Chat transcripts

[20:03 15/10/2004] <@craig> Good evening everyone! Welcome to Live! Fishchat!
[20:03 15/10/2004] <@craig> Tonights guest speaker is who? Everyone!
[20:04 15/10/2004] <@craig> I am going to depart from the normal presentation tonight and give everyone here a chance to be a part of the show.
[20:04 15/10/2004] <@craig> The format will be quite simple..
[20:05 15/10/2004] <@craig> I am going to start at the top of the nick name list I have and give everyone a few minutes to say what they want..
[20:06 15/10/2004] <@craig> Since I am at the top of the list I'll start. :-)
[20:06 15/10/2004] <@craig> (Get ready G, you are next.)
[20:06 15/10/2004] <@craig> Why do I keep fish?
[20:07 15/10/2004] <@craig> I keep them because they give me an escape from the tiring everyday humdrum, I can watch them and in most instances they watch me.
[20:08 15/10/2004] <@craig> I can look over my right shoulder now and see that there are at least two fish watching me, hoping that I will pick up the food tub and give them a bite to eat.
[20:09 15/10/2004] <@craig> Most of all though, its about seeing creatures that otherwise wouldn't have a home that they can enjoy..
[20:10 15/10/2004] <@craig> G..
[20:11 15/10/2004] <@craig> Something you can contribute? It doesn't have to be about why you keep fish, it can be anything fish related..
[20:11 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> For starters, I just want to clear the record and say that I actually did vote for the fish of the month before I voted against it....
[20:12 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> Not that I make a habit of being serious, but to add something that is somewhat related to what craig said...
[20:13 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> I started out keeping fish for fun, and had to wait quite a while before I was allowed to own an aquarium.
[20:15 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> And since I just started a thought I hadn't finished, let me switch to something else...
[20:15 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> One thing that's nice about the internet is the spread of wholesalers and other such places that allow people to afford equipment and materials they may otherwise not have been able to afford.
[20:16 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> In this respect, it's great because it allows more people to enjoy the hobby, and it allows those people who were already in the hobby to further experience and enjoy the hobby.
[20:17 15/10/2004] <@craig> When you are ready to pass the baton, let me know. :-)
[20:17 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> One thing I have experienced first hand several times over the past six years, however, are hobbyists who use local fish shops as an information source, whether it be how to treat a sick fish, what to do about breeding, how to maintain, etc...
[20:17 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> ...but these people buy everything online.
[20:19 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> So, my final words, if you use mail order catalogs and websites to purchase goods, that's great, but don't forget the local people that offer a near endless source of information that is (or should always be) free to even the non-paying customer...
[20:19 15/10/2004] <+G_Love> Support your local stores.
[20:20 15/10/2004] <@craig> Agreed most definitely..
[20:20 15/10/2004] <@craig> Megan? What would you like to say tonight?
[20:21 15/10/2004] <+megan> I thought I might say a little about my experiences with fish when I was a kid, since I don't believe I've shared them before :)
[20:21 15/10/2004] <@craig> Go for it. ;-)
[20:22 15/10/2004] <+megan> First of all, I cringe in retrospect, because my first fish did come from a fair...
[20:23 15/10/2004] <+megan> I think I was about 6, and I kept him in a rubbermaid-type container, unfortunately... his name was "Ready" and I used to set up books around his "tank" so he wouldn't get bored
[20:24 15/10/2004] <+megan> Needless to say, he only lasted for about 15 days.. :( I didn't have any fish after that until my dad got a 10-gallon with guppies
[20:25 15/10/2004] <+megan> That was actually pretty successful, but we had to give away the fish when we moved here.
[20:26 15/10/2004] *** xword (~nigel@host217-35-90-98.in-addr.btopenworld.com) has left IRC (Signed off)
[20:26 15/10/2004] <+megan> Finally, in 7th grade, our science class did a unit in which we kept a guppy and a crayfish in a tiny tank. We tested the water, grew plants, and I found myself very interested, so I came home and set up our old 10 gallon with a few tetras.
[20:27 15/10/2004] <+megan> Next I got my 29, then the 55, then the 75, and that's where I am now. :)
[20:28 15/10/2004] <@craig> :-D
[20:28 15/10/2004] <@craig> NatFinck, do you have something you would like to say?
[20:28 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> uhhh...I'm still wet behind the ears. lol
[20:28 15/10/2004] <@craig> Not a worry, its your 5 minutes. ;-)
[20:29 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> I don't think I can add anything useful about fish in general, since I'm just a beginner and trying to absorb as much info as I can
[20:29 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> but I *do* wish to say how much I appreciate having found Badmans
[20:29 15/10/2004] <@craig> Since you said that, what brought you to Badmans?
[20:29 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> I get absolutely neurotic about every pet I get and fish are no exception
[20:29 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> actually, I was looking for fish compatability
[20:30 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> typed that in good ol' google
[20:30 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> and up came Badmans
[20:30 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> I've spent many hours scouring the site since
[20:30 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> I'm still making painful beginner mistakes, but I like to think that they are fewer than they otherwise would have been
[20:32 15/10/2004] <@craig> What of all things keeps you coming back to Badmans?
[20:32 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> a supportive community you can turn to with questions is immeasurable help
[20:32 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> I like the atmosphere here
[20:32 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> the people are friendly and helpful
[20:33 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> and maintain a positive attitude.
[20:33 15/10/2004] <@craig> That's what we are here for. :-)
[20:33 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> not to mention very patient
[20:33 15/10/2004] <+NatFinck> ;o)
[20:33 15/10/2004] <@craig> Geoff, your turn. :-)
[20:33 15/10/2004] <+Noname> If there was a fish (I imagine a pike) which collected every dollar made from the animal kingdom of fish, this fish, would be, insanely rich.
[20:34 15/10/2004] <+Noname> the sport fishing industry is 116 billion dollars from a quick google search I just did, keep in mind, this is just sportfishing.
[20:35 15/10/2004] <+Noname> We also have commercial fishing, and off course, why we are all here, the hobby of keeping fish in what is usually a compleatly un-natural environment for our own purposes
[20:36 15/10/2004] <+Noname> There are superstores in my area, the chain known as Big Al's, which are made just for the fishkeeping hobby. These stores keep opening new stores, and are super busy at most times of the year, sometimes with overflowing parking lots, and even people to direct traffic.
[20:37 15/10/2004] <+Noname> Kings in the past kept koi, legendary, said to live generations, Egyptians kept them in ornamental ponds much the same way.
[20:37 15/10/2004] <+Noname> What I am getting at is, we do quite a bit for one kingdom of animals, possible more than any other kingdom there is.
[20:38 15/10/2004] <+Noname> I believe that we should respect the fish deeply, as they do not complain being taken from their homes, they are contend with sharing their lives with us, and for that I am thankful, and I think you should be aswell
[20:38 15/10/2004] <+Noname> To avoid going into a super rant, Im gonna end there craig. ^_^
[20:39 15/10/2004] <@craig> Thanks Geoff. :-D
[20:39 15/10/2004] <@craig> Russ, what would you like to say?
[20:40 15/10/2004] <+russ> yep, give me about 1 min:-)
[20:40 15/10/2004] <@craig> To touch on what Geoff was saying (and to give Russ a minute to collect his thoughts) the fish industry is the third largest in the pet trade.
[20:41 15/10/2004] <+russ> all set:-)
[20:42 15/10/2004] <@craig> Your 5, do as you will. :-)
[20:42 15/10/2004] <+russ> and to touch on what Craig just mentioned, tropical fish is still the number two hobby:-)
[20:42 15/10/2004] <+russ> overall
[20:43 15/10/2004] <+russ> Howdy folks. Hmmm, what could I possibly say from being in this hobby for 45 years and counting? "I came". "I saw". "I did a partial water change".
[20:43 15/10/2004] <+russ> My grandfather procured my first aquarium when I was about 9 years old. I still remember peering over the top and seeing the shiny and shimering fins of the Betta I had in the tank. Along with a goldfigh, an angelfish, a RT Shark, and about ten other critters.
[20:44 15/10/2004] <+russ> I have been very fortunate over the next several years to have been mentored by some very fine fish folks. While striving to maintain my tanks, I helped out in the fish rooms of these folks and learned.
[20:44 15/10/2004] <+russ> y the time I was in high school, I had my own fish room in my parent's basement. It son became an extention of other's fish rooms that I had mentored with. We were breeding tremedous strains of guppies at the time. Soon ventured into Angelfish and cories, then experimented with swordtails.
[20:45 15/10/2004] <+russ> By the time I was a junior in HS, I had 72 tanks in my fishroom. Paid my way through Jr College before the roof fell in. Got drafted. I had to quickly scale back, but after an overseas tour in Vietnam and at my first stateside permanent location, I jumped right back into it.
[20:46 15/10/2004] <+russ> It was at this time that I helped form a local/turned regional, aquarium society. Somehow I kept reenlisting when the time came, but always maintained aquariums. It was at my last permanent duty station that I built yet another 'micro hatchery'.
[20:46 15/10/2004] <+russ> Things really started to take off pretty fast. Most seemed like a blur. Several years later and membership in several other societies, I was offered a majority partnership in a pet retail business.
[20:47 15/10/2004] <+russ> It was almost another hectic blur. Three different shops plus another silent partnership in another, plus the hatchery, which grew to several different locations, then boom.
[20:47 15/10/2004] <+russ> After taking my hobby as far as it could go, plus an injury that limited some of my bendidng motion, I decided to retire and just go back to being a regular hobbyist.
[20:48 15/10/2004] <+russ> This of coarse is a very tiny nutshell of my 45 years in this wonderful hobby. Since the internet came about I ventured through many sites. Some are good and some haven't a clue. Not withstanding the krib and fishnet on compuserve, this site is by far one of the best I've had the privilege to be part of. Great folks are here.
[20:48 15/10/2004] <@craig> Russ, do you mind if I ask you a question?
[20:48 15/10/2004] <+russ> go right ahead
[20:49 15/10/2004] <@craig> Given your history in the trade, what keeps you in it?
[20:49 15/10/2004] <+russ> the hobby?
[20:49 15/10/2004] <@craig> Yes.
[20:50 15/10/2004] <+russ> Now I have to collect a few more thoughts:-)
[20:52 15/10/2004] <+russ> I love peering through the tops of aquariums and seeing that first fish with the shiny, shimmering fins, that my grandfather bought for me ;-)
[20:53 15/10/2004] <@craig> If I might paraphrase, its the fish? :-)
[20:54 15/10/2004] <+russ> Its the combination of all thats involved in the hobby I guess.
[20:54 15/10/2004] <@craig> Shay, do you have something you'd like to say?
[20:55 15/10/2004] <+shay> Sure, I can relate a little bit to everything said tonight. Megan, I can just picture you setting uo the books for "Ready" to read. My
[20:55 15/10/2004] <+shay> two year old Meghan kisses my tanks goodnight each night.
[20:56 15/10/2004] <+shay> Anyway, about three years ago I broke my leg.
[20:56 15/10/2004] <+shay> I broke it twice that year with the end result being 7 screws and a plate.
[20:57 15/10/2004] <+shay> I could not ride my horse anymore without pain.
[20:57 15/10/2004] <+shay> I thought that keeping fish would be safer and less painful.
[20:58 15/10/2004] <+shay> It has been deadly to my bank account.
[20:59 15/10/2004] <+shay> Not to mention the time I left the DIY Co2 unplugged and drained about 25 gallons out of the tank nearly electrocuting myself in the process.
[21:00 15/10/2004] <+shay> As time has gone on, I have learned a little more and hae found myself drifting towards keeping plants rather than fish. It's strange but I can not keep a plant alive unless its underwater.
[21:01 15/10/2004] <+shay> Craig?
[21:01 15/10/2004] <@craig> Yes?
[21:02 15/10/2004] <+shay> Anyone next?
[21:02 15/10/2004] <@craig> Nope, time to open the floor and let the rambling begin..
[21:03 15/10/2004] <@craig> Its open folks.. Chat away. :-)
[21:04 15/10/2004] <russ> This has been pretty interesting tonight... No technobabble, just great stories:-)
[21:04 15/10/2004] <@JP> Hey everyone, I've arrived. :-)
[21:04 15/10/2004] <@craig> I would have liked to have a better presentation, but there are times when it is best to let people say what they want. I hope tonight met that goal.
[21:05 15/10/2004] <russ> hee hee, your turn
[21:05 15/10/2004] <@JP> Well, it all started twenty years ago...
[21:05 15/10/2004] <shay> It was nice to hear everyone's stories
[21:05 15/10/2004] <@JP> ;-)
[21:05 15/10/2004] <Noname> Nice idea craig. ^_^
[21:06 15/10/2004] <Noname> much better than, "now Geoff will talk about "X" although, it was frightengly similar at first...
[21:06 15/10/2004] <@craig> I would be interested in more of than rant Geoff. :-D
[21:06 15/10/2004] <Noname> LOL
[21:06 15/10/2004] <@craig> Say it.
[21:06 15/10/2004] <Noname> Oh, I imagine a big pike in a lounge coat, with a monical, ... (its getting late, logic part of brain died with my rant)
[21:07 15/10/2004] <Noname> My rant was mainly more of the same, I am just generally amazed how much money humans pump into fish
[21:08 15/10/2004] <Noname> I mean, the most simple of all invertibrates....animals that just swim in water and do stuff.... aliens would probably think we are wierdos
[21:08 15/10/2004] <@craig> Is it so wrong that we put that money into something that brings some small measure of joy into our world?
[21:09 15/10/2004] <@JP> Joy? Is that what they're calling it now?
[21:09 15/10/2004] <Noname> lol
[21:09 15/10/2004] <@craig> I don't know about the rest of you, but I DO enjoy my fish and their antics..
[21:09 15/10/2004] <shay> Aliens? Heck, anyone who doesn't own a fish tank probably thinks we are insane.
[21:10 15/10/2004] <@JP> Nah, you're all insane with or without fish. ;-)
[21:10 15/10/2004] <shay> True.
[21:10 15/10/2004] <@JP> I like fish too, or else I wouldn't have them.
[21:10 15/10/2004] <@JP> Speaking of fish, I need to change water..I'll be in and out.
[21:10 15/10/2004] <Noname> I think it is a novel concept to take and animal from the wild and put it in an environment sometimes dozends of times smaller than which they were ment ot be. I mean, I do it, and, I hope my fish are happy, but, I always wish I could give them a bigger tank..
[21:10 15/10/2004] <@craig> Pfft, unless you have seen 15 loaches dance before feeding time.. Oh well..
[21:10 15/10/2004] <russ> JP, speak for yourself. I'm moderate and the rest of the world is insane:-D
[21:12 15/10/2004] <@JP> I'm not insane, I'm JP. ;-)
[21:12 15/10/2004] <shay> Thank you all for your stories. It's time to hit the bricks.
[21:13 15/10/2004] <russ> take care Shay:-)
[21:13 15/10/2004] <shay> G'nite
[21:13 15/10/2004] <megan> goodnight shay :)
[21:13 15/10/2004] <shay> Goodnight Megan
[21:14 15/10/2004] <@craig> I'd like to thank everyone for being here tonight, as this was a chat that I could not have been done with out you.
[21:15 15/10/2004] <@craig> #badmanschat is the place to be.
[21:15 15/10/2004] <russ> Craig, this was a verygood evening chat presentation. Kind of relaxing.
[21:15 15/10/2004] <Noname> Thanks for the chat craig. ^_^ was nice