User name: JouteiMike 
About Me What is your name?
Mike
How old are you?
21
What is your location?
Connecticut, USA.
What is your occupation?
I work at The Children’s Museum (formerly the Science Center) located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Been there 5 years working Facilities/maintenance. My crew does everything there…cleaning, landscaping, repairs, construction…My title is Facilities Supervisor. I’m also a full-time student at a local community college.
How did you choose your user name?
Years and years ago, probably when I was 14 or 15 or so, I was searching online and I found the word Joutei…which is similar to the word “Kami” in Japanese meaning God or Lord. So I just stuck my name at the end and BAM, JouteiMike. I use it for a lot of different things….AIM, email, other message boards…
My Fish Keeping When and how did you become involved in fish keeping?
Ever since I can remember growing up my parents have kept fancy
Goldfish Black moores, fan-tails, ryukins, orandas, lion-heads, so I was always been around fish and took an interest in it. I started with a single Black Moore in a 20 gallon eventually moving him into my parents’ much bigger tank, it was probably 90 gallons, kept him for like 8 years until he developed swim bladder problems, and succumbed to dropsy a couple years back. He was a trooper. Also when I was younger I was fascinated with marine biology, which sparked my interest in keeping fish.
What kind of fish do you currently keep?
I currently have a 75 gallon freshwater. Currently I have 2 Fancy
Goldfish – a fantail and black-moore, 2 weather loaches, school of 8 zebra danios. Sadly I lost an Oranda a few months back from dropsy – he had quite the personality too… Overall though I think it’s a real enjoyable tank. Despite the common myth of how
Goldfish can’t be kept with anything else…they get along great with my weather loaches and danios.
What kind of setup?
Got the tank, oak stand, strip-lights, and sliding glass covers for a great deal though craigslist. I use 2 48” Coralife 10,000k during the day, then at the evening I switch over to a small 14” fluorescent for a real subdued setting to let the fish unwind, until I finally turn it off before I head to bed. For filtration I have quite a selection… My two main filters are an Emperor 400, which also came with the tank…and a Rena Filstar XP2 which I bought new maybe 1 year ago. I also use 2 whisper power filters, model 40 just for back up and extra biological filtration. You know
Goldfish, they are messy. For the inside I got some natural colored gravel, piece of driftwood, few rocks, and a few plastic plants…nothing fancy.
What was your most challenging fish keeping experience?
Couple things come to mind. Moving when I was younger; my parents moved all their fish and plastic bags. Not sure if that is really MY most challenging, but I did help out. Another time I had a difficult/negative experience was when I was screwing around with my filter tubes a while back. And I must have loosened one that came directly form the tank…so I leave and come back and notice that the tank water level is like 2 or 3 inches lower so I look down and there’s water everywhere. And sure enough water was spewing out of a hose behind the tank. Inside my stand was full of water, completely drenching all the fish food and filter media and pads and whatnot. I ended up borrowing a carpet extractor from work to clean it up.
What advice would you like to share with the FishForum community?
There's always something new to learn about the fish and the tanks, indeed. Good words from Leif. Also I will add patience is a good skill to have when starting a new tank.
What would be your dream tank?
A nice big pond with multiple levels containing fountains, waterfalls, and a crap load of different types of
Goldfish…if that counts as a “tank”.
What do your friends/family think of your hobby?
My friends are always amazed with my tank, sometimes even jealous. My girl friend likes it too, she claims one of my
Goldfish is “her fish”.
Do you name your fish? If so, what are some of the names?
You know…I haven’t named my current fish
What fish have you had the longest?
Would say the black moore I kept when I was younger up until only a few years ago. I believe he was 8.
What is your favorite fish of all time?
Aquarium fish? I’d have to say
Weather Loach. Love how they come right up to your hand and nibble on it and you can even take them out of the water temporarily without stressing/harming them too much. Also love their quirky personality; seems like they’re always on the move and doing odd things. Overall? Hands down, the Orca AKA killer whale. Fascinating animal.
One a scale of one through ten, how would you rate your interest in fish keeping? (1=I hate fish, 10=Completely and hopelessly obsessed)
I’d say 8. I’m not a die hard, but I do have a strong passion.
How did you discover the Fish Forum at FishForum.com?
Came across the site shortly after it was created while doing some research, and joined within a month or so after reading some various threads first.
Other Stuff What are your hobbies?
I love to work, so what the heck I’ll put that as my first hobby. Some things involve…landscaping, construction/carpentry, fixing various things, and so forth. I like to Cycle, preferably road over mountain. A few subjects I study with a passion are Biology, astronomy, and psychology. I also like the more nerdy things…ya know...videogames, TV, Computers. I’m a big fan of art, preferably from the Renaissance period; also I admire Vincent Van Gogh. I like to go out drinking periodically, and enjoy cigarettes although I’m trying to quit…I enjoy hiking and being in the wilderness. But most importantly, I’m an easy going guy and like to just take it easy, relax and try and enjoy life.
Do you keep any other pets?
I have had many pets in the past…for example, Rabbits, a cockatiel, a greyhound, hamsters, a tarantula, a milk-snake, a pot-bellied pig, 4 cats. Currently though we just have 2 cats.
What is your favorite music?
Hard to say. I'll listen to just about anything from Classical to Death Metal. (Took that from Leif). Some of my favorites are Metallica, Meshuggah, Death, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix…
What are your pet peaves?
I would say people not cleaning up after themselves, but that would be hypocritical. But at my work it’s different, I keep everything picked up and what I use I put back in the right spot….if only other people did that. Also I hate impatient drivers…well mainly just people who suck at driving, or think they are more important than everyone else.
What is your favorite film?
The Shawshank Redemption.
What is your favorite TV show?
I watch a lot of history channel and discovery channel…so basically whatever is on that. Also I enjoy various Animes.
What is your favorite food?
Italian and Japanese food.
What is your favorite holiday?
Not big into holidays, but I’ll say either Halloween or Thanksgiving, because I like that time of year.
What is your favorite color?
Red.
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