Who's your Mentor?

[Jeff]

Regardless of where you buy your fish..who do you turn to when you have a question or problem? Do you have a mentor? an experienced friend? Someone you always wanted to thanks for where you are today

[brewmaster15]

Jeff,
This is a great Post! I'd like thank Cary Strong myself. Over the years on the forum he and I have had many conversations about the hobby, diseases, and breeding. I have always been impressed by his willingness to Help anyone...even those he did not sell the Fish to. There are many really experienced people out there, but so few really go out of their way to help someone in need. SimplyDiscus is blessed with some of those, but for me, as owner of this Board, I find sellers like him to be exceptional. The combination of great fish, and real experience, and always being there when you need him, is priceless to me.

In many areas Cary has been my mentor... and I am proud to say.. Friend.

-al

Cary all the way. He has been a great help along the way and he is one of the best people i know and best friends i have.
Thanks for all your help.
Matt

[O]

Jeff,

Great Topic. I definitely have to thank Alberto for all his support and help. We spend countless hours on IM always bouncing off ideas and discussing problems. Al and David Webber have helped me a lot as well.

And of course, everyone one this board thank you for your contribution.

Oleg
.

[M0oN]

You, Jeff, and Cary have been a great help to me...don't think I'd be in the hobby period if it weren't for either of you...Carol Roberts has also opened my eyes to ideas I would have never thought of for discus care and given me a lot of good advice.

[jim_shedden]

Cary & Al :thumbsup:
and you (jeff) are quickly getting there........ :thumbsup:

jim

[henryD]

Great post.... I always recommend newbies to find someone to mentor them. Yes you get great information on this site but there is some many different ways to approach things that sometime you get too much information. So in the beginning it is best to find someone you can ask for help.

My God of discus would have to be Brewmaster. So a big THANK YOU to him. He help me through all my tough times in the beginning. He also help me convince my wife that I am not the only crazy nut out there. After meeting him and his family I got the thumbs up to go crazy. So 11months and 800 gallon later. I am where I am. Still learning and long way to go.

After learning to keep them alive I have also gotten some good advice from Jeff and Cary. So I like to thank them also. And of course all the contributors to Simply.

Henry

[tarzan]

Well, Carol Roberts is mine! If i meet her one day, i would give her a big kiss :) But thats not likely.. i live in Denmark.

[fcdiscus]

Mine would be my Dad who got me interested, Gil Curtin who got me started, And Cary Strong for telling me how to do it correctly! Not necessarily in that order, LOL, Frank ;)

[Jason]

mine and in no particular order,

Roy Khoo
Rod lewis
Cary Strong
Jeff Young

thanks a million you guys! its never said enough!

[April]

this is a cool post. well my mentors are exactly the same as jasons... except id like to add JASONto that list also!! Just ask Rod, Cary and Jason how many times ive talked to them? and Roy is great and has great fish. dont see him as much though. And Jeff i talk to on chat all the time. ;D
but i guess if i had a major problem and which ive had.. id pick up the phone to call Cary. im sure i have a direct line. ;D 8)
these guys are also the only guys i buy fish from also. Not because their the best fish in the world...which they may well be...but because these guys all pour their heart and soul into their fish and it shows. and they're there for you whether its their fish or not you need answers for.

[Ardan]

Nice Post!

Well I have to say Cary and Al have taught me a lot! So I say thank you!


Now there are others I admire and have learned from too! And there are many I have as friends! 8) :D

[GoodMike]

Oh gosh....I would like to thank practically everyone on this board, whether i ask the question or not im sure to find an answer. you all are great! This board and the members have allowed me to keep my discus healthy. SOO MUCH INFO HERE!

I would like to individually thank Les Warner though because i was able to go to his house and he showed me different things which helped alot!
THANKS TO ALL!

[Jeff]

I just thought I should ask. For me my mentors in no order are Cary, Brewmaster, Sly, Zoids, Orient and Mr. Soon. If I have questions about a particular fish these are the folks I ask. If I want an honest opinion as to the quality of a fish these are the people I listen to. If I'm looking to purchase fish these are the people I look to. Personally I keep my circle of friends close and few and respect all of their opinions as I feel they will be completely honest with me.

[SLY]

I just thought I should ask. For me my mentors in no order are Cary, Brewmaster, Sly, Zoids, Orient and Mr. Soon. If I have questions about a particular fish these are the folks I ask. If I want an honest opinion as to the quality of a fish these are the people I listen to. If I'm looking to purchase fish these are the people I look to. Personally I keep my circle of friends close and few and respect all of their opinions as I feel they will be completely honest with me.


Awww thanks jeff. No particular mentor..I would say i learn most of the stuffs from forums and interacting with fellow hobbyist..and yes I do learn from you too jeff..not forgetting jason,rod,cary,al and roy..IMO these are the honest people that I can share stuffs and knowledge with.

[Tad]

Mentor: a trusted counselor or guide

I would have to say the following have been "mentors" to me; Frank who has answered so many questions that I have had, I try to talk to Frank everyday just to keep the old guys brain working ;D, Cary who always willingly accepts my calls and provides so much information and if he dont have the answer he will direct me to who will, He also calls me to check on how things are going with fish and family. Phil "Redspotted" who has spent countless hours sharing his wealth of knowledge and is just an hours drive to visit to just sit down and talk discus, Dennis Hardenburger who has shared a wealth of information on how to get my wilds to spawn, and of course Al who was the first to help me with my discus concerns and questions when I started out.

Tough post as there are so many,
Tad

[Jason]

:o wow cant beleive I made that list 8)

guess all those years of flooding my dwellings paid off

how come Schmidt-Focke, Goebel, Degan, Wattley, or Handley never made anyones list???? ???

[gary1218]

Cary is ALWAYS just a phone call away. Thanks BUD :D

GARY

[fcdiscus]

Jason, I would say we all owe those men you mentioned a great deal of thanks. Wattley, Shmidt-Focke, Axelrod, Shultz! All of them for sure! Frank

[Kevin63]

Coming from someone who learned everything I know about discus from these pages .... I would definately like to thank Carol Roberts and her work ... though I don't communicate with her directly much, her posts are organized, simple, full of info, and to the point ...

She takes people like me who have just started and sends us down the right path ... she sticks to her guns about keeping a BB tank with just discus and keeping things simple!

I have 8 juveniles doing just great and growing fast! ;D

Her threads for setting up a tank and the beginners info index are perfect!

Thanks again!!

[korbi_doc]

:bounce2: :bounce2: Wow, what a tough question this one is!! Certainly , everyone here @ Simply has contributed to the learning curve of many of us!! Carol never seems to fail to interject the most helpful hints to all. As mentors, Cary & Al are tops all the time, & will always try to find the answers. Jeff, RandalB & so many others are right there for us.
Now, mentor & hmmmm, "tormentor" :funny: :funny:, Tad is the "greatest"!!! Without his challenges (& Judi's) maybe I wouldn't have raised those babies!! ;D ;D. It's been great fun!! :funny: :funny: :funny: :funny: luvya guys. Dottie ;)

[lkleung007]

Hey Jeff,

Like many before me have posted...the individuals who I have the utmost respect for and have bent over backwards to help me in the past, present and hopefully future are...Al Sabetta, Cary Strong and Al Johnson!!!!!!

Thanks gentlemen, I couldn't do it without ya!! ;)

Lester

[Tad]

;D "Any woman who drives a dually is my kinda gal" ;D

[korbi_doc]

Geez Tad, :-[ :-[ I do love my F-350 dually, great driving truck & comfortable. Its a diesel which I also like better; now the Freightliner, that's a different story. I don't drive that often, just on short trips. My horse-showing buddy drives it; her husband is so proud of her, it's funny. & she's a great driver; we pull a 6-horse trailer with living qts & the combo is 60' long. Scary huh??? But thats what we need to get across country. I may upgrade to an f-550 one of these days, hahahahaha Dottie ;D

[mikebutch]

Well, I have only been into Discus for about a year, but I am officially hooked!

I must say that those who have helped me the most would have to be Chad Bertoni, Tad and Judi, and John Nicholson!!

It is b/c of all of you that I have a fishroom now...the money is pouring out as we speak ;D!!

Mike

[DarkDiscus]

Al Sabetta is my Yoda!

That sounds kinda funny, but he's the guy who got me out of Africans and into DISCUS!

Are there really any other fish?

John

[bikhu]

Great thread~
After trying to keep Discus with the fatal advice of a LFS employee and self professed expert I happened to meet Al accidentally on line through another website, which is not currently running. He directed me to Simply Discus and Cary Strong. NowI have lots of happy beautiful Discus.
AL SABETTA and CARY STRONG
are responsible for every bit of success that I have had and have bailed me out of every mistake that I have made... some nearly fish fatal!
Since being involved with Simply I use the info and experience of so many and have really benefitted from knowing HenryD and BethS and Oscar G. and I look forward to reading and learning from every post that Carol puts up... and that is a lot of posts!!
I am grateful to everyone here at Simply but again.. especially to Al and Cary!
thanks guys!
peter

[paulmat]

When I think of mentors , I think of someone who helps you in the begining of a endevour and helps you learn and grow.
When I was a kid a friend and I decided to start a tank, he was attracted to Oscars and as soon as I saw my first discus and the LFS owner said they were difficult to keep, I had to have them. That LFS owner had started a club and we at one time had over 300 members and Woody was a wealth of information and knowledge. He was also a friend of Herbert Axelrod and had him come speak at our meetings a few times and he was agreat inspiration to me. Back then all you could get were wilds and they were very difficult to breed and I (at 11 yrs. old), sucessfuly bred a pair. I thought I was the Bomb!!
Later mentors included Dale Jordan and DR. Schmidt-Focke( who I visited in Germany and bought fish from) Both always excepted my stupid phone calls and were willing to waste thier time to talk to me.
When I decided to get back into the hobby(or addiction my GF will say) some
people on this sight were a great help, like Cary , Frank and a few members that have moved on.
All the above mentioned would have realy loved this new medium on the web that we have at our disposal today, and I am thankful that we can all come together and be of help to knowledgable and novice discus lovers alike.

Paul

[CARY_GLdiscus]

EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU HAVE HELPED ME IN MORE WAYS THEN ONE!


I THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!

[richgrenfell]

This site and Al are really what got me back into keeping discus. the people i am most appreciative would have to be Al, and Frank, as they both take my pestering phone calls without getting annoyed (well they don't act annoyed anyway LOL!) I have had a few conversations with Cary. He was always great to talk with, and i've never even bought fish from him (yet)!

Those are the top 3, but i learn from everyone that posts here. The ones who have been here longer, welcome you and help you out when you get here, and I like to pass on what I learn to the ones who come here after me. Thanks everybody!!

Rich

[iceskater]

This one is a breeze. CAROL ROBERTS. Without her I would have died from panic and stress when I purchased my first discus almost a year ago. I have learned alot from her. I treasure her so much and can never thank her enough. And of course Cary, for providing the wonderful discus that Carol & I discus on a daily basis. See for me almost every day there's something that concerns me. Almost a year and I still have those newbie jitters.....

And Carol is always a IM away..

Thank you a million times over Carol Roberts & Cary Strong.

Karen

[gump]

I have to say that I am still in this hobby thanks to Cary Strong. If it wasn't for his encouragement & fish I wouldn't be into diuscus anymore. Al has & is also a great person who helped me alot.
Pierre

[wildthing]

Over the years I have become good friends with some awesome Discus people....but I have learned by far the most from the Discus themselves.....who have both mentored me & tormented me
:)

[daninthesand]

;D LOL

David, I love that! hahahaha "mentored and tormented"

Daniel

[brewmaster15]

I guess in our own ways we have all mentored someone here with ours post. :)

Paulmat....I hate to do this to you but I just realised after reading your post that you've managed to stay "out of the Spotlight" here. Hmmm.. I am thinking that might change in March . ;) :) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

-al

[samcatj]

Almost always the person who will respond back with an anwser to a question of help or a general question.
My mentor and rightfully so obvisously many others.....
Carol Roberts. Thanks for all that you do.

Samcatj

[bryalk1]

hi,
cary and al most of all. i don't know how they find the time or have the patience, but i grateful they do ;D ;D ;D. but there are many others who have much more experience and have been invaluable, carol,ardan,yogi,roger,paulio etc etc.
thanks to you all
bryant

[yippy]

Well before joining here, I had heaps of help from my friend Donna who owned the fish shop where I bought my first discus. Actually, Rod Lewis used to supply her with some of her discus beofre I even knew who he was.

But on here, I have had HEAPS of help from lots of people, but mainly 3 people. I dont think I would still have discus or managed to get a successful spawn from my blue turqs without the help of these 3 people. In return, I have manged to help a few people myself with the knowledge I gained from them.

Kerry ;D

[Abercrombie6202]

Well MENCH of course, he has helped me a lot and gave me a great deal on my fish to start me off on this new journey/hobby.

I'd say Carol Roberts has helped and answered many of my questions

And yes i even have to thank Jeff, Glenn, and April who have helped me in the Simply Discus Chat every now and then.

Thanks guys and gals. :P

[Fons_van_der_Hart]

What a very interesting question.

After a long time of struggling on my own (now more than 10 years ago) I met several people on the Internet like
Discus Hans, Cor Visser and Walter Soestbergen.
Especially from Hans I learned an awfull lot.

This made me decide to make my own website more than 5 years ago. Thanks to this website I met all the masters on Discus. Bernd Degen, Horst Kohler, Dieter Untergasser, Johnny Yip, Shaifullah Yeng, Joe Szelezi, and many many more.

I can't tell you who's my mentor. I learned a lot on the internet by reading and by reading books from all kinds of authors all around the world. But I think I've learned the most of my close friend Discus Hans....


Fons.

[roclement]

well, if I have to pick one person it would have to be Brian Bender at Keystone Discus, he has helped in so many ways I can't even begin to tell, from providing me with quality fish, to helping me set-up my tanks, and accompany me in "discus trips", a true friend and mentor.

Rodrigo

[beta]

I think my mentor would have been my ex neighbour called Iqbal, he was the guy who introduced me to cichlids and i saw discus for the first time at his house. He used to lend me his fish books and also used to share his knowledge with me. He is no longer in the hobby but he was my inspiration i guess :)

[jeep]

Cary, Al, Frank and Dennis!

Thanks!

Brian

[Harriett]

I don't post much, but I'm piping up here:
It's CARY--who's coached me, mentored me, gifted me, and helped me connect so many of the subtle dots to make all the variables hang together and make sense in this hobby.
He started helping me when I was a total newbie in trouble (of course) before I ever bought a fish from him. Because of his expertise and intelligence, huge heart and dedication, and his honesty, let alone the superior quality of his fish, I am a fan and proudly a friend for life.
You my boy, Cary!
Harriett

[EthanCote.com]

This website itself is a great mentor, to me and to many. So thanks guys for making it a success.

But I would also like to thank JimmyL for his insight and knowledge. Should I have any questions, I would never hesitate to give him a shout.

On that note, thanks JimmyL for all of your help and hospitality when I'm in town. It was much appreciated.



Cheerio,

Chi.

This website itself is a great mentor, to me and to many.
I'll have to agree that this board has been a Great Big help for me....

I have to also say Cary Cary Cary and Cary has been my Mentor........ He's not only been My Mentor..... I'm proud to call him My Friend ;)

Thank You Cary You "are" Da Man :hat:

Beth

[Shari]

I have to first thank everyone on this board over the past year, who have kept me from feeling 'alone' with a sick Discus. (such a lonely feeling huh..) Carol, THE BREWMASTER no doubt has been inspiring and gone soooooo beyond the call of duty to answer a question for me on more than a couple occassions.

Cary I have only spoken to a couple of times but read every drop of writing he prints out here. I thank you Cary for your input always.

Last but not least, Jeff at Jeff's Discus near Chicago, has been my mentor and can count on him for help and info anytime it's needed.
Jeff should you read this.....THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!!

[Haywire]

Well,

let's throw and old name at you all:
Bob Wilson, I've gotten several fish from him when I was starting out about a year and half ago I learned a lot with them. And I still get him to prescreen some of my purchases :)

Club members not on here (YET!) Jerry R, Charlie D, the late Jim Brown (pleco' and tetras), Steve P. and John V.R.

Oh, how could I forget the simply archives.

[Larry Grenier]

I've only been back in the hobby for a little while but I have to say that SIMPLY... many here, make a great mentor. In particular, I can always count on Brewmaster Al and Carol when I need advice or opinions. Thanks again Simplies :thumbsup:[

[LEM504]

It would be difficult to name a person, who has not influenced my life!
The answer to a problem, can come from a person who doesn’t even understand the situation. Many times, it is so simple, that it shocks you!

Discus Mentors?

Carol Roberts!
She understands the situation, and always has the right answer!

Time on the site, is always well spent. I have learned from everyone.

Larry