Re: [Killietalk] "Setting the hook"

[Tom Payne <paynedds at earthlink_net>]

When I was 8, (1951) my Dad brought home a 15 gallon tank from an LFS in 
Cheviot, Ohio , a suburb of Cincinnati. Amazing store, that place. The 
owner collected and sold live daphnia! A year or so later a stand and 10 
gallon tank to go on the lower shelf was added after we ruined the 
finish on the buffet in the dining room. Mom was not happy. Dad lost 
interest and I maintained that setup through high school as a community 
tank and live bearer tank. College (thought I'd be freshwater ecologist 
if I couldn't get into dental school with my poor grades! ;-) ) and 
early marriage found those tanks in storage and I resurrected them for 
about ten years of our early married life. I was first exposed to 
killies by Innes' book and saw australes at Byerlys tropical fish 
emporium in Columbus that still exists. I was a research tech at 
Battelle and getting a BS at OSU and had access to free glass and 
silicone in the early 70's, so the fish went into the lab. No live food 
meant meager success, dental school then meant no time and the tanks 
went back into storage. The obligations of three athletic kids the next 
15 years kept me out of fish until I wandered back into Byerlys and got 
re-hooked. Our dental office reception room always had angels in a 27 
gallon hex that patients loved.

Once the kids moved out and we moved to our new home 10 years ago, I 
looked at all the room in the basement and started back into raising 
kribs, angels and cory's. One day I picked up that old Innes book and it 
fell open to killies. An early 1997 internet search lead me to the AKA 
and a source for names of killie people in the area, one of whom I 
contacted, Larry James. Larry invited me to attend a local fish club 
auction and then to travel to a GCKA meeting in Dayton. At that auction 
we sat next to Cathy Carney who we chatted with, not knowing she was 
also headed for Dayton. At that meeting I would encounter the generosity 
of people like Larry James,  Donna Recktenwalt, Dave Price, Paul 
Jablinski, Klaus Schoening, Don Green, and Fritz Bazely who sucked me in 
with gift fish. I have never met a more generous group of people both 
with fish, but also friendship, hospitality, and experience. Dave 
Price's passing this summer has left a large void in all those areas.

Because I now have the time, (retirement in May) the money, and the 
space I am up to around 30 species of killies, about 140 
tanks/containers and 950 gallons of water that, most of the time, I keep 
up off the floor, although my mop is still my most valued tool in the 
fishroom. Meeting the killie keepers in surrounding states by e-mail, 
going to their club meetings, and our biannual shows on Labor Day 
weekends has expanded the network that keeps me hooked on this hobby. I 
design vacations around trips to fishrooms when I can and just saw Edd 
Kray's new 9000 foot high fish palace last week. The internet has 
connected me with generous mentors like Wright, Al, Charlie, Shene, and 
Edd in ways that were not available 10 or so years ago. For the most 
part, it's the people who make the hobby so attractive. I absolutely 
detest the politics that surface from time to time around issues I don't 
even understand, because it soils the important, relationship aspect of 
the hobby. I've seen that stuff drive formerly committed killie folks 
away from the AKA and I don' t want to even be a part of that. I intend 
to attend my first national convention in Tampa in May and hope to widen 
my relationships and share some of my fish. I hope we can get a caravan 
organized from the central part of the country.

What's most important to me about my experience with the hobby is the 
relationships. Many others have posted similar mentoring type 
associations. Generosity is a byword with killie folks. If you want to 
attract more people to the organization, continue to create that kind of 
environment and deter anything that goes counter to it. Practice 
humility, generosity, and foster mentoring to attract new folks. It's a 
proven approach.

Thanks for listening,

Tom Payne
cold, but sunny, Galena, Ohio
 
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