Board Member Additions
July – 2024
President Bao Gia Dang and the of the Board want to announce some youthful additions to the Board of Directors of The Goldfish Council. William Wen, ad Kapil Mandrekar have been added as voting board members. Additionally, Tri Tran, Bui Vy, and Andrew Moyer have been added as non-voting board members.
Also, Gage Harford is becoming active on the board again as the Librarian, Gage is managing our literature and book inheritance from the Neal Tietler Estate. Below is some background on our new board members;
Andrew Moyer
William Wen
Tri Tran
Bui Vy
Kapil Mandrekar
Gage Harford
Andrew Moyer
My name is Andrew Moyer. I live in Dayton, Ohio and lived in Englewood Florida I work for MPC as a fuel transportation specialist. Making the world go around. I first got into The aquarium hobby when 11 years old when Greg Rau sold me black angelfish and clown loaches and have since moved into a fish room with 19 tanks consisting of discus, killifish, plecos, other catfish and Rams. Recently moved into Goldfish, I have are Philadelphia's Veiltails, Ranchu and blue Shonka Moors that I received from Gary Hater. I am competing in the 2024 Bristol Shubunkin grow out. With Greg and Gary as friends/mentors, I am moving into breeding goldfish. Adding several tub ponds to my set up this year. My main hobby goal is to expand the hobby to the younger generations, starting with my nieces and nephews
William Wen
Will Wen is an Environmental and Sustainability Scientist. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Bioengineering; and is a trained Genetic Engineer and Toxicologist. Having taught numerous undergraduate courses, he enjoys teaching as much as doing research on a lab bench.
Will's journey as an aquarium hobbyist started with the simple gift of two goldfish from his grandpa, one red and one black moor. Those two-fish sparked a passion that has only grown over time, evolving into a love for the mesmerizing world of freshwater fish. Even during his time living in the school dorm, he found a way to keep a tank. Moreover, it was during the COVID pandemic, with more time spent indoors, that he started to really grow his hobby. Breeding and raising fish became not only a pastime but a deeply rewarding pursuit. He has experience with breeding betta fish, cichlid, guppy, and other livebearers.
Currently, with close to 1000 gallons of indoor tanks, a significant portion is dedicated to goldfish. Will keeps and grooms a variety of goldfish. He has been active both as a contestant and a volunteer in goldfish shows since 2023. He is also a member of the Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society. He loves exchanging knowledge with other hobbyists. Will's passion for aquarium hobby is not only about fish and fish keeping, but also about the connections and shared experiences that come with being part of this vibrant community.
Tri Tran
Tri is a young goldfish hobbyist who has kept goldfish ever since he was a child, but only recently has he moved into the advanced territory of the goldfish hobby. With a big love for Japanese culture and a desire for his fishes to live a long and healthy life, his fish of choice are long body breeds of goldfish and currently dedicated to creating a Watonai line of his own. Watonai, which translates as “neither Chinese nor Japanese”, is a breed of goldfish with the long body of a Wakin and a flowing double tail of fancy goldfish. Beside Watonai, he also kept Azumanishiki, top-view Oranda, with Wakin, Ryukin, and Fantail used for his Watonai breeding project.
Born in Vietnam and moved to the United State almost a decade ago, he currently lives in Dayton, Ohio. It all happened in the middle of 2023, Tri got to know and joined The Goldfish Council through a former member of the organization Gage Harford, who shared with him all kinds of stuff related to goldfish including introducing him to The Goldfish Council and its founder Gary Hater. From there, he has been going back and forth to make friends, hang out and participate in many activities with many members of The Goldfish Council.
Beside being a goldfish guy, Tri is also a technology guy, he loves playing video games and messing with programming and currently in pursuit of degrees in Computer Science. He pursues this career area not just because he loves technology, but also because the flexibility of this career enables him to spend more time on his goldfish hobby while also making good money!
Bui Vy
Vy Bui is a passionate aquarist whose interest in the aquarium began when he was given a half-gallon bowl to keep a betta his cousin no longer cared for. During his sophomore year of high school, he learned about planted aquariums online and started his own planted tanks using dirt from the backyard, which marked a milestone in his hobby when you compare it to the half-gallon betta bowl. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vy got to know a fellow board member, Bryan Rhodes, and started keeping goldfish, particularly veiltails. Little did he know, those veiltails would open opportunities to meet new goldfish enthusiasts all over the world. His position as a board member on The Goldfish Council represent his commitment to having a meaningful impact on a community he treasures greatly.
In his free time, Vy loves to hike and be active in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement. Vy graduated summa cum laude at the University of Richmond with a major in accounting and will be working at Ernst Young in Richmond as a tax associate.
Quote in Bio: “To know Mother Nature, is to love her smallest creations. -Takashi Amano
Kapil Mandrekar
Kapil Mandrekar is an aquatic ecologist and spent the early part of his career traveling the world studying the conservation, ecology, and evolution of tropical fish. He has run a commercial fish hatchery and has extensive experience working in the pet industry
Kapil started with the aquarium hobby in the late 1980s as a young child when his father joined the Southwest Michigan Aquarium Society. Kapil considers himself an “Equal Opportunity Fish keeper” and has kept and bred a wide array of species. Kapil’s father got him into goldfish as a child and has been passionate about them ever since. Currently, Kapil works with Tamasaba goldfish and Bristol Shubunkins and is always expanding his collection. Kapil currently runs a fish room with ~ 20 aquariums and a couple of large outdoor ponds.
Gage Harford TGC Librarian
An all-around ornamental aquatic enthusiast. I have been working with fish, coral, and plants for 30 years; goldfish have been my focus for the last 7. Goldfish culture fascinates me, and I feel a responsibility to keep rare lines alive for future generations.
Please welcome this hard working, they are the event makers! Look for details on our all new lending library in August!
Thank You,
Bao Gia Dang, President
The Goldfish Council
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