It’s expo time!
The four amigos. These Parrot fish all came from the Kentucky Fish and Tank Rescue. Photo PJ Martin
By PJ Martin
Editor
The Herald-News
The 3rd Annual Mammoth Cave Aquarium Expo is coming up on Saturday and Sunday, August 19th and 20th at the Cave City Convention Center from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
If you haven’t attended one of the previous expos you may be pleasantly surprised at the amount of vendors and the variety of aquatic life there. It’s not called Kentucky’s largest fish and tank show for nothing!
Previous expos have had an abundance of freshwater and saltwater fish, axolotls, coral frags, shrimp tanks, geckos, snakes, turtles, hedgehogs, a parrot, and a tortoise. You never know what you will be able to see and the vendors are happy to teach you more about the keeping and care involved with each type of fish or reptile. Plus, the vendors are experienced and can provide advice to help solve a problem you may already have.
Logo courtesy of the KY Fish and Tank Rescue
A few of the vendors who have confirmed their presence at this year’s expo are Fishues Betta Rescue which as the name states rescues and rehomes Bettas. Bluegrass Axolotls which rescues and rehomes Axolotls.
Winn Aquatics will also be at the expo. They keep and breed a variety of tropical fish and also crested geckos.
The saltwater vendors available will be Biophile Endeavors, Spikes Coral, Luis Reef, TSRC, and JKS Aquatics. You may have heard of JKS Aquatics who keep exotic corals for tanks etc.
The expo was the brain child of JP Merlo who owns and operates the Kentucky Fish and Tank Rescue (KFTR), the first fish rescue of its kind in Kentucky taking in unwanted aquariums and fish and rehoming them. He also educates children and adults about the chemistry involved in fishkeeping.
The first expo was held in 2021. “We were blown away by the excitement and interest of the first expo,” commented Merlo who also holds live streams for fish hobbyists viewed worldwide with regular viewers from the UK and Australia.
Over the last couple of years, the expo has grown exponentially and this year proves to be the best yet. Admission is just $10 per adult and children 10 and under get in free.
If you would like more information, vendor access, or to pre-purchase tickets go to
http://themammothcaveaquariumexpo.com/index.html .
