apistomaster is alive and well

[apistomaster]

So many of my on-line friends and customers have been contacting me to see if I was OK that I thought it might be a good idea to let everyone know I am OK.
I did get into a deep funk last winter and stopped participating on forums and let my fish slide. I barely kept the important stuff alive but I didn't provide enough care for any plecos to breed. I came out of it and my plecos are doing much better so I hope I have some to spare next spring/summer.
Even through the months of neglect my F1 Nhamunda Blue Discus grew up, paired off and have spawned 10-12 times.
So far I have two mated pairs. I still haven't moved the pairs to individual breeding tanks but I will soon. My Discus friends have been clamoring for F2's I raise so I need to get with the program.
I am still keeping L134, L333 and L260 going. Also some Killifish. I have Fundulopanchax scheeli and Aphyosemion australe Gold(Gold Lyre Tails).
Both are hardy, long lived and easy to breed. These are among the few Killies which do well in peaceful community tanks.

Thanks again for every ones' concern and I'll try to get back being more involved on the forums.
I've been enjoying my new Diamondback Mountain Bike and been learning more about fishing for the Small Mouth Bass which are so common in the Snake and Clearwater rivers which confluence right where I live. So unlike trout fly fishing where I generally have to travel about 150 miles, these Bass are minutes away. Man, they sure fight well for their size. I haven't yet caught any over 14 inches/2 lb.s but many over 6 lb.s are caught so I am hoping I encounter one of those.
See everyone around.

[bassgenie]

Welcome back Larry!

[krazyGeoff]

Yeah Larry.

Welcome back

[Jools]

As our 6th biggest poster of all time, it's good to know you're back amongst us and, more importantly, out of the funk.

Cheers

Jools

[Scleropages]

I saw you checking in on the "Finally! The Fishing Season!" thread so I knew you were around. Still, sorry to hear about your funk and good to hear you are getting your passion back. It's amazing how some fish will do the dance (like your discus) even when we are ignoring them and not providing ideal conditions, eh?

[apistomaster]

Hi Jools,
I had no idea I was the 6th most prolific poster in the forum. Interesting and I'm amazed.

And to all my other friends,
Thank you for your warm welcome back messages.
I am one of those who has had a long standing problem with clinical depression which comes and goes but I also am very sensitive to seasonal affective disorder(SAD).
When the two hit at the same time it is like a perfect storm. It really laid me low.
Fortunately in is all literally in my head.
I always have thought of these as weather systems of the mind. Wait long enough and the weather always changes.
It is rare for me to have a bout as bad as last winter and early spring was.
So it is nice to be back to my more positive self again and I hope I can channel some of my abilities into my fish breeding projects and get back to where I was. I enjoy breeding fish but I do tend to treat it as a business. You can't just quit because it is like running a farm or ranch.
So much of what it takes to breed fish semi-commercially is very repetitive and boring. That is why I finally reached my burn out after about 8 years of intense involvement. I had to take a break and find some new things to do to help rekindle my interest.
Even through the worst of it I at least forced myself to do what I had to do to retain my breeding stock.
Fortunately Plecos and Discus live long lives so a lost season isn't the end of the world.

Thanks again to everyone.

[bigamefish]

Good to see ya again!

[prairiefire]

Good to see the master back --

[apistomaster]

Good to see the master back --

Thank you, prairiefire.
Some may find the story behind my choice of user name apistomater funny,
Before I became interested in Plecos I mainly raised Discus, Killiefish and Apistogramma.
I seemed to always have good success with the Apistogramma so when I had to choose a name I thought that "apistomaster" would be unlikely already taken.
I then revised my fish raising set up so I had larger tanks better suited for plecos and Discus.
I tried to raise Apistogramma but I seemed to have lost my touch with them and successes became relatively infrequent.
In theory, larger tanks are better for raising Apistos but I had always bred my pairs in 10 gal tanks. Now 20 longs are the smallest tanks I have.
Even on the www.apistogramma.com forum, before the site was revised, I had the "expert" title but now they are using only are moderators, donors and members descriptions under your name and avatar. Oh well.
My fish keeping and breeding experiences and interests are broad based. The only group of fish I never really took to were the West African Dwarf Cichlids and the Rift lakes Cichlids. The very first fish I bred was Tilapia mossambica. That was 50 years ago. I figure once you have bred one mouth brooder you have bred them all.

[Scleropages]

Hey, now. Don't be lumping all mouthbrooders into one group. As you may know, the fish in my avatar (my favorite fish) is a mouth brooder. I would never confuse it with a mbuna, and I know you wouldn't too.

[panaque]

Good to have you back and feeling positive again.

[Richard B]

Brilliant to see you back Larry

[racoll]

Great to see you back Larry.

[apistomaster]

Arigatou gozaimasu.

[Taratron]

Good to have you back, man. A vacation is all that's needed sometimes!

[naturalart]

Glad you got your mojo workin' again.

[apistomaster]

Glad you got your mojo workin' again.

Or at least back working in my salt mine again.
I have always had to integrate my fish breeding operation into the confines of my small house. It means I can't automate water changes or use a few centralized filtration systems. I need a dedicated fish room with concrete floors and drains. I frequently get distracted while filling tanks and flood my carpets. I siphon waste water out the doors and out to my yard.
In the winter this is a problem because my doors must be left open at least a little. My kitchen has to double as my fish utility room. Hard to switch back and forth from kitchen to utility. My bathroom is where I set up my RO unit and 2-55 gallon plastic water storage barrels. The bathroom door is under sized. I had to take off the door and it took two guys to shove the barrels through. It isn't like I don't have a system but it sure could be better. Wish I was wealthy. I would knock down this house and build a new one with a specially designed fish room. If I could automate more routine functions then I could triple the number of tanks from 12 to 36 or more without increasing the work.

[naturalart]

I know what you mean. Currently my bathroom, closet and bedroom do double duty as well. For me half the time waterchanges are a straight chore and the other times I think about how great my fish and tanks look afterward and I look forward to the task.

[krazyGeoff]

Hey Larry,
Mention of your RO unit made a thought pop into my head.
Do you still have your cat?
The last story I remember is when it had chewed through your RO water line.

Cheers

Geoff

[apistomaster]

Geoff,
Not only do I still have that cat but soon after I got it my elderly mother also got a kitten. I told her if it became too much for her I would take it.
Now I have both cats. They finally outgrew their bad habits of chewing holes in my RO unit tubing and recharging cables of my cell phone recharger. I had to replace the recharger twice. I now keep them outdoors 95% of the time. They are spayed and kept vaccinated. I do worry about neighborhood dogs and racoons but they seem to be getting by. Cat #1 was caught with a Mourning Dove kill a couple weeks ago so it appears they are getting some extras in their diet.
I forgot the name of the second cat. I never call them by name. They are just "Here Kitty" depending on which one is missing at feeding times. Only my vet knows what name I gave the second one. I call them "dummy" or some other epithet.
They split their time between my place and my next door neighbors with young kids. Cat #1's mother used to be their cat but now I share them especially since the mother cat died last winter. Those two looked identical. We thought it might have been killed by a dog but I discovered it's mummified body in my cellar. We don't know how it got trapped down there but the kids feel better knowing what happened to it. Just an accident.

[Scleropages]

I discovered it's mummified body in my cellar.

Egads! Note to self: The 5-second rule does not apply in apistomaster's cellar.

[apistomaster]

I discovered it's mummified body in my cellar.

Egads! Note to self: The 5-second rule does not apply in apistomaster's cellar.

Yeah, Its a veritable dungeon down there full of spiders, empty insulated shipping kits but no food nor water.

[elephant]

Glad you're feeling better Apisto You don't know me, but your advice & knowledge on PlanetCatfish has been a wonderful resource for me over the last few years -- thank you for sharing some of your passion for all things fish!

But here's to staying strong & bouncing back! Just wanted to make sure you know there are LOTS of lurkers on here who appreciate your contributions on here...

Amanda