Phillydubs
09-30-2016, 01:48 PM
I need to write this... Maybe in a way to clear my conscious, maybe in a way to seek advice, help, feedback or whatever may come from it...
You see, as we all are, I find my self more into and drawn in by this fish and hobby with each passing day. Like most of us all it started with pictures in old fish books and magazines, then my sickly lfs discus and then here and the great sponsor fish provided... However, lately, I have felt and let myself spiral out a bit... I am limited on space as some of you know from my previous posts. I have so much going on in my life lately as we all do, but I have some major life changes going on, between children, a new home, a real launch in my career... the list goes on...
All of that being said, I have done a few things that I am not too proud of and rather than bottle them up I think it is best to let my simply family and the discus community know about it. Thankfully I currently have no issues to report and all is fine. Maybe I am over reacting, maybe it is a moral, right from wrong thing, but I need to tell.
It all started with me getting bored with my current tank and line up as well tend to do and I got the itch again. I satisfied that for quite a while with the addition of a 40 gallon breeder wild tank with 5 wilds that can be seen here in my homesteader thread. Against the vice of some respected people I still went ahead with it. Although on the small side, the fish appear happy, healthy and thriving. They are such a joy they are growing like weeds and getting more vibrant in color by the day! I love the tank, I wish it was bigger but I love it none-the-less...
Onto my domestic/wild cross tank - I had a leopard that was nice and most people would consider a great fish but I was never too fond of it and I decided I wanted to sell that and possibly some other fish to mix in my group. I went ahead and did that and then I ordered some very cool albino fish from James at discus r us. The fish were beautiful and have some growing to do and I felt it would be fun and liven my tank. Fine...
Then a few weeks after that purchase, the forum member here discuschill I believe posted a pair of yellow nebula ghost. I literally drooled over that video all weekend and finally just had to ask where they came from. I assumed they were hard to get or couldn't be had but my curiosity got the best of me and I found them and could get my hands on them and just had to have them. I got them in hopes that they may be a pair and I could set a tank up in a kids room, but with my wifes foot down hard (more on that later) and the fact that they ended up not being a pair, or at least not yet, into the community they went...
Then Kenny posted his list and those red spotted browns... I am a sucker for red, I never saw a fish like this before so once again, I had to have one. Who is going to ship one fish right? So I added a red eagle because I had one from one of the very first batches that came here and unfortunately sold it when I moved from manhattan and have coveted a new one for a while. Into qt they went and another fish sold to make room...
As you can see, I have a hard time resisting temptation...
In the midst of all this I am getting a lot of push back from family and business partners (aka more family as I run a business with my father and brother in law... My 2 tanks are at work and I get nothing from grief from them about it (part of it is jealousy I think that I have a cool hobby) Mind you half of our work garage is taken up my my fathers old cars... but that is ok...however my 5 feet of space is a burden.
Then my wife says I spend way too much time on the tanks at work and if I get a marine tank (which I really want for home) it will be too much and time consuming so she has kinda given me the ultimatum to either have the discus at work or the salt tank at home...
I can't and will not leave the discus hobby and community I love it too much...
So after all my babbling I guess I just want to say that I am one who tends to learn the hard way on things. I had a tank I was comfortable with and that was awesome and working nicely. Not that I have an issue now, but lately I have been fearful of my high stock level and the new additions. I leave for a business conference tomorrow and will begone 10 days. I have never left my fish this long. Friends have told me your fish are healthy you will be fine and I tend to believe that. I have stressed over vacations before and been fine, but usually those are only for a week.
Anyways, I guess I just want newbies or even the old folks to know that we all get bit by the bug and I am really realizing it and trying to regain some self control. I know what is right, I know what stocking levels are considered ok and what is too much and even after being around this hobby for a long time and learning some hard lessons, I sort of feel bad I continue to make petty mistakes and decisions. For my own benefit and pleasure only.
Sorry to ramble and like I said this thread doesn't have much of a purpose except to clear my head, warn some of you how easily you can be consumed and maybe seek advice from some who have been here before...
Thanks for letting me vent!
You see, as we all are, I find my self more into and drawn in by this fish and hobby with each passing day. Like most of us all it started with pictures in old fish books and magazines, then my sickly lfs discus and then here and the great sponsor fish provided... However, lately, I have felt and let myself spiral out a bit... I am limited on space as some of you know from my previous posts. I have so much going on in my life lately as we all do, but I have some major life changes going on, between children, a new home, a real launch in my career... the list goes on...
All of that being said, I have done a few things that I am not too proud of and rather than bottle them up I think it is best to let my simply family and the discus community know about it. Thankfully I currently have no issues to report and all is fine. Maybe I am over reacting, maybe it is a moral, right from wrong thing, but I need to tell.
It all started with me getting bored with my current tank and line up as well tend to do and I got the itch again. I satisfied that for quite a while with the addition of a 40 gallon breeder wild tank with 5 wilds that can be seen here in my homesteader thread. Against the vice of some respected people I still went ahead with it. Although on the small side, the fish appear happy, healthy and thriving. They are such a joy they are growing like weeds and getting more vibrant in color by the day! I love the tank, I wish it was bigger but I love it none-the-less...
Onto my domestic/wild cross tank - I had a leopard that was nice and most people would consider a great fish but I was never too fond of it and I decided I wanted to sell that and possibly some other fish to mix in my group. I went ahead and did that and then I ordered some very cool albino fish from James at discus r us. The fish were beautiful and have some growing to do and I felt it would be fun and liven my tank. Fine...
Then a few weeks after that purchase, the forum member here discuschill I believe posted a pair of yellow nebula ghost. I literally drooled over that video all weekend and finally just had to ask where they came from. I assumed they were hard to get or couldn't be had but my curiosity got the best of me and I found them and could get my hands on them and just had to have them. I got them in hopes that they may be a pair and I could set a tank up in a kids room, but with my wifes foot down hard (more on that later) and the fact that they ended up not being a pair, or at least not yet, into the community they went...
Then Kenny posted his list and those red spotted browns... I am a sucker for red, I never saw a fish like this before so once again, I had to have one. Who is going to ship one fish right? So I added a red eagle because I had one from one of the very first batches that came here and unfortunately sold it when I moved from manhattan and have coveted a new one for a while. Into qt they went and another fish sold to make room...
As you can see, I have a hard time resisting temptation...
In the midst of all this I am getting a lot of push back from family and business partners (aka more family as I run a business with my father and brother in law... My 2 tanks are at work and I get nothing from grief from them about it (part of it is jealousy I think that I have a cool hobby) Mind you half of our work garage is taken up my my fathers old cars... but that is ok...however my 5 feet of space is a burden.
Then my wife says I spend way too much time on the tanks at work and if I get a marine tank (which I really want for home) it will be too much and time consuming so she has kinda given me the ultimatum to either have the discus at work or the salt tank at home...
I can't and will not leave the discus hobby and community I love it too much...
So after all my babbling I guess I just want to say that I am one who tends to learn the hard way on things. I had a tank I was comfortable with and that was awesome and working nicely. Not that I have an issue now, but lately I have been fearful of my high stock level and the new additions. I leave for a business conference tomorrow and will begone 10 days. I have never left my fish this long. Friends have told me your fish are healthy you will be fine and I tend to believe that. I have stressed over vacations before and been fine, but usually those are only for a week.
Anyways, I guess I just want newbies or even the old folks to know that we all get bit by the bug and I am really realizing it and trying to regain some self control. I know what is right, I know what stocking levels are considered ok and what is too much and even after being around this hobby for a long time and learning some hard lessons, I sort of feel bad I continue to make petty mistakes and decisions. For my own benefit and pleasure only.
Sorry to ramble and like I said this thread doesn't have much of a purpose except to clear my head, warn some of you how easily you can be consumed and maybe seek advice from some who have been here before...
Thanks for letting me vent!