Hello

[Fishaholic]

Hello

I was not aware that this BB existed untill MontanaRocknReefer asked me to join.

I recognize some names from reefs.org and others I do not.

After e-mailing FishDaddy and being very impressed with the boards mission statement of promoting aquacultered corals and tank raised fish. I wanted to support this forum.

For those that are not familair with me. I will tell you briefly who I am and what I beleive. I grew up doing rehabilitation work with my father on injured wildlife. I followed this with doing the same with my girlfreind and future wife Ivy. Ivy was the first of us to work with endangered animals mostly Large cats and hoofstock. I worked with primates. We have spent a good amount of our time working to preserve endangered species. We both left this as a profession, largely due to the tiresome of a constant Mac and Cheese diet (still one of my favorite foods.)

My roots are in consevation. There are those who feel we are hypocrites if we stongly beleive in conserving the reefs but still maintain reef tanks. I do not for a second beleive this. I think we can help the future of this hobby by using aquacultered rock and supprting those who endevoure to raise captive breed fish.

I am a recreational diver and get to hear a different perspective of how the reefs are receeding. While I am sure all agree Agricultural runoff, and dynomiting the reefs for ore are the major cause of reef degradation. It is the its not my fault and finger pointing that will in the end bring on the bans of imported wild coral that are more a matter of when then if.

I do beleive that this hobby will grow to a point where wild harvesting can not supply the demand and usually when that point happens without interference it is too late for the species that can no longer repopulate. It is for this reason I do not think these bans will be bad for our hobby but rather good as it will force many to begin purchasing frags. I also enjoy to hear people talk with great pride about thier tanks that have so many fragged corals and tank raised fish.

Any way this is who I am and I look forward to knowing ya'll.

[FishDaddy]

Hi Dale & Ivy,

Glad to have you with us!
You two have a very interesting background in wildlife rehab. Sounds like a good match!
We are an eclectic group, with old pros and new reefers, with most of us somewhere in between, and always glad to have new faces.
Please tell us about your tank(s).
Again, welcome to TRT.
Dick

[Fishaholic]

I have 7 tanks

A 55 gallon reef that has been going for almost a year. It as all Florida aquacultured rock @ 100 or so various shrooms (I love shrooms)
Green star polyps (fragged), yellow polyps (fraged), feather duster, Banngai Cardinal (Butch Meader Tank raised), six line wrasse, fire fish, Black mollie (origanal inhabitant) LTA Anemone with a maron clown, red brittle star, orange bittle star, cleaner shrimp, 2 pepperent shrimp.

A 90 gallon that was set up to house many of Butch Meaders inhabitants after he broke down his 2000 gallon system. All Florida Auacultured rock, elegance coral, buble coral, frogspawn, open brain, GSP, yellow polyps, and many shrooms.

A 30 gallon reef

A leaking 25 gallon reef

A 30 gallon tropical goldfish tank

A 15 gallon murdering Cichlid tank

A 55 gallon mixed freshwater tank.

And a 135 gallon outside comet pond.

[asmith]

Welcome to The Reef Tank Dale and Ivy! It is great to have you here. You have very interesting backgrounds. I am a major fan of propogated corals. I would say that at least 9 out of 10 corals in my tank are propogated from hobbiest tanks. I have given out numerous frags of my own corals as well. I would love to see our hobby evolve to a point where all corals in our tanks are fragged from captive corals. It may take a lot of hard work and time, but I think it can be done.

Again, Welcome. We look forward to hearing more about you and your tanks.

Andrew

[Doug1]

Welcome Dave and Ivy, I think you will find this is a nice little community. As stated we have members with experience that ranges from rank beginers to a couple people well versed in marine biology and most everything in between. Some are in the sci end and others are in retail to some degree, but we all have a perspective on the hobby and all seem bound by the common goal of low working toward zero impact reefing. Glad to have another educated view point
FWIW I have been into marine tanks since 1975 and reefs about 4 yrs now, about 80% of my current reef is aragrocrete and frags, My skunk clowns arent dating yet

[Rick O]

Hi Dave.


I'm glad to see you here.

[tdwyatt]

Congratulations on finding this bbs!!!

I think that you will find that the timbre of the reefkeepers here will pretty much match the sentiments you opened the thread with here. I can relate to the change of professions due to economics. It was best put to me by one of my Marine Bio profs:

...you can make this (Marine Biology) your vocation, and give your life to it; or you can make this your avocation, and give your soul (and your money) to it. Either way, if you have the desire and the drive to make it as much of your life as you say you (Tom) do, you will find a way to do that...

Heh, this was after I started meeting some of the folks ahead of me in school that had left for jobs, but come back to post-grad school because the field was saturated in the 70's.

Anyway, good luck with your tanks, and again, Welcome to TRT!

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Hi Fishaholic! Glad to see you have landed here at TRT! I hope you will enjoy being here and look forward to you posting! Once again WELCOME! Johnny

[Drew]

Great to have you here! I'm glad to see yet another person who realizes the inportance of aquaculture. Welcome!

Drew

[eaglelox]

good to have you here at TRT.talk to you soon.

[JennM]

Welcome, Dave & Ivy!

We'd sure like to see you at an Atlanta Reef Club meeting!!!

Jenn

[Spanky]

About time you guys found us over here!


Jerel

[galleon]

Dave and Ivy,
good to see you here. I hope you'll enjoy and frequently participate in/with this wonderful community of hobbyists!