A chance encounter at a tropical fish show in Bristol led to a lifetime obsession with killifish. Steve Davidson, Chair of the British Killifish Association, looks back on his years in the hobby.
I can trace my interest in fish back to around 1962, when I was at primary school. There was a fish tank in the school foyer, the old-fashioned glass and putty type within an angle iron frame. I would often spend time in front of the tank during lunchtime.
At the time, I had no idea what the inhabitants were, but thinking back now, I know they were neon tetras, guppies and small angelfish. I can also vividly picture the tank being filled with Vallisneria.
Fast forward to my early 20s, and my then wife brought her aquarium and assortment of community tropical fish to our new home. My dormant fascination with fish was immediately rekindled. I soon began seeking out the fish shops around Bristol, of which there were four or five to visit at the time.
Fundulopanchax spoorenbergi - Photo by William King
A classified advert and a lifelong obsession with killifish
I started to buy the former magazine Aquarist and Pondkeeper. In the classified adverts at the back was a notice of a Tropical Fish Show in central Bristol. I went along and was amazed at the amount of interest and passion that people had for this hobby.
As I was about to leave, I stopped to look at a display of fish by the former Severnside section of the British Killifish Association (BKA). They were in small show tanks and suddenly one fish spun around, and I was instantly stunned by its metallic colouration. The fish was a male Fundulopanchax spoorenbergi.
I left with an application form for the BKA. This was in 1978, and I have been a member ever since. You could say I caught the killifish bug big time!
I felt proud to be a member of a specialist group, and still do. I soon built some staging into my front room's alcoves and installed around 12 fish tanks just for killifish. My interest in them was rapidly growing.
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Memories of BKA events
Now a member of the British Killifish Association, I received through the post a copy of Killi-News, the journal of the BKA. At this time, it was a monthly journal in black and white. My latest copy had details of a one-day event to be held at the Moor Hall Hotel, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, in the West Midlands. I didn’t drive at the time, so boarded a coach from Bristol to Birmingham. From Birmingham’s Digbeth coach station I then had to catch a bus to Sutton Coldfield.
I arrived to find a packed hall within the prestigious hotel and golf course complex. The AGM was opened by the late chair of the BKA, John Open. When this had concluded, we were treated to a slideshow by John Buyteart. He was a Belgian collector of fish who had ventured into the Congo in 1978 with Walter Wachters. Between them, they discovered some 20 or so species previously unknown to science and the hobby.
At one point he said their guides would only venture around a third of the way into the rainforest. When he asked why, the guides said that they were fearful of what they called head-hunters who lived deeper into the forest. I was spellbound by this statement! Had they been able to travel deeper into the forest, who knows how many more species they may have discovered…
After the great slideshow, there was a sale of many bags of the fish that Buyteart and Wachters had discovered. The sale was overseen by one of our foremost members, the late Ian Sainthouse, who sadly passed away recently. I came away with four lots: Aphyosemion louessense RPC 24, 31, 32, and 33. To the best of my knowledge only RPC 33 still exists in enthusiasts' tanks, unless somebody knows differently?
Aphyosemion louessense - Photo by William King
Caravans of killifish fans
The former Wessex group of the BKA organised our very first weekend convention. This would have been around 1980, I think. They had secured the use of a significant portion of a large static caravan park for us to stay at for the weekend. We could use their events hall for auctions and their bar for socialising. What more could we ask for!
This was our first weekend convention, and it attracted members from far and wide. I remember six or seven members came all the way down from Manchester to the event at Swanage, Dorset!
If I remember correctly, we held four or five events at Swanage. Using the caravans just out of the holiday season resulted in us getting them at a peppercorn rent for the weekend. Alas, the caravan site was eventually sold and that was the end of our conventions at Swanage.
Cover page for the British Killifish Association Swanage convention in 1984
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Killifish conventions across the UK
Since the demise of the Swanage conventions, we have held a long string of conventions around the United Kingdom:
- Leeds
- York
- Huddersfield
- Buxton
- Wetherby
- Luton
- Bristol
Some of these locations have held three or more conventions. Speakers from overseas have been a feature of many of these, although the cost of this is ever increasing.
We haven’t held a weekend convention for a few years now. Both Covid and its restrictions on gatherings, as well as leaving the EU, meant it became difficult to do so. To make matters worse, we’ve had several of our senior and experienced BKA members sadly pass away recently. Many of them were integral to the organisation and running of our weekend conventions.
Faced with no opportunity for social gatherings during a weekend convention, I came up with an idea/compromise: a Saturday get-together at a Premier Inn, followed by an auction the following day. This is now our annual Shenstone gathering and auction.
Shenstone is near Lichfield in the West Midlands and is a fairly central location. This October 2026, we will be hosting our third event here: Premier Inn on Saturday 10th October for those wishing to do so, and the Shenstone auction on Sunday the 11th October.
We have had around 15–20 members arrive at the Tamworth Central Premier Inn on the Saturdays previously, and we usually all settle down for an evening meal and a few drinks. It would be great to see more people join us this year.
I’d like to think that at some stage in the future we will once again stage a weekend convention. For this to happen we would need some willing hands to organise and run the event.
I always enjoy spending time in my 40-tank fish room
A killifish legacy
I have quite a few years under my killifish belt, having joined way back in 1978. A couple of years into my membership, I took on the vacant position of Publicity Officer. In these pre-internet days, most things were done using the postal system. I’d get a letter from someone asking for an application form. This would be sent back along with a back issue of the Killi News publication.
I held this position for a few years, until another person wished to take it on. I have also held the position of Vice Chair in the past and have now been Chair of the BKA for the last three years.
Around 25 years back I had a few articles on keeping and breeding killifish published in Practical Fishkeeping. Our late membership Registrar, Cliff Griffiths, would always say that every time there was an article in PFK, it would result in a raft of new memberships.
Read one of Steve's previous contributions to PFK: Get Started with Killifish.
Chromaphyosemion bivittatum "Besingui" ADL 13-40 - Photo by William King
A year or so ago, William King and I jointly put together an article for PFK on Chromaphyosemion. William's stunning photography of these fish certainly lifted the article (example shown above).
My current fish room measures just 2.4 x 2.4 metres (7.9 x 7.9 feet), and houses around 40 smaller sized tanks. Prior to moving to Cornwall, my fish room in Bristol had 70 tanks.
Looking back, I wonder how I managed to keep on top of the maintenance for all those tanks along with a full-time job, my wife (who is sadly now deceased) and four young daughters. But I somehow did!
My current fish room will be my last. It was built to be so within my block-built garage. Forty tanks are right for me now, with a few other interests that take up some of my time.
I have met some super people during my time in the BKA. Sadly, many have now passed, but they are true legends.
I still retain my enthusiasm for killifish, which is needed in my role as Chair, and I always will.
I hope to see several more attendees at this year’s Shenstone auction on the 11th of October. Attend the event if you can.
You can join the BKA here and if you have a fishkeeping story or are part of a fishkeeping association or club, get in touch with us, we'd love to hear about your experiences! Email: [email protected]