A Question for fish lovers

[BobB]

How many of you enjoy this just for a hobby, how many enjoy fishkeeping as a hobby/breeding endeavor.
The reason I ask this I like it purely as a hobby, but the more I read TFH and many other magazines it seems to me that more and more products are being shoved down peoples throats that includes LFS. I am trying to say the pure enjoyment of the hobby has been lost and that is truly shameful. I really like coming to this board because I can get honest answers from all the participants. I dont feel I am getting something shoved down my throat. Well enough of my rant for the night.

[poconogal]

Bob, Hobby only. In fact, I don't even want any of that spawning going on in my tank! Then I'd feel compelled to get another tank for the breeding pair, etc. No, No, No! :D :D :D

Connie

[wolfbane]

Hobby, definitely. I love caring for my fish, studied hard to learn about them. Even if I bred a tankful, it would be as a hobbiest, not as a money making venture.

[Kindredspirit]

not as a money making venture.



Thatz a good thing Deb ~ we wld starve!


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_30_126.gif

[wolfbane]

:D Got that right Marie!

[sleonard]

I'm trying to breed some fish but because it's really interesting. I may have to sell some but only because I can't support the hundreds of discus I'll (hopefully) produce. Personally, I don't care if I ever make any money. In fact, so far it's been a gigantic money pit and I still don't care. I just like keeping, raising, and trying to breed my beautiful fish.

Scott

P.S. - When I showed my girlfriend how to identify the females with a mouth full of eggs in my African tank she got all happy and started netting them out to put in breeding chambers while saying "I got babies" :) She's gonna go ape-shite when my discus pair have some success.

[1977]

It started out as just a hobby with 1 tank and soon I became obsessed and determined to breed for the challenge and the ability to pay for my hobby. I now have 10 tanks in an expensive fishroom I built with much nicer equipment than I needed. I have all the necessary things to breed but have discovered that having a good pair or pairs consistently breed and raise quality discus is extremely difficult. At this rate it will take me 5 years just to pay for what I've got. I love this hobby but it has definitely put my in some debt! People who make a good profit off discus have really put together a perfect formula and they should be commended.

[lhforbes12]

I agree 100% with 1977. 30 years ago I became obsessed and ended up having over 30 tanks, I did breed fish and I was able to support my hobby by doing that, not make money, just support the hobby. I would go to work, come home, and go to work again, with that many tanks it really does become work. That said, for me breeding is the most enjoyable aspect of this hobby. There is nothing else quite like seeing a brood of cichlids following their parents around, this is even more so with discus.
Don't expect to make money, and be sure not to become too obsessive, and you will have a wonderful hobby for life.

Larry

[Graham]

I'm similar to Larry...Been down the breeding, massive amounts of tanks, make a buck to pay for the hobby road ...30+ years ago. Now days the main part of my hobby is showing koi and trying not to let them spawn...which they just did:mad: .....some show careers are over


The 175 and the 60 have some Africans in them for the moment just for show...Mind you, you've all convinced me to take the 60 and add discus in Sept, but for show only...I don't want to become a slave to breeding anymore:)

Graham

[BobB]

I absolutely have fallen in love with Discus and I love looking at them for their unique shape and beautiful colors but I have limited funds, so there is little chance I will ever get into the breeding thing unless I win Powerball (fat chance).

[White Worm]

Just for the hobby but I am trying to narrow down the breeding thing. Just havent got all the pieces to the puzzle worked out yet. Breeding is the ultimate goal but only to say I did it and if only to raise one batch...that would be good. Not in it for the money. Like others, I have put more money in already than I could ever expect to get back. I wouldnt mind selling just to keep the lights and heaters going though :D Overall, I enjoy it still as much or even more than when I started. Mike

[sledwood]

Hi Bob,
First and foremost, for the hobby. You're right about the money though, it definitely gets expensive. Started with Discus in the late sixties, got out of it after 10 yrs and been back in for about 8 yrs now. Started with a 90 gal and now have a 65 also. Learned my lesson on breeding. Had a Red Turq and a Pigeon blood pair off and spawn without really doing anything other than what I did normally. Wasn't even trying. Man, the time and energy required to take care of the fry after being seperated from the parents is astronomical. Hatching brine shrimp eggs at least twice a day, finding a way to hold down my job and still feed them three times a day and mixing all those contoctions for them to eat after they graduated from BBS.
I wound up giving some away and the rest I brought to our local aquarium society auction. It's been a couple of years since but the memory lingers on. I read what so many of the members go through and I think I'm happy just enjoying what I have. It is, in reality, just a hobby. Is'nt it?..........Ed

[AmberC]

Pure hobby for me. I am a stay at home mom. I have bred rams before, but that was just because it was fun and I traded them with my lfs for fish or products I needed :)

Amber

[tpl*co]

I really like coming to this board because I can get honest answers from all the participants. I dont feel I am getting something shoved down my throat. Well enough of my rant for the night.


Hmmm, the only thing you may get shoved down your throat here is "MORE WATER CHANGES!" LOL.

I agree, the LFS and other places have stuff you may not need (but look nice like that sports car in the car lot :)). Also, I'm surprised at some of the high priced junk or things being sold that won't last (and the limited info available on quality and specifications), and don't even get me on the topic of having ordered something that doesn't fit or work on my set-up :).

Oh, I'm a hobbiest :). More of a money sink than money maker :).

Tina

[Alight]

Pure hobby and relaxation. I love breeding the fish, but I only do it in small doses because of the time (and tank space) it takes when rearing the fry.

It's a great distraction from my real job. So is reading and responding on this board.

As to all of the gear, every hobby has stuff like this. It's what keeps the LFS in business. Give away the fish, and sell all the junk that goes with them to make some money. Can't blame 'em. Got to make a living somehow.

I really can't see how to make a profit with Discus breeding, unless you do it big time in a way where it becomes no fun at all. My hat's off to those who do make a living doing that, and still have fun.

Al Light

[wayne]

It's all hobby for me now. I have had many different tropical fish of all kinds over the years. Been there done that. I have just gotten in to Discus. They are the only fish I have never kept in the hobby. After many many years I am still learning. :confused:

150 gal show tank with eleven discus all for show only.:)

[marilyn1998]

Totally a hobby and have one ONE tank..... now. Was a time I was breeding kribensis, had over 17 tanks of fry at different stages. I spent a ton of money only to find that when I went to sell them to the LFS for trade, they didnt even want them!!! But the first time you see free swimming babies.... what a sight.

I have had all kinds of fish lay eggs, but never had them hatch. Now I just have my show tank and I love it!!! Better than watching tv.

But if I had all the money I spent on this hobby over the years......... :D :D

[Kindredspirit]

Pure hobby and relaxation. I love breeding the fish, but I only do it in small doses because of the time (and tank space) it takes when rearing the fry.

It's a great distraction from my real job. So is reading and responding on this board.

As to all of the gear, every hobby has stuff like this. It's what keeps the LFS in business. Give away the fish, and sell all the junk that goes with them to make some money. Can't blame 'em. Got to make a living somehow.

I really can't see how to make a profit with Discus breeding, unless you do it big time in a way where it becomes no fun at all. My hat's off to those who do make a living doing that, and still have fun.

Al Light


Al ~ you always have a great way of saying things:)

[t2000kw]

How many of you enjoy this just for a hobby, how many enjoy fishkeeping as a hobby/breeding endeavor.
The reason I ask this I like it purely as a hobby, but the more I read TFH and many other magazines it seems to me that more and more products are being shoved down peoples throats that includes LFS. I am trying to say the pure enjoyment of the hobby has been lost and that is truly shameful. I really like coming to this board because I can get honest answers from all the participants. I dont feel I am getting something shoved down my throat. Well enough of my rant for the night.

Just a hobby. I don't have discus yet--waiting for later this year after I get past some big expenses first--but I do have several tanks set up. We decided to avoid the things you mentioned that are being promoted (so they sell lots of high dollar stuff to the hobbyist) and use natural planted tanks (Walstad tanks), low light, no CO2, etc. We have fancy goldfish, neon tetras, white clouds, cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, some live bearers, a betta, and some I don't remember the name of, 7 tanks in all plus one 55 that will be a discus tank.

Going the route we did does mean that our plants won't grow as fast as with CO2, ferts, and mega-lighting, and some plants wouldn't do well at all, but we have so many plants now that we gave a bunch away at today's aquatic plant society meeting to help someone else get a tank started. We don't have to buy lots of fancy equipment, don't expensive lights, don't need to monitor fertilizer additions, and don't make lots of water changes, etc. We probably change water in our goldfish tank every 2-3 months, maybe longer between changes, never a 100% change, either. With discus, it will be more often, of course, but it appears from reports that adult discus can do OK in a planted tank with much less frequent changes than in a bare tank.