Rein Breitmaier

Rein Breitmaier 35 years ago Rein started his first aquarium when he and his wife Char got their first apartment. His first tank was a 15 gallon set up that embraced the usual collection of starter fishes, the ones that are called the 'bread and butter' fishes in the pet trade. Things went swimmingly for a year or so during which a second 15 gallon joined the collection. Then all heck broke out, Rein was assured that a 65 gallon tank was far easier to maintain and would make a grander showing in the living room of their home. So it went on, each time Rein and his family moved, more aquaria tagged along than during the last move, and still more were acquired. Rein joined the organized aquarium hobby in 1976 pretty much on his first meeting with the Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society. He wasted no time getting his feet wet and within the first few months was on the executive as acting club secretary.

On the organized hobby front Rein's membership at KWAS led to involvement with the Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs, including the executive positions of that national organization, and yes he was at one time or another a President of both of these clubs. Rein retired from committee work at KWAS and but catches meetings whenever he is in town and hosts the popular Q&A segment whenever possible. If it swims or breaths underwater Rein has probably kept it, except for piranhas which he has never cared for much. Rein went through the usual phases, fish breeding, marine aquarium keeping, ponds, aquarium photography, aquarium plant propagation and at one time he had 30 aquariums clustered in his basement 'office'. Rein has of late been invited to guest lecture at other club meetings as well as the 2007 CAOAC Convention. Speaking to the convention was a highlight, an honour and a thrill.

Rein currently keeps two seasonal ponds, one a 20 gallon deck pond and the other a 40 gallon ‘sheep trough’ in the flower beds. The myriad tanks had to go when Rein retired and started spending better than half of each year travelling abroad. His many exploits are chronicled monthly in Rein’s “The Minimalist Aquarist’ series published of course in our Fins ‘n Tales newsletter.