|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
Finarama's TASG Administration Staff
|
We would like to express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to those
who have contributed to this website, our forum members, and to our Administrators
who maintain the forum! We would also like to thank our past administrators
Stuart Chale and Carla Gordon for their time and contributions. Thank You for
your dedication and hard work. Please feel free to communicate
directly with any of staff below. We are
available should you experience problems with this website or are unable to log
into the forum. For general questions, please become a member of the forum and post to the
forum. If you are unsure as to whom to contact, email us at
info@finarama.com. |
Michelle Ricketts - Founder/Senior Administrator
 |
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA
Contact:
michelle.ricketts@finarama.com
About:
I've been a hobbyist for nearly 30yrs, keeping mostly
angelfish. I collected any angelfish book I could find and
"loved" the TFH articles about wild angelfish.
I joined an
angelfish forum in 1999, and found little information
pertaining to wilds. I then embarked on a worldwide search
for new information and learned the true status of the genus
when I found Kullander's 1986 Review.
I gathered photos of
many different wild angelfish and created the first "Species
Identification Guide", obtained permission to publish the
historical "Angelfish Chronicles" page from the original
publisher/author and thus, this site was published in May of
2000.
I am also a founding member of
The Angelfish Society and served on their very
first Standards Committee in which we developed the
current Genetic Notations that are widely used by
breeders today.
My goal in publishing this site was to reach hobbyists
worldwide and generate more discussion pertaining to wild
angelfish. There is so much to learn and is truly
fascinating.
My main interests in the hobby include classification of
wild angelfish and domestic angelfish genetics. |
Alec McFarlane - Senior Administrator
Location:
Manchester, UK
Contact:
About:
|
Edgar Ruiz - Senior Administrator
 |
Location:
Salt Lake City, Ut., US
Contact:
stefanoruiz@yahoo.com
About: I have been keeping tropical fish since
I was a child in Hialeah Florida. My Grandmother, of Italian/American-Venezuelan
origin, lived for many years in the Venezuelan Guyana, where Orinoco Angelfish
are/were very abundant. She would tell me stories of when she was younger and went
collecting ornamentals throughout our country of birth. Altum and Cardinal Tetras
were her favorite species and throughout the 1960's, and until her death in 1974,
she maintained a huge display aquarium containing fish she herself brought to the U.S
In the mid 1970's my family moved back to Venezuela for a short time (I stayed, I had river fever!).
I finished my High School at the Marist Brothers in Maracaibo in 1977. From 1978
through 1983 I studied Aquatic Biology at Zulia State University (LUZ). In 83' I was
offered an excellent opportunity to work for a contractor of the Venezuelan State Oil
Company (Petroleos de Venezuela) as an English translator. At that time, Venezuelan State
Universities went on a year long strike and I continued working as a Translator/Interpreter
until this day. Despite the fact that I did not go back to school to finish my degree, I
continued to collaborate with my professors, colleagues and the University collecting fish
in the field (I have collected 70% of the Venezuelan territory and part of the Caribbean
Coast). From 1998 through 2003 (year I returned to the US) I worked for LUZ translating
Scientific Publications and continued collaborating with Biologist Wilfrido (Wil) Cabezas
Saavedra collecting and supplying specimens to the LUZ Museum of Science.
Wil is a man who has spent his life counting fin rays and scales. He was my mentor,
best friend and brother to this day. He pointed out the first Altum I ever saw while
diving a stream North of Puerto Ayacucho.
Dr. Donald C. Taphorn had a great influence in my early days in College.
He taught Ichthiosystematics at LUZ in the late 70's. Though I did not study
directly under Prof. Taphorn (Wil did), I did participate in several field trips
with both of them.
Now, from the Salt Lake Valley, I continue to try and help diffuse knowledge
relevant to the Altum Habitat. Having lived in Puerto Ayacucho (my son was born there)
for almost 3 years and explored/collected P. altum throughout Amazonas and Bolivar
State, I have not only deep knowledge of the territory and actual habitats the species
live in, but I bred the species in the early 80's while working with Wil Cabezas in a
project. I hope to repeat this, though it is a true challenge in such a different
environment (in the Rocky Mountains). I hope to see many more people achieving this
goal with wild specimens. In Europe and Asia, hobbyists are already breeding
domesticated P. altum in increasing quantities... but that does not mean the
challenge is not there....I mean...Mt. Everest isn't getting any smaller! |
Prof. Dirk Bellstedt - TASG Scientific Research Administrator
 |
Location:
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Contact:
info@finarama.com
About: Hi I am Dirk (Dirk U. Bellstedt). I am of German
extraction, although I have lived in South Africa
all my life and I am fluent in English and Afrikaans
and although I still speak German, this is not as
fluent as it should be. I am a professor in
Biochemistry at the University of Stellenbosch,
South Africa. I completed a Ph D in Biochemistry at
Stellenbosch University in 1988, part of which was
completed at the Max Planck Institute of Immune
Biology in Germany. My undergraduate training
included subjects such as Genetics, Animal
Physiology and Biochemistry. Stellenbosch is an old
historic town about 50 km from Cape Town (which I am
sure you would have seen on TV as a result of the
Soccer World Cup event held only a few months ago).
I lecture in Biochemistry, Bioinformatics and
Immunology. I am a specialist in highly sensitive
testing technologies utilizing antibodies and
DNA-based detection techniques. Together with a team
of students and a colleague, Dr Annelise Botes, I
conduct research into vaccine development for
ostriches, development of detection techniques for
potato bacteria and viruses, and DNA sequencing and
phylogenetic analysis to research the evolutionary
relationships of many organisms including bacteria,
plants and fishes. This research is conducted in a
well equipped modern laboratory in the Biochemistry
Department which is a large modern institute that
can hold its own against any institute in the world.
DNA sequencing is performed at a centralized
laboratory at the University of Stellenbosch. I have
published numerous scientific papers in
international journals and have given presentations
at national and international conferences.
I have kept fishes and aquatic plants since 1968
when I was at high school. I was mentored by Mr
Georg Reinhardt, a German who fled from former East
Germany in the 1950s, and who ran a small
government hatchery in which many tropical fishes
were bred at the Jonkershoek Trout Hatchery, just
outside Stellenbosch. Its is also through Mr
Reinhardts contacts in Germany that I had the
opportunity to visit Dr Eduard Schmidt-Focke, one of
the fathers of modern discus breeding. When my wife
looks for me the first place she goes to is the
garage in our home in which I keep 25 aquaria. Other
hobbies include gardening, hiking and travel (I have
travelled extensively in Africa, Europe and
Australia).
As a result of my experience and biochemistry
background I have an extensive knowledge of water
chemistry, fish nutrition and aquatic plant
fertilizers. I have bred many fishes including
killie fishes, rainbows, tetras, dwarf cichlids,
Geophagus, angels and have bred discus on a regular
basis since 1988. Currently I keep many tropical
fishes including discus and P. scalare angels, and
my present passion is to breed the altum angels that
I keep. In this area we have tap water which is very
soft and therefore ideal for keeping these extremely
sensitive fishes, I often battle to keep the pH from
dropping below 4. Frustrated by the lack of frozen
and high quality foods for his Discus, I started
importing such food from Germany in 1991. I have
also developed an aquatic plant fertilizer for use
in the soft water that occurs in many areas of South
Africa.
I hope to be of service in the scientific realm on
Finarama and it's forum in future. |
Larry Waybright - Administrator
 |
Location:
Clarkston, WA USA
Contact:
apistomaster@clearwire.net
My interest in fish goes back a long time. I began keeping
tropical fish while still in elementary school and began fly
fishing for Trout at the same time. By the time I was 17, I
already had the largest tropical fish shop in Idaho and bred
wild Blue Discus. That was in 1969 .
My interest in fly fishing taught me a lot about fish
biology and I have done a lot of field work. That field
work included catching fish but in the process of learning
how to become a better fly fisherman and fly tier I became a
proficient amateur aquatic insect entomologist. I discovered
that the aquatic insects I was familiar with had their
tropical counterparts.
Through the year since I have specialized in Discus but also
Apistogramma species and bred over 150 different species of
killifish. I also am interested in the small bubble nesting
species of wild Bettas.
I have been through my big South and Central American phases
of fish keeping but I have always been drawn back to Discus.
It is hard not to like Discus, especially the wild species
and not also be interested in the wild Angelfish. I have
kept all three of the named wild Angelfish species at one
time or another.
My most recent new area of interest is in the smaller
species of Brazilian Plec species and to a lesser extent,
the Corydoras species.
I now mainly keep wild Discus and breed Brazilian
Hypancistrus species and Peckoltia sp L134.
I began my interest in Discus with only wild fish at first
then for years I raised various domestic Discus color forms
but things have come full circle and now I am only trying to
breed wild Discus again.
I still try to raise a few South American Dwarf cichlids,
Characins and S.E. Asian small wild bubble nesting Bettas
when I can find a little free tank space. I only keep 15
aquariums going for my projects and it adds up to a little
over 1000 gallons of water available for fish culture. |
Phill Austen - Administrator (Registrations)
Location:
Bishop's Waltham UK
Contact: phill.austen@btinternet.com
About: Joined Finarama Dec. 2003.
40 odd years a hobbyist, keeping "wild fish that make me
smile." I started keeping Altum ten years ago, which had lead me to Finarama.
I have since developed a fascination with wild form
Pterophyllum and the challenges of maintaining them in
captivity. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
