SPRING FEST SPEAKERS

1:00 PM

     Kevin Kohen

Making Sound Fish Purchases for Marine Aquaria

The presentation explains the chain of custody of marine fishes, what determines the price of the fish on export, import, and retail, why some fish are considered “rare”, then goes on to detail some of my favorite sustainably harvested fishes that make ideal choices for reef aquaria.

Biography:
Kevin Kohen earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Wright State University, and is an avid marine life photographer, lifelong aquarist and marine fish enthusiast. He was one of the early pioneers maintaining live corals in captivity back in the early 80's. He began his professional career in the marine fish industry working in a retail fish store, and then moved on to manage the operations of one of the largest freshwater and marine fish wholesale and import/export businesses in the Midwest for over eight years. From there, he ventured on to launch the LiveAquaria.com web site, and designed and oversaw the installation of the Drs. Foster & Smith Aquaculture Coral & Marine Life Facility. He currently oversees the operations of the facility, and is responsible for the acquisition of the animals, as well as their husbandry.  

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2:30 PM

     John Coppolina

Angelfish in Reef Aquaria

Angelfish in Reef Aquaria: From QT and Adaptation to Pairing and Spawning Of the numerous brightly colored and personable families of reef fish that brought many of us into the hobby, perhaps none is more popular than that of angelfish. However, as our hobby has evolved to include a much higher percentage of reef aquariums over “fish-only”, angels are often excluded out of fears they are not “reef safe”. When angels are kept in reefs, it is often only a single specimen, out of fears that angels cannot be mixed together. Many of these blanket misconceptions are based on misinformation, hearsay, and outdated advice. In “Angelfish in Reef Aquaria” we’ll discuss the cutting edge techniques you need to know to successfully keep angelfish together in your reef aquarium for years, from proper QT and adaptation to attaining nightly natural displays of spawning pairs or harems and everything in between. “Angelfish in Reef Aquariums” is of interest to all angelfish lovers from the casual observer to the angelfish nut!

Biography:
John Coppolino's innate passion for fish was nurtured growing up on an island on a lake in Northern New Jersey with a fish loving father and a mother allergic to everything with fur and feathers! A saltwater hobbyist since age 11, John began working at a large regional aquarium store as soon as he obtained working papers in high school, and in college went on to study reef fish in Bermuda and the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador where he lived (and met his wife!) for about two years after obtaining his B.S. in biology. John now lives in Northern Virginia with his wonderfully supportive wife and two young children, and keeps over 1000 gallons of saltwater aquariums with over twenty angelfish spread throughout, with most in pairs or harems in reef tanks. These include a trio of Pygoplites diacanthus (regal angelfish), a trio of Centropyge joculator (joculator angelfish), and the mixed species pair of Centropyge resplendens / Centropyge fisheri that created the first tank bred hybrid angelfish. John travels yearly with work to Hawaii and Guam, where most free time is spent underwater! John writes articles and has spoken at conferences and reef clubs on the topic of angelfish, and has contributed to the newly published book "Angelfishes of the World"

FALL FEST SPEAKERS