a little overwhelmed... little venting

[kuklachica]

This is just a little venting. I have 9 fish in 4 tanks (3 gallon, 6.6 divided 2 ways, 15 gallon 4 ways, 10 gallon 3 ways). today for some reason, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Everyone is pretty healthy - a little fin rot here and there that I'm working on, and the inevitable tail biting (which they grow back then bite again). The tank cleaning doesn't stress me out because they are all cycled. What stressed me out sometimes is thinking that something might go wrong. What if the fin rot gets worse? Why isn't it getting better? Why is this fish's fins a bit ripped? What if one gets sick? Jumps the divider? What if I didn't quarantine long enough (which, this time, I did jump the gun due to not enough heaters...)? And I had to change a few tank waters and juggle fish tonight... and on nights like this I feel like they take up all my time (even though they don't). Some days I even think I should downsize, but later in the night I'm fine...

Do you ever feel like this? Or it is just me? So many of the fish look so perfect on here that I freak out when one of my guys get a little rip, for example. Am I just really paranoid/stressed?

argh. sorry for the rant. it's probably just me stressing out easily (which is typical).

[SaylorKennedy]

I know how you feel. Sometimes I think it'd been better had I just gotten a 5 gallon tank and 1 betta and devoted all my time to him. Eventually things played out where I now only have 2 fish and I don't have those feelings anymore. It's a lot easier and less stressful. So I just learned my max number.

[Jayy]

i'm sorry that you feel that way hope you cheer up!

[kuklachica]

thanks guys...

yeah sometimes i wonder if i should have just gotten a 3 or 5 gallon and left it at that... unfortunately my personality is to go go go until i burn out and i think i have reached my max number (or at least when i fill the last slot). i don't want to have to give any away but i just don't need to replace them if they pass away I guess.

[dramaqueen]

I've been feeling overwhelmed a lot lately. I lost 2 and only replaced one.

[Sella]

I completely get your feelings of being overwhelmed. When I got my first betta I was so stressed about many things. Is the lighting ok for the plants, is my heater going to get to high and make soup in my aquarium, is the heater going to start a fire and burn my house down, what are my water levels, and what kind of kit should I use to measure them? In the midst of all these questions I went ahead and got a second betta in another five gallon, and completely freaked out because how am I going to keep up with the water changes?

Anyway I've calmed down now, and I think these are natural feelings. And Its good to have them! I'm sure when you look at your fish you can see how beautiful they are and how much they're worth all the time/energy/stress.

[1fish2fish]

I've been feeling overwhelmed for a couple weeks now. Having 15 fish is just way too much. Its why I'm trying to get the rescues adopted asap. I usually get overwhelmed around mid-terms and finals when I have a lot of school work to do in addition to keeping the tanks up and doing other stuff.

Sometimes you just need to step back, take a breather and try to remember why you have fish in the first place.

[vaygirl]

I think we all go through it. Tango's tail is usually in a state of flux. I only post his 'perty' pictures. Right now he's healing back up but last week his tail looked like it had gone through a meat grinder due to excessive flaring. He's been chasing the corys like crazy, not biting but chasing. They don't seem the least bit fazed by him but it's bugging me to watch it sometimes. I wonder if I should move him to his own place. Now Whiskey's doing the all night flare dance (3 hours every night!?!?!) and his dorsal is all mangled. Kilo is the only one without damage right now because he doesn't flare at all, ever.

Now I'm ranting. :P I think it's normal, if you have more then a couple, to go around the bend sometimes. It means you care and you worry about them. I'd be more worried if you weren't worrying. Lol!

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

Oh yeah, I got very overwhelmed when I had 20 bettas. Cleaning all those tanks myself (14) wasn't helping my back at all (I have back problems). I have 6 now and that's a number I can deal with without getting stressed out.

[Romad]

I have plenty of days like that. Especially now when I'm trying to pack up for a move to a new house under construction. Trying to coordinate everything between here and the new place, working 40-50 hours a week and squeezing in water changes for 8 tanks on the weekends has me on my last nerve.

And I feel guilty that they're not getting face time. I need medication!! NOW!

So you are def. not alone.