NEILL DAVIS -- Working

Angelique Flores

HE IS Your fish expert.

FISHING FOR WORK

Neill, 16, works part-time at Tong’s Tropical Fish in Fountain

Valley--doing everything from selling fish to taking care of them. He

sets up the aquariums, cleans the fish tanks, medicates and treats the

fish for disease and makes sure they don’t fight.

“It’s my hobby,” Neill said. “It’s something I like to do. It’s not

hard going to work.”

The hottest-selling fish at Tong’s are purple tangs, flame angels and

butterfly fish. Neill sees about 50 to 60 fish sold on weekdays and up to

150 on the weekends.

Other popular customer purchases are the aquarium setups and products

to help keep fish alive and healthy.

Neill’s favorite part of the job is propagating coral from the large

colonies--that is, taking small cuttings and starting new colonies of the

crusty-looking, living marine polyps.

“It’s interesting how from one colony of coral you could have 50

different colonies,” he said.

FIRST FISH

The Huntington Beach teen developed his love for fish six years ago,

when he had a pond in his yard.

“From then on, I’ve been interested in it,” he said.

Now Neill has his own aquariums at home: a 50-gallon saltwater reef

tank and a planted fish tank that looks almost like a jungle.

His favorite sea life are small-polyp stony corals.

“It’s a difficult coral to keep in a captivated reef tank,” he said,

proud that he’s able to do it himself. Neill also likes reptiles, birds

and amphibians. But the only nonaquatic pet he has is a veiled chameleon.

“Dogs and cats are boring,” he said. “They’re not exotic enough.”

SCHOOL OF FISH

The Edison High School student will be a junior in the fall. After

Neill finishes high school, he plans to go to college and study marine

biology.

Meanwhile, Neill is studying marine life on his own. His thirst to

learn about sea creatures prompts him to read book after book on fish.

It took about two years of reading, talking with people and chatting

online to learn fish names, where they come from and what species they

are. Now, Neill said, he can offer solid advice to his customers.

“It’s difficult to keep fish, you need the right equipment,” he

explained. “A lot of people don’t realize that the bacteria has to be in

the tank for the fish to stay alive.”

For first-time fish buyers, Neill recommends starting out with a

freshwater tank with tropical fish, such as tetras.

“Those are easy to take care of,” he suggested.

OUTSIDE THE TANKS

Besides caring for fish, Neill likes to catch them. He enjoys dropping

a line for albacore on long-range tuna boats and trout fishing in the

eastern Sierra Mountains.

He also wakes up every morning and hits the beach to catch some surf.

Besides all his ocean activities, Neill builds and works with

computers. He also plays the guitar, mostly classic rock and blues tunes.

Before his job at the fish shop, Neill worked on a fishing boat for a

summer as a deckhand.