Who Is Everyone?

[Rob]

Ok.... the forum has been running for a few months now, and I've got to say I'm well impressed with the amount of info, and experience that it has brought together. Cheers!!!!!!

I know eveyones screen name, but what the hell do you all do, apart from obsess over you fish!

I'll start the ball rolling.

I Studied Civil & Environmental Engineering at Edinburgh Uni, (after 3 wasted years studying biology). I recently bought an old derelict house in the county, which uses all our cash and time......just to make ti waterproof!!!

In 2002 I started my own business called QEMS Limited, which supplies quality, environmental and engineering management services to various different industries.

I got into fish about 6 years ago when my girlfried (now wife) bought me a 2 foot tank as stress relief. Six months later she went down to her sisters for a week and when she arrived ack the 2 ft tank had grown into a 4ft tank!


Future Plans: Retire early, and build tropical hothouse with a HUGE tank/ glass fronted pond!

Rob

[Barbie]

I had a little technical difficulty figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I've worked as a bookkeeper, a veterinary tech, a barn manager for a World Class horse training stable, an AI tech, and I'm now managing the Local Fish store. While I loved some of my other jobs, this one is by far my favorite so far.

When I got into keeping fish a while back, my (now ex) boyfriend told me I could only have 3 tanks. By the time I got to 18, I got sick of listening to him complain about them and left, even though he was offering to completely rebuild the garage to keep them . I've since moved from Washington state, to Kansas City, to Anchorage, Alaska, and now back to Spokane. I usually had at least 16 tanks, with as many as 26 at one point. Due to selling back all of my livestock before each move, I've had a pretty broad and varied selection over the years.

My husband is very supportive of the fish keeping hobby, and kept big tanks of tropheus before we started dating even. He says I can put up a central rack system for growout tanks, he just wants to be able to look at the plans first, so I knew he was a keeper We're currently running about 1100 gallons of water in the house, and hopefully the first central will boost that to 1750, with a second rack on a separate system at some point for the breeders.

Barbie

[Rob]

I Like it....... I think your husband should try and talk to my wife!! Although I can't complain, when I set up my 7ft set up she told me that was it, I 'm now working on the fishroom. for the zebras. She has assured me that this descision is not money orientated!!!

Rob

[zeberdy]

Ok this is the low down

I had many years with little or no direction as to what I wanted to do. When I reached the ripe old age of 39 I decided it was time to stop messing about and go to university. Three years later I ended up with a Bsc in information systems networks. I set up my own business in 2002 (Satchco Enterprises Ltd) and never looked back My main area of work is around Training, research and development although I do occationally do a bit of "hands on" technical stuff.

I started fish keeping about 15 years ago with a two foot tank and some zebra danios. I began to get really adicted to it around 6 years ago when I went into a garden centre and spotted a bristlenose plec. From then on the plecs have increased to somewhere in the region of 60 at last count and obviously this means more tanks I have just finished my fish room which has 12 tanks of various sizes and there is another 3 community tanks in the living room.

I am very lucky to have a supportive partner who just lets me get on with it.

My future plans are to set up training courses for new fishkeepers and maybe one day I might even retire.

Diane

[DasArab]

Right so its crunch time is it?????
I left school at 16 with 4 O levels, went to college for a year to become a chef but that really sucked!!!! Next time your out for a meal think about the staff, cooking for the public really sucks!!!! Jacked that in and landed lucky and got a job at my local Co-op as a store man. Worked my way up to Assistant Manager and after 10 years, sorry 2 weeks short of 10 years decided enough was enough. Well i applied to the Prison service and have never looked back since. Been a Prison Officer for 6 years now and its a great job. Nothing like Bad girls at all though, LOL.

[wandj]

Hi. I kept 3 tanks when I was a kid. When I left the house at 17 to go to University, I did not haul any tanks around, so left the hobby. I was studying to be a Dietician. It was a 4 year program but I quit after 2 years. Money was a big issue and I really lost interest. And I realized I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was.
I did have a tank during my last year that was about 80 gal and just had a big Oscar in it.
I sold the tank to a friend and moved another 12 or more times. Settled back here in my home town and landed a good Union job with a major Forest Products company. The pay and benefits are good so I have a feeling I will retire here...unless the company has some market issues. (We are going through a Softwood Lumber dispute with the States, etc)
Just got back into fish May of THIS year. So consider me a Newbie. So much has changed and I can't believe how LITTLE I knew about fish. (No wonder I lost so many when I was a kid!) I have learned a ton since May and fell in love with the pic of the Zebra pleco. I have a few of the beauties but cannot convince them to multiply themselves. Patience patience.
So that's my simple, boring little story. I'd be lying if I said I travelled the world, slashed paths through the Amazon, went sky diving, joined the Circus and was trampled by an Elephant.
My beau does not support my fish hobby very well and he complains a bit too much about the clutter, etc. Won't let me put any more tanks in either, but I have enough now anyway. (Never enough! I want my own lake!) Wish I lived in a warm climate so I could have fish outdoors, but oh well. Nice to meet ya all and I suspected Barbie worked in a fish store. I knew it!

[Barbie]

I just sound like someone that works in a fish store? I'll have you know I was a knowitall long before I started working here! LOL. I did commercial tank maintenance for quite a while in KC. That was an interesting job, but tons of experience with different setups that way at least.

Barbie

[Tristan]

Hello everyone. Here we go, I’ll try not to waffle.

I did GCSE and 5 A-levels and went on to University to study Catering & Hotel Management, (chiefly because it involved 8 hours per week of lectures and i could concentrate on my rugby career). During this time i started to play semi professional rugby and hoped for a full time contract etc, anyway I kept snapping in half ( 2 groin hernias and 2 calf hernias) so decided that, unfortunately that rugby was not going to offer a long term stream of income.

It was at this time that i realised that i did not fancy the reality of working 100hrs + in a hotel per week either so my degree is just a piece o paper in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. It was after leaving uni that i decided to get a tank, i have always had a fascination with anything aquatic and used to dive quite a bit so it seemed only natural to get a tank.

I did loads of reading, primarily on the internet, regarding set-ups and fish etc but was sold a 300L tank and some guppies for cycling. A month later the fish shop sold me some discus and away I went. in hindsight discus after a month is not something that i would repeat or advise anyone to do but as i was doing regular water changes, somehow i managed to keep them alive. I did get round to breeding them a few times but without an RO unit it is hard work. I then got into Malawi’s and now breed a few species that i can flog to local shops.

I first saw some zebras in a local shop for £55 and thought one day i ought to get some of those, the price then dropped to £45 per fish or £115 for 4 i still thought that this was expensive, anyway they sold and I didn't really think about them for a while. I then got chatting to Barbie in the planet catfish chatroom , one or two others chipped in and i decided to go for it so i now have 7 fish ranging from 2" to 4". If you want to see piccys have a look here http://www.hurstpointyachts.co.uk/fish_home.htm

Hope i haven't bored you all . BTW i am currently an estate agent , not something i intend to do for ever but it gives me a car and easy money so until i can think of something better to do i think i am stuck with it. Any suggestions for work would be appreciated.

Cheers

[du ma]

student, accounting major. age 22

started raising fish 3 years ago when flowerhorns were at peak in the states. had about 5 tanks total at that time.

my friend showed me some pictures of the zebra plecos and then i bought a few, and a few, and a few more. but i got rid of all my flowerhorns about a year ago and im raising only zebras at the moment. 3 tanks for them, smaller tanks turned in to DIY wet dry filters

mug shots?? anyone down for it??

[Adam]

mug shots?? anyone down for it??

Here's one from my student days.

[du ma]

my wife and i

[Rob]

I'll try and look one out that doesn't make me look like a criminal!


rob

[edit] By the way Adam, you're either a dead rigner for a young Brad Pitt, or I'm going to posting a picture of tom cruise!!!!

[Adam]

[edit] By the way Adam, you're either a dead rigner for a young Brad Pitt, or I'm going to posting a picture of tom cruise!!!!

LMAO

I was starting to think that I'd got away with the deception at least I got Du ma. As you've probably guessed by now I'm a bit of a prankster.

Now where did I put that picture of Antonio Banderas.

[McEve]

I was just trying to remember the name of that guy, Adam - then make a wise crack at ya

(so what girl can't remember the name of Brad Pitt huh .... well.. what can I say... at least I recognized him! )

[Adam]

Hey Rob, me thinks that you had some help from Mrs Rob as It took you a whole day to spot the resemblance and then edit your post.