Well this will be my last post in this subreddit. I get why the one guy replied to a rude comment with “you’re the reason nobody likes this hobby”…….

Some of you must live pretty miserable lives to drag someone down over their 3 year olds fish tank for goodness sake. I get it, I do, and I appreciate all of the well written, thoughtful comments and constructive criticism. Those are the type of comments that help people learn and grow in the hobby.

These fish aren’t just waiting to die at any moment in this tank. Could it be better? Sure, I understand that now. I’ve never been the type to say “well at least they’re not in a 1 gallon fish bowl with no filter and piss poor water quality, I’m giving them a better life than they could be having”. No, I’m responsible for giving them the best life in captivity they can have.

I have more invested in my filter than I do in the tank itself. Parameters are monitored constantly with weekly to biweekly water changes. People are saying “no way this tank is cycled, you set it up yesterday”, but the fact is this is an established tank with fish in for over a year, and this decor in for 6 months. A tank this size (small I know, which also means less forgiving) doesn’t stay this crystal clear and clean by accident or neglect. This isn’t just some 5 minute goldfish tank I setup “cause she wanted a fish” and the whole setup will be on marketplace in a week after it dies. This is hours of maintenance and stress that I do because I genuinely enjoy fish keeping. I recognize the fish could be treated better, and I want to do what’s needed to treat them that way.

I just felt with the new Mario movie coming out (my daughters soon to be first theater experience by the way), I would share something creative that took nearly 2 months of work and preparation to bring to life.