Authors Bios

Anthony Rosario Calfo has been a lifelong aquarist and aquarium industry professional, working the better part of the last decade as a commercial coral farmer and wholesaler. In 1994 he co-founded the Pittsburgh Marine Aquarist Society with the inimitable Bob Dolan. Other areas of interest and expertise include horticulture, freshwater biotopes and pond ecosystems. He is currently employed as a writer and traveling speaker, producing fiction and non-fiction content for Reading Trees Publications and Wet Web Media.

Authored titles include:

Book of Coral Propagation, Vol. 1 Reef Gardening for Aquarists (2001)

Reef Invertebrates, Volume 1 of the Natural Marine Aquarium series (2003)

And coming soon:

Reef Fishes, Volume 2 of the Natural Marine Aquarium Series (2004)

Reef Gardening for Aquarists, Volume 2 Book of Coral Propagation (2005)

Here's Antoine and friends and his old greenhouse culture facility in PA

The Xeniid fruits of Anthony's labors.

Robert J. Goldstein

Dr. Robert J. Goldstein has been writing books and magazine articles for over 30 years, with credits in Sports Afield, Outside, Field & Stream, Fishing World, North Carolina Sportsman, Florida Sportsman, Pesces, Pet Age, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Aquarist and Pondkeeper, DATZ, and Das Aquarium. His books include Cichlids, Introduction to the Cichlids, Cichlids of the World, Diseases of Aquarium Fishes, Anabantoids, Bettas, Angelfishes, Marine Aquarium Handbook, Coastal Fishing in the Carolinas, and American Aquarium Fishes. His newest book, Betta Handbook, will be out later this year.

He received his Ph.D. at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, his M.Sc. at Florida State University, and his B.Sc. at Brooklyn College. He is currently president of an environmental consulting firm in Raleigh, N.C., where he resides with his wife Dr. Joyce Goldstein, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park.

Jeni C. Tyrell I have been keeping fish for over 25 years. I have had my own cat & dog grooming business for over 18 years. I worked in the aquarium industry for over 8 years. In the end of that career, I was managing the fish dept of a major million dollar pet shop. I was responsible for stocking, cleaning, medicating & selling fish for 70 tanks.

Presently, I have 10 tanks. 6 are puffer tanks. I have extensive knowledge of FW (mostly oddballs) & BW fish & their care. I have moved some of my BW fish into a 55g SW tank along w/clownfish & damsels, but am new to that end of the hobby. I have a 90g w/several rare Plecos, rainbowfish, synodontis, Corys, Leaffish, purple spotted gudgeons (spawning pair), loaches & my prized, yellow-finned Chalceus. I have a total of 14 puffers. A 12" Fahaka puffer (Tetraodon lineatus) in a 125g, living with 10" Adonis & 10" gold spotted Plecos, 2 (6") green spotted puffers (t nigroviridis), a 5" Ceylon puffer (t fluviatilis) in a 55g living w/a clownfish & several damsels, 2 South American puffers (Colomesus asellus) & a dwarf puffer (c travancoricus), living in a 50g w/a blood parrot, frontosa cichlid & royal pleco & 3 figure 8s (t biocellatus) .

I co-own a pufferfish website: THE PUFFER FORUM. I have been a scuba diver for over 5 years, logged over 200 dives & am an underwater photographer. I ride my own 1982 custom Shovelhead Harley-Davidson. My Jack Russell Terrier (Lulu the Wonderdog) rides on the back. I love to garden.

Mark E. Evans

The aquarium hobby has been a large part of my life for over 20 years. My interest began with keeping South American Tetras. But a fascination with African and South American Cichlids soon followed, as well as a great desire to understand the science of aquarium management. The technical and biological aspects of fish husbandry have led me to amass a collection of water testing equipment and fish related books. I am also an avid watercolor artist dedicated to illustrating the world of fish..

Tim Hayes

Picture of Tim Hayes Tim Hayes writes extensively for aquatic magazines on marine subjects, specialising in reef aquaria. He is a regular contributor to Practical Fishkeeping where he has a monthly column "Reef Ramblings", along with his articles on all aspects of reef keeping. He is also on the "Ask the Experts" team answering questions on reef aquaria and equipment.

Tim has had a number of articles published in Today's Fishkeeper, Tropical Fish and recently had an article published in FAMA (Freshwater And Marine Aquarium) in the USA. He is a regular columnist for the trade magazine Pet Business World News, writing a general aquatic column plus occasional feature articles.

Midland Reefs was started in December 2001 by Tim Hayes. Originally Midland Reefs was set up as the first commercial coral farm in the UK but over time, with increased involvement in writing for the aquatic press and consulting for manufacturers, the emphasis has gradually moved on to product testing and research, although captive propagated corals are still being grown.