Thinking of Selling....

[Sharkbait]

Hey everyone...

It's been a while since I've posted much - I recently moved from Sooke back to Victoria, so internet access has been a luxury. The wife and I are slowly moving out from our boxes back to reality, which most of you know is a painfully slow process.

Anywho, I had lost two discus from the move - must have stressed out too much. I added salt, water changed, but they didn't make it. Now I've got another thread going right now about 4 or 5 (my remaining discus) that are swimming near the top of my tank just after a water change.

I dunno. I'm thinking that this might be where I call it quits. It takes a lot out of me stressing about these guys, and I'm getting busier and busier these days and don't necessarily have the time to properly care for them as much as I used to. I'd hate to sell them, because I look at it as a failure - that I couldn't keep these guys alive for their entire life span. And I've already invested so much time and money into the hobby, it'd be a waste to just sell the whole thing...

Anyone else ever come to this crossroads? I mean...I could do something else that's easier - like angels...or I could change the entire thing around and go african cichlid.
I just don't want to invest more into this and have my prized stock just die on me.


If I was to sell, what would be a decent asking price for the following:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs749.snc4/64905_544385522821_293001460_2395681_2846190_n.jpg


90 gallon Hagen Osaka (stand and tank)
48inch Aquatic Life 4x54watt T5HO (brand new @ $420)
Fluval FX5
Pressurized C02 setup (solenoid, regulator, reactor)
Digital PH Controller

Plus all the other goodies (food, meds, fertilizers, gravel, driftwood, plants, fish, nets, tubing, etc.)

Is $1500 too much to ask? Lord knows I've spent probably $5000 on the thing over the course of 4 years.

Anywho, thanks for the advice and all your help while pursuing this hobby.

[Jennie]

Personally, I bet you'll miss the hobby, not the discus, just the hobby.. Keep your equipment and replace the fish

[zimmjeff]

no other fish will fill the void left by your discus. Ive tryed.

[pcsb23]

I think most, if not all, discus hobbyists hit this crossroad sooner or later. Sometimes it is forced, other times not.

Some years ago I went away for a long weekend's golf at short notice, it was too good an opportunity to miss. When we came back home my girls had overfed the fish tank and 3 adult discus already dead and the others dying. This was one of those crossroads. We had always wanted to try a reef so ... tank all cleaned up, equipment bought, loads of live rock (3 full boxes) and we had a reef tank. Added stock, some shrimp, fish and corals etc over time. All very pretty, but not discus, and to be honest once setup pretty boring.

Less than a year later I had bought a new tank for discus, and the rest as they say is history.

If your heart isn't in it then do yourself a favour and make a clean break. If you just need some reassurance it is worth it then imo/e it is.

I have not read your other post but if you have moved then there is little doubt the water will be different. The challenge will be working out how to make the best of it. Not sure what your previous routine was but if water changes now cause the fish to pipe then you need to try and determine the cause. Could be variations in dissolved O2 or CO2, could be an excess of chlorine or even heavy metals. I doubt it is pH shock, most fish looked "shocked" when this happens and go very pale and lay flat. Some options would be to use a water conditioner that binds heavy metals, another (and better ime) is to use an HMA - no waste just good clean water and no need for dechlorinator either.

In the short term rather than do large water changes try doing smaller ones, you may need to do them more frequently though. The tank is nicely planted so water quality will be helped by the plants.

Can't advise on prices sorry, I have no idea what they are worth there :o

[Arjunpun]

I had recently sold everything. I just cudnt stay far from discus any longer. Trust me I wud see discus swimming in my dream lol. I came with 40 gallon and 4 huge discus but I want to upgrade now. It's going back to where I started. So just think about before selling everything

[ockyra215]

Well in my experience if your tired of fishkeeping right now sell off the live stock and plants and what not keep the tank store it in the garage or wherever and take a year off from it.If in a years time you feel theres no need or want to be in the aquarium hobby any longer sell the tank also. In my past i had discus and got a lot run down from it then I had a reef tank and as already stated it got really boring? So i went back to discus. And I know where your coming from with moving and loosing fish I had 29 discus which out of all of them 20 where adults and 9 sub-adults I killed them by accident. But now I am rebuilding my stock in time and Ill have them all back again.HEy this hobby is a learing experience fulltime its full of the highest highs and the lowest of lows. JMO for what its worth!

[Sharkbait]

Thanks everyone for your honest answers :)

Just a sidenote from my other post, everyone's doing fine in the tank now :)

That aside, the wife and I have been talking about selling off the tank. Usually she's always the first to say it, because I know she hates the darn thing...well, not true...she does like the discus that are in there and actually wanted to put more in!
However, I think I'm biting off more than I can chew in regards to how much time I have available to me. I recently got a teaching contract (yay!) so I've got lots of prep work to do; I have a photo business that's in a slow period, but will pick up next spring; and I'm wanting to focus time on my black lab and get her into agility training.....possibly even take on another dog.

The tank has always been a beautiful piece of living art, in my mind. I do think there will be a void - heck, how did I get back into fishkeeping in the first place? But I just don't want it to get to the point where it's more work than the enjoyment that I get out of it. When that happens, when it's more of a chore than anything, I know it's time. Maybe that's why I change the scape so much? Because I need a variety of things to look at. ....good lord, I don't know what I'd do if I ever had a bare bottom tank :)

[Jennie]

If time is restraint then choose a fish that requires less maintenance..there are many beautiful species out there, then maybe someday you can return to discus.

[fishorama]

I agree with Jennie, there are less demanding fish than discus. But when we last moved 10 years ago, it was quite nice to take a 2+ year break from fish entirely. It allowed us to rethink our fish priorities & move ahead with fish we both really like & were worth the work required.

[Eddie Wells]

You just have to do what you have too and good luck

[Dudley Eirich]

Given your time constraints, I think you are probably making the right decision. Keeping discus healthy and happy takes time, and if you don't have enough time to give, the fish will ultimately suffer. That said, if you have room to store them, I would keep the tank(s) and equipment. I've stopped (and restarted again) raising discus 5 times. I am now semi-retired so I have more time to devote to the hobby. The last time I quit, I kept three tanks out of 6 and all the equipment. I'm glad I did because it was so much easier to start up again.

[m.ingram]

About 5 years ago i too came to the cross roads I lost 12 discus to being given the wrong advice on treatment ,I overdosed the fish and killed them i felt really bad about that .So i waited 2 months and got another 12 discus all was going well for 3 months then i had a heater malfunction and boiled the lot . I thought im over this all the work , money and heartache i thought its just not worth it .So i tried a planted tetra tank and even a giant gourmi .After about 18 months i just had to get back into discus as nothing filled the hole .Once you go Discus you never look back thats how i see it now nothing compairs to them .

[Sharkbait]

m.ingram -

Well, I guess this is kinda where I'm at right now - I mean...if discus are true to their name as the 'king of the aquarium' ...I'm still left wanting more I guess. I don't feel I've gone as far as the hobby can go, that's for sure - I'd love to see a pair of these come together and start laying and hatching eggs. Maybe I'm just at a 'writer's block'...where I don't know where to go from here...

I've had tetra tanks, I've had angel tanks...it's true, it didn't do it for me. Maybe I have to go bigger...maybe a nice active group of cichlids. Scrap the plants, do some rock work, change it all to africans....either that, or go salt. Either choice presents another completely different investment.

Forgive me for rambling, sometimes it's best to just put thoughts into words.

[inmisawa]

I gave up fish for a while, I even gave my 55 away. Eventually I decided I wanted something because the house just felt empty so I pulled the 125 out of the garage. The next thing I knew the tank was full and I wanted another one. Within a couple of months I was on here and I wanted a bigger one and now I have the 180, I think a break is good. It allows you take care of business and recharge your desire if it's still there. Maybe sell of all the live stock and put the tank in storage for 6-12 months. Then if you still want to, sell the tank off. At least your giving yourself a in if you want to restart. Having a wife of my own, I'm pretty sure once your tank is gone your wife may not let another one back in the house. At least not without a lot of heated discussion!

[Len]

m.ingram -



... Scrap the plants, do some rock work, change ....

You know, I have to tell you. Back on Nov 1 I moved and had to take down my planted tank to move it. I was able to save a lot of the plants and I put them in my larger tank after the move, but still my beautifully (to me at least) planted discus tank was all but destroyed and as extreme as I know it probably sounds it left something in me feel just a little broken. Yes, I still have my discus and yes I still have plants in a tank, but I don't have "my planted tank" if you know what I mean. The reason I tell you this is because your tank looks just amazing, so I know the work you put into it and the satisfaction it must have brought you. I can only imagine how you would feel once it was gone. You have to make the right decision for you, but I guess I'm just trying to caution you to make the decision carefully because once it's done it will be difficult to get it back to where you want it if you change your mind. Best of luck whichever way you decide to go.

[April]

Geez after all that waiting?
Well if you want the plants and the discus aren't doing well with plants then maybe. Africans are dead easy. Lots of
Rocks and fish and a wc every few weeks. They are like rats. But still costly and not the personality of discus.

[Sharkbait]

I know April, I know...I feel like I'm lettin' you down! lol.

I'm gonna see how it goes. I'm going to grow those little guys out to the best that I can (starting to see some really nice striations), grow some more plants to fill in the negative space...I really should take a photo to update.

I'm VERY happy with the albinos that I got. Amazing. I think if I could, I'd sell/trade in the others for albinos of the same size. Give me a day, I'll post an update...

Recently had family over and everyone complimented the tank. I think I needed some positive re-enforcement. My father-in-law is getting caught by the fish bug now too, so maybe this will be an opportunity to have something in common.

[babers]

Haven't posted here in a while but your post caught my attention...So, I would just like to share my 2-cent. I've had discus for almost 2 years. I was very excited when I got my first pair. Then I bought some more...and more. Anyway, a few months ago, I went on a 3 wk vacation and almost half of my pairs died on me. The guy who took care of them didn't take care of them properly. I almost gave up on them. Water change everyday with nothing to show for. They stopped laying eggs and I got really really discouraged. I kept 3 pairs and it took them 5 months before they started laying eggs again. Now, they lay eggs almost every 3 weeks and I can't stop them.
Anyway, long story short....everyone of us went through this stage. Sometimes once, and sometimes a few times. It takes a lot of patience, this hobby of ours. Do what you think is right. Follow what you think is better for you, I can assure you, you won't go wrong. Whichever path you decide to take, I wish you all the best!!!

[Sharkbait]

Thanks Joel! :)

Appreciate it.