2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention

[black hills tj]

Here are some details for the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention being hosted at the Embassy Suites La Vista Conference Center in Omaha, NE on April 9 and 10! I have included the list of speakers, a schedule, and all the info you need to book your discounted room at the Courtyard by Marriott which is attached to the La Vista Conference Center! We will accept vendors until we pack the conference center full! If you are interested in setting up, please contact me!

Check out this whopper of a speaker line up!
*Owner of Ted's Fishroom and freshwater legend...Ted Judy!
*Owner of Tannin Aquatics...Scott Fellman!
*The king of green...Luis Navarro!
*Owner of ReefGen...Laura Birenbaum!
*Curator of the Long Island Aquarium...Joe Yaiullo!
*Local hobbyist and behind the scenes guy at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium...Tim Morrissey!
*Midwest Marine Aquarium Society's very own...Steve Miller!
*Curator at the Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Cove...Grant Anderson!

saturday
1000-doors open
1100-Grant Anderson
1200-Laura Birenbaum
1300-break
1400-Joe Yaiullo
1500-Ted Judy
1600-Scott Fellman
1800-Social Time

Sunday
0800-doors open
0900-Steve Miller
1000-Luis Navarro
1100-Tim Morrissey
1200-auction
1400-(end)

The Embassy Suites La Vista Conference Center has hooked us up with an excellent discount on rooms at the Courtyard, which is attached to the La Vista Conference Center, for the weekend! If you call the Courtyard at 402.339.4900 to book your room, request the Great Plains Aquatics Block and use code GPAR to get the discounted room rate at $79/night! Alternatively you can book online at the following link! Can't wait to see you all there!

http://www.marriott.com/meeting-eve...4/10/16`03/09/2016&app=resvlink&stop_mobi=yes

http://i.imgur.com/Bem67s0.jpg

[black hills tj]

The current vendor list of the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention is as follows:

AznNutty's Saltwater Connections
Klein's Corals
Shipwrecked Cove
The Coral Don
Nebraska Aquatic Supply
Aquarium Addictions
Sioux Falls Aquatics
Midwest Frags
Coral Xpressions
Kolb's Corals
Nebraska Reef Society
Rivers and Reefs
Zoea's Healthy Fish
Freakin' Frags
Coralholics
Printed Reefing Solutions
Midwest Marine Aquarium Society
Fin-Tastic Fish
Operation Tidal Wave
One Stop Aquatics
USBorn Books and More
Dirk's Dry Goods
Reef Deep Aquatics
Fish Freaks
Insane Corals

There is still space, so if you are interested in setting up, please contact us(particularly if you have some freshwater goodies to offer ;) )

[black hills tj]

Thanks to Luke and Becka at Fin-tastic Fish in Bellevue, NE...we will be raffling a Chameleon whiptail(Pseudohemiodon apithanos) and an L046 Zebra pleco! The winner of the chameleon whiptail will have the option of purchasing another from Luke and Becka's personal fish wink emoticon
Shout out to Luke and Becka from Fin-tastic Fish. Can't wait to see what kind of cool stuff they bring to the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention!
https://m.facebook.com/FintasticFishBellevue/

[black hills tj]

Thanks to Matt at Sioux Falls Aquatics, Grant Anderson from the Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Cove in Sioux Falls, South Dakota will be presenting at the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention! But what will he be talking about?!?!
LEDs: Leading to the Death of Metal Halides
This lecture will discuss data continuously collected over three years and then some. The information is drawn from many manufacturers that crossover the hobby and public aquarium industry, and it has been compiled to analyze PAR results taking into consideration spread and penetration depths, including spectrum changes.

[black hills tj]

Thanks to Matt Wichers and Sioux Falls Aquatics, Grant Anderson from the Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Cove in Sioux Falls, SD will be discussing LED lighting at the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention being held at the Embassy Suites La Vista Conference Center in Omaha, NE on April 9 AND 10th! Sioux Falls Aquatics is the premier shop in Sioux Falls, SD, and will be setup at the show in Omaha. Stop and introduce yourself to Matt, and tell him thanks for sponsoring Grant Anderson from the Sioux Falls Butterfly House and Marine Cove.
http://www.siouxfallsaquatics.com
https://www.facebook.com/siouxfallsaquaticsllc/?fref=ts

[black hills tj]

Steve Miller from the Midwest Marine Aquarium Society will be delivering a presentation at the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention that everyone can learn a thing or two from!
"Quarantine in Aquaria: A care strategy from disease prevention and beyond."
There is nothing a hobbyist would love to do more than to take a new fish home, drop her in the display, and watch her happily swim around without a care in the world. We've all seen it done, and I'd venture to guess that we've all done it at one time or another. It's also a horrible idea that has caused so many problems.
Quarantine is one of those aspects of the hobby that is ignored by some, dismissed as foolish by others, and hated by so many. It is also one of the most important things a hobbyist can do to ensure the long-term health of the animals in your care. We'll explore why that is, what quarantine can do for us, the equipment we use, and a little about common marine diseases and some myths surrounding them. We'll also discuss why quarantine is NOT just about disease!

[black hills tj]

The 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention had an impressive speaker roster, including Scott Fellman, owner of Tannin. Let's take a peek at what Scott has to say!
"A Crash Course in Reef Culture: Observations, stories, and lessons from History"
Reef Culture is an entertaining, hopefully humorous look at the "culture" of the hobby of reef keeping. We'll examine some of the common norms, behaviors, and values that we've developed as reefers. We will also take a look at some of the developments from the 30-some-odd year history of the modern reef keeping hobby, and how they influenced what we do every day. We'll also talk about some of the latest trends in reef keeping. Something for everyone- even if you're not a reef keeper!

[black hills tj]

Tim Morrissey of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium will be speaking at the Great Plains Aquatic Convention, but what's on Tim's mind?
"Aquaculture efforts at OHDZA with an emphasis on the first captive-bred Pseudanthias hypselsosoma"
The Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium have been working on an aquaculture project in conjuction with various other public aquariums across the country. Staff has attended workshops and meetings over the last two years and have now set up live food cultures, and a larval rearing system at the aquarium in Omaha. Eggs have been collected from the exhibit tanks and reared using Parvocalanus copepods, Rotifers and Artemia nauplii. We have been successful in raising a few species with our best effort to date being the first ever rearing of Pseudanthias hypselosoma.

[black hills tj]

Ted Judy will be speaking at the 2016 Great Plains Aquatic Convention, but who is he and what will he be discussing?
Ted Judy is an addicted aquarist with over 30 years of fish keeping and breeding experience. He is a generalist who enjoys all types of fish from anabantids to tetras, but always finds plenty of room in his fish room for fish from West Africa (especially the dwarf cichlids). Ted's club affiliations are the American Cichlid Association, the Madison Area Aquatic Hobbyists and the Milwaukee Aquarium Society. Ted is a former high school science teacher who now dabbles as a fish importer, retailer and wholesale distributer. He is a prolific speaker, proficient writer, and wants to be a better photographer. See more of Ted's hobby by visiting his video blog at www.tedsfishroom.com.
The Genus Pelvicachromis
This talk is an overview of the genus Pelvicachromis. All ten species of the genus are discussed, as well as closely related fish that are yet to be scientifically described. The slide show includes the presenter's photographs of over 20 different Pelvicachromis species/geographic variants, as well as video of the amazing behaviors of these fish. The captive husbandry of the fish in this genus is discussed in detail, as well as strategies for spawning them and raising the offspring.