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As a baby my parents
claimed the best way to put me to sleep was by placing me in front of their
aquarium. I have always enjoyed
marinelife and spent a good deal of my childhood at the ocean tidepooling,
sailing, and surfing. As I grew
older I was a member of the Sea Explorer’s division of Boy Scouts and
explored the Southern California coastline including the Channel Islands,
Catalina and Mexico. In high
school I spent two summers working on the dive boat ‘King Neptune’ based
on Catalina Island. I have
always kept aquariums, and used to “help out” at the local fish store in
exchange for fish and products. Later I worked at a full line pet shop in
the fish section, until I graduated high school and moved from Long Beach to
the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area).
While working at another
full line store in the fish department, I was finally able to afford to
set-up my first personal reef aquarium.
When the store I worked at was having financial troubles I suddenly
found myself unemployed. I had
been asked by many customers to set-up and work on their aquariums, but
never realized I could make a living doing what I enjoyed most.
In 1991, with a minimum of
tools and money I started Vicious Fishes, a home based aquarium and pond
service business. We have since
grown and have a 1200 sq ft showroom, four work vehicles, and 3 full-time
radio dispatched service technicians. Although
we do stock and sell saltwater fish, invertebrates, koi, supplies, and
equipment to walk-in customers, our primary focus is on our service
customers.
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We specialize in design, installation, and
maintenance of all kinds of aquatic features.
Environmental standards have always been of great importance to me
and we sell net caught and captive bred marine livestock. We quarantine all fish to ensure that they are healthy and
eating. We test all non-service customers' water prior to sale to make sure
the fish is going to a proper home.
When I heard about AMDA in 1995 while
attending a trade show, I was very excited to join a group of likeminded
professionals. This industry
needs to pull together and follow a code of ethics if we are going to
survive. The founders of the
AMDA have laid out the groundwork for a great organization, but I have
realized that we need the follow through of the members to make a
difference.
I, like many of us in this
industry, am very busy with my own business and family.
I married my wife Katie in 1993, and she has been very helpful with
managing the day-to-day affairs of our operation.
We are expecting our first child in April 2001 and are very excited
about the new addition to our family. In
the little spare time I get I also enjoy most water-based sports, as well as
landscaping, golfing, reading, and snowboarding. When I was asked to run for
a director position with AMDA I gave it serious consideration.
I concluded that while it would increase my already busy workload, it
is an important cause to dedicate my time and input to.
I am very excited about my second term with AMDA, and want to help pull
the membership together. Please
feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments at
760-347-8717, or tim.cummings@amdareef.com
Tim Cummings
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