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Saturday, September 14th, 1:00 PM (noon Social/Setup)
Dan Hodnett: “How I Quit My Job and Built A State-Of-The-Art Aquarium Fish Facility ”
SPU, Otto Miller Hall Room 109
Bonus informal gathering Friday evening -- see below!
Dan Hodnett has been in the hobby since sixth grade. After working at local and large pet distributors, Dan recognized a serious problem in the industry: unethical sourcing and treatment of fish. A large percentage die in the brutal supply chain. By the time they reach the pet store and are listed for sale, they are very stressed and their immune systems are compromised. The average customer, unaware of this, finds the fish are dead within weeks.
Fueled by his desire to change the industry, Dan started “Dan’s Fish” in June of 2018, initially from his own home in Wyoming. His goal is to be "the store a fish would choose to go to if the fish could choose". He built a state-of-the-art retail facility where fish receive "spa resort" pampering before they are sent to customers via uniquely humane shipping practices. The final result is that almost 99% of fish sold arrive alive...and stay alive.
Dan will be sharing with us the details of his company's facility, processes, procedures, and mindset in the hopes that others will experience the same success and that our aquarium fish will enter a kinder, gentler industry and hobby.
After the main presentation, expect a very lively Monthly Auction (sellers, pre-register your stuff here). There's always a lot of new fish and equipment people have accumulated over the summer...
BONUS: Join us the evening before, Friday the 13th, between 6 and 8 PM at Mark Pedersen's home in Northeast Seattle, for an informal second presentation by Dan, "How to Ship Fish So They Arrive Alive 99% of the Time." Please RSVP by September 11th for this informal gathering by e-mailing info@gsas.org -- Mark will send you directions to his house. If weather permits, this will be another backyard event.