Pat Kelly
CCA Member
TODAY AT 2.
FEATURING DON CONKEL OF
DON CONKEL's TROPICALS
The Worlds Largest Importer, Exporter and Breeder of
North & Central American Cichlids
FEATURING DON CONKEL OF
DON CONKEL's TROPICALS
The Worlds Largest Importer, Exporter and Breeder of
North & Central American Cichlids
An overview of Central American Cichlids from Mexico to Panama and Collecting wild stock for Fish Farming.
Don Conkel began his business as a small back yard producer of African cichlids in 1975 in Clearwater, Florida. Within two years a small tropical fish farm was established in Odessa, Florida, focusing on Malawi and Tanganyikan fishes. In 1982, an import and quarantine station was added to market these beautiful Old World species. In 1983, the company began the first of many expeditions to Mexico and Central America in search of wild caught brood stock for placement into captive bred programs. In 1985, an additional farm with more than 100 ponds was constructed to encompass these rare and beautiful New World cichlids. In 1991, Don devoted his efforts soley to the husbandry of neo-tropical cichlids in an attempt to satisfy their expanding global demand. He authored the TFH book Cichlids of North and Central America published in 1993. He has written numerous articles in several different ornamental and scientific publications over the last 20 years about African and American cichlids.
Don Conkels Tropicals is a family owned business dedicated to the husbandry and propagation of North and Central American cichlids. Located on ten acres near Tampa, Florida, the company produces more than 100 species of the Cichlasoma complex. These New World cichlids come from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. They are beautiful tropical fishes which evolved from marine ancestors and have recently become a favorite and a mainstay in the ornamental cichlid market. With compounds located in Mexico and Costa Rica, wild caught imports are seasonally available from the Usumacinta and San Jaun river basins. In thirty years, DCT has grown to be the worlds largest producer, importer and exporter of North and Central American cichlids.
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