Michigan Cichlid Association's
November General Meeting
Ray Bierbower: Angelfish, The Majestic Queen of the Aquarium
With Breeders Award Program auction,
mini-auction* & raffle immediately following the general meeting.
11-2-19, 7:00pm at
Loon River Cafe
Wyndham Garden Sterling Heights
34911 Van Dyke , Sterling Heights, MI 48312
*mini-auction is limited to 3 bags&/or items per person & BAP auction split applies.
Ray Bierbower
I grew up in north central Pennsylvania on a family farm. We raised many types of livestock. At about age 10 I got my first 10-gallon aquarium and selected swordtails as my first fish to keep. To this day I am still drawn to swords. The addiction started there. While in college at Penn State Behrend I had two tanks that traveled from dorm to apartment to apartment. I graduated in 2005 with a degree in biology with a focus on ecology.
My first real job was with Penn State Cooperative Extension as an Extension Educator for Youth Development in Forestry and Natural Resources. This is the time I built my first fishroom with my dad and brother Rich. The room as 10’x11’ and housed about 25 aquariums. Angels, guppies, and bristlenoses were the common fish of choice. I found out there were fish clubs and joined ARVAS (Allegheny River Valley Aquarium Society, Olean, NY).
I made a career changed and accepted a position at Presque Isle State Park, Erie PA in March 2008 as an environmental education specialist and relocated to Girard, PA. While house shopping all I could think of is where will the fishroom go? Once we settled in, I build my current fishroom, which has been remodeled twice since. I have 67 aquariums ranging in size from 2.5 gallons to 75 gallons. Most of my tanks are 20-30 gallons in size. I continue to breed angels, guppies, and bristlenoses but have branched out to many other species. I joined the Erie Aquarium Society (EAS) in 2008 and became president in 2012 and have held the position since.
I will share with you my talk “The Majestic Angel”. I will cover my experience raising and breeding angelfish, sharing the good and the bad and tell you how I raise them and what has worked for me in my fishroom along with the challenges I have experienced.
