Vadim Shmah – Biographical Profile

Vadim has been in the fish hobby for more than 45 years, ever since he was seven years old and his father brought home a small 3-gallon aquarium with guppies. From that moment on, the number and variety of the fish and plants he kept started growing in geometrical progression. His major focus was Anabantoids and aquatic plants. When he moved to the USA from Uzbekistan, Vadim had to leave his plant and fish collections behind and start the hobby again from the ground up. He started out with Anabantoids once more, but it was not long before the heavy influence of Andrei Nikiforov persuaded him to enter the killifish keeping world. The first killifish he kept was Nothobranchius rachovii. Since that time, Vadim has kept and bred more than 100 killifish species from all over the world. Presently, he specializes in the Fundulopanchax genus. Vadim’s presentation is titled “The Ever-Evolving Journey of Keeping Killifish”.

Michael Köck – Biographical Profile

Michael Köck was born in 1968 in Vienna, Austria.  He pursued Biology studies between 1987 and 1994 and worked at various pet stores during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.  Michael served as project manager (Scleractinia-project) at Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna in 2004 and has served as Curator at the Haus des Meeres-Aqua Terra Zoo, Vienna from 2005 to 2023.

He is currently the Chairman of the Plan G for the conservation of Goodeids, which is currently a primary focus for Michael.  Michael is also a founder and director of the international Goodeid Working Group and has served as the head of the European chapter of the GWG, since 2009. He served as Vice-director for two different pet industry associations from 2012 to 2020 and has been a member of the advisory board for the Freshwater Life Project, since 2021. Michael has also been a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, since 2021.

Dr. Francisco Malumbres – Biographical Profile

  • Born in the 60’s in Madrid, Spain. Enthusiast of fish and birds since the age of 15.
  • Dr in Medicine and Surgery, specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery.
  • University Professor UCM and European University for 35 years.
  • Tireless vocation in humanitarian aid
  • Forty-six collecting trips: United States, Cuba, Central America, South America, and Africa.
  • 10 species discovered and 6 descriptions.
  • President (for 16 years), now honorary of the Spanish Association of Killis SEK.
  • Member of the DKG .
  • Nowadays I still keep and breed Killis and fishes scientific research.

Dodi Sunjaya – Biographical Profile

Dodi Sunjaya is from Maryland. He is a betta breeder, exhibitor, IBC certified judge, 2023-2024 Area 1 IBC Executive board.  Dodi started breeding betta fish when he was 8 years old. His   father taught him how to breed and to care for bettas and other animals.  About seven years ago he joined the International Betta Congress and started to show his bettas. He specializes in Plakats, Halfmoons, Crowntails and Giant bettas. Some of his major achievements as exhibitor includes winning 2020-2021 and 2022-2023 Area 1 Grand Champion, the 2023 Tulsa, OK Convention show President’s Award for the most points, and the 2023 IBC Warren Young Memorial Award for most best of shows in the show year.  He has also worked with flowerhorns and koi.  Dodi is grateful to be a speaker at 2024 AKA and ALA Convention. His presentation is titled “Breeding, Raising and Showing Bettas”. 

Greg Sage – Biographical Profile

Greg Sage, MEd., began selling guppies from his bedroom starting in middle school in Ohio, and today runs selectaquatics.com from his home in Erie, Colorado. Greg served as Chairman of the American Livebearer Association from 2000 – 2004 and has published numerous articles in hobbyist publications on livebearers, livebearer husbandry, selective breeding and automatic water changing systems. Greg also produces presentations on Youtube – “Select Aquatics Presents”, and “Select Aquatics Questions” on each of the species at Select Aquatics, and answers questions from customers with videos from the fishroom, and each morning responds to emails answering questions on freshwater husbandry. He can be reached at selectaquatics@gmail.com.

Greg maintains a fishroom of 100+ tanks, which has specialized over the last 14 years in rare livebearers, goodeids, wild swordtails and a line of Pethia padamya “Odessa” that has been selectively bred and developed starting in 2010. Efforts to selectively breed for healthy and consistent stock began around 1990, and a number of strains have been distributed to the hobby through Select Aquatics. Greg’s presentation will include photos and stories that document the development of many of these fish, including the high fin mayae, the Ancistrus Green Dragon, the Synodontis lucipinnis, his line of Odessa barbs, the gold Alvarezi and the Ilyodon furcidens, the “Trout Goodeid” are covered.

Les Wilson – Biographical Profile

Les Wilson is a lifelong hobbyist, aquatic biologist, President and founding partner of Cobalt Aquatics, overseeing Marketing, Product Development, and Operations.  In Cobalt’s first 12 years, Les’s projects at Cobalt have redefined the fish nutrition category with the Cobalt Probiotic Flakes and have won numerous industry awards for their innovative products like the Neo-Therm heaters, and CA Mysis frozen foods.  He also brought Fishgeek level products like the Egg Rockers, USB powered air pumps, and C-Vue AIO aquariums to the US hobby.  

Prior to founding Cobalt, Les spent 17 years with United Pet Group aquatics as an aquatic biologist and Director of Marketing for the Equipment and Consumables group, responsible for the Marineland, Tetra, Instant Ocean, and Jungle brands and private label projects in those categories. Les personally brought to market many of the projects you know today, including his favorites Marineland’s LED lighting, Bio-Spira Nitrifying Bacteria, Corner Flow Tanks, and the Deep Dimension aquariums.  Les has also served 3 terms on the World Pet Association (WPA) Board of Directors as the chair of the Aquatics Committee and was the founding chairman of WPA’s Aquatic Experience Show.  Les has also served one year on the Marine Aquarium Society of North America (MASNA) show committee and 3 terms as the Director at Large for the MASNA Board of Directors, which manages the annual MACNA show and conference.  

Les regularly speaks on fish related topics at hobbyist clubs and associations around the country and has been a featured speaker at the American Cichlid Association (ACA) annual conference, multiple American Live Bearer Association (ALA) annual conferences, HH Backer Pet Trade Show Industry Expert seminars and panels, and has been a judge at the Aquarama International Guppy Competition.   Keeping to his Fishgeek roots, Les is a member of multiple fish organizations including, ACA, ALA, MASNA, and Florida Fancy Guppy Association. 

Brian Skidmore – Biographical Profile

Brian Skidmore lives in Tampa, Florida.  He has been keeping fish since his teen years and moved from Michigan to Florida in 1986 to finish college at the University of South Florida where he earned his degree in Biology, after a one-year hiatus working on a tropical fish farm near Tampa.  Brian is a member of the Tampa Bay Aquarium Society (TBAS), Coastal Aquarium Society, North American Native Fishes Association (NANFA), American Killifish Association (AKA) and American Livebearers Association (ALA).  He currently keeps a variety of fishes and plants in mostly smaller aquaria.  Brian is an avid naturalist and collector of fishes, concentrating field trips primarily in Florida and the southeastern U.S.  He has also travelled to Amazonian Peru in 2009 and 2017 to collect tropical fishes. Brian served as Chair for the 2009 NANFA Conference in Florida and served as President of the TBAS.  He co-authored “The Florida Collecting Guide – a Guide to Collecting, Identification and Aquarium Maintenance of Florida’s Non-Game Fishes”.  

Ken Normandin – Biographical Profile

Ever since I was a kid, I can remember there always being at least one aquarium in the house.  When I was 10 and living with my grandparents in Blackstone, Massachusetts, my uncle (who was still living at home….) was keeping and breeding show guppies in several (I think it was around 20 or so) aquariums.  That was my first real exposure to breeding tropical fish and it snowballed from there.  Also, during this time I also developed a liking for exploring the local streams and ponds in search of whatever “critters” I could find.  I think you know where this is heading…..!

Fast-forward 15 years to 1984….  I get my first introduction to killies, at a local killifish show at the exhibition halls at Balboa Park.  I was absolutely in awe of just about every fish I saw and I had to find out more.  I contacted the local San Diego club as advertised at the show and attended my first killifish meeting with the likes of Monty Lehman, John Pitcairn, Russ Feilzer and other names I can’t remember.  However, this was to be a short foray into the killie hobby since family and military obligations took precedence.

After some life changes and a military transfer to Jacksonville, FL in 1992, I once again started looking for killifish contacts.  By chance I was referred to and contacted Mark Rodriguez in Tampa, FL.  I made the trip to his house and after he showed me around his “fish room” (actually in his living room) we spoke for a few hours about killies.  I left there with several pairs of killies (blue gularis and others), as well as contact information for the AKA.  At this time I also renewed my love for tromping through the waterways in search of my own “wild fish”.

Currently, I maintain approximately 300 tanks, mostly filled with my favorite genus, Rivulus, of which I maintain about 70 species/locations as well as my other passion, native fishes and killies.  I also still enjoy going on collecting trips, most notably trips to Panama 2006, 2009 and 2012, as well as Colombia in 2015, 2016 and 2023.  I have also been privileged to be able to assist several scientific institutions by providing living and preserved samples for genetic research.  I have had the honor of being invited to speak on my favorite genus at several local club shows and have been a speaker at five AKA national conventions.    I have been a past member of the BOT for 9 years between 2013 and 2023, the last 3 years as AKA BOT Chairman and am a former chairman of the Rivulus sub-committee of the AKA’s Killifish Conservation Committee and I have been honored by the AKA as Killifish Hobbyist of the Year for 2000.