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		Ryan Smith
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		JE: Any friction? RS: I try to get as much housework done as possible in the morning and early afternoons. If my mom comes home to a clean house, she doesn't say much. There have been days when dishes were piled in the sink and mountains of laundry sat unwashed, and it's days like those where I regret spending so much time online. If I keep my parents happy, they don't question how many hours I've been sitting at the computer. lol. JE: You once mentioned an uncle with tanks - what's the story on that? RS: My uncle Tommy loves African cichlids. He used to have wall to wall tanks in his house. He breeds little shelldwellers and such. Like so many of the discus hobbyists here, he decided one day to build a small hatchery behind his house. He bought one of those nice pre-built storage sheds and insulated it, then build shelves and a central wet/dry filter. Water changes are automated, 50% twice a day. Here's the twist--he went back to truck driving and sold off all the fish because he didn't have time for them, so now hundreds of gallons worth of tanks sit empty and unused. I tease him that he'll come home to some discus grow-outs one day. JE: What's the most embarassing personal moment you have ever had? RS: Oh geez... I hurt my Achille's tendon in 10th grade. I was just walking down the breezeway on the second floor of my high school and collapsed for no reason. My right foot completely gave out. To make matters worse I was near the stairs, and about rolled down them. Like the idiot that I am, I limped around upstairs for my next two classes, and then at lunchtime I had to hop down the flight of stairs because I couldn't put pressure on my foot at all. I wanted to crawl under a rock. It's not everyday someone just collapses and tears their Achille's tendon for no reason at all. JE: So how many tanks do you have up and running now, and what do you have in them? RS: Four tanks are running here at the house, and one tank at my uncles. Two 55 gallons here are devoted to 13 discus, one tank for angels, and a small 10 gallon with some gold rams. I have a 2.5 gallon on my desk with some pygmy seahorses in it, but I hardly consider that one of my "up-and-running" tanks. My Uaru and a few angelfish are currently living in a 150 at my uncle's place. I didn't have room for the tank here. JE: What are your current hopes and goals for your discus? RS: At this point, I just want to raise them out to adults. I've kept discus before, but never seriously. I would love to breed them one day, not for the sake of selling them but just because I think that's such an interesting thing to watch and learn about. For now though I'm just trying to focus and keeping them fat and happy. JE: Any plans for future tanks? RS: Absolutely. Don't we all have plans for future tanks? It's finding room for them that's a problem. I've been thinking about getting an apartment of my own if I find a decent job, but I'll never have room for my tanks there, so that is very disappointing to me. If I can find a good deal on some big tanks (125+) I'll put them in the garage. Our weather here would be perfect for that.

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