2008 GCAS Meeting and Speaker Program Schedule

[Ken Saxon]

Here are the dates for the club meetings and auctions for 2008:

I will add more information about the speakers and programs as it becomes available.

If you would like to suggest a speaker and/or program please post your requests
in the “Suggest Speaker / Program” forum or PM the Speaker Chair

2008 Speaker Program Lineup

Jan 27 Fred Hamilton : Building a 1000 gallon concrete tank Open house at Fred's on Saturday Jan 26 (Details)
Feb 17 Phil Benes : Ponds
Mar 30Terry Fairfield : Fish Health
April 26 GCAS Spring Auction viewtopic.php?t=6028
May 18 UPDATED Tips and Tricks / Social Meeting
June 29 Stephan Tanner: Catfish Nutrition
July 27 Charley Grimes: Dead Fish Talk
Aug 31 Cory Fry : Plant Quiz
Sept 28 Ron Coleman: Hybrid Fish in the Hobby
Oct 25 {rescheduled from 10/18} GCAS Fall Auction viewtopic.php?t=6028
Nov 16 Jeremy Basch: Cichlids of South America
Dec 6 Christmas Banquet: Mike Schadle: TBD

______________________________________________________________________

Upcoming Speaker Bios and program details


Nov 16 Jeremy Basch: South American Cichlids

Jeremy has been keeping fish for over 15 years now. He got his first aquarium when he was 10 years old. It was a 15 gallon tank which over the years he kept fish like tetras, swordtails, cichlids, catfish and rasboras.
When he was 16, he started working at one of the local fish stores in town, Aquarium Adventure. From there, with the money he had saved, he started buying various tanks for freshwater fish he was interested in. This continued until 2004 when he setup a fishroom which currently contains 40+ aquariums ranging in size from 5 to 150 gallons.
His main focus is on cichlids and catfish from South America. He also maintain a few West African Cichlid and Killifish species, some Cypriniformes and he finally setup a small Saltwater Reef tank late in 2007, a 5 gallon reef tank. Over the years, he has bred over 30 species of fish including many cichlids, catfish, tetras, killifish, livebearers & invertebrates.
He is a current member and the chairman of the Columbus Area Fish Enthusiasts. He is also members of the Ohio Cichlid Association, Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society and the American Cichlid Association. Some publications he has been printed in include the Buntbarsche Bulletin & the CAFE Menu. He is a regular at many fish shows and conventions throughout the Midwest.



___________________________________________________________________________
I am sad to announce that John O'Malley passed away on Friday, September 19th. One of his younger brothers set up a tribute website: http://www.johnjomalley.tributeforyou.com/

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

John O'Malley : John O'Malley set up his first aquarium at age ten and has been actively involved in the hobby ever since. An accomplished marine aquarist, John has extensive experience in retail sales, has managed an aquarium maintenance company and has written a salt-water column for Aquarium Fish Magazine. His retail experience affords him unique insight into the problems novice often encounter in their first efforts to set up and maintain a salt water tank. This perspective, no less than a talent for explaining the most complex aspects of marine aquaristics clearly and concisely, recommends him to any club in search of a "salty" speaker. An award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in he pages of Aquarium Digest International, Aquarium Fish Magazine, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium and Tropical Fish Hobbyist, John illustrates all of his programs with his own superb slides.

Cichlids of South America... From angelfish and acaras to pike cichlids, this program offers a fascinating overview of the cichlids native to the waters of South America. Approaches to nitrogen cycle management, feeding, health care and breeding are presented and the selections of behaviorally compatible specimens are discussed at length.
______________________________________________________________________

Dec 6 Christmas Banquet: Mike Schadle: TBD

Mike has been seriously involved in the aquarium hobby since his grade school days. Although interested in all aspects of aquarium keeping his chief interests lie in livebearing species and the cichlids of the Americas. A member of most national specialty societies, he has served several in a number of administrative positions, including the editorship of the American Livebearer Association’ journal for eight years and a term on the American Cichlid Association’s Board of Trustees. Mike runs a business specializing in aquarium literature, and he and his books can often be seen at fish shows in the Great Lakes region. He also is frequently called on to judge these shows, and is one of the area’s most sought after auctioneers.


Ken Saxon
GCAS Speaker Chair

[Ken Saxon]

Previous speaker bios and program details for 2008

Jan 26 Open house at Fred's on Saturday (Details)
Jan 27 Fred Hamilton : Building a 1000 gallon concrete tank


Fred Hamilton has been keeping fish since 1975. He currently maintains seven tanks totaling about 1650 gallons, mostly rift lake cichlids and longeared sunfish. You may be familiar with Fred from his two articles posted on the GCAS website and elsewhere, entitled “Thousand Gallon Cichlid Tanks” and “Saving the Longeared Sunfish.” Within the GCAS, he has served as BAP Program Chair (and its founder), Fincinnati editor, and FAAS representative. He has given talks here recently on “Sunfish” and “ACA Conventions.” From 1989 to 1993, he served as Breeder’s Award Program Chairperson for the FAAS, and has served since 2002 as counsel to the ACA. He was the first volunteer for the WAVE Foundation at the Newport Aquarium, eventually earning a position on the Husbandry staff, Water Chemistry Lab.

When he is not dabbling in his fishy pursuits, Fred serves as Associate General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for the UC Medical Center.



______________________________________________________________________

Feb 17 Phil Benes : Ponds



Phil has been keeping fish for almost his entire life . He was breeding angelfish in the mid 1960's back when angelfish were silver, black, or black lace. At the age of 13, Phil went to work at a local pet shop. In college, Phil kept fish in his dorm room.

In 1980, Phil’s company moved him to Dallas, Texas, where he and Jan became founding members of the Dallas Aquarium Association. Phil served as Vice-President and President before being transferred back to Chicago where he built his first fishroom of about 30 aquariums.

Another move in 1993 took the Benes family, fish and all, to suburban Detroit, where both Phil and Jan became involved in several fish clubs, as well as board members and officers of the Michigan Cichlid Association. Of course, this also meant the opportunity for another fish room, with an increase to about 70 aquariums. Phil was the convention chair for the 1999 ACA convention hosted by the Michigan Cichlid Association.

After the convention, Phil and Jan moved to the Cincinnati, Ohio, area and joined the Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society, where Phil has held the position of Vice-President and auction chair for several years. In 2003, GCAS hosted the ACA convention, with Phil again as Convention Chair.

Phil is a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Cichlid Association and the Board Chair for 2008. He also served as ACA Board Chair in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007..

Phil has a chemistry degree from the University of Illinois and has worked professionally in the chemical industry for over 30 years. He currently maintains over 100 aquariums with a focus mainly on cichlids, catfish, and rainbowfish, although one can find the occasional livebearer or anabantoid in his fishroom.

Just a quick note that the February program will be about the 6,000 gallon koi pond that we put in last year at our house. This has been in the plans for a long, long time and work finally started in September, 2006 and the fish going in April 2007. I will highlight the process we went through and what has worked on this pond. The title is "Phil and Jan's Pond. Or When a Good Statue Goes Bad"

Phil
______________________________________________________________________

Mar 30 Terry Fairfield : Fish Health

Terry Fairfield is a 1989 graduate of UW- Green Bay with a degree in Aquatic Microbiology. He currently lives in Rockford, IL with his wife and has three daughters.
He has authored numerous articles on fish diseases, use of natural remedies and environmental concerns in addition to publishing A COMMON SENSE GUIDE TO FISH HEALTH (Barron’s 2000). He lectures all over the country and also does on-site dissections. His lectures are aimed at how to keep fish healthy, but also how to treat them when they are ill. A highly interactive lecture with no question left unanswered.

______________________________________________________________________

May 18 Bill Shenefelt was scheduled as our speaker for this Sunday's meeting but unfortunately his wife is having some health problems and he will not be able to make the trip.

May 18 -- "Tricks and Tips" / Social Meeting

Would you like to share a hobby trick or tip with the club? We love to learn from others and adapt techniques to our own fishkeeping!

Please PM me if you would like to share a hobby related trick or tip during the meeting (5-10 minutes). We will schedule 30 minutes to allow for social time before the Raffle and BAP auction. I will attempt to provide an updated list as I receive responses through the week.

Snacks and drinks will be provided
______________________

Bill Shenefelt: Killifish

Bill Shenefelt, nickname Shene, started with tropical fish at about the age of 5 (1948) with some white cloud mountain fish, guppies and swordtails. Spent Saturdays at a local aquarium shop. At about 10, fell in love with some Aphyosemion australe. Saved for 2 years and got a pair ($5 was a lot in the early 1950’s). Was not able to breed them, but the next killie, a pair of Rivulus cylindraeceus produced eggs and fry. Bred some cichlids, bettas, and a few other egg layers, but the australe were by far a favorite. Married, started a family, got a house and got into fish for our daughter (good excuse-fish for the kid-ha). About 1967 found a fellow who had australe and started into killies once again. After about 7 years I got too busy with work, army reserves and family and the fish took a back seat. Took a break from then till January of 2000 and found old fish friends and a few new ones and got back into killies with a vengeance. Currently the AKA chair of the KAP (the BAP of the AKA) and AKA Master Breeder.
http://sheneskillies.com
______________________________________________________________________

June 29 Stephan Tanner: Catfish Nutrition

I have been an active fish keeper since the mid 1980s. Back in Switzerland where I was born, I got my first tropical fish tank when I was 14 years old, and the "tank fever" has since never left me. In fact, my interest in biology and nature pushed me to earn a master's degree in Behavioral Ecology and Molecular Biology (1995) and finally a Ph.D. in Human Molecular Genetics (1998). During my undergraduate years I also worked in the Spiezer Zoo, a nice local fish store with quality fish and great service. In the spring of 1998, I moved to Columbus, Ohio for a postdoctoral fellowship in Cancer Research with Albert de la Chapelle, M.D., Ph.D. at The Ohio State University. After four years I became a Research Scientist and since the fall of 2005, I am a Research Assistant Professor in Human Cancer Genetics in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics at OSU.
As for my fascination with fish, a pivotal moment was when I went to a meeting of the German Barb, Tetra, Loach, and Catfish association VDA AK BSSW in 1992. I felt instantly comfortable among highly devoted specialists and became a member. In 1994, a new editor for the quarterly publication BSSW Report was needed and I held this position until the end of 2006. I occasionally travel to Germany for fish related meetings and to visit friends that I have made throughout the fabulous German hobbyist community.
The origin of the Swiss Tropicals Limited Liability Company has a simple reason. I am setting up a large fish system with well over 100 tanks to properly house all the fish that I am interested in. And breeding - which is naturally the ultimate goal - produces lots of offspring that need a good home. Well, selling a few fish is not an issue but selling them by the hundreds would sooner or later bring the IRS or the state treasurer to my door step. To avoid any legal issues, I decided to set up a company that does proper business and pays taxes. In addition, I have valid US Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA import licenses that allow me to legally bring back fish and plants from my trips.
______________________________________________________________________
July 27 Charley Grimes: Dead Fish Talk

Charley Grimes has been seriously keeping tropical fish for over 40 years. He currently has over 100 aquariums in his fishroom and 3 large yard ponds that he maintains for tropical fish in the warm months (about 5 months in Indianapolis).
In addition to culturing lots of live foods in his fishroom. He maintains about 60 cichlid tanks—mostly African Rifts & Dwarf Cichlids (mainly Apistos), with the rest mainly housing killies, tetras, and livebearers. He also does quite a bit of collecting locally and through the Southeastern U.S. In addition to collecting native fish, he has been to South America three times and once to Mexico. His other hobbies are photography and gardening. His presentations are always entertaining!

______________________________________________________________________
Aug 31 Cory Fry : Plant Quiz

______________________________________________________________________

Sept 28 Ron Coleman: Hybrid Fish in the Hobby


Ron's talk will focus on hybrid cichlids and some of the many controversies surrounding them.

______________________________________________________________________

[Ken Saxon]

I am sad to announce that John O'Malley passed away on Friday, September 19th. One of his younger brothers set up a tribute website: http://www.johnjomalley.tributeforyou.com/

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Take care,
Ken

[Ken Saxon]

Updated with November meeting and Christmas banquet speakers