What is the best pet? A fish!

Many people have a favorite pet for various reasons. Most people seem to favor dogs for their devote pack animal respect and affection. Still some people enjoy cats due to their cuddly nature and relatively low maintenance. I love fish mostly because they bring about a peace when I watch them swim and play in their liquid environment. Here are some pictures to give an idea.

Above is a salmon swimming next to a boat lock in the Washington Puget Sound area. It's grace and mystery exhibit the peace I find in larger fish. However, these fish are not easy to keep as pets.

So I found myself a nice smallish 30 gallon fish tank.

I started off with a red wag platy. She was pregnant but her and her one surviving baby became sick and died after several months. The other fish all did well.

I had neon tetra all named Ana Casannava after an Olympic contestant. They were all eaten by my Pictus Catfish named Rex. The sales person at the store said they would be fine together despite my skepticism. It turns out that my suspicions were correct. Several sites I visited said the pictus catfish is known to eat fish neon tetra size.

Here is a picture of Rex the pictus catfish (aka an antenna catfish).

I replaced the neon tetra with giant danios. These fish are constantly swimming and darting around the tank. The labels said my tank is an appropriate size for these fish, but I think smaller fish may have been a better bet. Even so they appear healthy and comfortable.

I had been adding live water plants to help the fish feel more comfortable.

There are several different species of plants. Most notable are the onion and water lilly.

There is one other fish I have and we affectionately refer to her as Dojo Loach.

Above is a picture of our weather loach (aka golden dojo). Thus our name Dojo Loach. It is said that when a storm is about to roll in these fish begin acting up as the atmospheric pressures change.

The Napa Valley Wine Train

The Napa Valley Wine Train has been an icon throughout my childhood. I have stopped for the train many times but I cannot recall ever being on the train. Growing up I was not even aware that the Napa Valley was famous for it's wine.

This little valley between the Mayacamas and Vaca Mountain ranges has been a sanctuary for me as a child and for that I will be ever grateful.

Active Trading With Stocks

When it comes to trading stocks the general consensus is "don't." However, I have found that using psychology and strategic buying / selling tactics one can mitigate risk dramatically.

It is also my assessment that active trading is not for everyone. I read a statistic that stated 80 percent of active traders loose all or most of their initial trading investment. Numbers like that suggest that there is certainly a wrong way to trade.

My strategy has been to identify stocks that would likely go up at some point in the not too distant future ( Typically one to six months). I then identify the level of gain I believe I could reasonably expect from that stock in that period (typically 10% to 15%). I then buy the stock and set a limit order to sell at that 10 to 15 percent gain price. The amount of stock that is bought needs to be enough so that the 10% gain will cover commission fees several times over. I try to keep commission fees to 1% of my gain. So if the commission is $10 for each trade you can expect a total commission fee of $20 ($10 for buying the stock and $10 for selling). This means I would prefer a block of $2000 for a $20 commission. This strategy has worked beautifully for me. My gains have been well over the market.

I have also tried day trading and I haven't figured that strategy out yet. My problem with that is the commission eats up too much of the would be gain.

Please let me know your thoughts on trading stock. I am more interested in success stories and strategies than criticism, but I welcome both.