Brian R. WattersBrian R. WattersBrian will give an illustrated presentation on Nothobranchius species and populations that have been collected recently and/or which are rare in the hobby. The presentation will include an account of recent field trips to the Kruger National Park (KNP) and the Mkuze and Ndumo Game Reserves in South Africa.
His interest in tropical fish goes back to the mid-1950s although his involvement in the killifish hobby began during 1971 while he was still living in Africa. In 1972 he joined the AKA and the BKA, and later the DKG and KFN. From 1989 to 1991 Brian served on the Board of Trustees of the AKA and was chairman for the last two years of that term. A major AKA project in which he is presently involved is the editing and preparation for publication of the Wildekamp volumes on killifish. Brian also maintains the "Status of Nothobranchius Species and Populations in the Hobby: Past and Present" database on the AKA's web site.
While he has, over the years, maintained many different types of killifish, his principal interest has always been in the genus Nothobranchius and, to a lesser extent, in the genus Aplocheilichthys. With the exception of a few rare species of South American annuals, he maintains species of these genera almost exclusively.
Since 1988, Brian has carried out field investigations and collections of Nothobranchius and Aplocheilichthys in the African countries of Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia (Caprivi Strip), Botswana and Tanzania (including Zanzibar) during the course of 15 field trips. As a result of these trips he has been able to introduce to the hobby (or re-introduce in some cases) more than 200 species/populations of Nothobranchius and Aplocheilichthys. During the course of collecting, numerous new species have been discovered and detailed studies have been made of habitat conditions and the factors that control the distribution of these fish.Phone: (306) 584-9161 (home)
(306)
585-4663 (work)
Fax: (306) 585-5433
E-Mail: bwatters@sk.sympatico.ca