Welcome to OVAS!

[PaleoFishGirl]

Hi everybody! I'm PaleoFishGirl, but you can call me PFG   I'm a little bit bossy and a little bit long winded (see below, *sigh*), but generally I'm okay to have around

I got my very first just-for-me aquarium when I was in university.  I had goldfish in it with a bunch of fossils and seashells.  I didn't know anything about pH or water changes or anything.  The short version of this story is... they got nasty tumors and died. 

Shortly after that, I converted my setup to a brackish hermit crab setup.  That was fun for a while but again, didn't know much about it and eventually they died (lasted longer than the goldfish, though!).

Fortunately for me, a colleague in grad school is also an aquariophile and was friends with a local fish store owner by the name of Henry (from Dad's Fish Room for any Edmontonians).  My next project was a 27 gallon low-light community tank and it seemed to do okay.  When I moved from Ottawa to Montreal, I sold all the fish to Henry and the tank to my best friend (who put CICHLIDS in it  - one day her cat was picking at the silicon and the tank sprung several leaks - she has a much larger tank now ). 

I moved all of my aquarium equipment 'out East' (as we Albertans call it here) but didn't have room in my 3 1/2 in Montreal for a tank.  A year later I moved to Ottawa and started looking in the Classified Ads for a used setup.  That's how I discovered OVAS and now....I'm hooked  After my first meeting (and running into a student from my teaching debut at Ottawa U!) I was struck by the scope of the club and by the sense of community I got (and still get) from everyone here.

After only being in the club since last September, they've already got me on the Executive.  I spend far too much time on the Forum, as my 'Total time logged in' stat reminds me every day.

Strangely enough, I'd never even heard of rainbowfishes before I moved here.  When deciding what to put in my new tank, I saw these beauties at BA Innes and haven't looked back.  They are so much fun! Thanks to all the wonderful folks in the club and on this Forum, I have learned so much about fishkeeping, breeding, growing plants and a host of other things.  I know all about pH now and do proper water changes too! 

I'd like to warmly welcome you to OVAS, new member! A big hug and a hello to everybody who is already here, regular or sporadic or addicted or otherwise! I hope that we can continue to foster this community and am looking forward to the new friendships and new knowledge I know I will stumble upon.

[babblefish1960]

Hi there DFC, that is such a sweet story, one of the fun things about PFG is her ability to produce the cutest links to pictures and videos of strange things, like puppies in punch bowls and other irresistable tableaus. But she has beautiful tanks as well, and because of her enthusiasm, we also have rainbowfish.

A paleontologist by trade and nature, can answer all your questions about long dead things, the only person I know who keeps old bones in her pockets.

You may find at our mini auctions, that she will convince you to buy the article she holds up, as she is so earnest in her plea's for someone, anyone, to buy this item now, zippity usually caves in at this point.

So come to the meetings and see our Vice President in action, and bring lots of money too.

[zippity]

Well well what can I say, with a cute smile like that...of course I cave in to her, plus if I don't, I don't want to one day be one of those dead old bones in her pocket.