Who or what has tought us the most about discus

I just spent a little time reading the debate on the wild discus, and it got me thinking of how much i have learned and from who.
I owe many different places and people for teaching me what i know now like forums friends, books, ect ect.
But one person stands way above the rest. That is Cary Strong. He has answered my endless calls when i was just new in the hobby, and still answers my questions and helps me when ever i need it to this day.
He never tires of the talks we have about discus(or any other topic) or if he does he hides it well. LOL
I just thought it would be nice to thank Cary for all the help he has provided me, and the fish he has saved for me by experiencing losses himself and sharing his successes and faliures so i didnt have to go through all the pain of trial and error.
Even though i had only bought from Cary one time, he invested time in me like i was his kid, or best friend, or how ever you want to say it. I know he has spent 1000s of hours helping many hobbiest who only call to get advise and never call back to say thanks, or My fish are doing better, thanks for the help, or buy a single fish, yet he goes on to answer all the calls, and endless emails, just because he is the kind of person he is. Not for recongition, or money, but because he loves people and loves to help people no matter what.
We have become very good friends over the years, and i never take the time to thank him like i should. Sometimes we take for granted, or atleast i do, that he, or who ever we consult, will always be there for us.
So thanks Bro. you are a great friend and a wealth of knowledge, and a hell of a nice guy for sharing it with me and all the others who call. Without you, my hobby would not be as successful as it has been, and i openly admit that. I owe my success to all your help, which is a great gift to me.
Thanks again Cary.
Matt

[discus_nw]

Hands down, Jack Wattley.

[Ardan]

Yeah, #1 is Cary :) Lots of time on the phone and IM's. (he'd rather talk than type ;D)

Then I have to say Al and this board. 8)

[April]

The first places that helped me was finding forums and from that i learnt a few basics. then i met some people and starting buying my discus via :computer: and shipping. I got my first discus orders from Mike.
and of course i met ryan and brew and we got this forum togeather.
But yes...Cary :hat: is great. and i know i can phone him if i ever need help and i trust his advice. and he has become a good friend. why.....think i even turned into his so-called mother. lol. even though hes a bit "old" to be my son. lol.
Also Brew and Jason(insert monkey emotican) and Rod and Mike have helped me alot with stuff.
but theres others also who have been there just for talking to and for moral support and listening to all my excitement etc or downfalls.
So..thanks to all my discus buds for becoming what i would consider good friends. :wave:

[Paulio]

There are many great Discus people that contribute in many ways.
I would have to say boards like this, time and mistakes are the things that taught me the most.

Paul

[Jeffery_Doty]

Matt,

I agree with you 100%!! Cary is a 1st class act, with a big heart. When I meet someone interested in buying discus, the 1st name I mention is Cary Strong.

Jeff
Oregon

[gary1218]

I'd like to give a plug to Jeff Richards.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back when the first discussion forum like this was on the Discus Breeders Web Forum. EVERYBODY raised their discus in water that was a low pH, 6.4 or so. It was ABSOLUTE heresy to do ANYTHING else. Then came along this guy who raised his discus in ordinary, much higher pH, tap water. AND, he had THE NERVE to claim he was having as much success as those who raised their's in the lower pH.

Well, to say he took his shots from all the other "experts" is an understatement. Through it all he was a class act and never got into the mud slinging. He just continually drove home his point and little by little others tried it with success.

Fast forward to today. How do you raise your discus today? Are you continually adding chemicals to your water to lower the pH and then struggling to keep it there? Or, do you just turn on your tap water faucet. If you're the later, in my opinion you have Jeff Richards to thank for that.

GARY

[iceskater]

This is an easy one for me Carol Roberts. She is always there. And of course Cary for providing the great fish and answering lots of stupid questions as well.

I am still wet behind the ears, I know I can count on these 2 to keep my babies healthy

[mench]

Well now my 2 cents...back 30 yrs ago,nobody helped me,I red a book or two and did everything wrong and my fish didn't last long...himmmm go figure...so of course "discus were too hard to keep"
Fast forward to 4 yrs ago...I started back with discus and talked to a guy who had some discus for sale...Glenn,don't know if he wants me to use his last name or not,he gave me tons of advice on how to keep them and gave me a few to try.Then a got on the various boards and I learned tons more...a old crusty guy named Jim Quarles who was on another board and I sent him some e-mails asking questions,well the e-mails grew and them I started getting phone calls from Jim giving me all kinds of advice,and then his two books came in the mail as a starter gift.He was real gruff on the boards but to me he was a friend.
Now we come to the last couple of yrs...still the boards.but enter Mike Wells and My bud,the Detroit Discus King,Cary Strong...Both of these gentlemen have been more than helpful in my discus adventures.I am glad to call these guys my friends.Also it don't hurt to suck up a little LOL
sorry for the long post....

Mench

[cesar_1304]

THE ACA 2002 SHOW !!!

I met and learned a ton from Cary, Joe, Danny, Willie, Mench
and everyone who was in room 1304 including that one guy...
whats his name... oh yea Jack Wattley who decided to drop by
and compliment the breeders in the room for having the best
of the best at the ACA.

Mench also told me about Simply which has answered many of
my questions...

See you at the ACA...
-Cesar

[mench]

Hey Cesar,nice to hear from ya,how are things going? Whoa,back the truck up...thanks for including me with those "real " fish guys..maybe someday I will get to be a small bit as good as those guys,if I live long enough LOL.
Looking forward to see you ,and all the rest of the Simply family at the ACA..

Mench

[fishfarm]

Hi, I'd have to say Jack Wattley. The first discus I spawned many years ago were some of his original Solid Turks, Man I thought I was something, years later he was speaking in Raleigh NC and I drove up to hear him, I was just in awe. Then he had dinner with me and I was amazed at his gentle nature and willingness to discuss discus even though I know I asked the most simple questions, I ran into him a few years later and he called me by name, WOW! he remembered! Since then I have had the pleasure of spending many hours with him and I feel very lucking to be able to call him my friend. He is truely the "Great" one in statue and person. Most of us keep discus because the work this man did to breed and promote this wonderful fish. We are blessed. I hope most of you realize we have a up and coming young breeder who IMO is the next Jack Wattley. The best discus breeder in America, Cary Strong! Ken

[April]

yeppers..i second that. then theres gonna be that young little new Jack. .....Jack Strong. ;D ;D ;D ;D

[jeep]

My recent knoweledge of discus is pretty much limited to this board. There are several people that have helped me tremendously, such as Dennis H., Jimmy L, Carol and Frank, and I owe you all a debt of gratitude, but I've recently had the opportunity to speak with Cary and Al, on what is for me, a pretty personal level.

When someone asks me to call them at 6:30 on a Sunday night, or they just call me out of the blue at 9:30 on a Saturday night to see how I'm doing, and I can hear kids, movies and dinner plates clanking in the background, I fully realize their dedication to this hobby as well as making new friends.

I could go on and on, but word can't express how grateful I am to everyone here, especially Cary and Al. I just hope I'm fortunate enough to meet you guys in person someday...

Brian

[fishfarm]

Brian! ACA, Cinci, July, Most will be there. Don't miss it! Ken

[m_m_m_discus_nut]

That "Bad Boy" Mat has helped me more than anyone. I am relatively new to discus, and don't spend much time on the internet surfing the forums. He lives here in the Tacoma area so is handy for me. He got me started with tetras, then apistogrammas, and now discus. Too bad our fish club died out, I don't see him as often now. :-\

[Jason]

when i got my first discus in 1987, there was no internet, books were just a waste, and I live in a small down with hardly any discus hoobyists and breeders.

so i'd have to say the fish taught me the most!!!

[fcdiscus]

I think I mentioned them in my spotlight, but I did leave out one! My most recent sounding board is Dennis Hardenberger. A very top notch Discus Man! Frank 8)

[jeep]

Ken, the ACA is definately on my mind. I just don't know if work will allow it. My boss is a jerk (me ;D )

[Rod]

Same answer as Jason almost, i had to learn the hard way. I only knew one person when i got my first discus that knew anything and he was quite determined not to reveal anything. The fish taught me about what they need along with hints from the books.

[ReeferKimberly]

well it's hard to pinpoint just one person or thing, but i have some that are alway there for me (even at 1:30 in the morining, ;), cary). cary strong, jeff young, carol roberts, april (sorry don't know ur last name :-[) and more. i don't know other people in the hobby except the ones on this board. i want to spotlight cary b/c he is an exceptional person. i call him very late at night and he answeres all of my newbie questions. not even helping me with discus, he will just talk to me, i enjoy just talking to him abut random stuff. cary you are a great person! i dno't know hiw you have time to do all your fish stuff, help all these people, take care of your wife and children, and still have time to talk to a 16 year old halfway across the united states about what she wants to do when she grows up! not enough words can thank you!
to cary!
kimmy :-*

[CARY_GLdiscus]

Man!
Am with You Rod and Jason.

When I started Discus the going rate was $2500 to $1800 to have Jack or Steve teach you how to artifically raise discus. screw that I could buy More Discus with that kind of Money ;D

So Yes The discus has tought me most! But again We are allways learning new things and I have many to thank for that. most of You are here!

Takecare,
Cary Gld!

[April]

Jason Cary and Rod......the oldtimers. lol. well glad you guys persisted and learnt the hard way so you could teach me the easy way. lol.
but....still ..watching your fish is the best way to learn. gotta watch their little smiles on their faces. when they quit smiling..then you start calling your friends...saying... HELP!!!!
glad you guys arent big secret keepers and pass on all your experiences so we can all save some heartache.
and think thats why this forum is so great. lots of great people who like to help.

[CARY_GLdiscus]

KIM ;D

I ment What I said about being a Discus Breeder.

Like My good friend DW allways said If You want to make Money at breeding Discus start with a small Fortune.

And the Politic's are Hell :-X

If I find Out Your grades have dropped
Your cut off hee.hee.hee :D

Anyways am thinking of going back to school Myself They have a good school down in gainsvile FL. Its a 2 year course on animal care. its the only school in the states were you can pass a 2 year course and make some dam good money doing what you love from water to land.

HTH
And thank You and Everyone!
Cary Gld!

[ReeferKimberly]

3.25 gpa at the moment, eh not bad. i could do better, only 2 weeks till summer though yay! then i have even more water change time!
btw, the pair ate the eggs about 20 minutes ago. i think they knew i was talking about them and got nervous. i'm doing a big water change now in prep for the next spawn ;D
kimmy :-*

[CARY_GLdiscus]

;D

I've learned so much from the forums.

I've learned so much from the people on the forums.

I guess that sums it up.

alex

[Jason]

getting them to spawn and keeping them in good shape was easy enough, It was trying to raise the babies that was hell for me I tried feeding them everything from pond water to smearing egg yolk concoctions on the glass....you can see how that went bad really fast :P

[scotz]

I have had a lot of help from alot of the people on this board as well as some people not on this board - but if I had to say the one person that has helped me the most has been Cary. Like most of you I have come to known Cary as a friend - I know I can call or email him any time and get an answer to any of my ? even the dumb ones!! ???

Once again thanks to all of you who have helped me over this past year.

scotz

PS. Looking forward to meeting a bunch of you this year in Cinn. at the ACA.

[Dennis_Hardenburge]

I started in discus forty five years ago and at that time there wasn't much in printed material, and the people who knew any thing weren't about to give out any information.
So for me I would have to say the school of hard knocks, and believe me over the years I lost a lot of fish learning what little I know now.
Then came the internet and the forums, people were opening up and sharing real true life exsperiences and knowledge.
There are so many people today that are highly knowledgeable in variuos fields that freely give information that is a tremendus help to all of us.
I thank all of you.

Frank
You are embarassing me.

Cary
School for two years in Florida sounds more like a vacation to me.

Dennis

[Tristanyyz]

Although i feel i benefit most from practical experience, JimmyL and Oliver have helped me certainly with my inspiration for the hobby, and to identify i need to continue learing.

[nalah]

local LFS - http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/r/agrin.gif. JK