Altum Nut
03-02-2016, 01:50 AM
It gives me great pleasure in introducing a true gentlemen, loyal family man and avid discus hobbyist to say the least. We now go behind the scenes as Don opens up with us all his family life and life’s pleasures many of us will not experience in a life time.
Credit for putting this spotlight together goes out our friend and Simply member discuspaul and Admin staff.
Q - Please tell us all a little about yourself, what makes You tick? Single, married, attached? What do you do, or did you do, for a living? Other hobbies? Any significant non-discus achievements you want to brag about?
A – First, let me say that I’m really honored to be highlighted in the member spotlight. I certainly don’t consider myself an expert on discus, I’m still very much a learner!
I’ve been married for 37 years, 3 kids and 2 grandsons.
I’m recently retired, last October, so I’m experiencing a new stage in my life, and it’s great so far! What did I do for a living? Man, I’ve really had a wide range of experiences that most people never have. I worked as a sheet metal worker in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, CA) up through the end of 1990, got my Masters’ Degree at San Jose State in Education taking night classes while working with the tools during the day. Then I went to work for the AFL-CIO’s international program designing and directing labor education programs in Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Slovakia. These were fantastic assignments; I took my wife and kids to live for years in these countries. We lived and worked in Bolivia for one year, Nicaragua for four years, and Slovakia (what a fantastic assignment that was) for three years. This was just after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall and after Slovakia split from the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia), a result of the velvet revolution, and I worked with trade unionists who didn’t have a clue about representing workers and bargaining contracts in a competitive free market economy. It was a lot of fun! That was my last overseas assignment; we left there the summer of 1999.
From then until last October I worked in construction safety and health for a non profit in Silver Spring, MD designing and directing safety training programs for construction workers involved in hazardous waste, confined space entry, asbestos and lead abatement, that sort of stuff. But now I’m retired, and I REALLY ENJOY NOT DRIVING THE CAPITAL BELTWAY EVERY MORNING! YESSS.
I think the most significant non-discus experience I’ve had was overseeing safety training at the cleanup of the World Trade Center collapse in New York. There were no fatalities in the cleanup, I’m very happy to say, but there were some close calls, including one when a backhoe on the pile fell into a cavity. Here’s a picture I took when I was there.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/23995496239_3a39263fe9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cypc3p)[/url] (https://flic.kr/p/Cypc3p)
Here’s a picture of the “classroom” where we did the training:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1637/23736529813_3c24c275f9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavVm2) (https://flic.kr/p/CavVm2)
Q - How did you get into discus? Where was the first discus you saw? How long had you been into fish first?
A – My wife and I had a fish tank when I was working construction in California, but when we were working abroad we didn’t, too much trouble. When we came back to the states in 1999 we got a simple community tank again and enjoyed it very much. Going down to the local fish store frequently to see what was on offer, we saw some discus, and so here began my journey into these lovely fish.
I’ve heard some people on the forum comment that they thought no one should ever buy discus from a local fish store, and I surely understand why they think that. But if it hadn’t been for my LFS having discus and me buying some, I never would have even learned about these fish.
Q - What strains are you the most happy with? Which do you think need some work? Are you working on anything new and exciting now? What strain/s do you like best, personally?
A – Well, the strains I like best are the healthy ones, LOL! I’m partial to all discus, but for just basically beautiful, robust, healthy fish I always think Stendker fish are the best. I love the Asian fish, and even took the trouble of writing to Stendker in Germany asking if they had plans to breed some yellow or albino strains. Here’s their answer:
Dear Don,
many thanks for your kind email and your inquiry!
The colour strains you are asking for are typical for Asian discus. We
do not intend to breed white or yellow discus in the future. We would
have to breed with discus fish from Asia and this is a much too high
risk for all discus fish in our hatchery!
Please keep in mind that you should not mix discus fish from different
breeders. We understood that you already have some Stendker discus fish,
so if you are keen on these new strains from Kenny we recommend you to
work with a complete new tank and separate filters, nets, .... so that
all fish stay healthy!
Kind regards,
Sandra & Bastian
--
Diskuszucht Stendker GmbH & CoKG
Am Holzbach 18
48231 Warendorf
Tel. 02581 60627
Fax 02581 633205
www.diskuszucht-stendker.de
Q - What do you feed your discus?
A – I tried home-made beef heart recipes, and those are great, but being such a lazy person I’ve gotten in the habit of feeding Al’s freeze dried black worms (so much cleaner than beef heart) and beef heart flakes with pro-growth. It’s definitely more expensive to feed the worms, but I like to remind my wife that I could have a boat instead of fish, and then we really would be pouring money into a hole in the water! I’ve had great success with these foods.
Q - What is your most exhilarating moment with discus?
A – Successfully breeding and raising discus has been the most fun for me, really a blast. I’ve been into discus for about 15 years, now, and I still feel like I don’t know anything. But I do know that if you give your discus lots of good, clean water, and if they’re healthy, they’ll reproduce like crazy.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1539/24363335915_819317f10b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D7UsXM) (https://flic.kr/p/D7UsXM)
Raising and selling young discus has been the most fun for me. Of course I live in a huge metropolitan area, so there are lots of people around here who are interested in buying discus. I’ve met so many interesting and different people in the hobby, it boggles the mind.
Q - What is your most frustrating moment with discus?
A – Disease. I started off with LFS discus, and it seems like I keep re-introducing disease into my system on a regular basis. The most difficult aspect of dealing with sick discus is truly knowing exactly what the problem is with your fish. When I found Dr. Stephen Smith at Virginia Tech, I found a real resource to help me deal with fish disease. He is Professor of Aquatic Medicine/Fish Health at the Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathology at VT, and he’s evaluated my fish more than once. It’s a long 4-hour drive to get there from Northern Virginia, but it’s worth it to have someone definitively tell you what’s going on with your fish.
Q - How do those in your life feel about discus?
A – That’s a great question. Fortunately my wife enjoys my hobby, and she likes to say that she always knows where I am, LOL. We started with the fish thing together, and so she’s sort of an accomplice, guilty by association. You could also say, she’s an “enabler.” LOL.
What’s more interesting is the reaction of my two grown children. They like to joke with me about my obsession, but in fact they both are delighted that I have this hobby. I know this because I’ve seen them brag about it to their friends on social media, and etc. They think it’s cool that dad’s got this weird hobby that none of their friends have ever heard about. My daughter brings her friends around to admire the fish.
Q - Do you have any funny, amusing or interesting discus stories to share with us?
A – Well, selling fry around here in the Washington DC metro area, there are so many interesting people from other countries, and etc. One guy who has become a friend is a real discus fanatic and has bought a lot of 2-inch fish from me. Tang is his name, and he owns a Sushi restaurant in Burke, VA, called Fortune House. Now whenever we go over there, he won’t let me leave a tip, even though his son is waiting the tables. I once left a tip secretly on the table but we couldn’t get out of there fast enough because he came running out of the restaurant waving the money, LOL. Too bad for his son! Ha!
Q - What do you see as the future of discus keeping? More/less people? Any cool ideas for strains?
A – I think the demise of so many local fish stores is really sad, and may have repercussions on fish keeping in general. Sure, the PetsMarts and PetCos have fish, but it’s not the same as the dedicated fish shops where you could find knowledgeable people. So, perhaps less people in the hobby generally is my guess.
But I’ve been encouraged to participate with local fish clubs and I’ve been putting my discus fry up for auction. There are two big clubs here, the Potomac Valley Aquarium Society (PVAS) which meets about a mile from where I live, and the Capital Cichlid Association (CCA), that meets about 25 miles from me. I’ve joined both groups, and hope to promote discus there.
Q - Do you have any thanks or credit to give for your success with discus? Any mentors or colleagues who you think deserve some applause? Any one member of the forum that has helped you the most?
A – Ed Most, who just recently has taken a hiatus from the hobby, has helped me tremendously. I went over to his home and got the tour of his fish room, and learned so much in just a couple hours, if even that long. It was eye-opening. And not only that, Ed is unbelievably generous with his time and with his fish and supplies. When I needed something I didn’t have, I’d give him a call and it was, “come and get some.” Plus, he gave me a 200 gallon water storage barrel! Dang!
Of course Al Sabetta, who I got to know during a visit to his home one day when I was up in the area visiting my grandson and family, and also another time when visiting Jim G’s (jimg) house up in Westchester County, NY, where the NY folks were having a fish meeting. Jim has giving me some great advise, along with Al.
And last but most definitely not least, my friend Hans up there in Baltimore. It’s a real pleasure to be so close geographically to Hans’ place. He’s a great friend, and has given me lots of great advice, as no doubt he has with many members of this forum.
Q - If you were to give an aspiring discus keeper one piece of advice, what would it be?
A – Find some way to make it easier on yourself to change water. That is the one, single, most important aspect of keeping discus. Don’t be carrying around 5-gallon water buckets, that’s going to end your hobby sooner rather than later. Instead if you’re not handy with plumbing, then use hoses and pumps. Collect water, store it overnight and heat it, and use it the next day, pumping it to your aquarium(s). So easy, no back pain!
Q - How has Simply Discus helped influence you in the hobby?
A – Simply Discus is the only reason I am in this hobby. If it weren’t for this forum, I would not have learned ANYTHING. Sure, I bought books, but they said I needed to keep my pH at 6 or lower, and all sorts of other bad advice. Simply has given me the tools to be successful at keeping discus.
Q - How have you been a mentor to other discus hobbyists?
A – Yes, some of the people who have bought fish from me have asked me for different types of advice. Just today I had a customer who now has a breeding pair want to know how I keep my adults from eating the fry! LOL. Many times I have advised my customers to post their questions to the forum.
Q - Can you think of anything I left out you would like to bring up - either personally or discus related?
A – The only thing that comes to mind is to mention that Al Sabetta has done a yeoman’s job of keeping this forum going, on track, civil, and productive. Al, you’ve done a remarkable job. And that goes to all the other behind the scenes forum moderators and IT support people. You guys rock.
Q - How did you decide to take the plunge into breeding as a significant part of your fishkeeping?
A – It was just a natural progression. As John Nicholson has pointed out on this forum several times, if you have healthy fish, they will get it on (well, I paraphrased). So, with success comes breeding, and then I’m handy as a construction worker, so I can solder copper pipes and glue pvc and all that stuff, so why not set up some breeding tanks and see what happens? It’s been very rewarding.
Q - What were the major obstacles involved in setting up as a breeder? Any advice for aspiring breeders?
A – Oh, sure, lots of advice LOL ! ! ! Well, I’ll just say that if you want to breed discus, and you have some mated fish that are laying eggs, you have to be willing to spend a LOT of time and effort, otherwise you won’t be successful. If you think just changing water in your display tank is time consuming, wait until you’ve got 3-week old fry. Water changes twice a day, setting up a baby brine shrimp hatchery. Harvesting the bbs, feeding the fry twice a day (at least), cleaning their tank at least once a day, changing their water 2 times daily, and etc. Oh, and you better have extra tanks and sponge filters ready because they grow really fast and will outgrow your tanks in no time. But if you’re up for that, it really is fun.
Q - Any tips on breeding or raising discus? Tricks or methods you use to encourage pairs to breed?
A - Yes, lots of tips. READ UP ON SIMPLY DISCUS lol. There’s so much really good advice on this forum, there’s certainly nothing I could add.
Q - Do you have any other hobbies or strong interests you'd like to mention?
A – Well, my other hobby that I’m crazy about are my grandsons. Rhys is 3 now, and Landon is 3 months. I think when my wife retires from her job with the Fairfax County Public Schools, we’ll think about moving closer to their home in Hartsdale, NY.
Just before my first grandson Rhys was born I commissioned a discus mobile that I’m really proud of. Here’s a picture:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1691/23995541579_98259fdd4c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cypqw8) (https://flic.kr/p/Cypqw8)
But now Rhys is more into DINOSAURS! ! !
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1718/24280844081_3d27139836_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CZBF1M) (https://flic.kr/p/CZBF1M)
Q - Don, it seems that you & I (discuspaul) have had a somewhat similar career & life background of moving around a lot and living in several different countries and cities, and have also had a similar experience of the loss of a family member in our lives. You mentioned having lost your 36 year old son to cancer, and I too lost my first wife to cancer at her also tender young age of 46.
As we both know, there are many other people, including a number of sd members too no doubt, who are currently dealing with cancer in their lives - their own or a family member's. Do you have any words of advice, or counsel, for dealing with this experience in a perhaps less stressful way than might otherwise be the case ? In my case, it was my wife herself who eased the pain somewhat for me by saying, just days before passing away: "Don't worry about me passing on soon - I'm going to a good place, I'm sure. You just go & find yourself another 'buddy', so you can both help each other through the rest of your lives".
A – Paul, I didn’t know that your wife died of cancer, I’m sorry to hear that. And you’re right, I’m sure many sd members, both in the US and in other countries, have dealt, or are dealing with cancer. My son Daniel died this last November of brain cancer. We’re still devastated and dealing with our emotions. In the picture below Daniel is in the blue shirt, right in the middle of our family.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1555/24255093322_33681a6910_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CXkGdb) (https://flic.kr/p/CXkGdb)
Brain cancer is not a common cancer, and its diagnosis can come in strange ways. You might think that seizures is the most common way, but for us it was very different. Daniel was complaining of his glasses, so we took him to our ophthalmologist (not the optometrist). The doc was looking in his eyeballs with his little ocular scope, and then turned to look at me and said we had to go to the emergency room now. He discovered a papilledema, a swelling of the optic nerve in the back of the eye, caused obviously by pressure in the brain from the tumor. So that was in 2013, the beginning of nearly 3-year struggle.
Daniel lived at home with his mother and me all his life, having a mild cognitive disability. But he had a great job as a janitor at one of the CIA buildings around here. Unfortunately he lost that job along with his health care soon after his diagnosis due to his deteriorating situation. If you want to know about how we handled his health care, please feel free to send me a personal message, I’d be happy to talk with you about it off line.
One good thing that happened was that Daniel was accepted in a clinical study at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, in Bethesda, Maryland. What a godsend that was, with top neuro-oncologists following his case and giving us advice. Without them I don’t know how we would have managed as a family.
And WHO KNEW that the NCI at NIH in Bethesda was aquarium-friendly? During our many many visits there for MRIs and consultations, we would enjoy the various aquariums set up at different areas of the hospital and medical compound. Here are some pictures:
ADMISSIONS
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1455/23735128384_c2d8831b65_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CaoJKs) (https://flic.kr/p/CaoJKs)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1686/24067742930_7933e970bd.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CEMtt1) (https://flic.kr/p/CEMtt1)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1540/23736499103_cd8178863d.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavLdx) (https://flic.kr/p/CavLdx)
PHLEBOTOMY
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/24255080202_731a7a2fc3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CXkCiY) (https://flic.kr/p/CXkCiY)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1599/24363303985_6bb0845303.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D7Uitg) (https://flic.kr/p/D7Uitg)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1504/23736491863_4f4f68a332.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavJ4H) (https://flic.kr/p/CavJ4H)
RADIOLOGY
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1469/24363293305_0d1aff94c6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D7Ufi8) (https://flic.kr/p/D7Ufi8)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1511/24255073722_66c373554e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CXkAof) (https://flic.kr/p/CXkAof)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1689/24280820451_6e45b728e9.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CZBxZn) (https://flic.kr/p/CZBxZn)
NEURO-ONCOLOGY
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/23736488933_9921687350_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavHcc) (https://flic.kr/p/CavHcc)
Of course the only reason anyone who’s not an employee goes to the NCI-NIH is because they or a family member has cancer. So, it’s not a place the public generally visits, and I hope none of you reading this ever have any reason to see it.
Q - In a lighter vein, you lived in various parts of the U.S., as well as in Europe, and the South & Central Americas, whereas I lived across Canada, in the U.S., the Caribbean(Grenada), Europe, and in Asia and the Far East.
One of the places you lived for 4 years was in Nicaragua, and co-incidentally my wife & I have been seriously considering buying a second home there as a winter vacation home, hopefully getting into the market there before real estate prices go sky-high, as they have done in many other snowbird vacation/resort areas which have coasts on the Caribbean &/or Altantic/Pacific oceans.
Do you have any comments that might help us decide, or for others that may be contemplating eventually getting a vacation home in some warm, but safe area of the world, assuming you considered Nicaragua as safe when you were there ?
A – NICARAGUA ? ? ? Are you out of your mind? ONLY KIDDING LOL! We had a great time there (OK, you might want to talk with my wife about that! She’ll be in Chicago with me for the NADA Convention).
We got there in 1990, and the Sandinistas were really pissed off, having just lost an election to Violeta Chamorro. They were burning tires in the streets, so it was a little unsettled, and just a little stressful. Things have changed there, I know, and the Sandinistas are back in power, so maybe they’re not so mad anymore.?
We lived 4 years in Managua. There were frequent power outages, water delivery to the house was on certain hours of the day (which is why the better homes had water towers they would pump water up into when the power was on), and supplies in the ‘supermarkets’ (term used VERY poetically) were rather pedestrian. BUT things are better now, I hear. In fact, I know. I made a brief visit there in 2005, and there are now lots of modern buildings and the amenities are more plentiful in the capital.
But to be honest with you, Nicaragua isn’t for the average North American tourist, although perhaps Canadians don’t fit in that category. It requires the traveler to accept many minor inconveniences. These don’t usually bother me too much, and so we were able to enjoy the great beauty of the country, the really lovely people, the art, the music, the great food, and the weather (get’s hot there, my friend, and muggy – rains copiously).
If you’d prefer a place with similar ambience, really superior biology, geography, habitat, ecology, weather, comfort, medical facilities, shopping, government, politics, stability, security, and etc., then I’d recommend Costa Rica, the country to the south of Nicaragua. We used to drive there from Managua for some R&R. But in Costa Rica you’d have to put up with all the other foreigners (Brits, Germans, Russians, Americans, and you name it) who have all discovered that it’s a paradise. If you prefer not to rub elbows with them, then Nicaragua is for YOU!
Here’s a picture of my kids in Managua, circa 1992.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1696/24337101056_0d6e0da3bc_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D5A1fC) [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/130869527@N06/] (https://flic.kr/p/D5A1fC)
Thanks again to the Simply Discus Team for selecting me for the Spotlight in March, and for all the Simply members, I hope I haven’t bored you all to death! -Don
Credit for putting this spotlight together goes out our friend and Simply member discuspaul and Admin staff.
Q - Please tell us all a little about yourself, what makes You tick? Single, married, attached? What do you do, or did you do, for a living? Other hobbies? Any significant non-discus achievements you want to brag about?
A – First, let me say that I’m really honored to be highlighted in the member spotlight. I certainly don’t consider myself an expert on discus, I’m still very much a learner!
I’ve been married for 37 years, 3 kids and 2 grandsons.
I’m recently retired, last October, so I’m experiencing a new stage in my life, and it’s great so far! What did I do for a living? Man, I’ve really had a wide range of experiences that most people never have. I worked as a sheet metal worker in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, CA) up through the end of 1990, got my Masters’ Degree at San Jose State in Education taking night classes while working with the tools during the day. Then I went to work for the AFL-CIO’s international program designing and directing labor education programs in Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Slovakia. These were fantastic assignments; I took my wife and kids to live for years in these countries. We lived and worked in Bolivia for one year, Nicaragua for four years, and Slovakia (what a fantastic assignment that was) for three years. This was just after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall and after Slovakia split from the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia), a result of the velvet revolution, and I worked with trade unionists who didn’t have a clue about representing workers and bargaining contracts in a competitive free market economy. It was a lot of fun! That was my last overseas assignment; we left there the summer of 1999.
From then until last October I worked in construction safety and health for a non profit in Silver Spring, MD designing and directing safety training programs for construction workers involved in hazardous waste, confined space entry, asbestos and lead abatement, that sort of stuff. But now I’m retired, and I REALLY ENJOY NOT DRIVING THE CAPITAL BELTWAY EVERY MORNING! YESSS.
I think the most significant non-discus experience I’ve had was overseeing safety training at the cleanup of the World Trade Center collapse in New York. There were no fatalities in the cleanup, I’m very happy to say, but there were some close calls, including one when a backhoe on the pile fell into a cavity. Here’s a picture I took when I was there.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/23995496239_3a39263fe9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cypc3p)[/url] (https://flic.kr/p/Cypc3p)
Here’s a picture of the “classroom” where we did the training:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1637/23736529813_3c24c275f9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavVm2) (https://flic.kr/p/CavVm2)
Q - How did you get into discus? Where was the first discus you saw? How long had you been into fish first?
A – My wife and I had a fish tank when I was working construction in California, but when we were working abroad we didn’t, too much trouble. When we came back to the states in 1999 we got a simple community tank again and enjoyed it very much. Going down to the local fish store frequently to see what was on offer, we saw some discus, and so here began my journey into these lovely fish.
I’ve heard some people on the forum comment that they thought no one should ever buy discus from a local fish store, and I surely understand why they think that. But if it hadn’t been for my LFS having discus and me buying some, I never would have even learned about these fish.
Q - What strains are you the most happy with? Which do you think need some work? Are you working on anything new and exciting now? What strain/s do you like best, personally?
A – Well, the strains I like best are the healthy ones, LOL! I’m partial to all discus, but for just basically beautiful, robust, healthy fish I always think Stendker fish are the best. I love the Asian fish, and even took the trouble of writing to Stendker in Germany asking if they had plans to breed some yellow or albino strains. Here’s their answer:
Dear Don,
many thanks for your kind email and your inquiry!
The colour strains you are asking for are typical for Asian discus. We
do not intend to breed white or yellow discus in the future. We would
have to breed with discus fish from Asia and this is a much too high
risk for all discus fish in our hatchery!
Please keep in mind that you should not mix discus fish from different
breeders. We understood that you already have some Stendker discus fish,
so if you are keen on these new strains from Kenny we recommend you to
work with a complete new tank and separate filters, nets, .... so that
all fish stay healthy!
Kind regards,
Sandra & Bastian
--
Diskuszucht Stendker GmbH & CoKG
Am Holzbach 18
48231 Warendorf
Tel. 02581 60627
Fax 02581 633205
www.diskuszucht-stendker.de
Q - What do you feed your discus?
A – I tried home-made beef heart recipes, and those are great, but being such a lazy person I’ve gotten in the habit of feeding Al’s freeze dried black worms (so much cleaner than beef heart) and beef heart flakes with pro-growth. It’s definitely more expensive to feed the worms, but I like to remind my wife that I could have a boat instead of fish, and then we really would be pouring money into a hole in the water! I’ve had great success with these foods.
Q - What is your most exhilarating moment with discus?
A – Successfully breeding and raising discus has been the most fun for me, really a blast. I’ve been into discus for about 15 years, now, and I still feel like I don’t know anything. But I do know that if you give your discus lots of good, clean water, and if they’re healthy, they’ll reproduce like crazy.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1539/24363335915_819317f10b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D7UsXM) (https://flic.kr/p/D7UsXM)
Raising and selling young discus has been the most fun for me. Of course I live in a huge metropolitan area, so there are lots of people around here who are interested in buying discus. I’ve met so many interesting and different people in the hobby, it boggles the mind.
Q - What is your most frustrating moment with discus?
A – Disease. I started off with LFS discus, and it seems like I keep re-introducing disease into my system on a regular basis. The most difficult aspect of dealing with sick discus is truly knowing exactly what the problem is with your fish. When I found Dr. Stephen Smith at Virginia Tech, I found a real resource to help me deal with fish disease. He is Professor of Aquatic Medicine/Fish Health at the Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathology at VT, and he’s evaluated my fish more than once. It’s a long 4-hour drive to get there from Northern Virginia, but it’s worth it to have someone definitively tell you what’s going on with your fish.
Q - How do those in your life feel about discus?
A – That’s a great question. Fortunately my wife enjoys my hobby, and she likes to say that she always knows where I am, LOL. We started with the fish thing together, and so she’s sort of an accomplice, guilty by association. You could also say, she’s an “enabler.” LOL.
What’s more interesting is the reaction of my two grown children. They like to joke with me about my obsession, but in fact they both are delighted that I have this hobby. I know this because I’ve seen them brag about it to their friends on social media, and etc. They think it’s cool that dad’s got this weird hobby that none of their friends have ever heard about. My daughter brings her friends around to admire the fish.
Q - Do you have any funny, amusing or interesting discus stories to share with us?
A – Well, selling fry around here in the Washington DC metro area, there are so many interesting people from other countries, and etc. One guy who has become a friend is a real discus fanatic and has bought a lot of 2-inch fish from me. Tang is his name, and he owns a Sushi restaurant in Burke, VA, called Fortune House. Now whenever we go over there, he won’t let me leave a tip, even though his son is waiting the tables. I once left a tip secretly on the table but we couldn’t get out of there fast enough because he came running out of the restaurant waving the money, LOL. Too bad for his son! Ha!
Q - What do you see as the future of discus keeping? More/less people? Any cool ideas for strains?
A – I think the demise of so many local fish stores is really sad, and may have repercussions on fish keeping in general. Sure, the PetsMarts and PetCos have fish, but it’s not the same as the dedicated fish shops where you could find knowledgeable people. So, perhaps less people in the hobby generally is my guess.
But I’ve been encouraged to participate with local fish clubs and I’ve been putting my discus fry up for auction. There are two big clubs here, the Potomac Valley Aquarium Society (PVAS) which meets about a mile from where I live, and the Capital Cichlid Association (CCA), that meets about 25 miles from me. I’ve joined both groups, and hope to promote discus there.
Q - Do you have any thanks or credit to give for your success with discus? Any mentors or colleagues who you think deserve some applause? Any one member of the forum that has helped you the most?
A – Ed Most, who just recently has taken a hiatus from the hobby, has helped me tremendously. I went over to his home and got the tour of his fish room, and learned so much in just a couple hours, if even that long. It was eye-opening. And not only that, Ed is unbelievably generous with his time and with his fish and supplies. When I needed something I didn’t have, I’d give him a call and it was, “come and get some.” Plus, he gave me a 200 gallon water storage barrel! Dang!
Of course Al Sabetta, who I got to know during a visit to his home one day when I was up in the area visiting my grandson and family, and also another time when visiting Jim G’s (jimg) house up in Westchester County, NY, where the NY folks were having a fish meeting. Jim has giving me some great advise, along with Al.
And last but most definitely not least, my friend Hans up there in Baltimore. It’s a real pleasure to be so close geographically to Hans’ place. He’s a great friend, and has given me lots of great advice, as no doubt he has with many members of this forum.
Q - If you were to give an aspiring discus keeper one piece of advice, what would it be?
A – Find some way to make it easier on yourself to change water. That is the one, single, most important aspect of keeping discus. Don’t be carrying around 5-gallon water buckets, that’s going to end your hobby sooner rather than later. Instead if you’re not handy with plumbing, then use hoses and pumps. Collect water, store it overnight and heat it, and use it the next day, pumping it to your aquarium(s). So easy, no back pain!
Q - How has Simply Discus helped influence you in the hobby?
A – Simply Discus is the only reason I am in this hobby. If it weren’t for this forum, I would not have learned ANYTHING. Sure, I bought books, but they said I needed to keep my pH at 6 or lower, and all sorts of other bad advice. Simply has given me the tools to be successful at keeping discus.
Q - How have you been a mentor to other discus hobbyists?
A – Yes, some of the people who have bought fish from me have asked me for different types of advice. Just today I had a customer who now has a breeding pair want to know how I keep my adults from eating the fry! LOL. Many times I have advised my customers to post their questions to the forum.
Q - Can you think of anything I left out you would like to bring up - either personally or discus related?
A – The only thing that comes to mind is to mention that Al Sabetta has done a yeoman’s job of keeping this forum going, on track, civil, and productive. Al, you’ve done a remarkable job. And that goes to all the other behind the scenes forum moderators and IT support people. You guys rock.
Q - How did you decide to take the plunge into breeding as a significant part of your fishkeeping?
A – It was just a natural progression. As John Nicholson has pointed out on this forum several times, if you have healthy fish, they will get it on (well, I paraphrased). So, with success comes breeding, and then I’m handy as a construction worker, so I can solder copper pipes and glue pvc and all that stuff, so why not set up some breeding tanks and see what happens? It’s been very rewarding.
Q - What were the major obstacles involved in setting up as a breeder? Any advice for aspiring breeders?
A – Oh, sure, lots of advice LOL ! ! ! Well, I’ll just say that if you want to breed discus, and you have some mated fish that are laying eggs, you have to be willing to spend a LOT of time and effort, otherwise you won’t be successful. If you think just changing water in your display tank is time consuming, wait until you’ve got 3-week old fry. Water changes twice a day, setting up a baby brine shrimp hatchery. Harvesting the bbs, feeding the fry twice a day (at least), cleaning their tank at least once a day, changing their water 2 times daily, and etc. Oh, and you better have extra tanks and sponge filters ready because they grow really fast and will outgrow your tanks in no time. But if you’re up for that, it really is fun.
Q - Any tips on breeding or raising discus? Tricks or methods you use to encourage pairs to breed?
A - Yes, lots of tips. READ UP ON SIMPLY DISCUS lol. There’s so much really good advice on this forum, there’s certainly nothing I could add.
Q - Do you have any other hobbies or strong interests you'd like to mention?
A – Well, my other hobby that I’m crazy about are my grandsons. Rhys is 3 now, and Landon is 3 months. I think when my wife retires from her job with the Fairfax County Public Schools, we’ll think about moving closer to their home in Hartsdale, NY.
Just before my first grandson Rhys was born I commissioned a discus mobile that I’m really proud of. Here’s a picture:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1691/23995541579_98259fdd4c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cypqw8) (https://flic.kr/p/Cypqw8)
But now Rhys is more into DINOSAURS! ! !
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1718/24280844081_3d27139836_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CZBF1M) (https://flic.kr/p/CZBF1M)
Q - Don, it seems that you & I (discuspaul) have had a somewhat similar career & life background of moving around a lot and living in several different countries and cities, and have also had a similar experience of the loss of a family member in our lives. You mentioned having lost your 36 year old son to cancer, and I too lost my first wife to cancer at her also tender young age of 46.
As we both know, there are many other people, including a number of sd members too no doubt, who are currently dealing with cancer in their lives - their own or a family member's. Do you have any words of advice, or counsel, for dealing with this experience in a perhaps less stressful way than might otherwise be the case ? In my case, it was my wife herself who eased the pain somewhat for me by saying, just days before passing away: "Don't worry about me passing on soon - I'm going to a good place, I'm sure. You just go & find yourself another 'buddy', so you can both help each other through the rest of your lives".
A – Paul, I didn’t know that your wife died of cancer, I’m sorry to hear that. And you’re right, I’m sure many sd members, both in the US and in other countries, have dealt, or are dealing with cancer. My son Daniel died this last November of brain cancer. We’re still devastated and dealing with our emotions. In the picture below Daniel is in the blue shirt, right in the middle of our family.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1555/24255093322_33681a6910_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CXkGdb) (https://flic.kr/p/CXkGdb)
Brain cancer is not a common cancer, and its diagnosis can come in strange ways. You might think that seizures is the most common way, but for us it was very different. Daniel was complaining of his glasses, so we took him to our ophthalmologist (not the optometrist). The doc was looking in his eyeballs with his little ocular scope, and then turned to look at me and said we had to go to the emergency room now. He discovered a papilledema, a swelling of the optic nerve in the back of the eye, caused obviously by pressure in the brain from the tumor. So that was in 2013, the beginning of nearly 3-year struggle.
Daniel lived at home with his mother and me all his life, having a mild cognitive disability. But he had a great job as a janitor at one of the CIA buildings around here. Unfortunately he lost that job along with his health care soon after his diagnosis due to his deteriorating situation. If you want to know about how we handled his health care, please feel free to send me a personal message, I’d be happy to talk with you about it off line.
One good thing that happened was that Daniel was accepted in a clinical study at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, in Bethesda, Maryland. What a godsend that was, with top neuro-oncologists following his case and giving us advice. Without them I don’t know how we would have managed as a family.
And WHO KNEW that the NCI at NIH in Bethesda was aquarium-friendly? During our many many visits there for MRIs and consultations, we would enjoy the various aquariums set up at different areas of the hospital and medical compound. Here are some pictures:
ADMISSIONS
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1455/23735128384_c2d8831b65_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CaoJKs) (https://flic.kr/p/CaoJKs)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1686/24067742930_7933e970bd.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CEMtt1) (https://flic.kr/p/CEMtt1)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1540/23736499103_cd8178863d.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavLdx) (https://flic.kr/p/CavLdx)
PHLEBOTOMY
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/24255080202_731a7a2fc3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CXkCiY) (https://flic.kr/p/CXkCiY)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1599/24363303985_6bb0845303.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D7Uitg) (https://flic.kr/p/D7Uitg)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1504/23736491863_4f4f68a332.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavJ4H) (https://flic.kr/p/CavJ4H)
RADIOLOGY
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1469/24363293305_0d1aff94c6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D7Ufi8) (https://flic.kr/p/D7Ufi8)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1511/24255073722_66c373554e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CXkAof) (https://flic.kr/p/CXkAof)https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1689/24280820451_6e45b728e9.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CZBxZn) (https://flic.kr/p/CZBxZn)
NEURO-ONCOLOGY
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/23736488933_9921687350_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CavHcc) (https://flic.kr/p/CavHcc)
Of course the only reason anyone who’s not an employee goes to the NCI-NIH is because they or a family member has cancer. So, it’s not a place the public generally visits, and I hope none of you reading this ever have any reason to see it.
Q - In a lighter vein, you lived in various parts of the U.S., as well as in Europe, and the South & Central Americas, whereas I lived across Canada, in the U.S., the Caribbean(Grenada), Europe, and in Asia and the Far East.
One of the places you lived for 4 years was in Nicaragua, and co-incidentally my wife & I have been seriously considering buying a second home there as a winter vacation home, hopefully getting into the market there before real estate prices go sky-high, as they have done in many other snowbird vacation/resort areas which have coasts on the Caribbean &/or Altantic/Pacific oceans.
Do you have any comments that might help us decide, or for others that may be contemplating eventually getting a vacation home in some warm, but safe area of the world, assuming you considered Nicaragua as safe when you were there ?
A – NICARAGUA ? ? ? Are you out of your mind? ONLY KIDDING LOL! We had a great time there (OK, you might want to talk with my wife about that! She’ll be in Chicago with me for the NADA Convention).
We got there in 1990, and the Sandinistas were really pissed off, having just lost an election to Violeta Chamorro. They were burning tires in the streets, so it was a little unsettled, and just a little stressful. Things have changed there, I know, and the Sandinistas are back in power, so maybe they’re not so mad anymore.?
We lived 4 years in Managua. There were frequent power outages, water delivery to the house was on certain hours of the day (which is why the better homes had water towers they would pump water up into when the power was on), and supplies in the ‘supermarkets’ (term used VERY poetically) were rather pedestrian. BUT things are better now, I hear. In fact, I know. I made a brief visit there in 2005, and there are now lots of modern buildings and the amenities are more plentiful in the capital.
But to be honest with you, Nicaragua isn’t for the average North American tourist, although perhaps Canadians don’t fit in that category. It requires the traveler to accept many minor inconveniences. These don’t usually bother me too much, and so we were able to enjoy the great beauty of the country, the really lovely people, the art, the music, the great food, and the weather (get’s hot there, my friend, and muggy – rains copiously).
If you’d prefer a place with similar ambience, really superior biology, geography, habitat, ecology, weather, comfort, medical facilities, shopping, government, politics, stability, security, and etc., then I’d recommend Costa Rica, the country to the south of Nicaragua. We used to drive there from Managua for some R&R. But in Costa Rica you’d have to put up with all the other foreigners (Brits, Germans, Russians, Americans, and you name it) who have all discovered that it’s a paradise. If you prefer not to rub elbows with them, then Nicaragua is for YOU!
Here’s a picture of my kids in Managua, circa 1992.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1696/24337101056_0d6e0da3bc_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D5A1fC) [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/130869527@N06/] (https://flic.kr/p/D5A1fC)
Thanks again to the Simply Discus Team for selecting me for the Spotlight in March, and for all the Simply members, I hope I haven’t bored you all to death! -Don