Name: JRAS November Monthly Meeting Featuring Kenneth Normandin
Start: 2025-11-19T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Logo Advantage

Our November meeting of the James River Aquarium Society will be on Wednesday, November 19th.
Meeting will start at 7:00 pm
Our speaker this month will be Kenneth Normandin
Title: Fascinating Ellasoma Species, and Collecting In The Southeast
Bio:
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 325 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, many of which I have collected myself. I still enjoy going on collecting trips, most notably trips to Panama 2006, 2009 and 2012, as well as Colombia in 2015, 2016, 2023 and 2024. I have also been privileged to be able to assist several scientific institutions by providing living and preserved samples for genetic research and am in the process of being appointed as a contract field research assistant for East Tennessee State University. 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 six AKA national conventions. I have been a past (and present) member of the BOT (Board of Trustees) for 11 years between 2013 and 2025, serving 3 consecutive years as AKA BOT Chairman from 2022-2024. I 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, 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2025, I was made a Fellow of the AKA.
We will be holding a MINI AUCTION , after the lectures, so bring in your goods for the auction.
As usual, folks that want to meet for dinner at the Mexico Restaurant before the meeting are welcome to attend. Members get there about 5:30 pm.
Please note: The new location of Logo Advantage, 8055 Mechanicsville Turnpike, just a block down from the old location, (just across from the post office).
We hope everyone can make it!