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.
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