About DFR

Introduction

I’ve been keeping fish for a significant portion of my life, and the hobby plays a big part in most life decisions my wife and I have made.  I’ve had this website for over 7 years, and felt it was time to update the look and focus of the site.  With the help of my son, we (well mostly my son) have come up with a website that is a little more focused than previously, as well as having a much fresher and modern appearance.   I hope you like what we’ve done, and would appreciate any feedback or suggestions you might have.

About Me

My first introduction to aquariums and tropical fish came when I was about 4-5 years old.  I had been invited to a birthday party at a friend’s house, and the only thing I can remember about the party is me standing in front of the aquarium and looking at the fish.  When I was 12, I got my first job, and the first thing I bought with my first paycheck was an aquarium.  I did absolutely everything wrong with that first tank, but I was hooked.  I’ve been keeping fish ever since.

I first became aware of the social aspects of the hobby when I joined the old Madison Aquarium Club in Madison, WI in the middle 60’s, and subsequently became the editor of their monthly newsletter.  Since then I was  one of the founders of the Great Plains Aquarium Society in Lincoln, NE where I was the first President, and was one of the original members of the Northwest Arkansas Aquarium Society where I am currently serving as President.

Over the course of the 55+ plus years of keeping fish, I have met a lot people in the hobby and have seen a lot of the history of the latter half of the 20th century.  It has become obvious to me recently, that the hobby is not attracting new members now like it did in the past.  One of my goals with this website as well as my efforts with local clubs will be to try to come up with ideas and programs to reverse this trend.  The other trend I’ve seen is the increasing effort to make the hobby much more “scientific” and specific, which is good in some  ways, but does tend to be intimidating to new hobbyists and younger people entering the hobby.

Website

The website itself has been put together to reflect my own interests hence the addition of areas concerning turtles, the birds I see in my backyard, and the chickens we are now keeping.   While we may discuss many topics in the area of tropical fish, my main interest has always been in the area of breeding the fish I’ve kept.  You will probably notice the vast majority of my articles will be concerning this aspect of fish-keeping.  As with most hobbyists, I am interested in many areas of fish-keeping even while emphasizing breeding, so feel free to ask questions or make comments on other aspects of the hobby.

Rules

It is my intention that this website should be family friendly and kid-friendly place to visit.  With this in mind, I want to remind registered users that proper language should be used at all times, and that discussions should be kept on a friendly basis.  Any posts should be appropriate to this goal.  Failure to follow these guidelines will subject the abuser to the suspension of all privileges granted to registered users, and will be completely at the discretion of the web administrator.  Play nice.