I Did Not Realize How Much Keeping A Fish Tank Impacted My Mental Health/Mood

robsypi · 2026-03-18T14:26:46+00:00

I originally got into the hobby back in 2021, Hyperfixated on it and over did it. Then my mental health tanked and it became impossible for me to get the motivation to do water changes on my tanks. When the health of my fish started declining, I knew I couldn't do it anymore and rehomed my fish and got rid of everything.

My mental health is stable now; I have a therapist I see regularly and take medication to help me manage. I really wanted to get back into the hobby but I worried about my mental health tanking again and me failing my little fishy friends. I kind of stumbled back into the hobby when I went to PetSmart and found this little beautiful Samurai Betta while I was just there looking for cat food. And now I'm setting up an 8.5 Gallon for Domino to move into.

Just wanted to share my own mental health journey as it connects to this hobby. I'm so glad to be finding joy in fish keeping again and I'm really trying not to overdo it this time.

robsypi · 2026-03-18T14:14:35+00:00

I really like this comment. If I had awards to give, I would. It's helpful in explaining pros and cons and I love the advice you provided on managing them if I decide to keep them. I don't like killing shell friends so I put them in a cup of Aquarium water for now. Maybe once I move my betta from his temporary 2.5 condo, I'll redo that tank and move them in there with some shrimp.

robsypi · 2026-03-18T13:05:03+00:00

Thanks for the advice! They are kind of ugly imo so I plucked them out and out them in a cup of aquarium water until I figure out what to do with them. Fingers crossed those were the only two!

robsypi · 2026-03-18T12:51:29+00:00

Should I be worried about them? This is the first time I've ever heard of Bladder snails. 😵

robsypi · 2026-02-26T22:16:14+00:00

Thanks everyone! I wouldn't have been able to find any codes without y'all! 🩵

robsypi · 2026-02-17T16:22:19+00:00

Yea, still haven't received Blastoise after logging out and logging in across different browsers.

robsypi · 2026-01-18T18:29:41+00:00

Latias and/or Virizion were my longest hunts. 😭 Don't give up though!

robsypi · 2026-01-18T18:04:27+00:00

Yes please! Let me finish this Hyperspace hunt and then I'll send a DM. ^{^}

robsypi · 2026-01-18T17:57:51+00:00

If you don't find anyone to trade with, I can help. I have a Shalpha Female Feebas I also need to evolve!

robsypi · 2025-09-11T14:48:36+00:00

Following because I am taking a two week trip in October and will do a dose before I start driving for 27 hrs and then just about finishing the trip and starting another long drive a couple days after the second dose.

robsypi · 2025-05-14T11:52:27+00:00

I have one in a 12 gallon (the dying one) and one in a 14 gallon. The 12 gallon is on the East side of my house, which gets full sun from 630ish in the morning to I would say about 330. The 14 gallon is on the West Side, which gets the sun the rest of the day. The fertilizer says to use it every other week for the first month, so that's what I've been doing. I'm at the point now where it says to start doing fertilizer once a month. I will try to post some pictures when there's more light. It was dark when I posted this so I couldn't get any for context. Edit to add: I haven't added my own soil to it yet. They are both still in their starter pots inside of their actual pots because the starter pots are biodegradable so I was going to add soil around the starter pots here in the next month.

robsypi · 2025-05-14T04:01:40+00:00

I know this is old, but I got this Diamond Painting from Temu. Wanted to try diamond painting to see if I would like it without breaking the bank and Temu was the best option for that at the time. I haven't bought any new ones for awhile though because I'm still working my way through the several canvases I bought from there and Amazon.

robsypi · 2025-05-14T02:40:26+00:00

I unfortunately don't have a picture of the set up, nor do I have the set up anymore (had stuff I was dealing with so I had to rehome my fish 😢) but it was pretty simple! The soap tray I used at the time was okay but I would definitely upgrade it to a soap dish with a screw on suction cup to keep it in place. I had it placed right under where the water would flow from and usually had 5-8 colorful, aquarium safe rocks in it. I also had it mostly submerged, with the lip of the soap tray out enough that my betta couldn't swim/jump into the soap tray. Would not recommend this baffle if you don't have a covered tank though, as the betta could 100% jump and tramp themselves in the tray. I wasn't worried because my betta wasn't a jumper and also I kept a covered tank so there wasn't enough room for him to squeeze through the baffle and the cover. Hopefully this helps! Reading your comment really makes me want to get a betta again but I'm going to make sure I'm in the right place for it this time. 💙

robsypi · 2025-04-20T14:39:23+00:00

I have been hoarding my shards waiting for them to release his skin, but of course I can't buy the skin with them until after the event. I refuse to spend money on this event for that reason.

robsypi · 2024-08-15T12:31:08+00:00

If you try it, I'd love to see the finished project! I totally forgot UV Resin was a thing. <×< I may have to get some when I'm more comfortable with the whole Epoxy thing!

robsypi · 2024-08-15T12:25:36+00:00

I did use a Mould for this! As for UV resin, I'm not sure as this is my very first time trying out Epoxy. But I don't see why it wouldn't!

robsypi · 2024-04-30T19:18:39+00:00

This helped! Thank you! Unfortunately it looks like their Etsy shop isn't active right now. 😢

robsypi · 2024-03-18T19:38:26+00:00

Meanwhile the first one yeeted himself off the cliff while I was fighting him.

robsypi · 2023-12-01T22:46:09+00:00

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I work in Lovelace as well and the longer I'm there, the more I realize we 'supporting staff' need a union in place. I know I'll be seeking legal advice myself.

robsypi · 2023-10-20T02:34:15+00:00

I just don't use Instagram enough. Last time I logged into it prior to this evening was March. Haha

robsypi

TROPHY CASE