I'm out of town again. Basically across the state two days a week every week now. I was talking to my wife tonight and asked, "Did you feed the fish?"
Her response:
"Yes, I fed them. And by the way, you need to do something. I have enough to do when you're gone without having to feed seven tanks of fish!"
My initial response was that all the food is carefully sorted into pill boxes that are sitting next to the appropriate tanks, and all she has to do is dump the right day of the week into the tank. Easy, right?
My next thought was, all the food is carefully sorted into pill boxes that are sitting next to the appropriate tanks. Is that obsessive? And how did I get to seven tanks of fish?
Having 10+ tanks is no big deal if most of them are small and house inverts that require little care. It's just an avenue to try different things. Different plants, different fauna, different scapes, different substrates. And each one started out as a beautiful vision. The problem, unfortunately, is that most of those visions were never fully realized, or if they were, they haven't been properly maintained. Most of my tanks are a mess. They need trimmings, they need re-plantings, they are lacking a proper fertilization regime, they are overstocked. There are Endlers in my BV tank. There are CPD's in my yellow neo tank. The Endlers can't go with the other Endlers because there are too many. The CPD's can't go in the 5G jar because it is full of Endlers. The betta is in a vase that was supposed to have been torn down months ago. His planned new home is a mess and is currently occupied by two 13 cent goldfish. A couple of the male guppies in the male guppy tank turned out to be females and now there are fry. Some of the male fry in the female guppy tank grew up and are busily creating a new generation. Crypts are melting. BBA won't go away. The male peacock gudgeon is hiding constantly and appears to be starving and withering away. The cories keep uprooting plants in the Eco Complete and I can't get a carpet. There is an empty 55G that has been in my garage for seven years. There's a brand new Fluval Spec 2 in a box that was purchased months ago and has never been opened. Tupperware containers full of plants are all over the kitchen counter. The dining room table is covered with fish supplies.
I need driftwood!
Why won't my opae ula breed?
When did I last do a WC on Tank #8?
Will I ever install that RO system I purchased two months ago?
There isn't enough ADD medication in the world!
I swear I love my dog more than my fish. And my kids. And my wife.
Dog - Kids - Wife - Fish
In that order. Maybe. A man has to have priorities!
How the heck do you guys do it??? And when it's time to consolidate or cut back, how do you decide what stays and what goes. Where is the balance between creativity and execution? Between enjoyment and insanity?
:frown::frown::frown::frown:CURSE YOU M.T.S.
Her response:
"Yes, I fed them. And by the way, you need to do something. I have enough to do when you're gone without having to feed seven tanks of fish!"
My initial response was that all the food is carefully sorted into pill boxes that are sitting next to the appropriate tanks, and all she has to do is dump the right day of the week into the tank. Easy, right?
My next thought was, all the food is carefully sorted into pill boxes that are sitting next to the appropriate tanks. Is that obsessive? And how did I get to seven tanks of fish?
Having 10+ tanks is no big deal if most of them are small and house inverts that require little care. It's just an avenue to try different things. Different plants, different fauna, different scapes, different substrates. And each one started out as a beautiful vision. The problem, unfortunately, is that most of those visions were never fully realized, or if they were, they haven't been properly maintained. Most of my tanks are a mess. They need trimmings, they need re-plantings, they are lacking a proper fertilization regime, they are overstocked. There are Endlers in my BV tank. There are CPD's in my yellow neo tank. The Endlers can't go with the other Endlers because there are too many. The CPD's can't go in the 5G jar because it is full of Endlers. The betta is in a vase that was supposed to have been torn down months ago. His planned new home is a mess and is currently occupied by two 13 cent goldfish. A couple of the male guppies in the male guppy tank turned out to be females and now there are fry. Some of the male fry in the female guppy tank grew up and are busily creating a new generation. Crypts are melting. BBA won't go away. The male peacock gudgeon is hiding constantly and appears to be starving and withering away. The cories keep uprooting plants in the Eco Complete and I can't get a carpet. There is an empty 55G that has been in my garage for seven years. There's a brand new Fluval Spec 2 in a box that was purchased months ago and has never been opened. Tupperware containers full of plants are all over the kitchen counter. The dining room table is covered with fish supplies.
I need driftwood!
Why won't my opae ula breed?
When did I last do a WC on Tank #8?
Will I ever install that RO system I purchased two months ago?
There isn't enough ADD medication in the world!
I swear I love my dog more than my fish. And my kids. And my wife.
Dog - Kids - Wife - Fish
In that order. Maybe. A man has to have priorities!
How the heck do you guys do it??? And when it's time to consolidate or cut back, how do you decide what stays and what goes. Where is the balance between creativity and execution? Between enjoyment and insanity?
:frown::frown::frown::frown:CURSE YOU M.T.S.
