No Comments Written by Sams on June 10, 2011 – 6:26 am

Sam Zakaria was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He recently earned his Ph.D. and now lives in Bergkamen, Germany, where he also operates Sam’s Killifish. He’s young and engaged to be married. Sam was six when he found wild Poecilia in a drainage system near his Kuala Lumpur home.

He kept them in a jar hidden under his bed, afraid his mother would not let him keep them.She eventually encouraged Sam by taking him to a pet store and buying him a 20–liter aquarium, goldfish and black mollies. Sam hadn’t expected it, because she had commented on his older brother’s 250 liter aquarium (the brother lived elsewhere) and was concerned Sam wouldn’t care for the fishes.

Sam persevered, starting with breeding black mollies and graduating to bettas and discus until he had 30 100–liter aquariums by the time he was 25 years old and working as an interior designer, all the while taking a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Design at the University of Science in Malaysia.

He stayed on afterwards to earn a Master of Science degree in Lighting Design and Museum Exhibition Design (and his web site shows it). Out of curiosity he took a university short course on the business of tropical fish that covered facilities, maintenance, breeding, and commercial export.

That’s where he learned the aquaculture of, for example, characins, angelfish, and livebearers, and during this time was responsible for 150 mud ponds, from breeding to grow–out and finally shipping fishes to an exporter. In 2003 Sam went to Germany to learn the language and had no intention of keeping fishes.

He occasionally wandered into a neighborhood tropical fish shop, and that’s where he was stunned by the first killifishes he’d seen, Nothobranchius palmqvisti, Aphyosemion australe “gold”, and Pseudepiplatys annulatus. He asked the shop owner about his suppliers and was steered to Willfried Puetz of the DKG and a Mr. Guetsche who ran a fish farm.

He eventually got a pair of Nothobranchius palmqvisti for his first project of many back home in Malaysia. Eventually he went back to Germany and he enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Lighting Design. During this time he frequented the home of Mr. Puetz, who lived nearby and often hosted other DKG members.

He also taught Sam (who had previously learned about commercial aquaculture) the secrets of killifish culture. Sam’s set–up in Germany is immense and his accomplishments match. Sam is a member of the DKG and AKFB, and has won dozens of awards from 2006 through 2010 at APK, AIK, DKG, KFN, BKA, SKS, and Czechoslovak killifish group shows.

He’s accomplished both as an aquarist and engineer. His web site lists killifishes and eggs for trade, and recommendations for care and culture. He gives talks on killifish to groups all over Europe. Location and language do not appear to be limiting. See www.samskillifish.com and you’ll know the hobby remains strong in the hands of the young and vigorous.

Credit: Journal of the American Killifish Association