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MarkB

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About MarkB

  • Rank
    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 10/12/1965

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Gobowen
  • Interests
    Natural History.... Tropical fish (Cichlids), particularly those from the genus Apistogramma. Committee member of British Cichlid Association(Journal Editor and Sales Officer).
    Regularly visit Peruvian Amazon for 4 weeks in October each year to collect and study tropical fish/habitats.

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About Me

My name is Mark Breeze and I am a 50 year old single father who dedicates his life to tropical ornamental fish and the struggle to bring up four teenage children near Oswestry, right on the Shropshire/North Wales border in the UK.

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My interests include tropical fish and in particular the smaller dwarf cichlids, a hobby which dates back well over 30 years to my mid-late teens when relatively robust tropical fishes such as Pelvicachromis pulcher and Nannacara anomala could be acquired, were easily maintained and successfully bred in my local hard Shropshire tap water. However, it is now well over 15 years since I first developed a healthy interest in maintaining, breeding and studying those smaller Geophagine or “Eartheating” cichlids from the genus Apistogramma.

Over the past decade this healthy interest in Apistogramma has developed into, what some might call, an obsession. My 40-tank fish room is now almost entirely dedicated to these wonderful little aquarium inhabitants and it houses in excess of 25-30 Apistogramma species at any one time. As a result I have maintained, studied and bred over 130 different species and distinct forms of Apistogramma up to December 2015 with the lure of finding “new” species to maintain, observe and study being one of the major motivating factors in the development of my hobby.

I have also been lucky enough to study in the field. I have visited the Amazon basin many times with Tom Christoffersen (Norway) on month long expeditions at the end of the dry season to collect Apistogramma and examine the fish’s natural habitats.

My experience with Apistogramma has resulted in myself having articles published in many UK based aquatic journals and magazines including the UKs number one publication, Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, where I was considered “Habitat Expert” for some time. I have also been invited to present my experiences in lecture form at many aquatic associations in the UK and overseas with the Nordic countries of Norway and Sweden being favourite haunts. I have previously lectured many times in Norway (Oslo, Larvik and Grenland) and twice at The Scandinavian Cichlid Groups Convention in Sweden (2010 and 2015).

My love and enthusiasm for cichlids resulted in highly respected UK cichlid enthusiast, Mary Bailey, asking if I would consider a place on the committee of the British Cichlid Association. I obliged and for my sins I am now Vice Chairman and Editor of Cichlidae, the bi-monthly journal of the BCA. I am also involved in the BCA Conservation Fund which raises finances for both cichlid conservation and cichlid research projects. I am also a member of the Catfish Study Group and Telford and District Aquatic Society.

In recent years I have been encouraged by many to put my experiences with Apistogramma down on paper. As nothing new has been published on Apistogramma since 2006 and the year 2013 marked the 100 year anniversary of the genus being erected by Regan I thought it fitting to start work on a long term project named Apistogramma “Evolution In Action” which is a book dedicated to those who have made 100 years of Apistogramma study possible. When I took on the task I wasn't fully aware of just how much work goes into a project such as this and I can envisage it taking a minimum of 4-5 years to complete in my spare time. I was warned of the huge task that lay ahead but I am enjoying it immensely whilst also learning more about this wonderful genus of tropical fish...

Mark Breeze…

To occasionally commune with nature, absorbing into oneself some of her tranquil moods, her sober teachings and her artistic temperaments will react wholesomely on the human system.

                                                           F.J.W. Plaskitt.

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