The NEC is pleased to host the following great organizations during the NEC Convention Weekend.  Both meetings are open to everyone.

Karen Randall will present a program on Aquatic Plants at the AGA meeting Friday 5pm

Karen is past president of the Boston Aquarium Society, and serves on the board of the Aquatic Gardeners Association.  She was editor of the AGA magazine, The Aquatic Gardener for 5 years and is now Technical Editor of the magazine.  She has served as a judge for both the AGA Aquascaping Contest and the Aqua Design Amano International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest since their inception.   For many years she authored the monthly column, “Sunken Gardens” in Aquarium Fish Magazine, and her articles and photography have been published in six languages in 9 countries. Karen is an internationally known speaker on aquarium subjects.

Dr. Ted Coletti (NJ)
 
Ted Coletti is in his 27th year as an aquarist. His areas of interest include freshwater livebearers, water gardening & outdoor fish tubbing, aquarium history, and biotope aquaria.  A member of NJAS, Ted is a former Director of the American Livebearer Association (ALA), and the Co-Founder (along with Rit Forcier) of the Northeast Livebearer Association (NELA). He is also the Founder and current Moderator of the Aquarium Hobby Historical Society (AHHS). Since 1995 he has penned “Livebearers Unlimited” for Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine (TFH). In 2008 his first book, Aquarium Care of Livebearing Fish, was published by TFH under the Animal Planet imprint.

Ted’s talk will be "From the Swords of Montezumae to the Sails of Hellerii": The Genus Xiphophorus.” reviewing every known species of platy and swordtail.  There will be a raffle drawing for NELA members in good standing.