I've been pretty bred with my tank lately, to the point of contemplating shutting it down even, and it wasn't until Facebook reminded me that it's been four years since we built it that I realised why. In the twenty years I've been keeping fish this is the longest period I've ever had one tank continuously running for. And further more, it's nearly been three years since I sold my aro and went down the 'monster community' route with angels and tetras etc, which is the longest I've ever kept a single "theme" (for want of a better word) going in one tank. Part of the problem is that the tank is downstairs in it's own room, but I think a big part of the problem is that time has flown by far faster than I've realised and it has become stagnant.

I pulled down the big pile of wood to give it a thorough clean and to do stock-take on my plecs (still got 6 of the 7 tiny gold nuggets that I put in there nearly three years ago) and contemplated where to from here. I think a change up of the livestock is in order, hopefully that might reignite a bit of interest in it. Anyway, here's some pics as it is this morning, is three years a long time to keep an aquarium basically unchanged, or do I just have a short attention span....

 

You have some awesome fish in there and the Geos are looking great. I know the feeling about wanting change, I always find myself looking at my Geos and thinking what else could I have instead.  

Tank is looking good David. I get cold feet with my setup sometimes, but sometimes just changing some stock is all it needs.

You should consider full planted with breeding dwarf cichlids or something like that, plants make the tank a bit more...evolving with their growth. Keep some of your current stock or integrate to suit.

You could always try native marine?

Native marine would be a pretty ambitious sorta project in this sized tank!! Hopefully a little change around in the stock will reignite the spark...

Great looking fish. Deep rich colours. Very nice!

I don't think your attention span is particularly short. I know exactly what you are talking about regarding interest. For me it has always been about the journey and not so much about the end result so as soon as a new project is finished the first thing I want to do is change it.

I've gone through a similar phase in the last year where the big tank was just on an auto feeder and all I did with it was do a water change sometimes.

Lately my interest have sparked up again, it happened when the new geos started spawning and now I just want to breed all my fish again. So it comes and goes. Watching youtube clips can be really helpful in sparking interest again I've found.

I agree a change is in order but something like native marine would be a B&#%!* for your tank.

I think a better idea is to try to get that tank placed in you living room wall instead of in a room by itself. I'm sure it's possible somehow. I can help with drawings etc. if you need.

Good luck and keep in mind I have around 20-30 baby G. "Tapajos Orange Head" swimming around in my tank at the moment and I'm sure there are more to come.

1 hour ago, hovmoller said:

Good luck and keep in mind I have around 20-30 baby G. "Tapajos Orange Head" swimming around in my tank at the moment and I'm sure there are more to come.

Sold!!!

 

New cichlids and perhaps a few plants are a good idea, and I know what you're going to say but I'm on the verge of selling off most of the plecs and getting a group of clown loaches. I love the plecs but they're just so bloody boring! Unless I get in there with a flashlight after dark or pull the pile of wood apart I NEVER see more than a fleeting glimpse of the nuggets. I know it ruins the Amazon theme, but their water requirements are fairly similar and the tank really needs a bit of colour and activity to liven it up. I like the long-term aspect of watching them grow to their potential, which was part of the appeal of the plecos, and the clowns will no doubt be more entertaining on that journey. I'll probably never have a better opportunity to house a school of them comfortably and I think I'd regret it if I didn't give it a go.

As for relocating the tank to the living room, I have investigated that and haven't ruled it out completely (most likely a smaller tank with around a 120-180x80cm footprint), but for now it's too much money and effort. Long story short; I'd need to put the tank where our fireplace currently is, which means relocating the fire or installing a heatpump, repainting the lounge (and probably all the living areas upstairs), recarpeting the lounge, and while I'm doing all that I might as well replace the old halogen lights with LEDs, etc etc. It's something to work towards, but definitely a long-term project.

Plecos are boring haha, they are also absurdly expensive. Could try discus? Bigger school of tetras? Definitely reckon that making it planted might re-engage your interest.

Tank looks great! Love those Uaru.

Pictures simply can't do the size of that tank justice, it's awesome. 

I've been through a similar thing over the last few years,  sold off a breeding colony,  shut down some tanks but still having one has been good so i recommend not shutting it down.  Maybe because it's in a separate room like it is,  do you think that kind of makes it less enticing? 

 

13 hours ago, smidey said:

  Maybe because it's in a separate room like it is,  do you think that kind of makes it less enticing? 

 

Absolutely. I'll never set up another aquarium that isn't part of the main living area of the house again. If I did shut it down it would have to be replaced with a smaller set-up upstairs, I couldn't give up on the hobby completely!

The only reason i've still got a tank is because I put the 2.0m tank in my office so i see it everyday which keeps the interest there, just

On 2017-5-19 at 0:12 PM, David R said:

 

New cichlids and perhaps a few plants are a good idea, and I know what you're going to say but I'm on the verge of selling off most of the plecs and getting a group of clown loaches. 

I hope you go with Clown Loaches, your old tank was amazing & so full of movement!

This one?

 

Yeah I miss that big mob of them too!

Yep that's the one.

IIll just leave this here... i miss my group aswell i sold them all about a year ago. I brought 8 recently and im already down to 6 lost my biggest one last nyt was 81/2 inches and it was my fault i feed my silver aro some salmon in the morning and didnt watch him eat it which he didnt do and it stunk up the tank luckily only lost the one.  

+1 for loaches

Have the uaru bred ?

No they haven't, not even any signs of pairing up really. I have four now, One was always a little runty and passed on after a year, and the other slightly smaller one looked like it was picked on a bit too and slowly faded away about 3-4 months ago. Wouldn't mind a few more eh, I'm regretting not taking on @hovmollers group when he sold them.

Clowns coming next Wednesday...

 The clowns are going to make the tank so much more active and colourful.

Dread to think how many clowns ? Gonna be happy fishes though. Are you growing them out ?

School of flag tails would be mean...

Yeah they would be, I'd be happy with just one even!

Clown Loaches Schmown Loaches... I don't think it will solve your real issue of tank location.. but of course will give you that initial excitement of starting a new project.

Since the S.A theme is corrupted you could try a school of elephantnoses and pantadon butterflyfish? Don't see that combo much

10 hours ago, hovmoller said:

Clown Loaches Schmown Loaches... I don't think it will solve your real issue of tank location.. but of course will give you that initial excitement of starting a new project.

Of course it won't solve the root cause of my disinterest in the tank, but hopefully the increased activity will encourage me to spend more time down there. Tank in the lounge is still the long term goal, with the emphasis on "long"...

9 hours ago, Fruju said:

Since the S.A theme is corrupted you could try a school of elephantnoses and pantadon butterflyfish? Don't see that combo much

I love the pantadon, but I think it could be a hassle to try feed it in a tank this size. I've never been a big fan of elephant nose eh, not sure why, they're neat fish but they've just never tickled my fancy.

 

I still have a good size school of Lemon Tetras, maybe 40-50, and they're big [by lemon tetra standard] and have coloured up really well. But I'm thinking of options for other mid-sized schooling fish now that the Amazon theme has gone out the window. I believe Red Line Torpedo barbs are no longer an option thanks to CITES, maybe Scissortails, or Madagascar Rainbows, or??

Giant Danios?