Easiest or Most Difficult Pet To Keep, Is Reef Keeping the choice for you?

[flyfisher2]

I have a Kelpie/Australian Shepherd mix and she loves to sit on my cats. The cats, for the most part, just deal with it, and I always stop her, but from what I’ve read it’s partially a dominance thing but also just part of herding dog behavior.

As for cats or dogs ruining furniture/carpets, yeah that can happen, but if you’re in the hobby long enough you’ll ruin some flooring, walls, and furniture too, even with fail safes it’s really just a matter of time before you flood your house. Hopefully it’ll be just a few gallons and not hundreds, but it’ll happen, whether forgetting to shut an RODI unit, tank breaking, bucket getting knocked over/handle breaking, siphon tube falling out the bucket, etc., it’s just a matter off time.

But, I view reefkeeping as more of a hobby than owning a pet. Yes, my fish and corals are kind of pets, a lot of them have names (more my GF’s doing than mine), but as a whole it’s a hobby. My dog and cats are not a hobby, they are part of the fami

I think it can be as expensive as you want it to be.
It can be as much work as you want to put into it. Work pays off. Or so they say.
Lol.
I've had 300g blow seam well I was at work.
I've traveled 100s of miles south and east to buy livestock.
I've made friends and even met ppl I wasn't fond of and turned out I was right.
... I think I can tolerate my fish tank currently more so than I can my mastiff. She's kinda being a pain. Lol.
Or my 8yr old. Or my house... lol. The list goes on.
D

I have a Daneiff, And these dogs on top of being giants are very needy. He's constantly underfoot and like you say, a pain. He's a great dog but 180 lbs acting like a Shih Tzu is no fun.

 

[Reefbuds]

I think reefing is as difficult and complicated as you make it... I really think part of the problem is people adding things to their tank because someone experienced said it helps, without understanding why it helps. I have through experience learned how reefs work and what tools there are to do things and why we would want these things. But newbies don't know why they are buying bio balls or chemi pure. They do it because that's what you're "supposed to" do.

And because they don't understand the system or approach the hobby from the perspective of trying to learn and experiment on their own they cannot possibly troubleshoot their highly specific problems (as every system is unique) even with the help of experts. So they get frustrated and quit because their tanks don't look like what they're supposed to.

Love this

 

[Cincyreefer513]

Fish don't pee/poop all over your house and yard. They don't ruin your furniture or get hair all over everything. They don't require walking or taking to the park. They're silent, stay in one place, and you can leave them be for a weekend away or even a vacation. To me, owning fish is about as easy of a pet as you can get. The learning phase may take some time and effort, but once you have a handle on things, it's not bad at all.

As for expense, it's a hobby. Things can be done on a budget or full blown expensive. You don't have to spend your life savings to enjoy this hobby or any hobby, but it sure might make it more fun lol
For some reason the majority of my hobbies are really expensive (skydiving, ultra marathons, high power rocketry to name a few), but I've learned to stay within a budget for each one. The latest and greatest equipment isn't always necessary. So while the initial upfront costs of a reef tank are pretty high, it's not terribly difficult to be reasonable in the long run. Just stay away from the majority of hyped up equipment and coral sales...

 

[Majolica15]

I have a malinois, a working GSD, a crazy border collie (even more than a normal border collie), an Australian cattle dog, and a GSD/rott rescue with serious aggression issues, soooooooooo….

 

[Martyd]

After having read through other members posts on how unexpectedly difficult the reefing hobby has become for them to the point of them leaving reefing altogether, I thought I'd start this discussion.
The beauty and tranquility of enjoying an aquarium is hard to put into words. Just the idea of having creatures you would never see any other way short of visiting an aquarium or entering the ocean, in the comfort of your own home is amazing. What happens behind the scenes to make this work for us is another story.

For some, keeping fish is the simplest of hobbies with less maintenance than any other pet. I have kept many animals as pets at some point in my life,Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles.
In my experience I feel reefing requires more attention and upkeep than most if not all other pets. We're talking about the reef aquarium with the lighting issues, water parameters, finicky fish, territorial fish, encroaching corals, pests, diseases, the list goes on.
I've been an aquarium keeper for well over 40 years. I find it relaxing, challenging, frustrating at times, expensive and sometimes even rewarding. It occupies lots of time, be it in research or actual hands on and I love it.


I would love to hear others and their opinions.

 

[flyfisher2]

Interesting views and so much of it just boils down to common sense. Makes me think that new comers should have a mentor or 'Big Brother' who's isn't a retailer. LOL
I see the excitement and I'm sure we all fall victim to it when we start a new hobby and that's when you bring home a Great Dane puppy to a studio apartment.

Several months ago I was chatting with a reef shop owner and one of the things that really hit me was that great deal of the customers for whom he services tanks at home or business just don't care about the 'Hobby' as such. They just want the pretty tank.
That's great for him and his business but not that great for the hobby as such. Not much can be done about those cases but the true hobbyist do need guidance.

 

[bnord]

I have a malinois, a working GSD, a crazy border collie (even more than a normal border collie), an Australian cattle dog, and a GSD/rott rescue with serious aggression issues, soooooooooo….

I think you win this session...

 

[jws0318]

African cichlid tank by far the easiest pets I have ever had, reef tank is by far the hardest

 

[flyfisher2]

African cichlid tank by far the easiest pets I have ever had, reef tank is by far the hardest

And they breed like crazy!

 

[pulpfiction]

I think it has one of the steepest learning curves. The sheer amount of information and products being thrown around is overwhelming. Almost feels like a hobby for toys and not animals with all the products being shoved in my face everywhere I turn to 'solve problems' or 'make my life easier'. of what I own easiest to hardest, snake>dogs>fish. Even above two huskies.

 

[cancun]

Great topic! I love my aquarium....however it has been way more challenging than my dog. I have kept German Shepherds my whole life, and they are hardly any trouble, and a whole lot less maintenance than my aquarium imo.

I don't chase numbers, or have much automation except a ato....I manually dose....I have learned a lot over the years, mainly to just chill and enjoy it. However I do a 10% water change once a week and keep up with other maintenance.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Reefing is cheaper than taking the dog to the vet. Fish don't throw up on the floor at 2am in the morning, bark incessantly at anything that moves or wake you up by climbing up and sitting on you.

I have had a dog that threw up in my bed during the night. You don't have to take your fish outside in bad weather to do their business.

 

[rhostam]

I don’t view my the inhabitants or the canines in my household as pets.

But for the sake of conversation my aquarium is the “easiest” pet, for me.

The canine creatures in my household are sweet and very well behaved at home. But while out my lil old lady schnauzer goes nuts. It’s not fun me it’s stressful. My corgi was blind as a puppy. He is easily startled. If he is startled at home, he urinates where ever he is standing. It doesn’t happen often, but it is also quite frustrating. Then there is the dog sitting. The poop scooping. There is the shedding and the random bark at night when something startles them and they are sleeping in the room. LOL.

My family kept a barn of different creatures when I was a kid. I could go on and on.

Fish and coral… they are just peaceful. The only frustrating thing about the aquarium is concern for the creatures if I frack something up and am not prepared [to handle it]. It’s not the potential loss of money from a crash, but the loss of life that’s concerning.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I like the constant learning aspect of the hobby. I think I have a pretty good understanding of dogs and cats so they are not as interesting to me.

See, I'm lucky. My cat has a rare platelet disorder and my dog has seizures, so it's always interesting, lol

 

[Sean Clark]

See, I'm lucky. My cat has a rare platelet disorder and my dog has seizures, so it's always interesting, lol

Laughing with you... Like I said, my dogs and cats are not nearly as interesting.

 

[Sean Clark]

See, I'm lucky. My cat has a rare platelet disorder and my dog has seizures, so it's always interesting, lol

I can especially relate to the platelet disorder. That very issue played a huge factor with my wife's pregnancies.

 

[bnord]

we have a "gentlemen's farm" and so let me see if I can keep this accurate
3 horses
12 goats (1 billie)
2 donkeys
1 burro
3 pigs
75 hens (4-5 roosters)
bunch of quail
1 goose, (who has a special relationship with one of the pigs)
and 5 dogs (a Pyrenees, Black mouthed Cur a Canaan Dog, a Shepard, and a Guatemalan street dog
a captive bred mature beaded lizard
and a despised cat.
with all the above, I spend 60% of my animal time time in the fish room

never once had anything from the fish room throw me from a a saddle, run through my legs and tear my acl while carrying feed buckets or knock me to my butt with a head but
and if you think the price of MP 40 s has become ridiculous you should see what inflation has done to 350 pounds of layer pellets and horse feed

 

[python1369]

I have kept reptiles like pythons and geckos, a ferret, guinea pigs, birds, cats, dogs and freshwater aquarium at one time or another. Reef and FOWLR are probably the most expensive and require the most attention in the beginning and as long as it's done right it's worth the effort for me. Of all the animals I have kept and sold or gave away because of moving saltwater is the one I always return to. I find undersea life to be the most fascinating and beautiful. I would prefer to live near a natural reef but since that's not an option right now I keep a reef with me.

 

[ReefZombie]

After having read through other members posts on how unexpectedly difficult the reefing hobby has become for them to the point of them leaving reefing altogether, I thought I'd start this discussion.
The beauty and tranquility of enjoying an aquarium is hard to put into words. Just the idea of having creatures you would never see any other way short of visiting an aquarium or entering the ocean, in the comfort of your own home is amazing. What happens behind the scenes to make this work for us is another story.

For some, keeping fish is the simplest of hobbies with less maintenance than any other pet. I have kept many animals as pets at some point in my life,Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles.
In my experience I feel reefing requires more attention and upkeep than most if not all other pets. We're talking about the reef aquarium with the lighting issues, water parameters, finicky fish, territorial fish, encroaching corals, pests, diseases, the list goes on.
I've been an aquarium keeper for well over 40 years. I find it relaxing, challenging, frustrating at times, expensive and sometimes even rewarding. It occupies lots of time, be it in research or actual hands on and I love it.


I would love to hear others and their opinions.

I’ve been an aquarist for over 40 years and a reefer for about 25. The hobby has kept me anchored, sane and reflective but poorer for sure.
But that doesn’t bother me. Much.
On balance, while I’ve taken occasional breaks as many of us do, usually driven by life’s changes, it’s a long term relationship that will endure.

 

[Tonycass12]

My tank vs my 4 dogs... I think I'm at a level playing field when it comes to difficulty & cost.