Stupid question.

[g-force]

How long do you think you can keep a fish alive before being considered successful?

 

[beachblue]

I'd say "sucessful" varies, depending on the level of fishkeeping. A sucessful beginner may keep one level of tank setup and types of fish, but most of us are constantly learning and striving to "take it to the next level" in terms of setups and species/stock kept.
Also, merely keeping a fish alive for a period of time does not necessarily equate sucess.... I've seen tanks (both fresh and salt) with thin, poorly colored, and stunted specimens that "live" for quite a long time in that condition.

 

[slice]

I had a 20g High SW some 20+ years ago. Conventional Wisdom was a lot different then, most of my "knowledge" came from pocket books and the LFS. I wanted a Mandarin very badly, tried 3 times, each time it lived 4-6 months. I thought I was "successful" each time, because, well, they lived for months...right?? I couldn't figure out why they died though...
Now I learn that I slowly starved them to death....I still regret that....

 

[flower]

I figure if a critter has lived for 1 year I have successfully kept that critter, be it fish or coral. It is a thrill however to go look at old pictures and be able to say …hey…that was 5 years ago and I still have that in my tank. Such was the case with my sea fan.

 

[ibanez]

And you losing your sea fan wasn't any failure on your part IMO. Still successful.

 

[g-force]

Thanks for sharing folks. Interesting to know.