Who's going to help?

As you may already know my son Mathew does a fantastic job looking after my Discus while l'm away. But l got thinking that once he finishes University and gets a job, he will probably think of moving out...Hmmmm....Hows that going to work with being my back up discus carer?

I have a nine year old grand daughter who's showing a real interest in Dance and theater, so i don't think that will work.


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I also have another grand daughter who just turned two. We look after her on Wednesdays and when ever other opportunities come by. She's already showing interest in my Marlin and fish mounts, so l think its about time she starts learning about discus....what do you think?



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Do you have anyone that helps look after you tanks?

It looks like you have a helper in the making. She just needs a bit more grow-out time.

I don't have a helper. If I needed one I'd have to hire and train one. A house sitter would be great but where does one go to find someone to house sit 10 dogs, a cat, a horse and an overstocked fish room and 12 chickens? I mostly don't go anywhere other than to work. I am comfortable being away for 3 to 4 days which lets me go to NADA. The fish get by with lights off and no food. The horse gets by on pasture. The cat's bowl gets filled up. I put a 50 lb sack of dog food in the middle of the kitchen floor and slit it open lengthwise. I have DIY 5 gallon feeder and waterer that will keep the chickens happy. I hook op an automatic waterer for the dogs. I have always most enjoyed being home and having animals to care for. I know that I have made myself a home body on purpose. Travel is stressful. Home is comforting. I dislike relying on others.

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Originally Posted by LizStreithorst

It looks like you have a helper in the making. She just needs a bit more grow-out time.

I don't have a helper. If I needed one I'd have to hire and train one. A house sitter would be great but where does one go to find someone to house sit 10 dogs, a cat, a horse and an overstocked fish room and 12 chickens? I mostly don't go anywhere other than to work. I am comfortable being away for 3 to 4 days which lets me go to NADA. The fish get by with lights off and no food. The horse gets by on pasture. The cat's bowl gets filled up. I put a 50 lb sack of dog food in the middle of the kitchen floor and slit it open lengthwise. I have DIY 5 gallon feeder and waterer that will keep the chickens happy. I hook op an automatic waterer for the dogs. I have always most enjoyed being home and having animals to care for. I know that I have made myself a home body on purpose. Travel is stressful. Home is comforting. I dislike relying on others.

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Wow Liz. Sounds like you have it all worked out, and l'm glad that you are able to manage getting away when required. Like you l love animals, and would like to have more, but there still is alot of other things that l need to do before l buckle down, and most of it means traveling for long periods. I would just love to introduce a few more tanks in my home (I have plenty of room) But l dont want to put too much load on my son while l'm away, as he too has his own interests.
In the past l have had many large bird averies, and like you was able to provide them with lots of food and water while l'm away. But its all the little extra *** bits that make the difference to get them in the right condition for breeding, as l'm sure you know what that is all about.

So at the moment life is just a bit of a compromise, and a balancing act, as l also have to consider my wife's need as well.

You are right about my grand daughter, she need a bit more grow-out time, or at least a higher chair ;)

Thanks for your input :)

Everyone has to make a living the best way they can, Joe. BTW, your fish are to die for.

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Originally Posted by LizStreithorst

Everyone has to make a living the best way they can, Joe. BTW, your fish are to die for.

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Thanks Liz. That's much appreciated especially since i know how much you like round fish :)

Joe! I am so glad I just found this thread after hearing about those sweet girls, there they are! They are adorable! (I love the musical Annie by the way!) It will be so much fun watching her in it!

Oh and yes, I see the discus twinkle in Sophie's eyes. She is falling under the spell. Once she gets big enough to not fall in that tank she will do well by them. I agree with Liz. A bit more grow out time is necessary.

The only ones at home that could possibly care for my discus is my husband and son. if we were traveling my husband would most likely be with me so no help there. The boy is in college most of the year and has shown not a drop of interest in the fish other than taking occasional photos of them. The daughter having recently moved out of town has gracefully exited stage left. It's a good thing discus can go into vacation mode at least for a short vacation. The 12 1/2 year old dog raises some issues since he needs to go out every 10 th heartbeat. The two Ragdoll cats are good as long as they have a mountain of food and pool of water.

Discus day care? Not sure there is much of a market out there. :p

I understand where you are coming from ,i had my daughter who looked after my big tank ( at the time the only tank ) when me and my wife went to Mexico for 2 weeks a few years ago but she got married 2 years ago and gone to London to live so until she comes back i am on my own ,BTW both your grand daughters look very cute and i can see you are a proud granddad .

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Originally Posted by Jenene

Joe! I am so glad I just found this thread after hearing about those sweet girls, there they are! They are adorable! (I love the musical Annie by the way!) It will be so much fun watching her in it!

Oh and yes, I see the discus twinkle in Sophie's eyes. She is falling under the spell. Once she gets big enough to not fall in that tank she will do well by them. I agree with Liz. A bit more grow out time is necessary.

The only ones at home that could possibly care for my discus is my husband and son. if we were traveling my husband would most likely be with me so no help there. The boy is in college most of the year and has shown not a drop of interest in the fish other than taking occasional photos of them. The daughter having recently moved out of town has gracefully exited stage left. It's a good thing discus can go into vacation mode at least for a short vacation. The 12 1/2 year old dog raises some issues since he needs to go out every 10 th heartbeat. The two Ragdoll cats are good as long as they have a mountain of food and pool of water.

Discus day care? Not sure there is much of a market out there. :p

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Sounds like you have your hands full as well Jenene. Lucky our discus can survive well without us, and its always good to know we have good information on what to do in preparation on here in that case :)

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Originally Posted by sayid

I understand where you are coming from ,i had my daughter who looked after my big tank ( at the time the only tank ) when me and my wife went to Mexico for 2 weeks a few years ago but she got married 2 years ago and gone to London to live so until she comes back i am on my own ,BTW both your grand daughters look very cute and i can see you are a proud granddad .

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I'm sure you would like your daughter back for more reasons than looking after your discus Sayid :) Good try ;) I know you got to catch up recently, and l'm sure you had some good times. I bet she wasn't surprised to see all your additions either...imagine what she's going to say on her next visit ;)

Always works the other way for me Joe.. "Can I have a fish tank in my room Dad, I'll do all the work, blah, blah, blah." and that's how it goes.. we all know the ending right? :)

Joe,
We lucked out here with one of our friends coming over to care for our critters.My kids are not old enough yet to do so and they still travel with us. I try and make the care as easy as I can...often no feeding of the fish,reptiles and amphibians is needed . The cats and chickens are a concern. Next year we hope to travel across the country before my oldest is in college.That will be a long trip not sure who we will get to help.... Discus do not make it easy for long trips!
al

It's part of God's big screw up! When you are young you don't need them to help you out. Then when you are old and need them they aren't around.

I had to travel in July for two weeks. I just put an autofeeder on and told the wife to give 'em a FDBW cube every once in awhile. They managed just fine, but you could tell they were happy for a WC!

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Originally Posted by JBurgo

Always works the other way for me Joe.. "Can I have a fish tank in my room Dad, I'll do all the work, blah, blah, blah." and that's how it goes.. we all know the ending right? :)

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I can see where this is going, and must say that I've been there...done that ;)

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Originally Posted by brewmaster15

Joe,
We lucked out here with one of our friends coming over to care for our critters.My kids are not old enough yet to do so and they still travel with us. I try and make the care as easy as I can...often no feeding of the fish,reptiles and amphibians is needed . The cats and chickens are a concern. Next year we hope to travel across the country before my oldest is in college.That will be a long trip not sure who we will get to help.... Discus do not make it easy for long trips!
al

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Hi Al. Must be a very good friend that you can trust to do that for you, as i have seen some of these critters you speak of. Good luck with your recent batch of snakes! Im glad that you are still be able to do the things you love with your family though, as it would be sad for them to miss out on life's little adventures. Enjoy your trip around the country next year :D

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Originally Posted by Neptune

It's part of God's big screw up! When you are young you don't need them to help you out. Then when you are old and need them they aren't around.

I had to travel in July for two weeks. I just put an autofeeder on and told the wife to give 'em a FDBW cube every once in awhile. They managed just fine, but you could tell they were happy for a WC!

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hahaha...funny that....its funny how they can still find you when they are older though...l get it :D

Joe
Beautiful girls, and Discus keeper in the making. I was lucky when my son was young and was at home to help me out, and then the wife when I deployed now days is just me. and auto feeders, can't wait for some grand kids to help me.

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Originally Posted by Pardal

Joe
Beautiful girls, and Discus keeper in the making. I was lucky when my son was young and was at home to help me out, and then the wife when I deployed now days is just me. and auto feeders, can't wait for some grand kids to help me.

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Thanks Julian.
Auto feeders are definitely a good tool. I like the idea of getting the grand kids involved though....next generation of discus keepers.