Wow, okay. Yeah, so almost a year later...
Well, hello! My name is Matt. The pen name on the forums finishes the rest. I live in the high Rocky Mountains in Colorado in a old mining town called Bordenville (Jefferson, technically) which is about 95 miles west of Denver and about 40 miles south of Breckenridge. I'm active on the MASC forums (Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado), but not a badged member. I was introduced to the hobby by my good friend and employer, Jason, back in late 2012. I'm intrigued by the idea of being able to maintain a small ecosystem in a closed environment and the different organisms that bring balance to the system. It goes along with my mentality of researching a subject to finite detail before making the dive into a hobby or interest. On the flip-side, Jason has had a tendency to rush into things without prior thought or research, so I was given, quite literally, a crash course in reef keeping. This gave me invaluable experience in the art and science of aquarium keeping and was the main driving force behind me pursuing my own 15 gallon nano setup... which is still sitting idle, waiting for aquascaping (have ALL of the equipment, but ran short on funds for aquascaping and cycling... Lame Christmas this year, again...).
Since then I've been trying to accumulate the equipment to start my own breeding trials for a few different species. I would like to start small, working with phyto and copepod cultures and perfecting the art of culturing live foods for broodstock and rearing. After getting food cultures down, I would like to step into breeding blue tail damsels, chromis, pajama cardinals and whatever other small ornamental fish piques my interest. Eventually, I'd like to challenge myself with different ornamental crustaceans. I believe the key to success with marine breeding is food type, nutritional content of the food, water quality and rearing techniques. Hormone stimulation will more than likely add to the list, (
A_rearing_system_for_the_culture_of_ornamental_decapod_crustacean_larvae) but that's a whole different ball game and I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.
I'm hoping you guys will be a little impressed with my attention to detail and documentation. I've been wanting to go to a university for 10+ years now for some sort of science (aerodynamics and physics have always been at the top of the list), but have never had the capital to do so. This forum should be able to give me a platform to express that level of detail and actually have it mean something to the scientific community. Who knows, maybe the data I can collect will give me an opportunity to actually go to school for this!
As I saw people advance different ways in this particular niche hobby, from the diehard enthusiasts/borderline professionals, to the "one go, no show" types, I couldn't help but wonder if this hobby would hold my attention for long. After considering I've been at it for a few years now without my own tank to stock and maintain, or even the ability to pursue the real reason I joined MBI in first place, it has pretty much cemented the fact in my head that I'm in it to win it.
With that out of the way, I'd like to say I'm very excited to be a part of the community! I look forward to sharing journals and research with you all, especially those of you with such huge successes in the past, present and future in the aquaculturing hobby! As my experience grows, so will my willingness to mentor and guide those who are stepping into this fascinating science and to take it to an unfathomable level of success and understanding.
<message edited by M.Arian on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 4:39 PM>