We are pleased to announce our speaker for March, the distinguished Eric Thomas will be joining us to give a talk on one of his specialties – Corydoras. Eric Thomas started keeping fish around 1970, at about 8 years old. With his older brother Bill, Eric kept and bred mouth-brooding cichlids. Eric and Bill were members of the now-defunct Tri-City Aquarium Society of Southern California. In college, Eric studied captive husbandry of vertebrates; with his mentor Professor Rudolfo Ruibal at UC Riverside, in 1978 Eric was the first person to breed the Budgett’s frog Lepidobatrachus laevis in captivity. In Dr. Ruibal’s lab, Eric learned about and began studying skin glands and their function. Eric went on to earn a Ph.D. under Dr. Paul Licht at UC Berkeley, studying reproductive endocrinology and the influence of sex hormones on frog skin glands.

At home, Eric’s interests are keeping and breeding catfish, primarily Corydoras, Loricariids, Auchenipterids, and most recently keeping Microglanis and other Pseudopimelodids. Between home and work, Eric runs up to 27 aquaria and currently has over 40 species of catfish. Socially, Eric operates a YouTube Channel (Bekateen) and FaceBook page (Bekateen’s FishRoom) for sharing his knowledge and experiences with fellow fish keepers; he is also the program coordinator for the Sacramento Aquarium Society and a moderator on PlanetCatfish.com.

As mentioned this talk will be focused on Corydoras and you can uncover the hidden danger in your aquarium! Did you know that Corydoras catfish can release a deadly toxin when handled or transported? Join us as we dive into the latest research on this phenomenon with expert Eric Thomas, and learn how to prevent tragic losses.

As always the doors will open at 7:00pm with the presentation set to begin at 7:30pm, which will be followed by our mini auction.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us via E-mail at Membership@calgaryaquariumsociety.com or come out to one of the in-person events and see us live.

Date:	Tuesday, March 10th, 2026
Time:	Doors Open 7:00 pm – Meeting Start 7:30pm
Place:	Crescent Heights Community Hall 1101 2nd Street NW Calgary, AB click for map
Program:	Eric Thomas – Self Poisoning In Cory Catfish
Library:	On Hold Currently – Seeking New Librarian – Contact If Interested