What is Great Success?

[Paul B]

I have been reading through a lot of threads on here and elsewhere and I hear all the time, "I use this or that with great success" or "I fed my moorish Idol bagels and cream cheese with great success". Or
I never show my wife what I spend on my tank and have great success.

What exactly is great success?

Is great success when you buy a clownfish on Friday and it lives long enough to get it out of the bag without jumping on the floor and it is now next Tuesday but it ate a flake on Monday Is that great
Success"? Or did you buy a Moorish Idol because you saw it eating Hamburger Helper in the store and the store owner assured you the fish has been eating this for 6 months so you got it home and although it is covered in spots and is nauseous so you put Prizapro on it and it is still alive after 3 days.

I don't know but "Success and Great Success" should mean different things. To me, "success" is if you buy a fish and a year or two later it is alive and healthy. That means the fish is eating and thriving, disease free and seems healthy. But "Great Success" is only when you buy a fish, it eats right away and eventually, if it is a pair, it spawns and keeps spawning for it's entire presumed lifespan which in fish can be anywhere from 4 years to 40 years. If you have a clownfish and it is 10 years old, you are successful at keeping that fish. But is that same fish lives
30 or 40 years, that is great success because clownfish live into their 40s.

If a person lives 30 or 40 or even 50 years was he successful? I don't think so because a humans presumed lifespan is somewhere around 80 so anything else is a failure.
If we say we have great success at something, some people may get the wrong impression. As fa as I know, no one with a home tank has ever kept a moorish Idol for it's presumed lifespan which is "probably" 15 or so years. I kept one for five years which is a dismal failure.
I think we really need to pick our words more carefully.

Like if I say I am a real hunk of a Man and a great catch. I may be lying.

 

[DangerDave]

Any claimed success, great success, monumental success, etc, would be based on what your goal is, and how you measured that success. But right on, I agree with everything you said. Well I maybe not your hunkyness, but we haven't met so I'm no expert...

Dave

 

[Paul B]

When I was stationed in Colorado I thought I was the hottest thing around. (I even had hair) I had this motorcycle and I was cruising out someplace on a deserted stretch of road in the plains and I spot these two beautiful girls in a convertible. (you didn't need helmets in those days)
The girls stopped and I pulled up next to them to put my moves on them. I stopped and put my foot down. My bellbottom pants leg got stuck in the pedal and I fell over in the street looking very stupid. I stayed there until the girls were very far away and I couldn't hear them laughing any more.
That was not an example of a Great Success.

 

[njtiger24 aquariums]

I see your point and yes many people (myself included) use the wrong word to imply stuff. I do have to point something out in your post. You said if a person doesn't live to be around 80 they are un-successful or in your words (failure). I disagree with that. You could have someone who lives to the age of 50 who raised a great family, had a job, paid his bills, did his duties, and died of a heat attack. You then can have someone lives to the age of 80, live off the government, have no family, hide from his duties, etc.. and die of a heat attack. Who is more successful then? Do you consider just living to the age of 80 successful? Or is there more factors we need to take in account?

Just like anything, job, life, pets, this hobby, love life, etc... there more then one factor to determine how successful something is. We shouldn't consider something to be successful or even great successful until we look at all factors in play and not just small select of factors.

 

[Paul B]

Njtiger, I agree with what you said and my human lifetime was a bad example. All of our fish are on the take and none of them can be successes or make a living on their own, so I was just referring to longevity as a fishes perspective.
If a fish can live to 40 and it dies at 10, that isn't a Great Success although it can be a plain success.

 

[jkapit]

Very good question. To me great success in reefing means the following:

1)Fish are happy(stress free), healthy and live a long life, many years depending on the species
2)Good coral growth for a mixed Reef over time.
3)Relatively Algae free environment, not perfect or pristine but not overrun by algae.

If I can achieve the above I feel I have had great success in the hobby.

 

[Jeremy Brito]

I like the line about not telling,your wife what you really spent on the tank with great sucsess lol I would love to know what the path to sucsess was in,that example cause in that case I have had no success