How To Waste Time!

I have spent hours watching fish over the years, probably adding up to several days by now 

I spend a lot of time watching my gang.
I try to justify it to myself by thinking that I'm watching them for signs of problems, disease, and changes in behaviour. In reality it's because they are fascinating and I enjoy watching them.
Visitors have also commented that it is difficult to watch tv or have a conversation without being distracted by aquatic antics. 
 

You do have the equivalent of Sky+ in terms of variety and number of tanks Donna!

I try to justify it to myself by thinking that I'm watching them for signs of problems, disease, and changes in behaviour. In reality it's because they are fascinating and I enjoy watching them.
Visitors have also commented that it is difficult to watch tv or have a conversation without being distracted by aquatic antics.

Yes, me too! I find it fascinating and actually some of the antics can be uncannily similar to behaviour between humans in various situations - playground, office, politics, etc. I keep convincing myself it's all for research purposes and that I might write a doctoral dissertation on aquatic behaviour, which helps "justify" time being spent doing so. However, it does at least help know what is/isn't normal behaviour.
As for visitors, usually I have to encourage/force them to look at the tank and the antics as most of the visitors have little natural interest, unfortunately. If I can keep them focused for long enough, they then do begin to appreciate how fascinating it is.

@fcmf the only reason I don't have to encourage/force anyone to look at tanks is because there is nowhere to sit in the living/dining room where there isn't at least one tank in their eye line. 

@Matt shame you don't live in this neck of the woods. You'd feel perfectly at home during an aquascaping demo at Aquarium Gardens, surrounded by >20 other like-minded people. On a normal shop day the owners & staff will also happily discuss any aspect of aquascaping for hours on end. 

Don't rule out setting up your own place - imagine the hours of tank faffing you could do.....and it would be your job to talk about tanks/plants/fish/shrimp pretty much non-stop. 

It might be worth going to the local fishkeeping group, you never know the age range until you have a look. I bumped into a couple at a LFS, they are part of a cichlid group, and they are in their mid-twenties.

I've just e-mailed them to see if they have or plan to do anything on aquascaping...

@Matt have you considered offering to do an aquascaping demo for them? No harm in asking. 
When I went to see Filipe Oliveira at Aquarium Gardens he said that people either keep fish or aquascape. I admit that the requirements for one or the other are quite different, but I'd like to think that I want to keep fish in attractive, planted tanks. My priorities completely are with the fish (or amphibians), but I'd also like to think that getting the basics of aquascaping could help me to create more natural-looking environments for my gang.

@Helen, I think it's great that your daughter has been telling her friends about the tank. Perhaps you have a future fish keeper in the making there. 
Also, I don't think it's weird to make videos of your fish. I have pics and videos on my phone that I look at when I'm away and missing my gang. 

@Matt have you considered offering to do an aquascaping demo for them? No harm in asking. 

I had the same thought! I will do this if I get a response to my first e-mail. It would be scary but quite fun I think if I were to do something like that... something to put on my aquascaping CV anyways!