Aquanews Mar / Apr 2007

AQUA NEWS

A Publication from the Members of the Minnesota Aquarium Society

M arch/April 2007

 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

Minnesota Aquarium Society Board of Directors President* Mike Fries 651-489-2973 [email protected] Vice-President* (tie breaker only) Jenny Kruckenberg 651-457-2302 [email protected] Treasurer* Tom Gromek 651-462-8223 [email protected] Secretary* Mike Harris [email protected] Under-director* Milo Squires 952-448-4153 [email protected] Director-2yr.* Bob Carter 651-633-4351 [email protected] Director-2yr,* Bob Randall 952-432-6298 [email protected] Director-1yr.* Curtis Kafer [email protected] Director-1yr.* Brad Hedlund [email protected] *Voting Member

Committee Chairs Aqua News Editor Curtis Kafer 763-444-0270 [email protected] Auction Chair Tom Gromek 651-462-8223 [email protected] Auction Chair Brad Swanson 612-522-4399 [email protected] BAP Spokesperson Randy Carey 651-780-8068 [email protected] BAP Data Ted Jolivette 763-783-9416 [email protected] Bowl Show Chair Tiffany Severson 651-487-8073 [email protected] Book Points Chair 651-882-4715 [email protected] Donations Chair Dennis Drews 952-529-3596 [email protected] Exchange Editor Brentt Helland [email protected] HAP Spokesperson Milo Squires 952-448-4153 [email protected] HAP Data Dave Behler 952-215-2043 www.mn-aquarium.org

Historian Rodger Anderson 763-535-4364 [email protected] Librarian Jon Heyer 952-215-2043 [email protected] MAS/ACA Liaison Bob Randall 952-432-6298 [email protected] MAS/FAAS Liaison Carter McAninch 763-784-4937 [email protected] Membership Chair Bob Carter 651-633-4351 [email protected] Program Chair Randy Carey 651-780-8068 [email protected] Promotions & Advertising Tiffany Severson 651-487-8073 [email protected] Show Chair Bob Randall 952-432-6298 [email protected] Special Event Chair Jenny Kruckenberg 651-457-2302 [email protected] Webmaster Jeni Kafer [email protected] Cover photos by Randy Carey at MAS 2004 Tropical Fish Show in Minnesota

March/April 2007 

AQUA NEWS

The Minnesota Aquarium Society (MAS) is an incorporated, non-profit organization of tropical fish

enthusiasts that was established in the 1930’s and is one of the largest local level clubs in the United States averaging about 200 current members. MAS is a member of the Federation of American Aquarium Society (FAAS) Monthly Meetings Monthly meetings are held on the 1st Thursday of each month (Note: there are no monthly meeting in July.) at 7:30 pm. in St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 2300 N. Hamline Avenue., Roseville, MN. (at the NE corner of Hwy 36 and Hamline Avenue.) Most meetings focus on a presentation by a speaker who is often nationally recognized. Visitors are welcome to attend. Board Meetings MAS Board of Director meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month, (except for July) at the same location as our general meetings, at 7 pm. and are open to members of MAS. Those wishing active participation are encouraged to attend. E-Mail Group List MAS has a monitored e-mail announcement list available to all members. Messages are broadcast to all members on the list. If you would like to have a message broadcast or subscribe to this list you must send your request to: [email protected] Discussion Group List MAS maintains a monitored Discussion list through Yahoo Groups. MAS Members can subscribe to this list by going online to: http://groups.yahoo. com/group/mnaquarium/ Aqua News The Aqua News is a bimonthly publication of the MAS. It has been recognized with national awards and is a great source of information. The Aqua News is included with membership. Members are encouraged to submit original articles for publication and may be submitted by sending them to the address below. Articles and artwork may also be submitted to the editor at monthly meetings or by email. Submissions may be hand written, but typed and submitted on 3.5 diskette or CD is preferred. Artwork must be in a printable/copyable medium such as pen and ink. Submissions are printed in black and white only at this time. All articles are subject to editing. Exchanges and Reprinting Exchanges with other non-profit groups are welcomed. Articles may be reprinted provided proper credit is given to the author, this society and publication. Two (2) copies of the publication containing the article must be sent to the exchange editor at Minnesota Aquarium Society P.O.Box 130483 Roseville, MN 55113

Any other reprinting is by permission of the author only.

From your Editor: The issue is late, and I have no excuse. Eveyone was so busy with the show, time just got away from me. I am pleased to report that my plea for content is being heard and responded to by some of you. I hope the stuff continues to come it. It makes my taskes easier. I am working on new ways of presenting our club in the Aqua News as you should see in this issue, color photos can really enhance the articles. If you have any comments good or bad please pass them on to anyone on the board, or send them to me directly and I will try to integrate those ideas. Thank you for letting me be your editor Curtis Kafer MAS Aqua News Editor [email protected]

Contents President’s Message Help Wanted: MAS Board Meeting Minutes MAS Board Meeting Minutes MAS Board Meeting Minutes Breeders Award Program Meeting In Review BAP Roll Call Cichlid Matters MAS Auctions Crossword Puzzle Catching Live Food From Ponds Feeding the Disease: Culturing Live foods

www.mn-aquarium.org

4 4 5 6 7 9 10 13 17 19 20 22 23 25

 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

President’s Message I’m getting very worried! We received a foot of snow last weekend, the prediction is for another foot of snow in the next few days and the show is only 10 days away. HELP! I am asking myself, what words of wisdom will convince the MAS membership to risk taking their valuable fish, all warm and cozy in their tanks at home, to the show next weekend. After all, what’s in it for them? To paraphrase one of my favorite presidents, “Ask not what the Minnesota Aquarium Society can do for you. Ask what you can do for the Minnesota Aquarium Society.” A large number of our current members first experience with MAS was during our annual tropical fish show. The last few shows have been tremendous. We have had 100’s of entries, Close to 1000 people attending, excellent speakers, great demonstrations, a wonderful award banquet, and lots of fun spending time together. It’s a lot of work, but makes a GREAT first impression on people visiting the show. As I stated above, I’m worried. We have very low sign ups for the banquet, pre-registration is down for show entries, and to be honest I am very worried. Under Bob Randall’s excellent leadership the committee has worked

VERY HARD to put this year’s show together. We have a great slate of speakers, the most raffle prizes I have ever seen (thanks to Mike H.) more publicity than every, a hard goods raffle for the first time, and $200.00 in gift certificates from Petsmart for the kids coloring contest they sponsor every year. We need your help. We need your fish! Don’t be scared to enter the show. We’ve said it before and I’ll say it one last time. You may not think you have an award winning fish, but the idea of the show is to expose the public to the many different types of fish that MAS members keep and breed successfully. It doesn’t need to be a show winner; it doesn’t even need to be a showstopper. It just needs to be in the show! Help us keep up our reputation for hosting one of the greatest tropical fish shows in the area. We want people to be impressed when they walk in the door next week. We need your support. Please take the time to enter at least one tank in the show. Mike Fries President Minnesota Aquarium Society

Help Wanted: (or just simply beggin’) Club Photo Jounalist Authors Photos Articles Photo of female Apistogramma cacatuoides “Orange flash”courtesy of Mike Helwig

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 

AQUA NEWS

Minnesota Aquarium Society Board Meeting Minutes For December 14th, 2006 Meeting called to order by Mike F. at 7:08 p.m. Officers and Board Members present – Brad H., Mike F., Tom G., Bob C., Milo S., Mike H., Bob R. Absent – Jenny K. Committee Chairs present – Bob C., Mike H., Bob R. Other members present – Curt K., Ken R. Secretary’s Report (Mike H.) - Minutes of the previous meeting were handed out to be read individually. Motion to approve by Tom G., 2nd by Bob R. Motion passed. Treasurer’s Report (Tom G.) – Mike H. moves to approve report, Bob R. seconds, motion passed.

Committee Chair Reports 2007 Tropical Fish Show (Bob R.) – Four trucks are needed to help bring racks to Show site. Tank purchases with FLP will be finalized by Mike F. and delivered by Tom G. Judges are being lined up by Bob R. Still need three volunteers to give “My First Tank” talks; Brentt H. has expressed interest in doing one of the talks. Lenny would be interested in hosting speaker Vin Cutty. Ted J. will be handling the photography duties for the show. Discussed Ray’s auction on that Sunday at noon. Tom G. will be in charge of the auction. Swap meet will be Saturday from 1-4 p.m. New entrants will be in a drawing to receive a $100 gift certificate to one of our sponsors. Jenny K. has lots of pens left over from the last show. Mike H. will be bringing free pop for show volunteers on Saturday and Sunday. Still looking for little novelty gifts like the squeezy fish from last year. Check MFK for the most current updates to show schedule and sponsorships. Next show meeting should be on January 10th. Aqua News (Dani E.) – Chair not present. No report submitted. BOD talked with Curt K. about becoming the Aqua News editor. Job duties and expectations were presented to Curt K. Mike F. appoints Curt K. as the new Aqua News Editor. Joe L. will be sending all online templates to Curt K. Auctions (Tom G. & Brad S.) – Postcards will be sent out to the approximately 400 people that have attended an auction in the past year. Tom will talk with custodian again before auction. Next auction will be January 27th. BAP (Randy C. & Chris S.) – Sue F. has submitted BAP/HAP Blitz logos. Jenny K. will be in charge of ordering shirts. Book Points (Mike H.) – No report. Bowl Show (Tiffany S.) – Chair not present. No report submitted. Bowl Show was cancelled last month because of change of venue.

Donations – (Dennis D.) – Chair not present. No report submitted. FAAS (Carter M.) – Chair not present. No report submitted. Fund Raisers (No Chair) – No Chair. No report. Small bowls being sold to FLP. HAP (Milo S.) – Plant sale went very well. Discussed having December plant meeting moved to a Friday night to ease international shipments. BOD recommends ordering a lot more plants next Dec. Library (John H.) – Chair not present. No report submitted. Membership (Bob C.) – Membership stands at 206! Mike F. recommended doing something special for the 200th member. No action was taken. Monthly Meetings Report – Discussed meeting at the legion vs. the church. Mike F. will follow up with the legion on more questions from the Board. Programs (Randy C.) – The January speaker will be Randy C. giving his talk on collecting on the Rio Negro. This is a tie in to his upcoming article series on Project Piaba in Brazil in TFH magazine. February will be a DIY workshop. March will be all about the Show. Publicity and Advertising (Tiffany S. & Mike H.) – Focused on Show stuff. Not getting info on speakers in a timely manner to get to smaller papers. Mike H. is still looking into some printing projects. Special Events / Darter Hunt (Jenny K.) – Chair not present. No report submitted. T-Shirts / Jackets (Jenny K.) – Tiff S. has won the T-Shirt contest. Congrats Tiff. Jenny K. will be working with Tiff on the color of the shirts and ordering them. Trophies (Jenny K. & Brad H.) – No report. Website (Dani E.) – Chair not present. No Report submitted. Joe Lover has submitted an example prototype of the new website to the Board. The Board has received valuable input from Curt K. and previous webmaster Ken R. Jeni K. was approved as the new webmaster. Website progress will be reviewed at the next Board meeting.

Old Business Tom G. will pay insurance bill when it comes in the mail.

New Business No New Business Meeting Adjournment – Bob R. moves to adjourn, Milo S. 2nd, passed.

www.mn-aquarium.org

 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

Minnesota Aquarium Society Board Meeting Minutes For January 11th, 2006

Call to Order by Mike F. at 7:14 p.m. Officers and Board Members Present – Mike F., Jenny K., Tom G., Mike H., Brad H., Bob C., Bob R. Officers or Board Members Absent – Dani E., Milo S. Committee Chairs Present – Bob C., Mike H., Bob R., Jenny K., Curt K. Other members present – Ted J., Sue M.

FAAS (Carter M.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Bob R. will be contacting Carter M. about sanctioning the show awards. HAP (Milo S.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Library (John H.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Membership (Bob C.) – Membership stands at 209! Fantastic! Bob C. plans on doing something special for the 200th member at the next meeting.

Secretary’s Report (Mike H.) - Minutes of the previous Programs (Randy C.) – No chair present. No report meeting were emailed to the Board to be read submitted. Next month is DIY month. March will be individually. Motion to approve by Bob R., 2nd by Tom all about the Show. April is live foods, speaker TBD. G. Motion passed. Publicity and Advertising (Tiffany S. & Mike H.) Treasurer’s Report (Tom G.) – Bob R. moves to approve – Volunteers are in place to start a Local Fish Store report, Mike H. seconds, motion passed. listing on our website, with monthly updates. Sue M., Beth F., Mike H., and Tiff S. will be getting the Committee Chair Reports information from local stores for their free advertising. 2007 Tropical Fish Show (Bob R.) – Posters will be done Beth F. has volunteered to call each store every by the Auction. Curt will be bringing a delivery truck month to find out “what’s new.” Discussed requiring to haul the stands for the Show. Chris S. will need to storeowners be MAS members to get this advertising. provide the judging program to Bob C. as a backup. The Board was against requiring membership. Sue M. Lenny may be hosting Vin. Mike F. will be getting the will also be writing an interview article on a store for raffle tickets. Tom G. will be bringing the tanks from the Aqua News. FLP that are ordered. Still need volunteers to put on Special Events / Darter Hunt (Jenny K.) – Jenny will be the 4 talks on first tanks. getting a new Darter permit.

Aqua News Editor (Curt K.) – Jan/Feb issue is done. Bob T-Shirts / Jackets (Jenny K.) – Only members are allowed R. has taken it to the printers. This is the last issue to to purchase MAS t-shirts. be mailed to all members. Trophies (Brad H. & Jenny K.) – Brad H. will be picking Auctions (Tom G. & Brad S.) – Brad H. will be getting the trophy equipment from Nancy S. better balloons. Labels have been sent out. The Fish Website (Jeni K.) – No chair present. The Board is getting Police will be at the next meeting. Mike H. will be no response from Dani E. Control of website hosting bringing an overhead projector LCD for the Auction with GoDaddy.com must take place soon. Committee to check out.

Old Business BAP (Randy C. & Chris S.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Members have concerns about how the Monthly Meetings Report – Mike F. will be talking with BAP program is being run. Sue M. has volunteered the VFW again. Still having problems with noisy to sit at the back table to help out with BAP and HAP. kids. Children are required to stay with a parent and to Brad H. will get the trophy stuff from Nancy S. Jenny remain quiet out of respect for the other members and K. has ordered the Blitz Award shirts. speakers. If the problem continues, children will no Book Points (Mike H.) – Members with available Book longer be welcome at MAS functions. Points will receive their Points balance at the April general meeting. Orders placed in May will be New Business distributed at the June meeting. Dani E. will be contacted about her Board position. Bowl Show (Tiffany S.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Tiff S. needs to email results to Jeni K. The Tom G. discussed getting blackworms for each meeting on a pre order basis. Board is disappointed that the results are not getting published. Meeting Adjournment – Mike F. moves to adjourn, Bob C. 2nd, motion passed. Donations (Dennis D.) – No chair present. No report submitted. www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 

AQUA NEWS

Minnesota Aquarium Society Board Meeting Minutes For February 8th, 2007 Call to Order by Mike F. at 7:10 p.m. Officers and Board Members Present – Milo S., Mike H., Bob C., Mike F., Tom G., Brad H., Jenny K. Officers or Board Members Absent – Dani E., Bob R. Committee Chairs Present – Milo S., Mike H., Bob C., Curt K., Tom G., Brad S., Randy C. Other members present – none President’s Report (Mike F.) – Mike F. has reported that Dani E. has resigned from her post as Director. Mike F. appoints Curt K. to fill out the remainder of Dani’s term as Director. Welcome Curt! Secretary’s Report (Mike H.) - Minutes of the previous meeting were emailed to the Board to be read individually. No corrections were submitted. Motion to approve by Brad H., 2nd by Milo S. Motion passed. Mike H. handed out BOD binders. Treasurer’s Report (Tom G.) – Tom G. gave the report, which included the results of the January auction. Mike H. moves to approve report, Mike F. seconds, motion passed.

Committee Chair Reports 2007 Tropical Fish Show (Bob R.) – All the planning is finished and we are totally into implementation. We need to be promoting Kingfish more. Still looking for one host. The final meeting will be at Bob R.’s on Feb. 13th at 7 p.m. Brad S. has given the engraver for the trophies to Jenny K. Tom G. has picked up a large donation of Eco-Complete left for the MAS at FLP. LFS donations, and manufacturer donations for the Show are going very well. Aqua News Editor (Curt K.) – The last printed Aqua News has been mailed out. Discussed having an email blast to members and exchanges when the new issue of the Aqua News is available on the website. Mike H. will be sending a crossword puzzle in to Curt. Exchanges need to be notified that they will no longer receive a printed copy. Auctions (Tom G. & Brad S.) – The next auction will be on Saturday, April 21st. Same time, same place. The children that were brought to the January auction were all very well behaved. THANK YOU! BAP (Randy C. & Chris S.) – Chris S. has submitted the following report. Sue MacMillan leads the 2007 BAP Rookie of the Year field with 115 points. Jason Swanson is in the lead for the 2008 BAP Rookie of the

Year Award with 30 points. For January and February, Mike Harris and Jason Swanson have earned their 25 point BAP Beginner Award. The Board would like the BAP committee to hold a review of the current point structure. Book Points (Mike H.) – Book Points will be announced in April. Delivery of ordered books will be at the June general meeting. Bowl Show (Tiffany S.) – Report from Tiffany S. December – No entries. February, Class 1 (SA Catfish) – 1st Place – Amy Marvin, common pleco (Junior Entry). Class 2 (non-SA Catfish) – 1st Place - Tiffany Seversen, Synodontis schoutedeni, 2nd Place – Tiffany Seversen, Synodontis eupterus. Class 3 (mini Aquascape) had no entries. Donations (Dennis D.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Dennis has volunteered to take over contacting all the manufacturers in the future for the Show and the monthly meeting raffles. Overflow products, which we received a lot of for the Show, will go towards the monthly meeting raffles. FAAS (Carter M.) – Submitted by Carter M. “FAAS is reorganizing (somewhat) and going back to what the leadership feels our original purpose was. So, we are putting on indefinite hold BAP, HAP, web site awards, sanctioning, and medallions. We are focusing our efforts on: 1. Best practices for clubs 2. Being a resource for clubs 3. Being a source for information on starting a new club. We are putting some new programs into PowerPoint and planning to make them available for download from the web for member clubs. And we have suspended dues for this year and perhaps next. Rick Borstein is our new President and he is redesigning the web site (which will be active shortly) and hopefully leading FAAS back into a worthwhile existence, where we can help out our member clubs with resources and information.” HAP (Milo S.) – Milo had no report at this time. Library (John H.) – No chair present. No report submitted. Membership (Bob C.) – Membership stands at 206! Programs (Randy C.) – The Board asked Randy C. to come up with the topics/speakers for at least 6 months in advance. The Board would like to see increased publicity for monthly speakers and also to tie in the monthly Bowl Show to the topic each month. The March meeting will be all about the Show, presented by the Show Committee. April will be a live foods

www.mn-aquarium.org

...Continued page 8

 AQUA NEWS

discussion presented by advanced hobbyists from within our club. Live food cultures will be available to purchase, similar to our December plant sale. For May, we will be bringing in a national speaker, topic TBD. The speaker will be invited to go along with us on our Darter Hunt. Publicity and Advertising (Tiffany S. & Mike H.) – The Committee is still working on getting the word out about the Show. New mini-posters with a map to the Show will be made up by Mike H. and distributed to local stores as a hand out. Special Events / Darter Hunt (Jenny K.) – Jenny K. has the Darter permit in hand. T-Shirts / Jackets (Jenny K.) – The Blitz shirts are done for the most part, a few loose ends to tie up. MAS shirts will be printed next week for distribution at the March meeting. Trophies (Brad H. & Jenny K.) – Brad S. handed over all the trophy stuff to Brad H. and Jenny K. Thank you Nancy for all your hard work! Website (Jeni K.) – Due to the possible interruption on email service, the web-hosting switch will not occur until next Weds. Once Jeni K. has control of the hosting, major changes can be done to the website.

New Business

March/April 2007

Mike H. presented information on the Habitatittude Program. With Board agreement, Mike H. will continue forward with signing the MAS up for this program, designed to help combat the problem of invasive species into natural waters. Randy C. presented info on a new email system for sending out emails to members. Mike F. moves to allow Randy to spend up to $300 for this system, Brad H. 2nd, motion passes. Mike H. presented his ideas for restructuring MAS committees. Topic was tabled until the next Board meeting. John Algere Funds – Board discussed at length the uses for the funds received to best remember John. The Board has decided to name the Award for Best Peat Spawner (Killifish) in John’s name. The Board also discussed purchasing books for the library with the funds, and renaming the MAS library “The John Algere Library.” Discussion tabled until the next meeting. Meeting Adjournment – Milo S. moves to adjourn, Mike F. 2nd, motion passed.

Old Business Monthly Meetings Report – The DIY program went over very well. Thank you all who shared your fishroom ideas!

a The photo to the right in the Last Issue Jan Feb 2007 : mistakenly identified Darrell Ullisch as Charles Hawks, my apologies to both of them. Speaker Darrel Ullisch and our own Randy Carey Photo courtesy of Bob Randlall

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 

AQUA NEWS

Breeders Award Program Breeders Award Program report, February, 2007 BAP Rookie Breeder of the Year Points for 2007

Ends

Points

Spawns

Macmillan, Sue

02/2007

115

11

Harris, Mike

09/2007

25

3

Fraley, Beth

10/2007

15

2

Severson, Tiffany

12/2007

10

1

Lover, Joe

12/2007

10

1

Brueland, Garrett

09/2007

10

1

BAP Rookie Breeder of the Year Points for 2008

Ends

Points

Swanson, Jason

01/2008

30

Spawns 3

Awards Earned in January/February, 2007 Jason Swanson has earned the 25 Point Beginner Award. Mike Harris has earned the 25 Point Beginner Award. BAP Breeder of the Year Points for 2007



Chronakos, Tom

Spawns:5

02/07

Altolamprologus compressiceps, Yellow 15

Pts:65

02/07 Cyprichromis leptosoma “Black Bee” 15 01/07

Neolamprologus hecqui

10

01/07

Pundamilia nyererei, Igombi Island 10

01/07

Ptychochromis sp. salmon,



Hippo Point

Ellickson, Dani

Spawns:5

02/07

Ancistrus sp. albino

10

02/07

Anomalochromis thomasi

10

02/07

Barbus titteya

10

02/07

Pelvicachromis subocellatus

10

02/07

Pelvicachromis pulcher

10

Balfanz, Ken

Spawns:3

02/07

Chilatherina bleheri

10

02/07

Melanotaenia praecox

10

01/07

Pseudomugil signifer, Ross River 15

Swanson, Jason

Spawns:3

02/07

Labidochromis caeruleus

10

02/07

Haplochromis sp. flameback

10

02/07

Protomelas taeniolatus

10

Smaciarz, Rich

Spawns:1

01/07

Hypancistrus inspector

French, Will

Spawns:2

02/07

Protomelas taeniolatus

10

01/07

Haplochromis sp.44 redtail

10

Severson, Tiffany

Spawns:1

01/07

Simochromis diagramma

Lover, Joe

Spawns:1

01/07

Neolamprologus pulcher, Isanga 10

Pts:35

Pts:30

Pts:20 20 Pts:20

Pts:10 10

15

Randall, Bob

Spawns:6

02/07

cyanotilapia sp. White top hara, 10

Harris, Mike

Spawns:1



Galiteya reef

01/07

Pelvicachromis pulcher

02/07

Haplochromis sp. Kenya gold

01/07

Pseudotropheus aurora, Likoma 10

Hansen, Ron

Spawns:1

01/07

Nimbochromis livingstonii

10

01/07

Pseudotropheus flavus

01/07

Aulonocara jacobfreibergi,

10



Undu Reef

Fraley, Beth

Spawns:1

Xiphophorus maculatus

02/07

Pelvicachromis pulcher

01/07

Pts:50

Pts:10

Pts:55 Pts:10 10

10

5

www.mn-aquarium.org

Pts:10 10 Pts:10 10

10 AQUA NEWS

Meeting In Review Author: Bob Randall

MAS Meetings – Where you there? November

Our speaker was Ted Judy. He first gave a presentation on RO water. The concepts presented were fairly elementary. Ted kept the pace quick and answered questions efficiently without divergence.

The highlight of Ted’s presentation was a hands on workshop. Spectrapure sponsored Ted. This firm provided conductivity meters, alkalinity colorimetric tests and pH meters for MAS members to use during workshop. Ted provided three water samples and members determined total dissolved solids, KH and pH for each sample using tools provided by Spectrapure.

March/April 2007

The second portion of workshop consisted of creating various waters. Soft acid water was obtained by starting with reverse osmosis water, then adding an acid buffer. However, the trick is not to add too much buffer so that water is no longer soft. Verification of that goal was accomplished by using Spectrapure tools. The second water was hard water with a neutral pH. Here the starting water was hard alkaline water. Reverse osmosis water is added to this water until KH fell to 4-6 degrees. If pH remained elevated an acid buffer was added until pH reached a neutral value. Verification was done with the Spectrapure tools. Third water created was hard alkaline water. Starting point was reverse osmosis. Seachem alkaline buffers and rift lake salts were added to obtian hard alkaline water.

The last water created was again soft acid water but using a phosphate buffer system. The point of using phosphate buffers is they stabilize pH in acid to neutral range without contributing to the alkalinity. In summary, Ted covered a tremendous amount of water chemistry in a short amount of time. The manner in which this was accomplished was a successful learning experience for those in attendance.

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 11

AQUA NEWS

December As many of us, if not all MAS members know that December is “Plant Extravaganza Month”. Our speaker’s topic was using high end technology for planted tank. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend, hopefully, we will be able to reschedule. On extremely short notice, Milo Squires stepped forward to talk about plants. The first portion of Milo’s talk consisted of basic information in keeping aquarium plants. Milo outlined how the following nutrients must be dissolved in water of planted tanks; oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbonate hardness, pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements. He discussed how these items interact with each other and with the plants. Milo moved on to discuss lighting, and then briefly addressed heating in the planted tank. Everyone of course was eagerly anticipating the plant sale. Milo was asked to make a few remarks about each plant offered in the sale. Milo performed

this duty flawlessly. The information provided certainly sparked many in attendance to consider adding plants to their tanks that they would not have considered without Milo’s valuable information. In summary, the plant sale swelled the attendance for this meeting, but learning about plants from Milo was the true highlight.

www.mn-aquarium.org

continued page 12

12 AQUA NEWS

January

February

Our speaker was Randy Carey speaking about his trip to Brazil. The primary purpose of the trip was to visit Project Piaba and learn how this program is progressing. Piaba is a native word for small fishes that are exported for the ornamental fish trade. Project Piaba is an organization devoted to studying ornamental fish and conservation of the same.

March/April 2007

This month we heard from a number of MAS members and their “do it yourself” projects. Greg brought in a water change device that prevents siphons from totally emptying the tank. I have had this problem and could use Greg’s device. Tiffany showed us how to prepare a three dimensional background with styrofoam, concrete and color additives. I believe this was the most creative presentation of the night. Brad and Mike discussed the building of Mike’s fish room. This presentation did not do the project justice. To truly appreciate Mike’s fish room, it is best to visit. Some refer to this as the Taj Majal of fish rooms. Lauris showed and described a low cost water change device he created using a pump and garden hose. Lauris is not into how it looks but how well it works. This device gets the job done with little effort.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Kruckenberg, unfortunatly we did not have an pictures of Randy presentation at our club, this was taken at the ACA 2006 Show Chicago

Randy’s talk was a travelogue type presentation with photographs of the Amazon River, from an airplane. Photographs of Brazilian cities, Manas and Barcelos were presented for members to see what Brazil is like today. Including fish sold as food. Randy explained Manas role in the history of the rubber industry. Randy sought to tie rubber economics of the past to ornamental fish economics of today. That is where Project Piaba comes into the talk. Ornamental fish sales reach $600 million a year. A little more than five percent of all ornamental fish sold, come from Rio Negro. Project Piaba attempts to provide evidence that fish harvested for the ornamental trade is not harming the natural resource. While maintaining an ecological approach to the fish harvest, Piaba also seeks to provide economic gains to native people from fish harvest and sale. This is borne out by their motto, BUY A FISH – SAVE A TREE. Randy was quick to point out that Dr. Herbert Axelrod provided the money to create Project Piaba. The center has a building named after Dr. Axelrod. This talk included Randy collecting fish in the Rio Negro basin. These were perhaps the best photographic slides as he included many beautiful fish.

Randy brought in a low cost bent 40 watt light bulb and showed us how to build a fixture and use this light on a 20 gal long planted tank. I cannot imagine why these bent 40 watt lamps are so low priced. This project is a real money saver.

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 13

AQUA NEWS

Ken described an automatic shut off system for his reverse osmosis unit that he designed and built. Included was a schematic drawing handed out to attendees. The schematic alone tells us a lot about Ken.

Brad also brought in a portable water change device he created from PVC. I like the idea of catching siphoned water in a bucket before the water enters drain system. The ease of moving the system from tank to tank is also attractive.

Dale showed and discussed creating a low cost light for a relatively deep planted tank. I particularly liked this talk as Dale assumes little and verifies many items including lamp spectrum prior to proceeding. Dale was not afraid to show us a failure of sorts as this lead him to his later success in building the light he wanted.

Feel free to contact these MASers for more information on their DIY projects, as they all were happy to answer questions. All Photos courtesy of Randy Carey

2007 MAS Auction 21 April 2007

Preview 10:00 am Auction starts at 11:00 am

Lutheran Church of the Redemption 927 E Old Shakopee Road Bloomington, MN 55420 Questions, contact Auction Chair: [email protected]

www.mn-aquarium.org

14 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

BAP Roll Call MemberName

PointLevel

AwardName

Award_Date

MemberName

PointLevel

AwardName

Award_Date

Intermediate Award

10/1/1993

Dekoeyer, David

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1996

Beginner Award

10/1/1993

Dold, Bill & Vickie

25

Beginner Award

3/1/1991

100

Novice Award

10/1/1993

Dunnigan, Bridget

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1991

Alegre, John N.

100

Novice Award

9/1/2002

Edstrom, Bob

250

Intermediate Award

9/1/1989

Alegre, John N.

25

Beginner Award

8/1/2001

Edstrom, Bob

100

Novice Award

3/1/1989

Ancheta, Lenny

1000

Master Award

11/1/2000

Edstrom, Bob

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1989

Ancheta, Lenny

750

Expert Award

7/1/1995

Ekstedt, Chet

100

Novice Award

4/1/1998

Ancheta, Lenny

500

Advanced Award

8/1/1992

Ekstedt, Chet

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1993

Ancheta, Lenny

250

Intermediate Award

Novice Award

2/1/1996

Ancheta, Lenny

100

Novice Award

Beginner Award

8/1/1993

Ancheta, Lenny

25

Aldrich, John Jr.

250

Aldrich, John Jr.

25

Aldrich, John Jr.

Beginner Award Novice Award

10/1/1991

Ekstedt, Chuck & Rita

100

2/1/1991

Ekstedt, Chuck & Rita

25

11/1/1989

Ellickson, Dani

250

Intermediate Award

5/1/1992

Ellickson, Dani

100

Novice Award

Ellickson, Dani

Anderson, Dianne

100

Anderson, Dianne

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1990

Ayers, Tim

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1998

Engelking, Robin

25 100

Beginner Award Novice Award

4/1/2006 11/1/2005 8/1/2005 10/1/1999

Balfanz, Ken

250

Intermediate Award

8/3/2006

Engelking, Robin

25

Beginner Award

4/1/1997

Balfanz, Ken

100

Novice Award

6/1/2005

Evans, Mike

500

Advanced Award

10/1/1993

Balfanz, Ken

25

Beginner Award

12/1/2004

Evans, Mike

250

Intermediate Award

9/1/1992

Baretich, Steve

25

Beginner Award

4/1/1995

Evans, Mike

100

Novice Award

1/1/1991

Barth, John

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1993

Evans, Mike

25

Beginner Award

9/1/1989

Bellino, Patti

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1994

Fischer, Roger

1000

Master Award

8/1/1998

Benson, Brandon

25

Beginner Award

2/1/2005

Fischer, Roger

750

Expert Award

3/1/1995

Berglund, Ken

250

Intermediate Award

6/1/1999

Fischer, Roger

500

Advanced Award

3/1/1993

Berglund, Ken

100

Novice Award

6/1/1997

Fischer, Roger

250

Intermediate Award

1/1/1992

Berglund, Ken

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1996

Fischer, Roger

100

Novice Award

Berryhill, Stafford

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1993

Fischer, Roger

25

Bishop, Dava

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1995

Fitzgibbons, Tim

250

Intermediate Award

3/1/2001

Bloomquist, Brad

25

Beginner Award

5/1/1997

Fitzgibbons, Tim

100

Novice Award

8/1/2000

Bradbury, Richard

100

11/1/2001

Fitzgibbons, Tim

25

Beginner Award

5/1/2000

Bradbury, Richard

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1994

French, Will

25

Beginner Award

5/4/2006

Brobst, Curtis H.

25

Beginner Award

2/1/2000

Fries, Mike

250

Intermediate Award

4/1/2003

Bucciaglia, Paul

100

Novice Award

8/1/1996

Fries, Mike

100

Novice Award

8/1/2002

Bucciaglia, Paul

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1995

Fries, Mike

25

Beginner Award

4/1/2002

Bull, Jim

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1992

Fust, Hollie S.

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1997

Burke, Mike

25

Beginner Award

12/1/1995

Garrity, Paul

750

Expert Award

3/1/2005

Byers, LeeAnne

500

Advanced Award

2/1/2003

Garrity, Paul

500

Advanced Award

Byers, LeeAnne

250

Intermediate Award

1/1/1998

Garrity, Paul

250

Intermediate Award

Byers, LeeAnne

100

Novice Award

3/1/1996

Garrity, Paul

100

Novice Award

9/1/2002

8/1/1995

Garrity, Paul

25

Beginner Award

2/1/2002

3/1/2005

Byers, LeeAnne

25

Novice Award

Beginner Award

Beginner Award

1/1/1991 10/1/1989

9/1/2004 12/1/2002

Carey, Randy

2500

Grand Master Award II

Gavanda, Mike

25

Beginner Award

9/1/1991

Carey, Randy

2000

Grand Master Award

12/1/1998

Gilgen, Hans

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1992

Carey, Randy

1500

Master Award II

12/1/1996

Grabrick, George

100

Novice Award

12/1/1991

Carey, Randy

1000

Master Award

4/1/1994

Grabrick, George

25

Beginner Award

12/1/1990

Carey, Randy

750

Expert Award

4/1/1993

Gromek, Tom

500

Advanced Award

2/1/1997

Carey, Randy

500

Advanced Award

11/1/1992

Gromek, Tom

250

Intermediate Award

5/1/1991

Carey, Randy

250

Intermediate Award

2/1/1992

Gromek, Tom

100

Novice Award

Carey, Randy

100

Novice Award

8/1/1991

Gromek, Tom

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1990 10/1/1988

Carey, Randy

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1991

Hallett, David W.

100

Chowen, Pat

500

Advanced Award

7/1/1994

Hallett, David W.

25

Novice Award

6/1/1997

Beginner Award

Chowen, Pat

250

Intermediate Award

2/1/1993

Hammill, Dean

100

2/1/1995

Chowen, Pat

100

Novice Award

4/1/1992

Hammill, Dean

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1994

Beginner Award

10/5/2006

Novice Award

4/1/1995

Beginner Award

1/1/1992

Hansen, Kim

25

Chronakos, Tom

250

Intermediate Award

1/1/2006

Hansen, Ron

750

Expert Award

Chronakos, Tom

100

Novice Award

1/1/2005

Hansen, Ron

500

Advanced Award

10/1/2001

Chronakos, Tom

25

Beginner Award

6/1/2004

Hansen, Ron

250

Intermediate Award

10/1/1993

Dana, Joayn

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1994

Hansen, Ron

100

Novice Award

11/1/1992

Chowen, Pat

25

www.mn-aquarium.org

5/4/2006

March/April 2007 15

AQUA NEWS MemberName

PointLevel

AwardName

Award_Date

Hansen, Ron

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1991

Harris, Mike

25

Beginner Award

1/4/2007

25

Beginner Award

Heaney, Bill Hedberg, Dan

100

Hedberg, Dan

25

Heinen, Shane

100

Heinen, Shane

25

Heyer, Jon

25

Hirsch, Jim

100

Hirsch, Jim

6/1/1991 10/1/1989

PointLevel 250

Intermediate Award

MacNabb, Larry & JoAnne

100

Novice Award

4/1/1989

MacNabb, Larry & JoAnne

25

12/1/1999

Marchan, Edward

100

Beginner Award

2/1/1998

Marchan, Edward

Beginner Award

9/1/2000

Marshik, Patty

Novice Award

3/1/2005

Marshik, Stephanie

Beginner Award Novice Award

6/1/1991

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1994

25

Beginner Award

7/1/1988

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1987

11/1/1998

Mastberger, Chad

100

11/1/1996

Mastberger, Chad

25

Hostrawser, Cary

100

Novice Award

Hostrawser, Cary

25

Hougen, Dean & Teague, Cynthia

100

Novice Award

10/1/1991

5/1/1994

Intermediate Award

Intermediate Award

2/1/1993

Novice Award

Beginner Award

250

Award_Date

Beginner Award

250

Beginner Award

AwardName

MacNabb, Larry & JoAnne

Hostrawser, Cary

Hougen, Dean & Teague, Cynthia

25

Novice Award

MemberName

Novice Award

9/1/1998

Beginner Award

8/1/1997

7/1/1995

Mathis, Jim

2000

Grand Master Award

5/1/2005

10/1/1994

Mathis, Jim

1500

Master Award II

8/1/1999

Mathis, Jim

1000

Master Award

3/1/1998

Mathis, Jim

750

Expert Award

4/1/1997

Mathis, Jim

500

Advanced Award

Mathis, Jim

250

Intermediate Award Novice Award

2/1/1993 12/1/1989

7/1/1995 12/1/1993

Hougen, Dean & Teague, Cynthia

25

Beginner Award

9/1/1989

Mathis, Jim

100

Howell, Greg

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1991

Mathis, Jim

25

Hutchinson, Melissa

25

Beginner Award

11/2/2006

McAninch, Carter

100

Jensen, Troy

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1994

McAninch, Carter

25

Novice Award

2/1/1993

McLeod, Bob

250

Intermediate Award

Beginner Award

3/1/1991

McLeod, Bob

100

Novice Award

2/1/1995

Novice Award

2/1/2006

McLeod, Bob

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1994

Beginner Award

5/1/2005

McNeil, Ken

250

Intermediate Award

11/1/1997

McNeil, Ken

100

Novice Award

Johnson, Brad

100

Johnson, Brad

25

Johnston, Brian

100

Johnston, Brian

25

Beginner Award Novice Award Beginner Award

9/1/1992 11/1/1991 9/1/2004 3/1/1998 10/1/1995

5/1/1997 12/1/1995

Jolivette, Kris & Ted

250

Intermediate Award

Jolivette, Kris & Ted

100

Novice Award

6/1/1996

McNeil, Ken

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1995

Jolivette, Kris & Ted

25

Beginner Award

7/1/1995

Mechtel, Chuck

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1994

Kalal, Wayne

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1997

Methven, Paul

25

Beginner Award

3/1/1988

Kaldor, Chris

100

Novice Award

5/1/1995

Meuret, Patrick

25

Beginner Award

4/1/2002

Kaldor, Chris

25

10/1/1992

Mock, Vienna

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1995

Kalvig, Peggy

100

Kalvig, Peggy

25

King, Tom & Geri Korzendorfer, Dan

25 25

Beginner Award Novice Award

3/1/2000

Morrison, Steven

250

Intermediate Award

9/6/2006

Beginner Award

6/1/1999

Morrison, Steven

100

Novice Award

6/1/2003

7/1/1992

Morrison, Steven

25

Beginner Award

2/1/2002

6/1/1988

Mortenson, David & Cynthia

25

Beginner Award

Beginner Award Beginner Award

Koutek, Randy

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1997

Krook, Al & Deb

25

Beginner Award

5/1/1994

Mortenson, Steve

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1991

12/1/2002

Nab Dahl, Barry

250

Intermediate Award

5/1/1997

11/1/1997

Nab Dahl, Barry

100

Novice Award

1/1/1995

8/1/1994

Nab Dahl, Barry

25

Beginner Award

3/1/1994

8/1/1993

Newton, Bruce

25

Beginner Award

2/1/2001

2/1/1992

Njos, Bryan

100

Novice Award

5/1/1997

Njos, Bryan

25

Beginner Award

5/1/1996

Kruckenberg, Jenny Kruckenberg, Jenny Kruckenberg, Jenny Kruckenberg, Jenny Kruckenberg, Jenny

750 500 250 100 25

Expert Award Advanced Award Intermediate Award Novice Award Beginner Award

100

Novice Award

8/1/1993

Mortenson, Steve

12/1/1991

Lankhorst, Steven

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1996

Lechowich, Steve

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1993

Nordahl, Scott A.

100

Novice Award

6/1/1996

Levine, Chuck

25

Beginner Award

5/1/1989

Nordahl, Scott A.

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1996

Loh, Willie

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1998

Nordby, Jason

25

Beginner Award

4/1/1990

Lowe, Jay

250

Intermediate Award

5/1/2003

Nordby, Ken & Sharron

1000

Master Award

8/1/1996

Lowe, Jay

100

Novice Award

10/1/2000

Nordby, Ken & Sharron

750

Expert Award

Lowe, Jay

25

Beginner Award

12/1/1999

Nordby, Ken & Sharron

500

Advanced Award

10/1/1991

25

Beginner Award

Lowe, Mike Lucken, Robby

100

Lucken, Robby

25

Macmillan, Sue

100

Macmillan, Sue

25

MacNabb, Larry & JoAnne MacNabb, Larry & JoAnne

750 500

Novice Award Beginner Award Novice Award Beginner Award Expert Award Advanced Award

6/1/1992

6/1/2002

Nordby, Ken & Sharron

250

Intermediate Award

12/1/1990

10/1/2000

Nordby, Ken & Sharron

100

Novice Award

12/1/1989

1/1/1999

Nordby, Ken & Sharron

25

Beginner Award

Nystrom, Steve

100

4/1/2006

Nystrom, Steve

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1992

Olson, Craig

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1992

Olson, Eric

25

Beginner Award

Overn, Paul

100

8/1/1998 11/1/1994

www.mn-aquarium.org

Novice Award

9/1/1988

10/5/2006

Novice Award

11/1/1993

6/1/1996 11/1/1994

16 AQUA NEWS MemberName

March/April 2007 PointLevel

AwardName

Award_Date

MemberName

PointLevel

AwardName

Award_Date

Overn, Paul

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1994

Schreyer, Dan & Diane

500

Advanced Award

8/1/1993

Pelkey, Richard J.

25

Beginner Award

9/1/1998

Schreyer, Dan & Diane

250

Intermediate Award

3/1/1991

Novice Award

1/1/1990

Beginner Award

1/1/1989

Peterzen, Pete & Carol

1000

Master Award

8/1/1999

Schreyer, Dan & Diane

100

Peterzen, Pete & Carol

750

Expert Award

5/1/1997

Schreyer, Dan & Diane

25

Peterzen, Pete & Carol

500

Advanced Award

8/1/1995

Smaciarz, Rich

1000

Master Award

3/1/2005

Peterzen, Pete & Carol

250

Intermediate Award

2/1/1995

Smaciarz, Rich

750

Expert Award

6/1/2002

Peterzen, Pete & Carol

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1994

Smaciarz, Rich

500

Advanced Award

4/1/1999

Peterzen, Pete & Carol

100

Novice Award

10/1/1994

Smaciarz, Rich

250

Intermediate Award

2/1/1997

Philstrom, Richard K.

25

Beginner Award

12/1/1997

Smaciarz, Rich

100

Novice Award

9/1/1995

Powell, Dick

25

Beginner Award

7/1/1989

Smaciarz, Rich

25

Beginner Award

7/1/1994

Prokop, Dan

25

Beginner Award

3/1/1998

Smith, Christopher

25

Beginner Award

9/1/2002

Randall, Bob

1000

Master Award

10/1/2005

Squires, Milo

250

Intermediate Award

Randall, Bob

750

Expert Award

10/1/2004

Squires, Milo

100

Novice Award

Randall, Bob

500

Advanced Award

9/1/2003

Squires, Milo

9/1/2002

Steffensen, Jerry & Shana

100

10/1/2001

Steffensen, Jerry & Shana

Randall, Bob Randall, Bob Randall, Bob

250 100

Intermediate Award Novice Award

Stemper, John

25

3/1/1998 12/1/1993

Beginner Award

6/1/1993

Novice Award

6/1/2003

25

Beginner Award

6/1/2002

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1993

Novice Award

10/1/1997

25

Beginner Award

3/1/2001

Rees, Craig

500

Advanced Award

10/1/1992

Stevens, Jason M.

100

Rees, Craig

250

Intermediate Award

8/1/1991

Stevens, Jason M.

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1996

Rees, Craig

100

Novice Award

2/1/1991

Stoller, John

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1994

Rees, Craig

25

10/1/1990

Stowe, Marc

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1998

Resech, Bob

250

Intermediate Award

1/1/1996

Swanson, Brad & Nancy

500

Advanced Award

Resech, Bob

100

Novice Award

3/1/1994

Swanson, Brad & Nancy

250

Intermediate Award

Resech, Bob

25

Beginner Award

8/1/1993

Swanson, Brad & Nancy

100

Novice Award

2/1/1993

Riebesell, D.J.

25

Beginner Award

3/1/1997

Swanson, Brad & Nancy

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1992

Robb, Chad

25

Beginner Award

4/1/2005

Swanson, Jason

25

Beginner Award

2/1/2007

Novice Award

9/1/2001

Tjepkes, Troy

500

Advanced Award

12/1/1989

Robertson, Terry

100

Beginner Award

8/1/1997 10/1/1993

Beginner Award

4/1/2000

Tjepkes, Troy

250

Intermediate Award

7/1/1988

Rosa, Heather & Paul

250

Intermediate Award

9/1/1997

Tjepkes, Troy

100

Novice Award

5/1/1988

Rosa, Heather & Paul

100

Novice Award

2/1/1995

Tjepkes, Troy

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1987

Rosa, Heather & Paul

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1991

Trembly, Lisa

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1993

Rossa, Ron

25

Beginner Award

7/1/1991

Turley, Paul

100

Routh, Bruce

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1996

Turley, Paul

25

Rutz, Tim

500

Advanced Award

12/1/2001

Voorhees, Keith

100

Rutz, Tim

250

Intermediate Award

8/1/2000

Voorhees, Keith

25

Rutz, Tim

100

Novice Award

4/1/1997

Walsh, Bob

100

Rutz, Tim

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1996

Walsh, Bob

25

Robertson, Terry

25

Novice Award

9/1/1995

Beginner Award

6/1/1993

Novice Award Beginner Award Novice Award Beginner Award

8/1/1994 10/1/1992 8/1/1991 10/1/1989

25

Beginner Award

12/1/1993

WasDyke, Joel

250

Intermediate Award

5/1/1999

Ruzek, Kenneth V. Jr.

500

Advanced Award

1/1/1999

WasDyke, Joel

100

Novice Award

1/1/1998

Ruzek, Kenneth V. Jr.

250

Intermediate Award

8/1/1995

WasDyke, Joel

25

Beginner Award

2/1/1997

Ruzek, Kenneth V. Jr.

100

Novice Award

8/1/1994

Weber, Robin

250

Intermediate Award

1/1/2004

Ruzek, Kenneth V. Jr.

25

Beginner Award

6/1/1993

Weber, Robin

100

Novice Award

9/1/2000

Ruzek, Dan

Sarslow, Anchor

1000

Master Award

5/1/1994

Weber, Robin

25

Beginner Award

4/1/2000

Sarslow, Anchor

750

Expert Award

5/1/1992

Weidner, Marvin

25

Beginner Award

9/1/1989

Sarslow, Anchor

500

Advanced Award

5/1/1991

Wilson, Zack

250

Intermediate Award

8/1/2002

Sarslow, Anchor

250

Intermediate Award

10/1/1988

Wilson, Zack

100

Novice Award

Sarslow, Anchor

100

Novice Award

3/1/1988

Wilson, Zack

25

Sarslow, Anchor

25

Sarver, Janet

100

Sarver, Janet

25

Scales, Larry

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1987

Woehler, Steve

100

2/1/1995

Woehler, Steve

25

Beginner Award

11/1/1993

Beginner Award

2/1/1993

Wolden, Kirk

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1990

Beginner Award

10/1/1999

Wolden, Kirk

100

Beginner Award Novice Award

8/1/2002

Woldstad, Sharon

8/1/2000

Wolf, Scott

Novice Award

Novice Award

10/1/1997

25

Beginner Award

3/1/1993

Intermediate Award

Scepurek, Terry

100

Novice Award

Scepurek, Terry

25

Beginner Award

10/1/1999

Wonders, Ron

250

Intermediate Award

Schneider, Cindy

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1998

Wonders, Ron

100

Novice Award

Novice Award

3/1/2001

Wonders, Ron

25

Beginner Award

1/1/1992

Schoeler, Karl

25

www.mn-aquarium.org

1/1/1990

Beginner Award

250

100

4/1/1994

25

Scepurek, Terry

Schoeler, Karl

4/1/2002 11/1/2001

Beginner Award

2/1/1993 11/1/1991 7/1/1991

March/April 2007 17

AQUA NEWS

Cichlid Matters Author: Bob Randall

Good day to all MAS members and readers. As I write this, our 2007 Show is approaching, as you read this our show will be history. I hope your cichlids did well in the show and one of them won Best of Show. We know that cichlids are smarter and better looking than other fish so it only stands to reason, a cichlid won Best of Show. During our and other shows cichlids are often displayed in bare bottom tanks whereas fish from other classes are displayed in tanks with substrate and even decorations. The reason why we have this discrepancy is the majority of cichlids are too large to display in a tank with substrate and decorations. Large cichlids could lose an eye on rock or driftwood when confined to a small tank. Or fins may split due to thrashing about in a small tank with rocks and other decor. Further, cichlid behavior is often characterized as shy or paranoid. Typically, cichlids like to spend their time close to or within habitat with numerous hiding places. Our cichlid tanks are often set up for such behavior and it is a joy to watch our cichlids dart out of hiding and then return just as quickly. At a show, the purpose is to see the fish displaying itself to show attendees. Décor mimicking cichlid habitat would defeat the purpose of viewing the fish for the most part. It is easy to see which cichlid keepers show fish and which do not. Cichlids that stay hidden by décor or in shadows, have not been trained for a show. Cichlids that come to the front of the tank and display themselves to all have been trained intentionally or ocassionally unintentionally. Some cichlids are easier to train than others. Oscars and discus come to mind quickly. Perhaps all cichlids can be trained for the show tank. Remember cichlids are smart. A cichlid keeper willing to invest the effort will be rewarded with a

trained show cichlid. If a cichlid fails to win Best of Show this year then good luck to all in 2008. The remainder of this column will discuss a large cichlid, Uaru. These cichlids are found in South America. For many years Uaru amphiacanthoides was the sole member of this genus. This magnificent animal’s native waters are Rio Negro, tributary to Amazon River. A second member of the genus was found in Río Orinoco, Uaru fernandezyepezi. Both of these cichlids live amongst roots and trees fallen into water. Diet is mainly fallen fruits, decaying vegetable matter and invertebrates. It is thought Uaru school, as this is how they behave in the aquaria. This is important, as single Uaru do not do well in captivity. In native waters Uaru may reach 14 inches length. Uaru behavior in aquaria is in sharp contrast to many cichlids as Uaru are peaceful and do not display territorial aggression to conspecific neighbors or tank mates from other species. Lack of aggression is true for both feeding and breeding territories. Of course if a fish keeper attempts to siphon the fry from the tank, Uaru will attack the hand that feeds them. Minimum tank size is 48 x 18 x 18 inches for a small breeding pair of 6-8 inches. Larger Uaru should be given a larger tank. Shoals will require the largest tank their keeper can afford. Décor includes wood as this mimics the natural environment. This fish will graze on the wood and wood must be chemically free. Plants are relished as a food source. Do not place prize plant specimens in a Uaru tank. Plant replicas are not a substitute for living plants as these animals may consume silk or plastic resulting in a poor outcome. Rio Negro water is soft (< 1 degree GH) and acidic (5-6). These fish have adapted to the black water over thousands of years and thus black water is the

www.mn-aquarium.org

continued page 18

18 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

starting point for keeping these fish. Temperature of 78-80 degrees F. is recommended. Most Uaru keepers will avoid placing other cichlids in the same tank due to the peaceful nature of Uara. Exceptions are other large peaceful cichlids with similar requirements such as Hoplarchus psittacus. Uaru will consume all unwanted plants a keeper may offer including duck weed. The may also be fed Romaine lettuce, peas, aquatic insects and vegetable based fish pellets. Occasional feedings of shrimp is OK due to indigestible chitin. Fry are voracious eaters and take any food offered. Avoid mammalian protein and fats when feeding Uaru. Breeding Uaru is rewarding and should be encouraged. There are no overt external signs of sexual differences. Examination of sexual vents may reveal males from females. A more common practice is purchase six fry or juveniles, grow them out and allow a male and female to find each other vs attempting to bring an adult pair together. Conspecifics may be allowed to stay with a breeding pair. However, the non breeding Uaru will feast on eggs, larvae and free swimming fry while parents watch without protest. This is very non-cichlid like parental behavior. The breeding site is typically a vertical surface of a rock, slate or clay/ceramic pot but not wood. Increasing temperature 3-5 degrees F may trigger breeding. Parents do dig a pit for larvae to gather in following a three day incubation period prior to hatching. Free swimming fry may be fed microworms, smaller baby brine shrimp as well as non-living foods. Fry also will eat from parents slime coat. This should not be allowed for more than a few weeks or damage to parents may occur. Uaru have a heavy slime coat for protection. Should this slime coat be lost, the animal may become infected and sloughed slime may foul tank water. Take steps to avoid both these situations by performing frequent large water changes. Loss of slime coat indicates severe stress for Uaru. An early warning sign of stress is the stress pat-

tern consisting of broken bars similar to the pattern seen in angelfish, discus and severems. It is unlikely Uaru keepers will bring these wonderful fish to a show. The stress of being moved and the activity of a show would like proving to be the death of one of these fish. This is not to say that Uara cannot be trained for show but moving the adults is stressful. Some cichlid keepers are attracted to these cichlids by their large size, others will find Uaru amphiacanthoides adult colors of brown base with large black spot near the caudal fin to be attractive. Uaru amphiacanthoides also show pale blue iridescent markings on the face. These markings are similar to those of Aequidens pulcher or discus. Almost all cichlid keepers are attracted to the large red eyes of this species. Uaru fernandezyepezi are equally as splendid but in place of the large black spot, there are large black bars on the flanks of this large cichlid. See y’all at next MAS meeting. Photo’s of Uaru amphiacanthoides courtesy of Cynthia Teague

Visit our website www.mn-aquarium.org •for up to date information about upcoming events

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 19

AQUA NEWS

MAS Auctions The MAS Auctions occur 3 times a year, providing a great opportunity to purchase and sell your fish and other related items. The next Auction is April 21, 2007, Preview at 10 AM, Auction starts at 11 AM at the Lutheran Church of the Redemption, 927 E Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, MN 55420. Questions should be directed to the Auction Chair: Tom Gromek – [email protected].

Auctioneers sell about 800 items per auction.

Literally 100’s of bags of fish and plants

Average of 150 buyer per auction

Large Hardgoods such as Aquariums

Our goal :satified customers even if mommy or daddy is picking up the tab.

Photos coutesy of Tiffany Severson

www.mn-aquarium.org

20 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007 1 2

3

4 5

6

7

8 9

10

11

12

13 14

15

16 17

18 19 20

21

22 24

23

25

26

27

28 29

30

Created with EclipseCrossword — www.eclipsecrossword.com

Across

Down

2. Rotifers, protozoans and other minute organisms. 3. Scientific order of taxonomy for related species. 6. Puntius titteya. 10. Marks located on the rear of the body, frequently on the anal fin of the male. 13. Goldfish lose their ______ if kept in dim light. 15. Person who studies fish. 19. A juvenile eel. 20. Type of RO membrane. 22. Accumulated, decaying, organic matter and other tiny particles, grains, or refuse. 24. Ammonia removing substance. 26. CO3 28. Water circulator. 29. Soft, acidic water found in regions of South America. 30. Java Moss

1. Process by which bacteria oxidize lethal ammonia into relatively harmless nitrates. 4. Structural body armor made of chitin. 5. The small fin located between the dorsal fin and the caudal fin 7. spiney puffer fish considered a rare delicacy in Japan 8. The power supply for fluorescent and metal halide lighting. 9. Brine Shrimp 11. Air or fat filled organ. 12. Fe. 14. Fish in the family, Cyprinodontidae. 16. A water condition which has a pH lower than 7.0. 17. food prefered by mollies 18. A pregnant female fish. 21. PO4 23. A group of fish moving together. 25. Gill Cover. 27. Color of Pangio kuhlii eggs.

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 21

AQUA NEWS

Membership application form

Minnesota Aquarium Society P.O. Box 130483 Roseville, MN 55113-0016 http://www.mnaquarium.org

Todays Date__________________ Type of Membership:  Adult $15.00/Year  Family $15.00/Year  Junior $12.00/Year

Method of Payment: Cash__________ Check #_______

The following information will not be used beyond the Minnesota Aquarium Society

Name: _____________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________ City:_______________ State: ________ Zip Code: ________ Home Phone: (______) _________ — ___________________ Email Address: ______________________________________

Are you Up to Date with your Membership?

| 23 |

www.mn-aquarium.org

22 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

Catching Live Food From Ponds Author: Jerold Hustafa

SouthWestern Michigan Aquarium Society Jr.; from SWAM, May/June 1989 Issue Aquarticles Once you have decided to collect live food, the first thing you must do is find a pond that contains the food you are after. You should look for a fairly small pond that is partly stagnant, but not polluted, and contains very few or no fish. If the pond has firm banks around it and the water deepens quickly, it will make your job of collecting a lot easier. If you are not able to find a pond like this, tall boots should get you into deep enough water to draw your net through. After you have found a suitable pond, round up something with which to catch and transport the food. To capture live foods you need a fine net. A woman’s nylon stocking sewed to a six-inch by six-inch stiff wire frame, fastened to a long handle, works excellent. The food can be carried in anything that holds water, as long as it is clean and free of chemicals. Now that you are ready to go, knowing what to look for may help keep you from getting discouraged. The food organisms most often caught by aquarist are daphnia, mosquito larvae, and glass worms. Daphnia are small crustaceans averaging about the size of a pin head, or a little larger. They are reddishcolored and swarm near banks of the pond, swimming in vertical, jerky motions. Mosquito larvae are probably the food eaten most by wild fish. They can be seen hanging from the surface of the water in their third stage of development. They will wiggle down to the bottom as soon as they are disturbed. The eggs of the mosquito are laid in groups of 20 or 30, called “rafts”. If you find some, take them home and let them hatch out in a jar or aquarium.

Glass worms are not worms, but larvae of a Chaoborus plumicornis fly. They range in size from 1/8-inch to 3/4-inch, and swim horizontally in the water. The larvae are glass clear except for their eyes and digestive tract. In the course of catching these, you may also get some bosmine, blood worms, (another fly larvae), and Cyclops. They also are alright to feed, but are somewhat rare. Now you can get to the actual catching and feeding of the food. Capturing the food is easy. Just take your net and draw it through the water. Trying different depths, sooner or later, if there is anything in the pond, you should catch it. When you have caught as much as you want, run the food through a series of nets. A kitchen strainer that is not too fine will catch the leaves and other debris, and let the food pass through. Then strain the food through two more progressively fine nets, one to catch the larger food, and the other to get what is left. Now you can put the food into a couple of small jars filled with fresh water. One can be used to feed your larger fish and the other can be used to feed your small or baby fish. By putting the food in jars it is easier to control the amount of food you want to put in each tank. The above is not absolutely necessary if you do not wish to do all that, but if you bring the food home in the pond water you should put them in fresh water before feeding. If you have any food left over, you can keep them in a spare aquarium. They are best kept cool (in the 60’s will do), and aerated if possible. If you do not have the room to keep them alive you can freeze them in ice cube trays. As a few last notes, watch out for large larvae and other water bugs. If in doubt, do not feed. If your fish go crazy over live food and you do not mind the snow and cold, some of this food can be caught through the ice in the winter.

March 9-11 2007 MAS Tropical Fish Show

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 23

AQUA NEWS

Feeding the Disease:

The Art of Space Utilization in Relation to Aquarium Keeping Author: Zack Wilson

As many of us are eventually faced with, I came upon the dilemma of how to maximize the number of tanks I could fit into a limited space. I don’t think you can really have too much space, so I’d probably be saying “limited” in any case. I was fortunate that I was taking on this issue prior to actually even starting any aquariums up. Other priorities in life (*gasp*) had forced me to close down my entire fishroom for a couple years, and so I was starting from scratch, rather than having watched a room full of aquariums spring up like plants here and there. So my understanding wife and I had bought a home, and it just happened to have come with an unfinished basement. There it sat tempting for months. Having a new child of my own left me a minimal amount of time to think about such things for some time, but finally in about October of ’05, I found myself with some spare time and renewed thoughts of little fish swimming in glass boxes. Through some providential

circumstances I came upon the opportunity to finally seriously begin planning a new fishroom. Since I was going to be building from the ground up, I wanted to give some real thought to how I wanted my fishroom to look and function. The last time round was really a product of my growth and development into the hobby. The two rooms that my tanks inhabited were a hodge-podge of variously sized aquariums that I had picked up as a matter of necessity when my fish started multiplying and my interests started branching out. This worked at the time, but it certainly didn’t maximize my space usage and it didn’t look as nice as it could have. This time round I wanted to create a room that would be enjoyable to walk through and view my fishes in, while also achieving the goal of cramming every last bit of water I could into it.

The first thing I had to do was decide what size tanks to go with. This is an important aspect, as uniformity is a key to efficiency. I ultimately decided to go with 30 breeders (30”L x 18”W x 12” H). I really like 20 longs for their viewing window, and they seem to be about the perfect size for keeping fish of my main passion, dwarf cichlids and catfish. The extra front to back room made for better surface area and also gave me a good bit of extra room to aquascape—one of my other passions on which I plan on expanding. 30 gallons is also a nice size as it is big enough for holding grow outs or larger numbers of other fish when the need may arise, without getting into something large and space-consuming. My next challenge, one I spent a good amount of time on, was to figure out what configuration would allow me to maximize the number of tanks I could fit while still providing a good flow through the room. I felt that to be comfortable there should be at least 3-4 feet between any row of aquariums, and one shouldn’t have to wind around too many corners or bends to get to the next bank of tanks. After toying with a bunch of layouts on a graph, I finally decided to go with a number of parallel rows that would run the length of the room, with several smaller island racks that would be placed perpendicularly to the other racks and up against the support pillars in the basement. Given the height of the ceiling I figured if I wasn’t too greedy with the space between one tank and the next, I could even manage to get 4 tanks per column. This was working on the assumption that I would be making my racks of lumber, which seemed to be the most economical option. Had I used steel or some such, I might have had even more room, but I had limited resources. By this plan, I also left myself wall-space along the west wall where I could build racks for larger, odd-sized aquariums I might want/NEED. So all said and done, I came to the conclusion that I would be able to fit about 150 30 breeders into my basement. I had about 1,200 sq. ft. to work with, given that the laundry room and a small storage room are taking up space as well (storage room may later be “modified”). This wasn’t a bad start, but still didn’t sound like enough. Fortunately when I started advancing in the process of building the racks, I began to see that 4 feet + between rows was actually more generous than I had to be. This left me with some open room to squeeze in a few extra tanks here and there. I figured a few large “show” tanks here and there wouldn’t be bad as focal points.

www.mn-aquarium.org

continued page 24

24 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

Stepping back a little, once I picked the tanks, my other big consideration I needed to tackle was one any of us has to look at when we have more than a few tanks. How am I going to change water one and keep so many tanks clean? Well, I really have never thought of the typical overflow system as being very efficient for pollutant removal. You’re always flushing out new water along with the old and by that method you drain a lot of water before you really get a good percentage of old water out. I much preferred the idea of removing a given percentage of tank water (75% sounded good to me) and then replacing it with fresh water. My idea was to drill each of the tanks in the system one quarter of the way up from the bottom and then install a bulkhead with a cap. The water could then be drained into a larger diameter PVC pipe that I could run around the fishroom to each rack and then to the drain. By putting the pipe at a gentle grade, all the water runs to the laundry room where we have a floor drain (another really nice feature of the basement). So the draining problem solved, all I really had to do was figure out how to return the water. Being that I wasn’t going to go with a centralized filtration system, I had to figure out how to run water to each individual tank. Again I went with PVC, this time about 1/2” diameter and ran this from the water mains in the laundry room to each rack where the lines fanned out to each row, allowing for a ball-valve and sort of faucet to be put in through the top of each tank in back. I didn’t really feel like drilling another hole for returns and I needed to be able to access the valve. So that sounded easy enough—yeah right. The idea is sound, but it’s a bit of work assembling 150+ T’s with ballvalves and countless lengths of PVC. I’m still in the process of finishing this, but at least I’ve got the drains done. I should also mention here that due to the lack of gravity all of the bottom tanks, which sit on the floor, are not able to be part of the drain system and therefore have to be done by Python unless I come up with a brilliant solution to that. Oh well. Next up was filtration. I didn’t like the idea of centralized filtration for the whole room, and individually filtering every one of those tanks would be insane, and insanely expensive. I hate the extra noise of blowers, and they can be expensive too. So I finally decided to go with a couple of linear air pumps. These pumps are insanely quiet for their output and are very reliable and low maintenance. They also put out very good pressure and even running 250 some sponge filters I get very high flow. It also helps that I went with 30 breeders, as the shorter height provides less back-pressure. After installing PVC around the perimeter of the room I then installed enough outlets for each of the

tanks using nickel/brass air valves and voila. Not a bad part of the process. Each tank could then be filtered with a sponge filter or two and the cost of operation is pretty darn low. From there it was mostly details. I did install a number of outlet boxes periodically throughout the fishroom for times when I may need power. I also installed a couple extra circuit-breakers for this draw—don’t need to be worrying about running the dryer or washer or something. I did recently also install an air-exchange unit to bring in fresh air from outside. With this many tanks the humidity can get very high very fast—not healthy or safe. I also still want to paint the racks and put up screens over the top portion of each tank to prevent light from bleeding out. Speaking of light, I’m still toying with my options there. After putting some of my ideas into action, I have found some things I would have done differently. My biggest brain-fart of the whole process was the outlets. Not giving it enough thought, I was more concerned about making sure I had enough outlets and that they were spaced out enough over the room. I didn’t even think about the height of the boxes. As it turns out they come up quite nice and square behind the second row of tanks from the bottom. Not the end of the world, but it makes for some fun contortion tricks trying to get plugs into outlets. I might have adjusted the height, but it would have been a lot of work, and funny as it may sound I can be lazy. It’s been about 8 months of hard work, from re-pouring the floors myself, to redoing the concrete walls, painting, tiling the floor, and on and on. It’s really fun and rewarding to see it coming along, but it’s been back-breaking at times. Fortunately I’m most of the way to where I want to be, and at least there’s an end. I will continue to tweak things I’m sure, but it’s a great thrill to actually be bringing my dream fishroom to reality. Photos by Author

www.mn-aquarium.org

March/April 2007 25

AQUA NEWS

April 2007 Meeting Program- Culturing Live foods Our local members will be sharing their knowledge of culturing live foods, a limited number of sample cultures will be available to get you started. Live foods are used for rearing fry and conditioning for spawning. In additoin to dry flake, frozen, collected or purchased food, they are great source of nutrition. A variety of foods is the key to happy healthy fish. The following general information is just a sample of the offering varietys that exist. Some of which will be shared at the meeting on April 5th 2007 Mealworms (Tenebrio Molitor) are a highly nutritious form of live food, especially valued for feeding medium to large aquarium fishes (cichlids, large tetra, barbs, etc.). Dempseys and Archers are particularly fond of them. The young worms are suitable for fish as small as zebras. Many marine fish and invertibrates such as crabs will feed on mealworms also. The suitability of mealworms for various birds and reptiles is well know. They are rich in vitamins A and B and can be maintained in a dormant condition in the refrigerator for several months Microworms (Mikronematoderna): Thanks to the efforts of Mr. C. O. Nordstrand and Mrs. Morten Grindal of Solna, Sweden, European aquarists have favored mikroworms as an essential live food for raising the fry of egg layers for over 50 years. Until recently, mikroworms have not been as popular with American aquarists because “hit or miss” culture methods have produced inconsistent and disappointing results. As with most live foods there are many ways to culture mikroworms. What we are presenting here is simply what has worked best for us over the past 30 years. White Worms (enchytrae) are probably the most popular form of live food cultured by aquarists. They are highly nutritious and especially valuable during winter months when ponds and other live food collection areas are frozen. Daphnia Magna: The most popular live food for aquarium fishes is Daphnia. Daphnia includes several species, the largerst of which is D. magna. D. magna can reach a size of 1/5 of an inch in diameter. Each pregnant Daphnia female delivers up to fifteen babies (all are females under good conditions) every three days (depends on food, temperature, and water condition). Daphnia are heavy filter feeders and eat a wide variety of tiny organisms of appropriate size. Daphnia can be used to clear the green water of aquariums and large outdoor ponds without using danger-

ous chemicals. All Daphnia species produce large black (resting) eggs under certain conditions. The resting eggs survive frost and dryness. For fishes up to 4 inches. Vinegar Eels/Wine Eels (Turbatrix Aceti):They are raised in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, water, and small pieces of apple. The eels can live in pure water (advantage) but will not multiply. They are about the size of microworms. Established cultures can be put aside and remain after several months of total neglect! Grindal Worms (Dwarf White Worms): Mrs. Morton Grindal of Sweden was active in the development of white worm culturing methods and first isolated the smaller species known as the Grindal worms. Grindal worms are prolific and can withstand high temperatures, which makes them more practical to culture than White worms. They reach up to 1/2 inch in length. This is the perfect size food for small fishes up to two inches in length. Easy to harvest. For best results, start with a large culture. Wingless Drosophila Melanogaster: Insects have a very high nutritional value. This is a small wingless fruitfly about 1/8 inch long. The reasons for it becoming so popular among biologists are the same as those which make it popular among aquarists who use the insect so extensively as a fish food. The fly passes through a life cycle in seven to ten days at warm temperatures. They are one of the finest foods for conditioning breeders. They make an ideal live food for most surface feeding fishes, lizards, small frogs, and birds. The fly’s body is soft and floats on the surface of the water, where it lives for hours before being eaten. For best results, we recommend using our premium mold resistant medium. Each culture contains fruit flies food to support the culture for up to one month. Greenwater: There really is no big mystery to surround this stuff. It’s a simple free floating algae. It needs light and nutrients to grow. There are a number of varieties which I don’t care to know all that much about but I can tell you there are salt water types and fresh water types and they all need light and nutrients. We use greenwater to feed directly to the smallest fish larvae. We also use greenwater to feed several types of other live food cultures, daphnia for example. More Info avalable: http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~davidr/discus/livefoods/cultures.html http://www.lfscultures.com/

www.mn-aquarium.org

26 AQUA NEWS

March/April 2007

UPCOMING MAS EVENTS March 9-11 2007 MAS Tropical Fish Show 2007 American Cichlid Association Convention in Sacramento, California, July 19-22, 2007 Eastern Iowa Aquarium Association Spring 2007 Tropical Fish Show. April 7-8 2007 Cedar Rapids, IA MAS Auction April 21st 2007 See our website for further details www.mn-aquarium.org

www.mn-aquarium.org