfectly tuned environment, full of healthy fish, even though I can't claim much success with keeping plants in them for any length of time. And when it comes to watching a batch of fry grow from eggs to adults, there is just no words to express my pride. I'm like a doting grandma, just wanting to spoil them with treats.

How does keeping fish make you feel? Does it fill some place in your life that would be empty without them? Or are they something you view in a more distant way? If you never kept fish before, and knowing what you know about the hobby now, would you start?

 

[Ethos]

I love fishkeeping.
To me, its just as relaxing as it is exciting.
I just setup a Sw Nano, thats really exciting.
Its a way to meet people, and impress people.
Since i'm younger, most people wouldn't expect me to have a 55G Af. cichlid tank and a Nano!

 

[CluelessScot]

The reason i have fish is because it is so dam relaxing and peaceful to watch them... If you have had a stressful day at work/College all you need to do is get home and sit and watch them Its amazing how attached you can get to some fish My male bolivain ram died on saturday morning and i actully really miss him swimming about I also feel really bad for the female too as shes lost her partner and she looks lost now... When i first got into fish keeping i saw people saying how they lost a fish and they were feeling down about it and i thought "its a fish" but once you get to "know" them its nuts

Kev

 

[Tolak]

Besides the relaxation part, it combines 3 things I really like, animals, biology/science, & building stuff.

Tolak

 

[dixaisy930]

I don't know about the rest of you, but it sort of snuck up on me. It all started with Henry. My very first betta-a brown guy I saw week after week in the lfs. Finally, I bought him because I felt so bad for him that nobody wanted him. I remember being amazed at what a little personality he had. Then the more I learned about fish, the more fascinated and excited I became. Unfortunately, I didn't always get the right information before I got the fish. But then I found this lovely forum, and my fish have never been happier.

Besides being very relaxing, I get to be creative (with tank designs and such). There is also so much variety in this hobby. All different species offer different things. It's also an ego boost...supplying a whole environment to a living creature and having it be so dependant on you, and thrive, not just survive, is very gratifying.

 

[rdd1952]

I grew up fishing every chance I got. I was always fascinated by fish and still am, especially sharks (the Jaws type). I actually got our first tank last year as a Christmas present for my wife and didn't really think much about it until it was set up and we started going to the LFSs to look at fish. That was a lot of fun because our son (chkltcow on here) also has tanks and we spent an entire Saturday going from LFS to LFS looking at fish. Suddenly, I was hooked and wanted another tank. As Inchworm said, it is a strangely addictive hobby.

I just love watching them swim and the plants move and sway in the current. It's so calming and peaceful. Even though there is some work, I don't really mind the water changes and that sort of thing. The only bad times are when you lose a fish, especially when you can't figure out what killed it.

I want to set a tank up in the bedroom so we can have the sound of the water flowing from the filters to help us sleep. We use one of the sound systems but it's not the same. I would love to have a fish house too but don't have the space right now. Even if I did, I'm sure I would be like Inchworm and soon have it full and STILL want more tanks. It's just a great hobby.

 

[Lynden]

I think its really addictive, because unlike seamonkeys or triops, ect., you cant really just walk away on them. They look at you, they get all excited, its just like a dog to me. And who in their right mind could walk out on a dog? And then, since your stuck with them anyways, you want to do something with them, so it grows. However, i find that there is only a one in ten chance of it sticking with someone; for most people its just a one time thing. Like they walk into walmart one day and buy a goldfish and a bowl. Thats it.

I got my first tank for christmas 3 years ago, however i never really took off with it until almost a year later. I couldnt stop after that, and i now have 7 tanks total, of pretty much everything. Nowadays, i look at it as a way to give animals a home (our house is a veritable zoo, mind you spiders, ants, cats, lizards, frogs, ect.), and as a way to study marine organisms. Essentially, it is biology to me, and it is also fun to impress people that are three times my age . Also, to me, they, especially the oscars, are my friends. It is an extremly rewarding hobby, really. Just seeing the animals "smile" at you everyday is enough to keep me hooked.

-Lynden

 

[Synirr]

Fishkeeping makes me feel like a gardener in a way. All my little fishies are like underwater flowers whose health and care I'm responsible for, and it gives me great pride to watch them grow and flourish

That's the hobby part of it, but beyond that, the more intelligent and interactive fish are very much beloved pets to me. My oscar and midas hybrid, for example, are both like sweet little puppies who greet me when I come home from class and dance for me when they want attention or food. They all have their own personalities, and since they can't run around the house with you like a dog or cat can, it's like sneaking a peek into their private little world when you look in their tank... and having them reach across and interact with you from the other side!

 

[prankster705]

Just the relaxed fealing, chestnut I can pas the dog with no problem - I am alergic to it so when stuff like that is out of option, what do you get? A room with an aquarium, that you become atached to. I would keep anything that I am not alergic to, so I have a spider, walking sticks, fishand will even be getting cockroaches soon.

 

[Dwarfs]

Part of it is being able to keep healthy environments of different fish that coexist peacefully, and for me, the other part is persistantly looking for a fish and then finally finding it, or finding new interesting fish. This always leads to new experiences and challenges

 

[Ethos]

Fishkeeping makes me feel like a gardener in a way. All my little fishies are like underwater flowers whose health and care I'm responsible for, and it gives me great pride to watch them grow and flourish

Thats a really good 'explaination!'
Great Synirr

 

[modernhamlet]

Fishkeeping is the act of bringing together science and art to create a small world that serves as nuturing habitat from within and emotional conduit from without.

In the chaos of the modern world, it is where I find myself again... balanced in the center of everything.

 

[Fella]

I have no idea. Because I like it?


I enjoy watching the behaviour of the fish, making a world for them to interact with and explore, and have a tiny part of a tropical region in the room.

And they don't make any noise unlike dogs.

 

[Xtech]

I have to get out of this hobby! I'm so very addicated and obsessed. My girlfriend is becoming jealous of the fish, even though she loves them too. She says I talk about fish even in my sleep. I also can't stop reading these posts in this forum!

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I grew up always wanting fish. I can not explain why because no one in my family ever kept fish, and I don't remember any of my friends having tanks either. When I would go to someone's house who had a tank I would sit and stare at it for hours. I would grill them about what it took to keep a tank, the kinds of fish they had etc....

My ex worked at Big Al's and I used to love going to his work and just walking around. Now that I finally have them I can't imagine life without them. All of my larger fish know who I am and they always come and greet me when I walk into the room. I have tanks in virtually every room of my house, except for the kitchen and my daughter's room.

The visual beauty a tank creates can't be topped by any million dollar art piece. I also love keeping my tanks planted and it is so rewarding to watch my plants flourish and my fish grow.

I never thought I would be attached to my fish but I am. None of my family or friends really understand the attachment I have, so it is great to be able to come here and find there are lots of other people who feel the same way I do.