What do you do when you just don't care?

[Anonymous]

Ever since my seahorses died, I just don't care about my tank like I used to. The salt creep looks like an abstract expressionist painting down one side of the tank, I have to look through the top to see if my little clownfishes are okay, because I don't bother to scrape the sides until filter cleaning day .... and don't get me started about the caulerpa overgrowth.

I assume others have had periods of disinterest. How do you get into the groove again?

 

[Anonymous]

Have you considered getting back into seahorses?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm planning on getting some from Australia in June, at IMAC. Setting up a separate tank (dragging my feet on that, too, but that has more to do with money than anything else. Chillers are $$$). The 65 gallon I have now would be great for a mid to larger sized tropical species, if I rehabbed it a bit. I'm just dreading all the work it's gonna take to get the tank back in shape (the damn bristle worms and caulerpa have taken the tank over!).

God, I have a lot of excuses! :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I set up a new tank. It always renews my interest in all the other ones.

 

[Tackett]

clean it all sell the inhabitants back to the lfs if you can, and start over fresh with new info. That always helps. I quit the hobby for about 3 years before I got interested again.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes. My temp tank is catching hell right now. I am in the process of setting up a new tank and the critters I have in "storage" are being neglected. Luckly for them I actually got started building the stand this past weekend.

 

[Anonymous]

Take a walk through a good LFS, or go to a supplier, just to get your creative juices flowing again.

~wings~

 

[SnowManSnow]

<_ would like to see renewed interest, but it's always better to give the inhabbitants away if they are just going to live in poor conditions

B

 

[spsmike]

Heres some inspiration for you.
http://www.saltcreep.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54


Perk up buddy you will be back on track soon enough.For now just look at the pictures and get excited about what you can do once you get them.

 

[Anonymous]

<_ would like to see renewed interest, but it's always better to give the inhabbitants away if they are just going to live in poor conditions

B

The water params are fine, it's just ugly. I think the bristleworms only look like they're taking over, because I don't overfeed like I used to when I had the horses, so now they're coming out of the woodwork to look for food. I siphon up as many as I can at water-change time.

I love my clownfish, and my lawnmower blenny, Toro. I just don't spend the hours I used to peering at the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

I find my interest in my tank waxing and waning. Sometimes I'm REALLY into it, and end up with wet hands daily. Then there's times I have to actually MAKE myself do a water change. I have to schedule it in, and do the work.

Maybe taking a break from day-to-day maintenence is what you need right now. Just remember to feed them, and change the water as necessary. I'm sure when you get your new ponies at the conference, your interest will pick up again.

We've all been at this too long for it to be a flash in the pan. However, we all have other interests in life besides our tank. It's okay to focus on them for a while, as long as the tank inhabatants don't suffer.

Good luck
B

 

[Anonymous]

I bounce around among various related aspects- I get into the vivaria heavy for a while, then back to the reef, then freshwater for a bit maybe. The reef is #1 for me always.

On the other hand, the whole thing is a big waste of time!

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I did a scraping and water change last night, changed all the filter media (except the foam blocks) and I've decided to wait for IMAC to get any more seahorses. In the mean time, I think I'll try to find a good frogspawn or similar for my clownies to snuggle into. They are so precious, and they deserve the best I can do for them. I've had the orange ocellaris since it was the size of my little finger nail. The black percula was larger when I got it, but the two of them are about the same size now and spoon together at night when the actinics are on.

 

[spsmike]

Can seahorses be around frogspawn?

 

[Anonymous]

The seahorses are going in a different tank, a 45-gallon with a 29-gallon sump and a chiller, because they're a temperate species. The frogspawn will go in the 65 gallon with the clownies.

 

[Anonymous]

My clowns love the frogspawns/hammers. They attack when I go near the frogspawn.
_________________
Aging Forum

 

[0db]

I was at the same point for awhile; something hit my corals and wiped most of them out, my beautiful clam died, and I only had 3 fish in my 60g with 90 lbs of nice live rock being overgrown with caulerpa and ugly black crud.

Finally I got up the nerve to do a full scale cleanup, water change, redecorate, and then yesterday got a beautiful heliofungia, some green chromis and a perc to color things up a bit. Ordered new lights, etc.

For me I have to dump some time and some money into the tank to wake up my interest... I haven't been on reefs.org for months and now I've been on all day trying to catch up!

 

[Anonymous]

Hey 0db. GREAT NICK.

 

[Mouse]

My advice would be to take it appart and start again, if youve got culerpa in the main tank i doubt you have much in the way of corals. And so what, you loose a bit of cash on one colwn fish, you could even just put it in a tub with all the LR.

The thing with fish that frustrates me somethimes is the impending urgency of fish cooling down, or not getting enough oxygen, filers dying etc. etc.

I find if you can plan properly, remove all those stresses, youll see a blank canvas open up infront of you, and that i find is a most motivating sight.