Stephen A. Smith, MS, DVM, PhD

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Dr. Stephen A. Smith is a professor of infectious diseases of aquatic, wildlife and exotic animals in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.  In addition to being an author of over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles, he has published numerous book chapters and has served as Editor and Issue Editor for several journals. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Fish Health Section of the American Fisheries Society, the European Association of Fish Pathologists and a past President of both the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine and American Association of Fish Veterinarians.

 

Andrew Soh

Fish Experiences

Ornamental fish keeping is a childhood passion.

1973: Started discus-keeping.

1989: Transformed the hobby into a business venture, known as Associates Aquarium Pte Ltd specializing only in discus.

1994 to 2006: the company acquired a 1.95 hectares land for Ornamental fish culture and Research development.

2008 to first quarter of 2010: Partner cum consultant in an Ornamental fish production and export Assam, India.

The main commercial focus: To produce healthy and disease-free applying high-tech fish culture systems. Major focus is creating new strains/variants for the Global Ornamental Fish Industry.

Achievements:

  1. Guppy, a live-bearer has a lethal parasite known as ‘Tetra Hymena’ that can cause mass mortality and which is still very much in the fish production around the world today. We have invented a new technology to eliminate it completely from our production. The one and only technology in the world as to date. This technology can be applied to all live-bearer species.
  2. Further to that, we have succeeded in producing protozoan-free and bacterial-free egg-layer. Fish species used was discus.
  3. We succeeded in mass-production/intensive culture of adult Artemia.
  4. Through basic genetic engineering, created new variants of ornamental fishes for the global market.
  5. Though viruses is most daunting to eliminate if not impossible, I was able to remove iridovirus from all my production in my 1.95 hectares farm within 4 months. An achievement endorsed by AVA Veterinary department.
  6. Designing and established a farm in Assam, India that is pathogen-free, first in the world.
  7. Written two discus books: “Discus, the Naked Truth” in 2005 and  “Discus, Problems and Solutions” in 2009 Both books have received global recognition as the best books in the world (Google to affirm).

Collaboration:

Project: A water-recirculation system for mass culture of discus (Andrew being the principal investigator) It was an Associates Aquarium Pte Ltd project in collaboration with AVA, Ngee Ann civil Engineering department and NSTB.

  • Project period: 3.5 years
  • Project sum: S$1,200,000.00 est. (900,000 plus USD)
  • Project results: Successful

Portfolios held

  • 1995 to 2001: Served as Secretary of the Singapore Aquarium Fish Exporter Association
  • Present involvement: Regional Consultant; Farm cum Hatchery design and Creation of healthy and pathogen-free live-bearers’ brooder-stocks for regional commercial farming/mass production inclusive of wild fish culture.

Last related full-time job:

  • Location: Assam, India
  • Designation: Ornamental fish culture cum export consultant

International interaction:

Besides being invited as lecturer for the local farmers and trainees under the government body, Agrifood and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), I have     given numerous talks during Ornamental fish events locally and overseas.

Some of the international involvements are:

  • Singapore Aquarama 1995, Seminar speaker ‘Discus Health’
  • Singapore Aquarama 1997, Conference speaker ‘Intensive culture of Artemia’
  • Singapore Aquarama 1999, Seminar speaker ‘Sexing of Discus’
  • Singapore Agrifood 2000, Seminar speaker on ‘Creating new Guppy’
  • Germany Interzoo 2000, Conference speaker ‘Ornamental fish culture in Singapore’
  • Sri Lanka 2002, ‘Good husbandry and export practices’ the only speaker for 2 days workshop – specially invited by the Fishery Department of Sri Lanka and FAO International
  • Germany 4th International Discus Competition 2002, Seminar speaker ‘Sexing of discus’
  • Bagalore, India 2006, Seminar speaker ‘Discus health and treatment’
  • Cochin, India 2007, Conference speaker ‘Management, Disease control and Autopsy of fishes’ plus workshop – specially invited by the fishery Department of India
  • ACA Sacramento, USA 2007, Conference speaker ‘Discus health, Disease and Treatment’
  • BIDKA, Bristol, UK 2008, Seminar speaker ‘Best discus practices disease control’
  • BIDKA, Bristol, UK 2009, Seminar speaker ‘Designing Discus’
  • Napoli Aquatica, Italy 2010, Seminar speakerGenetics in Designing discus’
  • Polish Discus conference 2011, Seminar speaker ‘Advanced Genetics’
  • From 2011 to the present, given seminars in Italy, Greece, India, AG USA

Besides judging in some of the local discus shows, he was a discus judge for the following overseas events:

  • Discus Competition 2001, Indonesia
  • 1st Discus Championship 2002, France
  • 4th International Discus Championship 2002, Germany
  • ACA Discus Championship 2007, USA
  • BIDKA Discus Championship 2008, United Kingdom
  • BIDKA Discus Championship 2009, United Kingdom
  • Napoli Aquatica 2010, Italy
  • Polish Discus Championship 2011
  • Local and overseas discus competitions in Italy, Greece, USA… up to 2017

 

Vitor Hugo Quaresma

Vitor Hugo Quaresma started with the Discus in 1984, the “addiction” has remained to this day. In Portugal, besides Breeding Hybrid  Discus and reaching 39 couples, there were Aquarium stores where the Discus always had a prominent place. Importer of Discus from difference’s  parts of World , launched the first magazine on Ornamental Fish in Portugal, Aquamania. He was present in several Discus Championships in Europe where the greatest success happened in Duisburg in 2000 with a fifth place in the Brown class. The curiosity and the search for a greater knowledge on Discus, was increased to the point of deciding in 2006 to live in Brazil and to work with Export. In 2008 he opened the Santarem Discus Company in the Amazon. Today it is considered one of the most reputed export companies of Wild Discus with agents in 40 Countries in the World. His Wild Discus has won the Championships in several places in Europe as happened in 2017 in France, Poland. He has been invited to give lectures in various places as happened in China, Portugal, Brazil, etc. His lectures are based on images of photographs and video, performed in the jungle, are achieved with the use of drones, where the capture and selection of Discus are the base theme. For 4 to 5 months his life is made between several communities in the Amazon where he makes the selection of the Wild Discus one by one. Adopting the same way of selling them with a catalog published every year of the Fish that has in stock. During these months he organizes expeditions with tourists to follow in his footsteps in the Amazon in the collection and selection of Wild Discus in different Amazonian communities A life dedicated to these extraordinary ornamental fish for which he has a passion to this day. His new projects in the World of Discus aims to reproduce ,some of the best Wild Discus that he captures during the fishing season between September and January in a warehouse in Portugal , with Heckel Half Moon being one of the rarest wild fish. As well as the World launch of his first book in different languages, about different communities in the Amazon in partnership with one of the best Portuguese photographers of the present time.

 

Paul Butler

I have been a fish keeper since I was 8 years old. I’ve kept fish as varied as native cold water fish, tropical marine fish and tropical freshwater fish. I first came across discus in the early 1980’s, and have kept them seriously since the mid 1990’s up until a recent house move.

The first discus I bought was a wild caught brown discus of some sort, and whilst it sadly did not live long, it ignited my passion for these wonderful fishes. My main fishkeeping interests now are wild caught discus and Altum Anglesfish.

I have previously judged at Aquafair 3rd International Discus Competition , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2010, and Discusvrienden Belgian Discus Championships three times (2011, 2014 and 2016), British Discus Show 2013.

I have given a variety of talks and lectures on all aspects of fish keeping, mainly though focused on discus.

 

Spencer Jack

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Spencer has been active within the aquaria hobby since the age of five. A true “cichlidiot”, he had worked exclusively with cichlids for over thirty years. He has since expanded his horizons to include all types of tropical fish.

Spencer has been an active hobbyist within Winnipeg for a number of years. Some of his roles within the fish hobbyist community include:

  • Co-founder of the Aquarium Society of Winnipeg (1989)
  • Founder and President of the Canadian Cichlid Association (2000)
  • Co-founder of the Dead Fish Order (2012)

Spencer now owns and operates a tropical fish business, The aFISHionados, and is still an avid fishkeeper and breeder.

Spencer’s enthusiasm, humour and dedication towards the aquarium hobby is easily witnessed through his lectures. All of Spencer’s lectures are full multimedia presentations using PowerPoint, and almost all of the pictures in use are original pictures taken by Spencer during his years in the hobby and travels across North, South, Central America and beyond.

Spencer is a part of the American Cichlid Association speakers program.