Tell us about yourselves....Please

**Discusgeo2** · 12-12-2005, 02:09 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

We are old aren't we Al! it seems like I been around the block going thru quite a few Discus forums until only a couple have remained.

Let me introduce myself also:
My name is George Garcia and I live in Phoenix, Arizona and yes it get hot here but it's a dry heat. I have been around Tropical Fish almost 40 years with my dad and brother. I got interested in Discus about 15 years ago while still in the U.S Air Force in Frankfurt, Germany. I use to run around the country looking in the Pet Stores and seeing those nice fish. Well I told myself when I retire from the Air Force I was going to get some, so in 1993 nearing the end of my carrier I got my first Discus. I then purchased a house and use my garage to raise all my Discus. I currently have 13-100 gal tanks and 20-29 gal tanks running. A couple of the tanks house some German Blue Rams and the rest have Discus. I work full time now for the U.S Postal Service and after work and on weekends I spend the time with my fish. I have no kids so it's only me taking care of the Discus and my wife admires them. I have imported my own but mainly purchase from others for my future breeders. Right now I have Red Melons, Albinos, Eruptions, Ocean Greens and Snakeskins. Just sold off all my breeders except one pair of Snakeskins to clear out some room for the upcoming Melons. Unlike Al I am not clueless to Auto Mechanics. I spent 25 years repairing Heavy Equipment like Bull Dozers, Road Graders, Backhoes and anything else running on Diesel and Hydraulics

**Westie** · 12-12-2005, 02:21 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Hi! I'm Scott! I'm pretty new here and like the place a lot. I live in the California Bay Area USA, where I have access to many great LFS's. I'm almost 40 (eek!) and have been arround fish all my life. I do freshwater and pond, have tanks at home and work. I am always searching for the perfect Discus and I just given up saltwalter. The cost was killing me. I do property management for a living which is a cool gig if you don't like office life. And I'm a motorcycle racer by hobby which consumes the rest of my moneys. I try to keep my hands out of the tank when I'm wrenching! And I build models when I have spare time and collect rock n roll and sci-fi memorabilia. I am always accompanied by my ever loving sidekick and wife as well as our 12 yr. old roller skating champion daughter who consumes every last penny I have, needfully. Here we are at DisneyWorlds Coral Reef Cafe. Try the blackened catfish!

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**cobaltblue** · 12-12-2005, 02:31 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Great Idea Al, here goes.

Hi all, i'm Chris ( cobaltblue) and have been on simply only since the summer of 2005. Ive had fish on and off since i was 8, but this is the most hardcore ive ever been. THis forum has been a HUGE help to me.

Im 38 years young, with a wife ( Kerry) and 3 daughters. ( mikayla 6, megan 5, and kylie 2). My family is my life, the most important thing in the world to me.

I have 4 tanks right now. A 90g show tank with 8 discus in it, ranging from 3 in to 4.5in. All fish are under a year old. Also have corys, cardinals and clown loaches in this tank. It is planted. I have two bare bottom tanks downstairs, a 33g with 6 3in fish which need to get into a bigger tank soon, and a 25g bb tank which will have a pair in it soon out of my show tank. I also have a 20g tank with guppies and platys in it. We also have a dog, shih tzu, named Bailey.

I am a manager with the Real Canadian Superstore ( kinda like Wal Mart)
Been there for 17 years now. I love to fish. Lots of salmon up here year round, so plenty of big fish. Caught a 37lb spring (KING for you americans) salmon this year, and many, many sockeye in the 8 to 12 lb range. I fly fish for steelhead and rainbow trout in the many river and serene lakes in the British Columbia interior. I like computers and most electronics. Other than fish stores, my favorite stores are Best Buy and Future Shop.
I love hockey ( as do most Canandians eh!) and football. Big time Vancouver Canucks fan, hate the Toronto Maple Leafs. I love both the CFL AND NFL AND college ball. Im a big DAWGS fan, no not the Georgia variety, but the Washington Huskies. But since they suck the past few years, ill cheer on the Trojans....GO USC. Im also a big Steelers fan, ever since the Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swan , Mean Joe Green days...

Amyway, im looking forward to getting to know more of you. Cheers

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**Ryan** · 12-12-2005, 02:38 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

My name is Ryan Smith (which I think is pretty obvious) and I'm from a small town in central Florida outside of Daytona Beach. I grew up here in a very rural country setting and so I've spent most of my life around agriculture and animals. We've always had dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, chickens, you name it. My parents bought me an aquarium when I was 5 because they thought it would be easier, cheaper, and less time consuming than a puppy or a kitten. Boy, were they wrong. By the time I was 13, I had 6 tanks crammed into my tiny bedroom and at one point I had over 100 fish. That's a lot for a kid in junior high.

I started keeping angels in my first tank at 5, and then bred them at 13. You'll notice that I mention angels a lot in my posts here, and that's why. They are always a big part of every tank I have. It's the one species I feel really confident with (whereas I'm always a nervous wreck with discus!).

I met Al the Brewmaster about 4 years ago through a mutual friend, April. I was fairly new in the world of discus but I really loved any kind of web-related techie stuff, so I agreed to try my hand at running a forum. Almost 4 years later, and here we are. It's definitely been an eye-opening experience. Who knew there'd be so much interest, politics, challenges, and rewards in such a seemingly passive hobby! You know, they say watching fish lowers your blood pressure and is good for you health.. but apparently those fish keepers haven't tried their hand at running a fish forum

I work for my dad here in central Florida. He owns his own directional boring company. Up until a few months ago I was working out in the field but now I'm in the office, which gives me lots of time to oversee what's going on here.

Currently I have no fish, mainly because I recently moved and money and space have been tight. I plan to change all that pretty soon, though. I'll turn 23 at the end of January, so maybe some new fish will be a birthday present to myself.

Ryan

**DarkDiscus** · 12-12-2005, 02:47 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Okay, I can do this!

My name is John Erdman and I have been raising and breeding tropical fish since I was 10 or so. I used to specialize in African cichlids and some South/Central American cichlids. Nothing commercial, but I bred and sold enough to pay for my hobby and even buy new tanks and stock, so I was happy. A few years back (12/22/01) I got married and moved into an apartment where I had limited space. I wanted to try my hand at a fish which would maximize my limits by being especially challenging and interesting. SO I picked discus. I was rescued from a website full of angry and cranky people by Al Sabetta, aka the Brewmaster, and he pointed me in the right direction. Oddly enough we are from the same state and we met and he helped me learn about discus husbandry. When he started up SimplyDiscus with Ryan and the rest of the crew I was invited to join as a moderator. Since my discus knowledge was more limited, I stuck to helping answer general fish questions and started doing member spotlights to help out.

Since then I have learned quite a lot about discus and about a year and a half ago I bought a house. My housewarming present to myself was a 180 gallon acryllic show tank in which I keep about 20 wild discus. I'm enjoying being a contented hobbyist and not trying to breed anything at the moment, but you never know when that might change!

I went to college at Colgate University, where I graduated with degrees in Political Science and History. I'd have been an English major, but didn't want to be a professor. Not that I ended up in a field related to my degree.

I work as the Regional Recruiting Manager for recruiting and placement firm out of Connecticut. Which basically means I'm in charge of a bunch of recruiters. I like my job and a lot of it is internet based so I can stop in during the day and monitor what's going on at SimplyDiscus. I am married with no children, yet, and have one cat who is a recent addition to our family.

My main other hobby at the moment is spending vast amounts of money repairing, restoring, upgrading and beautifying my 1839 Colonial home. My brother once called it the money pit, but it's coming along and looking sharp after a paint job and new roof (ouch!). I am a huge fan of red wine and try to keep a small collection of good bottles, but mostly end up drinking them... I am a pretty good cook. I am a big sports fan and follow the Dallas Cowboys and Boston Red Sox in rabid fashion. I used to be a huge Hartford Whalers fan, but they stupidly moved down South where people don't even care about hockey... (Yes, I am still bitter!) So I was assigned by a member here to be a Philadelphia Fliers fan, but I can't get into it..

I am also a big reader and tend to always be working on reading a book or two - particularly in the fields of science fiction, historical fiction and sword and sorcery. I don't watch any non sports television with the exception of the Science Fiction Channel, poker and the History Channel.

I feel that this place is my second home and it's fun to come here and get lost in the passions and problems of other hobbyists. I've had a great time at the two Northeast Discus Association meetings and have met a lot of great people. In particular Al and I have become good friends and enjoy talking fish and hanging out eating good food, drinking good wine and beer and smoking cigars. In fact we are due to get together again, soon!

That's about it. I'm always around, so if anyone wants to know anything else, just ask!

**John_Nicholson** · 12-12-2005, 03:57 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Well I have been messing with fish since I was 7 so that is.....oh god....33 long, hard years (many of those without discus). I have been on the forums since about 1999. It started on the old DIP forum (man those were the days). Then I kind of left there and helped Jim Quarles with his new forum. It was called Daah. Not to get into a long drawout history of that but after Jim Died I inherited that forum, It now has new ownership, and I have absolutely nothing to do with it....LOL. I keep anywhere from 2 to 6 breeding pairs at all times. Last year I started counting fry raised in January and got tired of counting in June. The count was approximately 3000 at that time. I very seldom buy fish and I never import of resale. We also raise angelfish, halfmoon bettas, and loads of killifish. I am a member of to many fish clubs to list and try to make all of the ACA's. I have been married for the last 18 years (19 on 1/5/06) and am blessed with 3 children.......And now for the most important deal of all.......if anyone needs to know secrets on any of the other oldtimers just ask me....I am bound to know something that is embarrasing to them...LOL.

-john

**Dave C** · 12-12-2005, 04:08 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

And what John doesn't know or can't remember I can usually come up with... or make up.

**Kindredspirit** · 12-12-2005, 04:13 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

I could never do this in person.....

My name is Dawn Marie Rivera, but I go by Marie~
Ya think?

I was born in Illinois and as an Army brat I have lived in Okinawa, France, Virginia, Colorado, and now in Cali~
I grew up in San Francisco, and moved to Sacramento, where I was married for 16 years, divorced and I think, now, I may have found my last love~
Time shall tell as time tells all, yes?
I have two children, 18 and 19...( yes, Jason, I am old )

We have a daycare/preschool out of our 6 bedroom house for the last 20 years and on nights and weekends I am a residential counselor for severely emotionally disturbed teen girls~
I have learned that you have to have pretty much a license to do anything in this world, but just any one can have a child....go figure~
Hug your kids everyday please~

We have four dogs, 2 Newfoundlands Shamu & Echo, 1 Great Dane Titan, and Raja, our Siberian Husky four cats, and ...
of course...

Fish...
three tanks, to be exact~
I am now poor... if I wasn't before , I am now~

One day I bought Ms. Pringles from our lfs and that night I typed in 'Discus Sites' into Google~

and here I am~

I have met great people here...
Candy, Barb, Colette, Tina, April, Angie, Angela, Ryan, JM, Greg, Frank, another Frank, Al, another Al, Jarrod, Dave,
o.k.a.y....
Jason....aka Kiwi, aka Brat~
from the first day I was here to the first moment Jason pm'd me and said 'hi'
...it felt like home~

It is nothing like any other site, make no mistake about that~

I am all over this site a lot...I really do not help many, but I have learned much, and wonder sometimes if I will ever 'get it'!

There isn't another place that compares to Simply
and I think for that reason alone
it will always Be~

**Cosmo** · 12-12-2005, 06:23 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Hi,

My names Jim, I was born in a log cabin my pappy built around 1812....

wrong story

But my name is Jim

and... I can also say... I've been around longer than there's been an internet - OMG. My first modem was 300 baud and you had to dial the connection number on the phone, then hurry up and unhook the phone and plug in the modem... come a long way huh? Thank's Al LOL

I got my first fish tank when I was 5 years old.. a couple of guppies to start... hundreds not long after

That as almost 50 years ago

I've had tanks pretty much my entire life, Angelfish, groumei's, oscars, a whole pouperei until the one day I fell in love with Discus

That was somewhere in the late 70's and have had nothing but Discus since

Almost two years ago, I build a fishroom in the basement, but had to downsize cause my daughter moved in.. one of these days.. maybe.. I'll be able to expand and do what I really want to do lol Currently, the fishroom tanks are empty, but getting ready to move a couple pairs downstairs and looking to bring in some juvies pretty soon too

Love watchen grow up from little guys to big monsters... awwwww Have 19 fish in a 180 gal BB on the second floor right off our family room.. gotta admit, is nice being able to see them all the time

My wonderful wife, who swore we'd never have a fish tank when we first decided to get married, now fully supports my addiction... lol My adult kids are so used to it they don't pay any attention... it's the norm

Then there's Jake and Katey, our Dobermans who are both the wife's and mine alter addiction... they have such a reputation but are really sweet dogs

, unless that is.. I pay too much attention to the fish and not enough to them

Used to build PC's, write database code, and install networks in my younger years.. got tired of studying all the time LOL, but hey Al (Brewmaster this time).. I can build or rebuild an auto engine in my sleep ha ha Used to be a gearhead in my late teens... drag racing up and down the streets of the NW suburbs of Chicago... shhhhh... don't tell RandalB... LOL

Jim

**Ardan** · 12-12-2005, 07:03 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

I have been in fish keeping since my early teens. I had a paper route, and everyday I had to walk by that pet store. I started to stop in and spend money on fish and tanks

then I got a job there

This was early 1970's. I ordered some discus out of Miami, but they flew into Montana on a cold snowy day and had had a delay in a cold unheated airport room. they only lasted a day.

Since then I have tried discus off and on throughout the years.

A few years ago on the internet, I saw Great Lakes Discus.

Ordered some. Got some great help. Found a few forums. SImply fit the spot.

Was learning a lot and discus doing great. I had 18. Well, one fateful day last year, the city unknowingly increased the chlorine from .3 ppm to 3 ppm. I did my wc's and hurried on, only to come back and see my discus dying. All died. I still have a few oscars, guppies, and assorted other tropical fish.
I will get back into discus, hopefully next year, but priorities are my children in college(2) and private high school(1).
My wife and I also decided last year to support our 2 sons interest in fishing on Lake Michigan. SO we bought an old boat, and started into it. Well, its expensive to begin with , to get all the gear, but also the old boat needed more work than we expected, remanufactured head, carbureatur, new fuel tanks, fuel lines, transom seal, tilt motor, ..............

Get out the credit card

I am a welder and metal fabricator by trade (25 years at this job). Was a medic in the army for 4 years after high school. We have a 21 year old son studying forestry in college. We have an 18 year old daughter, studying cosmetology, and a 15 year old son in high school.
Anyway, I really enjoy it here. I was very busy working and fishing and fixing the boat, among other things for quite a while this year and wasn't around much. I found I really missed it here. I have met some great people here.

And that's the best thing of all. the fish and the science are great, but the people make Simply what it is.

Ardan

the pic is me, driving the boat, the boys run all the lines and trolling tackle setup

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**discusfever** · 12-12-2005, 07:27 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

I am Lance Shieldnight (discusfever) 35yo in Oklahoma I am in Law enforcement and Security. I am a single dad of two beautiful children Clay 9yo son and Hunter Ann 5yo daughter speaking of Hunter that were the Discus come in, almost a year ago to date. Hunter wanted some fish for Christmas. So my roommate had taken her over to a neighbors house to see there fish. they come home telling me all about this neighbor guy across the street that breeds Discus fish. I said what in the world is a Discus? So across the street I went to investigate these Discus fish. That is when I met my now close and personal friends Andrew & Angela Richardson (aagreencountrydiscus) Andrew was sharing his knowledge of these beautiful fish. And during my investigation I learned some about Discus and told him my problem of Hunter and the fish for Christmas. So he advised me that he would help me get started in to the hobby. So off to Wal-Mart I went to get my first 29gal. Tank then the next thing that I knew I had come up with a second 29. Andrew said that we needed to build a stand for the two. So the next Saturday there we are building away. I managed these two tanks pretty well and decided that it was time for am up grade. So I bought a new 80gal. tank. I was talking with the guys at work about my discus and a coworker sold me his 75gal. Set up. I donated the two 29gal. To Andrew & Angela we built his new fish room with automated water change outs. That was an experience. You should have seen the look on our faces Andrew demonstrated the glass drilling. On one of the 29gal. That I had given them shattered on our laps. LOL well that�s enough for now.

Lance

**traco** · 12-12-2005, 07:54 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Hi all. Good thread for this time of year. Okay, my name is Barb Almond, I'm 45, been married for 23 years to my high school sweetie, John, and have an 18 year old son, Chevy (as in Chevy Chase, not the car Chevrolet ~ although we are all die hard Chevy fans!).

We live on the beautiful West Coast way up here in Canada. in the Great White North. Vancouver Island to be exact. I work out of the house for John which ties in nicely with keeping discus. We keep pretty busy here with Chevy racing karts between March and October. In the "quiet" season, keep busy with stained glass, quilting and looking after the "zoo". I have always loved animals. Always had a dog, had pet chickens, a horse, and my current pets. The "zoo" consists of Traco, our doberman, Squeak and Spike, the two cats, my discus tank with 6 discus, 33 gallon community tank and am setting back up my 65 gallon.

Now that Chevy is pretty much grown up and gone most of the time and John is working away during the week, I decided I'd dismantle my saltwater tank and try discus. Figured it would be way easier to maintain than salt, talk about head in the clouds, heh?! I got some beautiful baby discus from Barb Newell and have made my lion's share of mistakes with them. Barb stuck by me the whole time, I've persevered, have also been helped along by you guys here, as well, and I can now say that I am enjoying the fish finally. This forum has become like my second family. I've met some great people, talked on the phone to a few and made some great friends here!

Merry Christmas, all.

**Kindredspirit** · 12-12-2005, 08:32 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Hey Barb~

Got your pm...I am very proud of you! Very nicely done!

Marie~

**White Worm** · 12-12-2005, 09:19 PM

Re: Tell us about yourselves....Please

Great idea,,,,

My name is Mike Watkins, i'm 35 (mikscus) I have been the USAF for 13.5 years, 12 as a mechanic on airline size aircraft, 1.5 years now as an airforce recruiter. I have been keeping fish forever as fun. Tried all kinds (salt and fresh). I just wanted some fresh water fish that were good looking and had nice colors so I came across discus. I bought some from lfs and had no luck. Will only purchase from local breeders from now on. I have 3 tanks (85g 2 4 inch discus, 1 blue turq and 1 red turq semi adults, sampson and dalaila) (35g corner tank with breeder pair, romeo and juliet, one BD and 1 yelow-white, proven pair from my friend kenny) (75g had 16 assorted juvies until unfortunate problem with tap water contamination took them all)
My wife lisa of 7 years thinks I have lost my mind when it comes to my obsession with discus. Then she sees the fry on a pair at local breeders and allows me to spend $200 on a pair. HEHEHEHEHE. Get them involved boys and you would be amazed. My kids take up alot of time 17 Brittani (drives now

), 15 Brandon (driving permit now

), 6 Bailee (daddys little girl, thinks she is 17

). Yeah,,, Went with B's.
Came across this site because i was looking for quality discus and now I have 5,000 new friends that have the same passion that I do. How cool is that!!
Marie,,,,,, I'm hurt,,,, you didnt add me as one of your friends here

Yes, some say watching fish lowers the heart rate but.........
discus??? Is that hex, flukes, bacterial, not eating, shape, size, wc, wc, wc, nites, nates, ammo, clorine, breeding, ph, kh,gh,hardness,etc
Are you sure this a relaxing hobby???? Love it though!!!
I've found many contacts for local discus just from being part of this site since Oct 05. This is definately like second family!!!
Thanks to everyone and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all and your families!!

Tell us about yourselves....Please

Tell us about yourselves....Please

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