My name is John Dowden and I currently live near Raleigh North Carolina
USA. I was born on December 16, 1970 (I wrote out the date for Peter's
benefit) and grew up on a small farm near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We
did not have any sheep, but we did have horses, goats, chickens, rabbits,
quail, a dog, and three cats.
I went to college at North Carolina State University and got my
undergraduate degree in Computer Science. I also have a Masters degree
from NC State in Information Systems Management. I currently work for
IBM and am working with a German software product called SAP. I am
married and don't have any kids yet, but we are planning to one in a year
or so.
I got my first fish tank, a 30 gallon, when I was a junior in college and
kept angel fish, gouramis, and other common fish. My ultimate goal
was to keep fish that were colourful, active, and rare. About 6 months
after I set up the tank, I saw the most beautiful fresh water fish I had ever
seen in a local fish store. It was a M. boesemani and it was not for
sale. I had seen my first rainbow and I was hooked.
I eventually found some M. boesemanis and some M. lacustris that were for
sale and I baught some. I enjoyed them very much, but after a year or
two my hunger for new rainbows grew and I started searching for more
information. I finally decided to use the net and I found some fish news
groups and there were a few questions about rainbows being asked on
them. Through the news groups I saw Cary posting a lot fo rainbow
answers so I sent him an e-mail stating who I was and that i was looking for more info on bows.
He was very helpful and directed me to the RML. Through the RML I was
able to get in touch with Roy and he sent me several different types of
rainbows.
The bows are doing fine and I have started spawning them. My goal is
still to keep getting colourful and rare fish, but my other goal is to
spawn my fish to keep the species going and to provide others with good
quality rainbows. I also want to teach people about rainbows and promote
the interest in rainbowfish and the hobby. I am working on a rainbowfish
web page, I have a lot of good ideas but don't have a lot of time to
spend on it. The one drawback about wanting to keep so many bow is I
have had to get more tanks. In addition to my original 30 I now have a
75, a 29, and two 10 gallon tanks. Secretly, I want more tanks, but I
share the house with my wife and she says if I want more tanks, we will
have to move to a bigger house. ;)
My other interests include playing and watching sports, playing guitar,
computers, and spending time with my wife.
I have enjoyed my time on the RML and feel that I have made a lot of
friends too. Talk to all of you soon.
John Dowden
Rainbowfish Study Group
ANGFA NA