So, what’s this “Digital Fishroom”? Well, my fishroom is where I keep and enjoy my fish. It’s my sanctuary and science-lab; it’s where I can sit and enjoy the work of The Great Artist. With the advent of the internet, it’s become easier than ever to share common interests with others. I really enjoy my fish, and I also enjoy photographing them. Digital pictures make it a snap to put these pictures on the internet, and thus The Digital Fishroom was born. It’s the digital representation of the fishroom in my basement. It’s a fun way for me to share my fishy goings-on, and the website also makes for a great networking tool. A lot of great fish are in the hands of devoted hobbyists and will never make it to the average fish store.

My name is Zack, and I run the fishrooms. I’ve been keeping fish since I was about 10, which isn’t really as long as some, but it’s a work in progress. I’ve always had an intense fondness for nature and animals, and so when I turned 14, it only made sense that my first job would be at a pet store. At the time I had a couple of fish aquariums, but I also had a couple of just about every other animal I could get my hands on. I didn’t really have any particular group of animals that had sparked my passion more than others. It was there that I began my true fascination with aquatic life. Meeting some of the hobbyists working at the pet store and seeing what the higher levels of aquarium-keeping could offer really opened my eyes. Since then, I’ve worked in just about every facet of the pet industry over the last 12 years or so, from the hourly pet store employee to territory manager of a large pet supply wholesaler. In everything, I’ve always strived to learn everything I can and be my best.

Since my first pet store job, I’ve had anywhere from 7 aquariums scattered about my bedroom to my most recent peak of 158 aquariums totaling over 5,000 gallons filling my basement/fishroom. I did have a hiatus from fishkeeping for a couple years while I moved into my own place, worked on finding a steady job, got married, moved again, had a kid, etc, etc. I was very excited to be able to return to my passion in 2005 and I have strived to constantly reach for an even greater level of aquaria-keeping. I’ve actually been cutting back recently and my feeling is that my hobby is benefiting. Now that I have fewer tanks to worry about, I have more time to devote to my breeding projects. I’m not sure why, but spawning fish has always been a big part of keeping them for me. If I keep a fish, chances are I’m going to try to get it to breed. I actually don’t know if I’d be satisfied with just keeping fish. One of the greatest experiences in fishkeeping (and perhaps in life) is to see the creation and continuation of life. Doing this in a semi-controlled environment of my design is a satisfying experience, and perhaps it gives me some greater insight into the heart and mind of my Creator. I do have a few “pet” fish that I keep, largely to encourage my wife to take some interest in the fishroom.

I like just about anything beautiful and unusual or unique, with a preference for little fishes. I think I could safely say that my main area of interest lies with the dwarf cichlids, but I find it impossible to fully specialize and I always have fishes of many other groups in my aquariums…Thus the need for so many aquariums!

Yeah, so that’s me, and as usual I seem to have written another novelette. So to all a good day and happy fishkeeping!