Fall in!

[JonV]

Hi everyone,

Grew up in Air Force family, so I been around quite a bit. Graduated out of Bellevue Nebraska, and then ended up in Upstate NY for quite a few years. Being the quick thinking genius I am, instead of sticking with the easier lifestyle of the Air Force, I decided to Go Army. Did 12 years combined on Active Duty and Reserves. Went to OPN Desert Shield/Storm, Haiti, Bosnia, and a few other assorted skirmishes.

After not keeping fish since 88, I decided to get back into fish again in Jan of 07. Had a small heart attack due to a blockage in my arteries that was missed. Guess all the non PT and not watching the foods, and metabolism not working like it used to added up. No damage done since it happend when I was in the ER getting checked out. Got a couple stents in my hear though, and probably going to have to keep taking blood thinners to prevent clots at the site for life, but that's not to shabby and I can live with that.

So while I'm at home on mandatory recovery time, since work refused to let me come back, though I felt just fine, I started doing research and article reading. Wife wanted a pet anyways, cats and dogs weren't condusive, so I figured hey I kept fish in the past. Started out with a 20, then after cycling it out, went to look for stock. The wife knew about Arowana, and I saw some Asians when I was in Asia, so that 20 led to getting a 75.

After more research, found the 75 wasn't gonna cut it, here comes the 180. 180 was working for awhile, but that wasn't going to cut it and there's just no space to put in a 300, so I sold them off by Dec 07. During the course of summer 07, meeting a few people, and conversing in the other forums I either was or am staff in, I jumped into African cichlids.

Started out with mostly common Mbuna at first, then added in some colorful Peacocks. Finally I grabbed a couple Haps also, Venustus, Taiwan Reefs and Boreyli's. Gave up on the Boreyli's. In Jan of 08, I managed to work in a 100 gallon tank I got off craigslist, to use as a juvenile grow out tank after they get too big for the 15 and 20.

Summer 08, I started talking again about other options. I rehomed many species now so that my 180 is undergoing change to become a Madagascar with Haps and Peacocks, my 100 is going to become a Victorian tank, the 75 mostly Mbuna and fry that I find I want to keep, and keep the 15 and 20 as hospital/maternity/isolation tanks.

I'm undergoing those shifts still, very gradually. So far for Madagascars, I've managed to collect Pytchochromis Oligocanthus, 1 4-5 inch male and 2 2.5 inch females and 7 unsexed Paratilapia Polleni that are in the 3 inch size range. I also have a group of 6 Tilapia Bythobates.

For Victorians, I currently have 6 Xistochromis Pytophagus, just under 1 inch size range, newer additions just under a month ago, 2 male Lipochromis Sp. Matumbai Hunters, and while not true Victorians, I have 2 male and 4 female Zebra Obliquedins.

Mbuna are a little various. Nice breeding female Yellow lab and three different adult males to breed her with. She's given me well over a 100 fry in the last six months with little to no barring on the first few groups. I started up Kenyi's and have 2 males and 4 females. I keep a solo Auratus and Johanni male, and I have a small group of Flavus. That group is in the 180 and started with 2 males and females. Lost a female from aggression in the first month I got them, in July 07. Left with 2 males and a female, she was spawning pretty good, got 2 spawns right off, and on the third one, I made a mistake to put her in holding with a holding female Venustus. They both spit when I was at work, and the female Venustus ended up killing her.

I do have 15 of her offspring in my 180 with their dad and submissive adult male. It appears about 6-7 of these are male so far. They are close to the adult sizes. I have a few resuces I picked up here and there, so there are a handful of unknowns in there.

My Taiwan Reefs have just started up spawning again recently, but I have only the Albino versions of these left. I lost my female Venustus but do have a nice colored full size adult male, and am thinking of spawning this group again.

I was living in Bayside Queens before I moved over to NJ in Nov 06. I was working for The Solar Center in Denville, but the company almost went bankrupt last year due to financial mismanagement from the owner/founder, and the State of NJ giving us a high hard one from not paying on 1.5 million owed to us in completed jobs. In the end, TSC couldn't afford to keep me so I've been selective and patient looking for something I want to do since. We also went to Indonesia last May on vacation, I have quite a few shots of Jakarta, Bali and Manado.

[fischfan13]

Jon, we are extremely happy to have you here at ECC.
Sounds like you need a better stock of Yellow Labs...I wonder who has those?:scratchchin::wave::scratchchin:

[Lostlilkidd]

whoa.. .long intro.
welcome!

[Bev N]

Welcome,

Air Force to Army...oh my! What was ya thinkin? Lol. Army here also so I know what you mean. That was a few years ago though.

These folks here are just nuts about their africans. You'll fit right in.

Just in time for the February road trip. Bring lots of styros!

[mk_ultra]

JOn, I was in haiti besides a few other select locales. What outfit and mos? In haiti I was with A 2/22 'Triple Deuce" 10th Mountain. then went to 24thID and finished up with the 3rd. 11B here.

[YoungAquaticPhotos]

Wow! Great intro Jon!
Welcome Aboard!

[Flareside]

Welcome to the site, great introduction

[Afreakin]

Holy!! Welcome to the site.

[JonV]

MK, I did a volunteer attachment off my Reserve unit. Might be a tangled story a bit so will try to untangle this.

I started out with the 962nd ORD CO as a Supply Specialist. At the time, MOS was titled under the 76Y. I know since being on Active in the late 90's the renamed it as I think 96Y or something like that? Anyways, I was a supply specialist for an Ordinance Company, got my E-5 since my supervisor was AGR and he trained me well. I got transferred down the the 369th REG HQ in Schnectedaty NY, but my BAT was in Glens Falls. Was Supply Sgt for a Combat Engineer Company, all Drill Sgt's.

When they were asking for people to help out back fill slots, I volunteered to go for that. I got attached to some backline Med unit there for about 6 weeks or so. Wasn't much to tell about other then it was hot as hell, and they ended up treating mostly locals. Was a pretty cushy assignment all told.

I ended up in Ft. Drum myself when I went full active in 98. Army decided they didn't need supply people as much, and asked me to cross to NBC, so I went to Ft. McClellan, and became a 54B, and was assigned to 110th MI, HQ as NBC NCO. I got married shortly after, not my wife of now, but the wife then was a Coast Guard lady. We went to college togeather, she went Coastie and I went full time Army after graduating.

I basically didn't reup because after 12 years of doing everything and anything the Army asked me, they said, you want to stay in, you either go to Korea for your remote, or Ft. Carson Colorado. Don't know about you, but not much chance of the wife catching an assignment in Colorado and she wouldn't be allowed to go to Korea, so I said screw it I'll just get out. More money out here to get anyways.

Probably should have stayed. All that non PT over the years and the not watching my food clogged an artery LOL. It does go to say though, all those years of training, kept my in great cardio shape, so I have no tissue or muscle damage in my heart from it. I have a resting heart rate, for the last 15 years even, of 58-62, I chew skoal and my BP, even stressed doesn't go above 120/60 either. I actually asked the doc if I could get up and stretch thinking I just had a cramp when the attack hit. Hate those Army politics, but I have to give them credit for all that running we did. Probably kept me from having some serious damage done.

[Bev N]

Army politics..naaa...never heard of em.

I didn't last as long as you did. My dear recruiter told me about this great career opportunity in computers...and back then that was cutting edge ya see. Anyway. A few months later I found myself sitting in a parking lot in Fort Gordon in the back of a communications van wondering where the computer was!

I was stationed in Heilbronn Germany. I got lucky and some darling on CQ duty looked over my testing scores and called the base commander. I never worked the Mos I trained for. Thank god...a monkey could have done that job. I slept thru the entire course. I ended up in Headquaters in Legal then started with CID. They tried to con me into re-enlisting by offering to send me back to school for intel but I wasn't ready to commit that many years.

The Army was a mess back then. It wasn't that long after Vietnam and there were still a good number of guys that had been there. It was a whole different military back then.

Germany was however one of the best experiences of my life. Someday I'd like to go back. I had always wanted to visit Heilbronn and Wharton Barracks but I read on Military.com that it's been torn down. Kinda sad. It was a very old base that was used during WWII. All cobblestone streets thru the place.

[AlishanAS]

To MK, Jon and Bev and to any other members of the armed forces on our site:


Thank you for your service.

[JonV]

I did a few stints in Deutschland Bev, as both a dependant and enlisted :) Frankfurt/Rhine Mein as AF dependant, and Kaiserlautern/Weilerbach with my Ordanance Co. Great place I agree. It helped alot too having 4 years of German in high school!

[mk_ultra]

lets see. 2 years at Ft Drum as 11B (infantry) 4+ months in Honduras then took part in the invasion in Haiti. I think I was like chalk 5 in country off the USS Eisenhower.
From their went 11M in Ft Benning. 24th ID. 1+ month in Jordan. On the iraq border. Unit deactivated then resurfaced as 3rd with the break down to 10 Divisions. 6 years when it was said and down.

While I ETSed (actual medical chapter- you know how well the army treats hurt soldiers:sigh:) I was actually placed on levy to Ft Knox. said screw it and got out.

[Bev N]

No German in high school but I learned enough to get around pretty quick. I wanted to travel around when I could so can get a cab, train tickets, a room in a guest house and order food and haggle prices at the fests..lol.

I blew both knees in basic. Too many trips up Drag Ass Hill at Ft. Jackson. We were the very first women to train with the men and they darn near killed us. I think some men didn't think women belonged in the trenches so to speak and were really trying to kill us. Nothing like having the guy that was 6' 5" leading a force march while my 5' short self ran to keep up. That portion of my records just disappeared when I got out. Fortunately I haven't had any long term problems other than old age creeping up but I know how they work.


My son in law is in the Navy. I went to their graduation and was shocked to see sailors doing pt in shorts and running shoes. So not right. Where were the combat boots, helmets, M16's and 50lb packs...sissy boys I tell ya.

It was definately an experience. No regrets but respect anyone a lot that can actually hang long enough to retire.

[JonV]

Alishan, anytime, am usually happy to have done what I did, but sometimes I see the state of things in our nation, like seeing people get paid millions for playing a ball game, what they get for that, and what a soldier gets paid, I sometimes wonder, why did I give that many years of my life for this place, seriously.

MK man, got to take my hat off to ya bud. 11 bang bang, not something I had an interest in, but you guys earn your pay and then some!

Bev, hey I went to Jackson too. June of 88 to Oct. 88, they just opened a Quartermaster school there. I was one of the first few classes to go to the new school there for Supply. In hind sight though, I'd have preferred going to Ft. Lee.