bettababy
New Member
Hi everyone, I am new here at R2R but not to fish/reef keeping. 
I have been working in the fish/aquarium industry for 20+ yrs and have been keeping fish for longer than that. I'm an aquatic specialist/nutritionist with a specialty in fish medicine. Maybe I will be able to help some of the members when I am here.
I am married to an aquatic biologist so we share our passion for the hobby and thus we have a house full of aquariums, among other pets. The only thing that prevents me from setting up more tanks is lack of space. We have very little furniture in our house because the tanks just don't allow for that... and there is no way we would ever consider giving up our aquariums.
I currently have 9 aquariums running, but only 2 of them are reef tanks. (the rest are freshwater at the moment) The smallest is a 20 gallon fw shrimp tank, the largest is a 215 gallon fw tank. My reef tanks are a 29 gallon biocube and a 75 gallon in the process of being upgraded to 120 gallon. Currently the 29 gallon only has a few reef hermits and turbo snails, waiting until I can find (and afford) the flamboyant cuttlefish I have been searching for. As my fw fish begin to die of old age I will be slowly changing those tanks over to sw in the future. I've grown bored with fw and want to pursue sw breeding and coral propagation on a larger scale than I can do at present. Unlike some people I am committed to my animals so I don't just sell them off or trade them in when I want something new. Every animal that comes into my home has a permanent home with me until it dies of old age. Some of them are rescues, so sadly don't live a full lifespan... but they do get to enjoy a good (and pampered) life here until they die from whatever other causes (usually organ damage) that happen.
I am currently self employed and have my own small lab set up here at home, which allows me to pursue my research as I find the time. Once my youngest child graduates high school this coming spring I will be expanding my lab to include a few research tanks, more equipment, and more space to work. I also do lab work for others who are local and in need (for a small fee), and from time to time I get called in as a consult for some of the area pet stores who need help with medical problems.
When I'm not swimming in fish (which is most of the time) I am usually on my computer or playing with the other family pets (a dog, a sun conure, and a harlequin macaw). Life is always busy but it's happy, which is all that counts.
Not sure what else to say about myself... please feel free to ask questions.
I have been working in the fish/aquarium industry for 20+ yrs and have been keeping fish for longer than that. I'm an aquatic specialist/nutritionist with a specialty in fish medicine. Maybe I will be able to help some of the members when I am here.I am married to an aquatic biologist so we share our passion for the hobby and thus we have a house full of aquariums, among other pets. The only thing that prevents me from setting up more tanks is lack of space. We have very little furniture in our house because the tanks just don't allow for that... and there is no way we would ever consider giving up our aquariums.
I currently have 9 aquariums running, but only 2 of them are reef tanks. (the rest are freshwater at the moment) The smallest is a 20 gallon fw shrimp tank, the largest is a 215 gallon fw tank. My reef tanks are a 29 gallon biocube and a 75 gallon in the process of being upgraded to 120 gallon. Currently the 29 gallon only has a few reef hermits and turbo snails, waiting until I can find (and afford) the flamboyant cuttlefish I have been searching for. As my fw fish begin to die of old age I will be slowly changing those tanks over to sw in the future. I've grown bored with fw and want to pursue sw breeding and coral propagation on a larger scale than I can do at present. Unlike some people I am committed to my animals so I don't just sell them off or trade them in when I want something new. Every animal that comes into my home has a permanent home with me until it dies of old age. Some of them are rescues, so sadly don't live a full lifespan... but they do get to enjoy a good (and pampered) life here until they die from whatever other causes (usually organ damage) that happen.
I am currently self employed and have my own small lab set up here at home, which allows me to pursue my research as I find the time. Once my youngest child graduates high school this coming spring I will be expanding my lab to include a few research tanks, more equipment, and more space to work. I also do lab work for others who are local and in need (for a small fee), and from time to time I get called in as a consult for some of the area pet stores who need help with medical problems.
When I'm not swimming in fish (which is most of the time) I am usually on my computer or playing with the other family pets (a dog, a sun conure, and a harlequin macaw). Life is always busy but it's happy, which is all that counts.
Not sure what else to say about myself... please feel free to ask questions.
