Although New Year's Eve is celebrated on the last day of the year, for Czech aquarists, one of the most significant meetings took place in the summer in Zdeněk Dočekal's garden. The event connecting the aquarist community brought not only pleasant moments with friends but also a number of inspiring conversations about new breeding, book publishing, and interesting projects.
It is quite strange to celebrate "New Year's Eve" in summer, but it has its justification. Czech and Slovak aquarists have been regularly meeting for several years because of this. And why not hold such a meeting in the garden of one of the best Czech breeders and one of the most hospitable aquarists you can meet, Zdeněk Dočekal?
This year I also received an invitation to this summer celebration in the style of New Year's Eve. The atmosphere was wonderfully friendly, and the food and drink supplies were excellently prepared by the host. Not only food and drink were prepared, but also taxis to and from the accommodation, grilling on request, and excellent draft beer, what else but Pilsner Urquell. And then it was up to everyone to engage in conversations in the great atmosphere and enjoy the fact that we see each other and can exchange a few words.
I was pleased that a diverse selection of aquarists gathered here, not only well-known Czechoslovak legends but also younger generations, which made the discussions more interesting. With some guests, we continued discussions we had when we last saw each other. With others, I saw for the first time, making it all the more interesting and joyful to get to know each other.
Slávek Boudný: Losses and New Hopes
To outline what all the discussions were about - for example, Slávek Boudný (author of several articles also here on ForAquarist) lamented that his beautiful female of the kissing gourami (Helostoma temminckii) passed away after 21 years. He also reported on successful numerous breeding efforts and how he is doing regarding the newly acquired Betta hendra.
Helostoma temminckii
Honza Burzanovský and the long-awaited book
Honza Burzanovský and his wife Martina had a reserved corner table right by the grill, and I couldn't resist asking how the work on the announced book about cichlids is going. It’s a long-distance run, but they are already looking forward to its publication because in the Czech Republic you will hardly find an author who prepares and verifies all the facts more diligently. I have already praised his book about Wild Betta in my mind several times last year. (A review of it was published in e-Akvariu) When verifying information, the book Wild Betta saved me time searching on the internet, and I knew I could rely on the data in the book. So the book about cichlids is indeed very much anticipated by me (and I know I am not alone).
Host Zdeněk Dočekal and a coincidence
Zdeněk Dočekal, as the host, did not stop and was hardly to be caught. Among other things, he had to responsibly supervise the tasting of samples of spirits from various corners of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the photos, you can see that the evaluation was fairly conducted by several testers, and the winner proudly had his own.
The competition for the best spirit was carefully and fairly evaluated. In the picture, Zdeněk Dočekal and Anton Rychtář, the winner of the competition
In the end, Zdeněk also found a moment for me to boast that just the day before this event, a new issue of the German magazine Aquaristik with my new article** arrived in my mailbox. It spread quickly, and almost everyone in the magazine gradually flipped through it. It was an interesting coincidence that the article was published in the August issue.
Another coincidence was that in the same issue Aquaristik in an article about Hyphessobrycon sp. "Red Munzel"*** its author Christian Splettstößer writes about breeding this truly new species. And what do I see, right across the door in the beautiful breeding of Zdeněk Dočekal, several pieces of Hyphessobrycon sp. "Red Munzel" intended for breeding are swimming in a small aquarium. So look forward to it, we also have world novelties in the right hands in the Czech Republic.
Articles in the German Aquaristik
* Jan Burzanovský: Wild Betta from Southeast Asia, 2024 self-published
** Vlachova, Linda (2025): The Czech Aquaristics: Tradition, Challenges, and New Hopes - Aquaristik, 5/2025: 48-49.
*** [1] Splettstößer, Christian (2025): Surprisingly Simple: The Breeding of the "Red Munzel Tetra" from Brazil - Aquaristik, 5/2025: 50-53.
