Aquanews Sept./oct. 2006

AquaNews A Minnesota Aquarium Society Publication

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006

AquaContents 3

President’s Message | Mike Fries

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Membership Report | Bob Carter

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Cichlid Matters | Bob Randall

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The Plant from Hell | Dale Skiba

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Copadichromis virginalis “Nkanda” | Chris Juvinall

10 Fishroom Tour: The Bruelands | Emily Brueland 13 MAS Meeting Rewind: Aug. ‘06 | Bob Randall 14 Bowl Show 2006-07 | Tiffany Severson 15 Bowl Show 2005-06 | Bob Randall

Aulonocara stuartgranti, Ngara Photo by Bob Randall

16 BAP Report | Chris Smith and Randy Carey 18 HAP Report | Milo Squires and Dave Behler 18 MAS Board Meeting Minutes | Mike Harris 18 Upcoming MAS Events | Dani Ellickson

ON THE COVER “Betta” by William Picard

FromTheEditor It’s really about the Aqua News Let me begin by groveling to the membership and begging your forgiveness for the tardiness of this issue of the Aqua News. In the words of one of my favorite comic strip characters, “I’M SORRY! BEAT ME!! I’M AN INSECT!” I could regale you with excuse after excuse, but I won’t. Life simply got in the way and I tripped over it. Enough said. I received a number of emails and comments regarding the online version of the Aqua News. The general consensus is that everyone loved it! I’m just tickled pink! I want to give credit where credit is due. I am not the master behind the online version of the Aqua News. I am but a lowly editor, organizer and data transfer method. Joe Lover is the mastermind and king of design behind the eye-popping layout and bright fantastic colors you were able to enjoy in the last edition. That being said, Joe, if I weren’t on a plane right now, I’d stand up and applaud you! Thank you for volunteering your

splendid creative talents and giving the MAS members the opportunity to enjoy your work. Garrett and Emily Brueland have offered a peek into their fish room for us this month, and for that I’m very grateful. Thank you both! I am always amazed at how our apartment-dwelling members can squeeze so many aquariums into their homes. They have all the joys of fish keeping and none of the tribulations of home ownership. I expect great things from Garrett and Emily’s ‘Fish Apartment’! Who will step up to the plate and share their fish room for the next issue of the Aqua News? Please contact me at [email protected] if you’re interested in being highlighted in the next issue, even if you’re photographically challenged. We’ll make sure you’re covered. Write something about yourself and your fish room and we’ll take it from there.

serve on the web design committee. All skill and creativity levels are welcome. I am planning on having the committee gather two times a month on an initial basis. I expect to have the first meeting in October. I realize this may seem like a lot of time to commit in everyone’s busy schedules, but this project will need our attention and diligence if we are to develop a new design within a reasonable amount of time. I will do my best to schedule the gatherings based on the schedules of those that are willing to volunteer. Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested. The MAS domain name has been transferred to a new hosting site. For folks that maybe aren’t technically savvy, this techno-babble may mean very little. But what it does is enables us to begin revamping the MAS website and provide dynamic content to you, the members, while making administration of the website easier. Technical

I am still looking for volunteers to cont. on page 22

President’sMessage President* .........................................................Mike Fries 651-489-2973 ....................... [email protected] Vice-President* (tie breaker only) ........... Jenny Kruckenberg 952-529-3596 .................................... [email protected] Treasurer* .....................................................Tom Gromek 651-462-8223 [email protected] Secretary* .......................................................Mike Harris 651-882-4715 [email protected] Under-director* ............................................ Milo Squires 952-448-4153 ................................... [email protected] Director-2yr.* ........................................... Anchor Sarslow 763-856-0940 [email protected] Director-2yr,* .................................................Bob Randall 952-432-6298 ................................... bobrfi[email protected] Director-1yr.* ..............................................Dani Ellickson ............................................underwaterjewels@gmail.com Director-1yr.* .............................................. Brad Hedlund ............................................ [email protected] Aqua News Editor ......................................Dani Ellickson ....................................................editor@mn-aquarium.org Auction Chair ................................................Tom Gromek 651-462-8223 [email protected] Auction Chair ............................................. Brad Swanson 612-522-4399 [email protected] BAP Data ....................................................... Ted Jolivette 763-783-9416 ............................... [email protected] BAP Spokesperson ....................................... Randy Carey 651-780-8068 [email protected] Bowl Show Chair .................................... Tiffany Severson 651-487-8073 ................................ [email protected] Book Points Chair ...........................................Mike Harris 651-882-4715 [email protected] Special Event Chair ............................ Jenny Kruckenberg 651-457-2302 .................................... [email protected] Donations Chair.......................................... Dennis Drews 952-529-3596 ................................. [email protected] Exchange Editor ........................................ Brentt Helland ...............................................................brentt_@msn.com HAP Spokesperson ....................................... Milo Squires 952-448-4153 ................................... [email protected] HAP Data ........................................................Dave Behler 952-215-2043 ..................................................................... Librarian ............................................................ Jon Heyer 952-215-2043 .................................... [email protected] MAS/ACA Liaison ...........................................Bob Randall 952-432-6298 ................................... bobrfi[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] Show Chair .....................................................Bob Randall 952-432-6298 ................................... bobrfi[email protected] Webmaster ..................................................Dani Ellickson ........................................... [email protected] Historian .................................................Rodger Anderson 763-535-4364 .................................. [email protected] Advertising & Promotions..................... Tiffany Severson 651-487-8073 ................................ [email protected]

I want to thank our past president Jenny Kruckenberg, last year’s board of directors and the many volunteers who truly made our 75th anniversary a special celebration. A year filled with national speakers, special events, and one of our largest tropical fish shows ever will be hard to top. As your new president, my focus for the coming year is to meet the need of our current members, grow our membership (currently at 175), find new ways to publicize MAS, build stronger relationship with area pet shops, and have some fun. I would like to use the balance of this message to lay out my plan to accomplish these goals. A few months ago I surveyed the members attending the June meeting. What a diverse group we are! Some members have many years of experience and 100’s of tanks in their fish room. They are looking for specialized information from experts. Many of our new members are just getting starting in the hobby and confused by all the conflicting information that is out there – they just want to know the basics at this point. Other members are focused on the ‘aquascaping’ aspect of the hobby and others want us to spend more time talking about the saltwater side of the hobby. So how does MAS meet the needs of such a diverse group? The simple answer is by sharing our experiences with one another. We all have made those beginners mistakes and all of us have some tips to share that others can learn from. Now I’ll be the first to admit that there just is not enough time to socialize at the regular meetings, so here are some ideas. Starting with the September meeting, I am inviting members to arrive at 7:00 pm (instead of the normal 7:30 meeting time) and we’ll meet in the kitchen and try to answer any aquarium related questions you may have. Feel free to email me questions in advance to [email protected]. We also invite you to email your questions and we’ll answer them in the next |3|

issue of Aqua News. Starting in October, we’ll meet informally on the first Friday of the month. I’ll host the meeting at my house (but hope others might be interested in taking a month). These meetings will have NO formal structure, just a chance for us to talk. It could be about the previous night’s speaker, it could be about a great movie you just saw, or maybe we’ll bring our camera and help each other take better pictures of our wet pets. No formal structure, just a chance to socialize and get to know other MAS members – and have some fun. Growing our membership is beneficial to all. The more members we have, the more resources we have for information, more chances that someone might have that rare fish you have been looking for and a larger pool of volunteers if the club decides to host a national show in the future. As you know, there are many benefits to your MAS membership. In addition to receiving this excellent publication, you have the opportunity to use the MAS library, purchase fish and plants (usually at rock bottom prices) during the BAP and HAP auctions, receive a larger percent of sales of your items at MAS auctions, and purchase plants (at cost) at the December Plant Extravaganza. In addition, your membership helps defray the cost of national speakers and the use of the church two Thursdays a month. Not a bad deal for $15.00. Our annual tropical fish show is one way we publicize the club. We also have ads in all three tropical fish publications and an excellent website (more on the website below). While I will continue to serve as publicity chair for the annual tropical fish show, Tiffany Severson has volunteered to take on the role as publicity chair. As the new MAS secretary, Mike Harris will assist Tiffany by sending information about club meetings to area publications. I would like to see other MAS members join this new publicity committee. I think there are cont. on page 22

MembershipReport ►ABOUT THE MAS The Minnesota Aquarium Society (MAS) is an incorporated, non-profit organization of tropical fish enthusiasts that was established in the 1930s. The MAS is one of the largest local level clubs in the U.S., 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 meetings in July) at 7:30pm at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 2300 N. Hamline Ave., Roseville, MN (at the NE corner of Hwy 36 and Hamline). Most meetings focus on a presentation by a speaker who is often nationally-recognized. Visitors are welcome to attend.

►BOARD MEETINGS MAS Board of Directors meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month, except for July, at the same location as our general meetings at 7pm and are open to MAS members.

►AQUA NEWS Aqua News is a bi-monthly publication of the MAS. It has been recognized with national awards and is included with membership. Members are encouraged to send original articles and photos for publication. Submit them by sending to the MAS mailing address or to the editor via meetings or email. Electronic versions of the article are strongly recommended. Photo quality/resolution will determine whether it is used. All articles are subject to editing.

►EXCHANGES + REPRINTING Exchanges with other non-profit groups are welcomed. Articles may be reprinted provided proper credit is given to the author, the MAS, and AquaNews. Two (2) copies of the publication containing the article must be sent to the exchange editor at the address below. Any other reprinting is by permission of the author only.

We set off to start our 76th year as a club. It is going to be hard to top last years cast of speakers and events. But something tells me that we are going to have fun anyway. For those of you that missed the Koi Acres and Star Prairie Trout Farm trip, you did really miss something interesting. I want to publicly thank Jenny and Ken for organizing a great Saturday with the fish folks and a couple of great stops along the way. I didn’t really know what to expect from Koi Acres, but the place was amazing. And the knowledge that the two boys and their parents shared with us was fantastic. I now need to buy a couple of neighbor’s houses and demolish them. I’ve got to make room for a pond like that. I don’t think it is going to happen anytime soon though. The trout fishing and picnic were incredible. First, the trout fishing brought back many fond childhood memories from when my family would go trout fishing together. At least the Carter tradition / rule did not seem to be in effect for this trip. Nobody fell into the stream. I love eating trout (okay who am I kidding, I love eating most anything). The trip was a blast. The only thing better than the trout was Ken’s homebrewed root beer. I could drink that all day long.

►MINNESOTA FISH KEEPERS FORUM The Minnesota Fish Keepers Forum is a great local online resource for fish keepers of all kinds. Stop by and share fish knowledge with fellow fish keepers in Minnesota! The MFK is endorsed by the MAS. www.minnfish.com.

►E-MAIL GROUP LIST MAS has a monitored e-mail announcement list available to all members. Messages are sent to all members on the list. If you’d like to broadcast a message or subscribe to the list, send your request to [email protected].

►DISCUSSION GROUP LIST MAS maintains a monitored discussion list through yahoo groups. MAS members can subscribe at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ mnaquarium/. |4|

Please join me in welcoming the following new MAS members: Randy and Kerri Johnson Jason Swanson Leigh & Norman Eigenheer Robert Meyman Anybody that joined or renewed in the last couple of months can pick up their updated or new membership card at the September meeting. With fall rapidly approaching and fishkeeping season beginning to wind up again, the discounts that are available to MAS members from some of the local fish shops may once again be put to good use. If you’ve lost or misplaced your card, let me know and we’ll get a replacement created for you. Last but hardly least; please remember to check your mailing label. Your membership expiration date is listed just above your name. Keep getting all the benefits of MAS membership by keeping yours current. For those of you with a highlighted expiration date, this is the last Aqua News you will receive unless you renew quickly. Don’t miss a thing, renew today. See you in the fishroom, Bob Carter Membership Chair

by Bob Randall

Cichlid matters Hello my friends. Just a few days ago, we were together at August meeting discussing American Cichlid Association (ACA) Convention. At least a dozen Minnesota Aquarium Society (MAS) members attended this event and it sounded as if we all had a wonderful time. I hope y’all are aware that AquaNews has entered the digital age. Those primarily responsible for this leap are Dani Ellickson and Joe Lover. July/August 2006 issue was placed on MAS website. Please take a look at our digital AquaNews and compare it to digital AquaNews. Let your Board of Directors and your AquaNews editor have your opinions, thoughts and comments about either or both. Put me on record that Dani and Joe have performed a great service to MAS and I appreciate their efforts. This month Cichlid Matters is going to take advantage of a digital AquaNews. Those reading digital or online AquaNews will be viewing images of cichlids entered in ACA – 2006 Cichlid Show. For those photographer readers, please accept my apologies regarding quality of these images. I took the images with a Nikon Coolpix 4100. This is a point and shoot camera and does not allow aperture and shutter speed control, which is a good excuse for lower

quality images. The cichlids in these images are those I favor for one reason or another. They are not all cichlid entries within show.

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I bet some of you would like to know the names of the cichlids displayed here in the AquaNews. This is where you the cichlid reader comes in. I propose a challenge to all you cichlidiots. Name each cichlid seen in these images and email me your answers. When emailing me your answers, place answers in order from 1-15. The person who submits the greatest number of correct answers wins. There is no way anyone can cheat here as everyone is encouraged to use www, books, friends, whatever to determine fish names. Latin or scientific names are preferred but common names will receive half credit. If a tiebreaker is required, a name will be randomly drawn from the winners. If there is still a tie, then multiple winners will be named. If the challenge itself does not fire up your desire to identify these cichlids, then how about Dainichi Ultimate cichlid pellets? I will give half a kilo to the winner. Send any challenge questions and your list of names to bobrfi[email protected]. Have fun.

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Bob Randall Show Chair

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cont. on page 6

by Bob Randall

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cont. on page 7

by Bob Randall

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THE PLANT FROM

In a recent plant order I was tempted to pick up a plant I didn’t know much about. Borneo Fern is what they called it. Very pretty and very cheap. So, I picked up a few. It looked like a compact form of Bolbitis (African Fern). See the main plant image on this page.

HELL

When the plant arrived, the roots were unlike any aquatic plant I had seen before, so I did some online searching. (This was what I should have done before I ordered it.) Turned out that this plant was on several aquarium avoid lists. It was really a terrarium plant. Also known as Aqua Fern, something of a misnomer. Well, that wasn’t a serious problem since I could raise it in my emersed tank -- or so I thought. I did the logical thing -- I planted it in a pot of florabase, in tank with standing water, with the stems of the plant above water level and the roots below water level. If it worked for well Anubias why not for this plant?

Well, it didn’t work. The plant dried up. Fungus formed on the dried up leaves. Total mess! Perhaps this one needed constant misting? Perhaps it was too warm due to our heat wave? Unlike other plants to avoid, which frequently are house plants which would do quite well in a pot of dirt, Trichomanes javanicum is something which requires a very specialized environment to grow. It really was a plant from Hell that was best avoided. Here’s how my plant ended up (see image directly below). The frustrations with this plant led me to buy Aquarium Plants, The Practical Guide. Turns out that the photo that vendor was using to sell their “aquatic plant” was the same used to identify it as a not-for-aquarium bog plant on pages 200 and 206. It’s the exact same picture! I wonder how that happened? • Dale Skiba

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Copadichromis virginalis “Nkanda” My Experience Spawning the Gold Virginalis of Lake Malawi | By Chris Juvinall Copadichromis virginalis “Nkanda” (a.k.a. the Gold Virginalis) is a maternal mouth brooder native to Lake Malawi in east Africa. I obtained two males and two females that were fourinches long from a private breeder in Georgia. Males achieve a size of roughly six inches and have a silver base color with a gold crest and dorsal fin and sport a large number of yellow egg spots on their anal fin. While attempting to lure a female to breed, the male’s silver body color turns to a VERY dark, almost shimmering blue/black color and all yellow markings greatly intensify. Females achieve a size of five inches and are basically silver with a hint of black on the front edge of the dorsal fin. The fish bred for me in a 125 gallon tank which contained Tahitian Moon black sand and several large, smooth boulders. The tank was filtered by a two Emperor 400 power filters and had a pH of 8.2. I performed bi-weekly water changes equal to 30% of the tank volume and used fluorescent lighting for about 12 hours each day. I fed the fish New Life Spectrum Cichlid Pellets, HBH Graze, and frozen brine shrimp. When spawning, the blue and black colors of the male intensify while females remain silver. The male cleaned a small area of sand

beside a large boulder. Next, the female laid a couple of eggs and picked them up in her mouth. Rather than continually circling each other as many mouth brooders do, the pair assumed a loose “T” position while the female bit at the egg spots of the male fertilizing the eggs. I am not sure whether this was simply because there was not enough room for the pair to circle one another at this spawning location or simply the way they naturally spawn. I suppose time will tell.

One interesting point to note is that in the six months that I have had these fish, I have NEVER seen the female eat. The male gobbles up food as soon as it touches the surface, but I have never seen the female touch a piece of food. She must eat….she has lived in my tanks for six months and has produced a bundle of fry, yet I have never seen her eat one morsel of food. One theory that I have is that she is straining fine particles out of the water column while all other fish are eating the larger flakes and pellets. Again, it’s just a theory. This remains, at least to me, one of those mysterious experiences that occur while keeping fish.

The pair laid approximately thirty yellow eggs. After spawning, the female retreated to a hiding place to avoid harassment by tank mates. I left the pair in the same tank for twentyone days prior to stripping the eggs from the female. Approximately thirty eggs were viable and hatched after twenty-two days. The fry were a spitting image of their mother – silver body color with a black edge to the dorsal fin. The fry didn’t require any special care on my part. I put them in the 30 gallon tank with about thirty Enantiopus melanogenys fry. I used an ATI Hydro IV sponge filter for filtration and started the fry off on Golden Pearls as well as crushed flake food. The fry grew quickly and reached the length of one inch after about six weeks.

This is perhaps one of the most peaceful fish I have ever kept. The only time that the male exhibited any aggression was when he was courting the female. Even then, he didn’t chase or nip at her fins. He simply displayed and tried to entice her to come to

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the nest. Also, I have never kept Malawian fish with my Enantiopus melanogenys before. However, due to a lack of tank space, I was forced to try the combination this time. To my surprise, both species ignored each other and spawned regularly. Copadichromis virginalis is one of those “sleeper cichlids”; the kind no one pays attention to until they see it in person. I do not see this fish for sale very often. Yet, since I have now kept and spawned it, I wondered why it took me so long to acquire such a mild-mannered, beautiful fish. I am not a good photographer, but hopefully you will be able to appreciate this fish through the pictures that I have submitted on the fish in my tanks (the best picture is used by permission and was taken by Alan Bliven, an accomplished cichlid breeder and owner of www.cichlidlovers.com). Happy fish keeping!

FISH ROOM TOUR

Garrett used to keep fish back when he was in high school. However, he moved to Florida and back several times in the following years, and didn’t really have room in the car for fish tanks. This last Easter, we were bored and found ourselves at Petsmart, where Garrett convinced me to let him get a tank -”just a small one.” We started with some guppies and it turned out I liked to watch fish. So a week or so later Garrett talked me into letting him get a 55 gallon. Next thing I knew, the apartment was full of tanks! We no longer have guppies - well ok, two stragglers. Now it’s mostly cichlids, including Malawi, Tanganyikan, and South American. We do have quite a variety of other

living/dining area, there are two fifty-five gallon tanks, a thirty-gallon hex, a twentygallon long, two ten-gallon

fish, including rainbows, plecos, cories, a loach, a few kinds of tetras, rasboras, and some platies. We

a five-gallon tank, and a two-and-a-half-gallon fry tank. In the bedroom, we have a fifty-five-gallon tank and the original ten-gallon tank. We also have a 120-gallon and a 110gallon in storage that I know Garrett is itching to set up, but unfortunately that has to wait until we have a house. Probably the biggest investment so far besides the fish is the Coralife 4x65W Power Compact Light we have on the community tank, and we take pride in the stands that Garrett has built for some of the tanks, especially the bowfront which he will eventually close off with doors on the front, and we’ll use for a display tank.

Neolamprologus pulcher

longs, and a five-gallon tank. In the kitchen, there is a thirty-gallon bowfront, a twenty-nine gallon tank,

don’t have as many tanks as some, but considering the size of the apartment, we’re doing pretty well. In the | 10 |

In our fish apartment, Garrett does most of the feeding and other maintenance, including dealing with the breeding, because he knows a lot more than cont. on page 11

FISH ROOM TOUR | 11 |

cont. on page 12

Fishroom Tour, cont. I do, though I’m learning! Also, I have a tendency to overfeed every once in a while. ;) However I do most of the planting and rearranging because I have more patience and an eye for it. What can I say, I like a pretty tank! We do share the water changing duty though. Someday when we get a house, hopefully in the not too distant future, we hope to have a proper fishroom in the basement, and a pond in the backyard. The best thing about fishkeeping is it’s a hobby that we can both enjoy. Following Dani’s lead, here are some questions that we answered so you can get to know us better as fellow fish keepers. Favorite fish: Emily - My angelfish, and Nanochromis transvestitus even though they hide a lot. Garrett - Aulonocara Stuartgranti Chiwindi Most frustrating fish: E - The ones that uproot the plants! G - Tiger barbs Our current MAS and fish keeping goals: E - To enter almost all the bowl shows and win at least once, and to start a dwarf species tank and get my angels to spawn. G - Become a participant in the Breeders Award Program, and to spawn my wild Pelvicachromis sacrimontis. Most wanted fish: E - Threadfin rainbows and a bumblebee goby. G - Any type of featherfin. Area that needs the most work: E - Overfeeding! That and learning which foods are best for which fish.

we both enjoy, and I really like watching the fish and learning so much about their behavior. G - That my wife enjoys it too and we get to do it together, and I also like the social aspect of it, getting to know other fish keepers.

G - I need to be better about testing water quality more often. Also, paying attention to the python while doing water changes, we’ve had enough floods! Favorite thing about fishkeeping: E - I love that it’s something | 12 |

FISH ROOM TOUR

MAS MEETING a look back at what you missed

At the August, meeting we discussed American Cichlid Association (ACA) convention held in Chicago. Not all Minnesota Aquarium Society (MAS) members who attended the convention were present. Those in attendance at the August meeting were Randy Carey, Jen Kruckenberg, Tiffany Severson, Mike Fries, Carter McAninch, Brad Hedlund, Tom Chronakos, Lenny Ancheta and I. Randy asked each of us how many ACA conventions we attended and what we enjoyed the most. Of those present, the number of conventions present varied from one to eight. A number of this group attended ACA convention in 1993 hosted by MAS. Lenny was president of MAS that year and of course he was at 1993 convention as were Jen and Randy. The majority of convention attendees go to obtain fish and not just cichlids. Lenny talked about the many catfish for sale at ACA conventions. In fact Matt

DeOrio, selling Synodontis petricola in the back of room during the discussion, was also in Chicago selling these catfish. Matt was one of many. Beyond Lenny, other MAS members discussed the convention as a place to find unique cichlids not kept in MAS community. I will agree to that. Eventually, we discussed what fish we purchased at convention and brought back home. Another area we talked about was the speakers. It was pointed out that Randy Carey gave a talk at ACA convention and that his presentation was well received. There was some discussion that MAS brought in speakers during our 75th year that were equal to ACA convention speakers. That may be true but I find it difficult to measure one group of speakers against another group. I believe both groups were excellent and each speaker from either group appealed to someone listening. I remarked, ACA convention speakers are not selected

to appeal to beginning cichlid hobbyists. Anyone new to cichlids may find ACA speakers at a convention a bit over whelming. An exception, Mo Devlin gave a talk in Chicago that everyone could enjoy. Maybe MAS will invite Mo to visit us some day. Ted Judy will be coming to MAS in the next few months, he also spoke in Chicago. There were opinions that ACA show leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to MAS shows. The reason behind this remark is that at an ACA show, all tanks are identical 10 gal tanks, bare of any decoration. Tank busters are allowed a 20 gal tank. The only item in each tank other than the cichlid is a sponge filter with optional heaters (discus). Those who find this Spartan approach disappointing prefer MAS tradition of decorating tanks with backgrounds, substrate, rocks, plants, mermaids, etc... I did not get a chance to say it at the meeting but I love the ACA show. I see cichlids that I have never seen before. I see cichlids in peak condition that I may have seen in a dark tank, hiding somewhere but are now coming to the glass to meet me. The size and colors seen in cichlids never cease to amaze me. Best in Show this year was an Aulonocara sp.“lwanda”. Best in Show could just as easily have been a discus

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as there were many nice discus present. I would like to point out that Tiffany Severson won 1st place in the Tropheus class with a Petrochromis kasumbe. I believe Tiff refers to her winner as Daddy Mac. Jen brought in some photos she took during ACA convention. We talked a bit about some of the people she caught while in Chicago. Jen also talked about Shedd aquarium. Many MAS members went to visit Shedd. Jen took behind the scenes shots and recounted her meeting two large catfish while touring there. Aquarium manufacturers have always donated freely to ACA. This year four tanks were donated and raffled. Tom won a 120 gal tank. I hope he uses the tank for cichlids. That is it for the August meeting. I would like to point out this is a new column for AquaNews. Your Board of Directors (BOD) has determined a monthly meeting review is in order. Currently, BOD is seeking a volunteer to write this short column. Please contact the AquaNews editor if you are interested in this position by emailing [email protected]. Bob Randall Show Chair

Bowl Show 2006-07 MINNESOTA AQUARIUM SOCIETY

August Bowl Show Results

danios, rasboras) Class III Anabantoids

2nd Melanotaenia Boesmani, Mike Harris

For the month of August we had a total of twelve entries. We had one junior entry in the True Boney Fish category, four in the “Corydoras” group, and then in the “True Boney Fish” class. The class for pond plants had zero entries. Hopefully we will have a better turn out in our plant class in the next month.

3rd Glossolepsis Dority, Jen Krukkenberg

December 2006 Class I Floating plants * Class II Rooted plants *

Junior, Bumble Bee Goby, Brianna Harris

Class III Red and Green fish. **

January 2007

August participants

Class I Old World Cichlids

Mike Harris, 4 entries

Class II New World Cichlids

Jen Krukkenberg, 4 entries Garrett and Emily Brueland, 2 entries

Class III Oddballs - Gobies, puffers, and any other fish we don’t have a bowl show class for.

Sue McMillan, 1 entry

February 2007

Now is the time to start prepping for our “Bowl Beautiful” Miniature planted tank competition. All Tanks must be less than five gallons and contain at least three species of plants and two of fish/invertebrates. This is an aquascaping competition. Miniature species are encouraged but be creative. Five gallons can be a good amount of space to work in but you can go smaller as long as it meets the requirements.

Brianna Harris, 1 entry

Class I South and Central American Catfish

Tiffany Severson Bowl Show Chair

Kids Class Decorate your bowl for Halloween. Round bowls, substrate and decorations are allowed. At least one fish or invertebrate must be present in tank to win. Halloween/Harvest colored fish and decorations are encouraged. All “bowls” must be under five gallons and not leaking (I say this because I have fear one or more of you might carve a pumpkin and try to get a fish to live in it). **

August 2006 Corydoras 1st Corydoras Melanistius, Mike Harris 2nd Corydoras Aeneus, Jen Krukenburg 3rd Corydoras Panda, Mike Harris

September 2006

Class II Non-South American Catfish

Class I Killies - With enough entries, this class will be split in to peat and mop spawners.

Class III Bowl Beautiful - Miniature planted tank competition. All tanks must be less than five gallons and contain at least three varieties of plants and two types of fish and or invertebrates. This is an aquascaping competition. Miniature species are encouraged. **

Class II Characins - (tetras, headstanders, hatchet fish, pencil fish, piranhas Class III Fish art - Photos, illustration, artwork, etc…It must have been created by you. No time frame except done at some point after you were born. **

March 2007 Class I Biggest Fish

October 2006 Class I Ugliest Fish

Class II Smallest Fish (Fish must be an adult. No fry allowed.)

**

Class II Prettiest Fish **

Kids Class My favorite fish. Bring in your favorite fish or two or three. No species just one that you’re REALLY fond of.

April 2007 Class I Egg layers, school or family - Group of at least six fish, parents plus six fry or a combination of six adult and juvenile fish (If you are showing juveniles with adults, you can bag the juvies and BAP them after the bowl show). *

November 2006

True Boney Fish

Class I Livebearers - (platys, guppies, mollies, swordtails, half beaks, four eyes, goodeids)

1st Tetradon Nigroviridis, Sue McMillan

Class II Cyprinidae - (sharks, goldfish, algae eaters, minnows, barbs,

Class II Livebearers, school or family, Group of at least six fish, parents plus six fry or a combination of six adult and juvenile fish. (If you are showing juveniles with adults, you can bag the juvies and BAP them after the bowl show) *

| 14 |

Class III Freshwater invertebrates - Snails, crabs, shrimps, etc… You may also bring an amphibian ONLY if it spends the majority of its time underwater.

May 2007 Class I - Pikes and Perches - This class will also include all native fish. This is also a good reminder that the Darter hunt is coming up. Class II Pond fish - What fish you will put in your backyard or patio tub this summer? Class III Aquarium Plants

June 2007 Class I I bet you never thought. This is the “showoff /stupe the other club members” class. Bring in your fish that no one would ever think you keep, or still keep. Names will be posted of who is participating separate from the fish. Club members will try to match the owner to the fish. The owner with the least amount of correct answers wins. More than one entry per person is allowed. (Hey Anchor, bring out some acei you have stashed away!) Class II Best of the Bowl Show - Want to bring back your winner? If your fish has gotten a bowl show ribbon this year bring it back for the bowl show version of the playoffs. Class III Fish art! - Photos, illustration, artwork, etc, it must have been done by you. No time frame except done at some point after you were born. ** Kids Class To be determined. * These classes will be combined if there are not enough entries to make up two classes. ** The winner of this class will be voted on by the members of the club present at the meeting,

Bowl Show 2005-06 MINNESOTA AQUARIUM SOCIETY

August 2005 Class 1 True Bony Fishes (knife fish, elephant nose, rainbows, gobies, blennies, snakeheads, arowanas, spiny eels, puffers, pipe fish) 1st Melanotaenia maccullochi, common dwarf rainbowfish shown by Dani Ellickson 2nd Glossolepis dorityi, location Jaiquim shown by Jen Kruckenberg 3rd Iriatherina werneri, common threadfin rainbowfish shown by Dani Ellickson Class 2 Pond Plants - maybe grown emerged but roots have to be in the pond

September 2005 Class 1 Killies - peat spawners 1st Nothobranchius korthausae, location Rungungu TAN 02-11 shown by Jen Kruckenberg 2nd Nothobranchius foerschi, shown by Craig Rees Class 2 Killies - mop spawners 1st Chromaphyosemion riggenbachi, location Dibeng shown by Jen Kruckenberg 2nd Fundulopanchax marmoratus, shown by Jen Kruckenberg 3rd Aplocheilicthys luxopthalmus, common lampeye killie shown by Milo Squires

(Class 1 and 2 to be determined by membership vote)

February 2006

Sue MacMillan

Class 1 Smallest fish

3rd Poecilia reticulate, red guppy shown by Jen Kruckenberg

1st Boraras brigittae shown by Carter McAninch

November 2005

1st Microsynodontis batesii, African bumblebee shown by Jen Kruckenberg

Class 1 African cichlids 1st Pundamilia nyererei, Makobe Island shown by Jen Kruckenberg

3rd Paracheirodon innesi, neon tetra shown by Mike Harris

2nd Aulonocara sp. “lwanda”, common name redtop peacock shown by Jen Kruckenberg

3rd Pseudepiplatys annulatus, clown kille shown by Milo Squires

3rd Labeotropheus fuelleborni shown by Dani Ellickson Class 2 Non-African cichlids

Class 2 Largest fish

1st Symphysodon aequifasciatus axelrodi, Rio Alenquer shown by Jen Kruckenberg

1st Amphilophus citrinellus, midas cichlid shown by Bob Randall 2nd Barbus filamentosus, black spotted barb shown by Jen Kruckenberg

2nd Microgeophagus altispinosus shown by Dani Ellickson

December 2005

March 2006

Class 1 Plants grown aquarium immersed

Class 1 Labyrinth fish excluding Betta splendens (aquarium strains)

1st Vesicularia dubyana, java moss shown by Jen Kruckenberg

1st Betta albimarginata, shown by Peng Lee

Class 2 Red and green fish

2nd Microctenopoma ansorgii, shown by Jen Kruckenberg

1st Paracheirodon axelrodi, cardinal tetra shown by Jen Kruckenberg

3rd Trichogaster leeri , pearl gourami shown by Tiffany Severson

2nd Hemigrammus bleheri, rummy nose tetra shown by Jen Kruckenberg

Class 2 Betta spendens (aquarium strains) 1st shown by Susan MacMillan

Junior 1st Zoogoneticus tequila, crescent goodeid shown by Brianna Harris 2nd Poecilia reticulate, guppy shown by Brianna Harris Class 2 Cyprinidae (sharks, goldfish, algae eaters, minnows, barbs, danios, rasboras) 1st Boraras maculates, dwarf rasbora shown by Carter McAninch 2nd Barbus titteya, cherry barb shown by Jen Kruckenberg 3rd Barbus tetrazona, tiger barb shown by Mike Harris Junior 1st Barbus conchonius, rosy barb shown by Brianna Harris

May 2006 Class 1 South American catfish 1st Ancistrus punctatus, starlight bristlenose pleco, L 182 shown by Dani Ellickson 2nd Peckoltia ucayalensis, bola pleco, L 146, L 232, LDA 30 shown by Tiff Severson 3rd Hypancistrus sp. unknown, queen arabesque pleco shown by Dani Ellickson

January 2006

2nd shown by Susan MacMillan

October 2005

Class 1 Perch

3rd shown by Jen Kruckenberg

Class 1 Ugliest fish

1st Etheostoma spectabile, orange throat darter shown by Jen Kruckenberg

Junior

1st Hypostomus punctatus, common pleco shown by Amy Marvin

1st shown by Amy Marvin

Class 2 non South American catfish

1st Aplocheilus lineatus gold, shown by Jen Kruckenberg Class 2 Prettiest fish 1st Acanthicus adonis, common polka dot lyretail pleco shown by Tiff Severson 2nd Dario dario, common scarlet badis shown by Carter McAninch 3rd Tateurndina ocellicauda, common peacock goby shown by Jen Kruckenberg

Junior

No awards, exhibition only.

2nd Badis badis shown by Milo Squires

April 2006

Class 2 Freshwater invertebrates 1st Atyopsis species, African wood shrimp shown by Milo Squires 2nd Caridina japonica, amano shrimp shown by Milo Squires

Class 1 Livebearers (platys, guppies, mollies, swordtails, half beaks, four eyes, goodeids)

June 2006

1st Phalloceros caudimaculatus shown by Carter McAninch

Class 2 Characins (tetras, headstanders, hatchet fish, pencil fish, piranhas)

2nd Xiphophorus montezumae, Montezuma swordtail shown by

3rd Marisa rotula, red ramshorn snail shown by Jen Kruckenberg | 15 |

Class 1 Loaches (includes botia)

BAP

BAP

BAP

►Species BAP’d in 2006◄

BAP BAPBAP BAP BAPBAP BAP

Date

BAP

Ends 03/2006 02/2006 03/2006 01/2006 12/2006 12/2006 10/2006 05/2006

Points 250 105 60 45 30 20 15 15

Spawns 24 11 6 6 3 2 2 2

►BAP Rookie Breeder of the Year (2007)◄ Breeder Macmillan, Sue

Ends 02/2007

Points 60

Randall, Bob 08/06 Champsochromis caeruleus 08/06 Aulonocara sp. chitande type masinge 08/06 Protomelas taeniolatus 08/06 Pseudotropheus sp. zebra long pelvic hara galireya 06/06 Neolamprologus marunguensis 06/06 Labidochromis caeruleus, “White Morph” 06/06 Haplochromis nubilus 05/06 Poecilia wingei 05/06 Archocentrus sajica 05/06 Pundamilia nyererei, Python Island 04/06 Callochromis pleurospilus 04/06 Neolamprologus pulcher, Isanga 04/06 Geophagus sp. orange head tapajos 04/06 Pseudotropheus sp. acei, Nkhata Bay 04/06 Melanochromis joanjohnsonae 04/06 Neolamprologus hecqui 04/06 Pseudotropheus sp. acei, Tanzania 03/06 Thorichthys sp. blue mixteco 02/06 Geophagus sp. bahia red 02/06 Labeotropheus fuelleborni 01/06 Protomelas sp. steveni taiwan 01/06 Pundamilia sp. crimson tide 01/06 Ptychochromis oligacanthus, Anjingo

Spawns 6

►Awards Earned in May and June 2006◄ • Ken Balfanz has earned the 250 Point Intermediate Award.

►BAP Breeder of the Year (2006)◄ Breeder Randall, Bob Ellickson, Dani Fries, Mike Chronakos, Tom Hansen, Ron Sarslow, Anchor Smaciarz, Rich Macmillan, Sue Balfanz, Ken Morrison, Steven Hirsch, Jim Ancheta, Lenny French, Will Mathis, Jim Ekstedt, Chuck & Rita McAninch, Carter Johnston, Brian Hansen, Kim Kruckenberg, Jenny Carter, Bob Benson, Brandon Gromek, Tom

Points 23 19 8 6 7 4 4 6 4 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

Points

Ellickson, Dani 08/06 Pelvicachromis taeniatus, Moliwe 05/06 Poecilia wingei 05/06 Ancistrus punctatus L182 04/06 Moenkhausia pittieri 04/06 Sciaenochromis fryeri 04/06 Protomelas sp. steveni taiwan 04/06 Corydoras pygmaeus 04/06 Trichogaster trichopterus 03/06 Pomacea bridgesii 03/06 Neolamprologus multifasciatus 03/06 Zoogoneticus tequila 03/06 Protomelas taeniolatus 03/06 Poecilia reticulata 03/06 Synodontis petricola 01/06 Aulonocara stuartgranti, Ngara 01/06 Neolamprologus brichardi, Fulwe Rocks 01/06 Melanochromis joanjohnsonae 01/06 Labidochromis chisumulae 01/06 Bedotia geayi

►BAP Rookie Breeder of the Year (2006)◄ Breeder Ellickson, Dani Johnston, Brian Robb, Chad Benson, Brandon French, Will Hansen, Kim Hutchinson, Melissa Carter, Bob

Species

Spawns 255 220 85 75 70 65 60 60 45 35 35 30 30 25 20 20 20 20 10 10 10 10

Fries, Mike 06/06 Apistogramma hongsloi 06/06 Melanotaenia lacustris 06/06 Apistogramma hongsloi 06/06 Melanotaenia lacustris 05/06 Ataeniobius toweri 04/06 Julidochromis transcriptus, Kissi 04/06 Melanotaenia boesemani 04/06 Archocentrus septemfasciatus 04/06 Ancistrus sp. unknown 04/06 Chilatherina bleheri Hansen, Ron 05/06 Maylandia hajomaylandi, Cobue 05/06 Haplochromis sp. golden duck | 16 |

10 10 20 15 10 10 15 10 5 10 10 10 5 25 10 10 10 10 15 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 10 15 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

cont. on page 17

►Species BAP’d in 2006◄ 05/06 05/06 05/06 05/06 05/06

Thorichthys meeki Pseudotropheus sp. Msobo higga reef Tramitichromis intermedius Oreochromis tanganicae Labeotropheus fuelleborni

►Species BAP’d in 2006◄ Hirsch, Jim 08/06 Gymnocorymbus ternetzi 06/06 Poecilia reticulata 06/06 Melanotaenia duboulayi

15 5 15

McAninch, Carter 04/06 Hemichromis cristatus 04/06 Phalloceros caudimaculatus

10 10

Johnston, Brian 08/06 Ancistrus sp. chocolate (tank raised) 02/06 Pseudotropheus sp. acei “Black Phase”

10 10

Kruckenberg, Jenny 05/06 Aplocheilus lineatus “Gold”

10

Carter, Bob 04/06 Xenotoca eiseni

10

15 15

Benson, Brandon 01/06 Puntius conchonius

10

10 15

Hansen, Kim 08/06 Danio roseus 01/06 Archocentrus sajica

10 10 10

10 10 10 10 10

Sarslow, Anchor 04/06 Carinotetraodon travancoricus 04/06 Melanotaenia parva 03/06 Dario dario 02/06 Moenkhausia pittieri

25 10 15 15

Smaciarz, Rich 04/06 Neolamprologus tetracanthus 03/06 Corydoras sp. red stripe 01/06 Ophthalmotilapia boops, Nkendwe 01/06 Corydoras pygmaeus

10 15 20 15

Ancheta, Lenny 08/06 Corydoras pygmaeus 08/06 Colisa labiosus Chronakos, Tom 08/06 Lamprologus meleagris 08/06 Cyprichromis leptosoma “Blue Black”, Keskese 05/06 Callochromis pleurospilus 04/06 Nimbochromis venustus 03/06 Aulonocara stuartgranti, Cobue 01/06 Pseudotropheus flavus

20 10 10 10

Gromek, Tom 08/06 Melanotaenia praecox

Macmillan, Sue 08/06 Apistogramma cacatuoides 06/06 Lamprologus ocellatus 04/06 Betta splendens 04/06 Poecilia reticulata 03/06 Xenotoca eiseni 03/06 Ancistrus sp. unknown

15 10 10 5 10 10

Morrison, Steven 06/06 Poecilia wingei 04/06 Ptychochromis oligacanthus 03/06 Geophagus crassilabris

10 15 10

French, Will 05/06 Aulonocara stuartgranti, Cobue 02/06 Pseudotropheus sp. polit 01/06 Pterophyllum scalare

10 10 10

Mathis, Jim 06/06 Neocordia denticulata 06/06 Characodon sp. Guadulope aquilaria

10 15

Balfanz, Ken 08/06 Rhadinocentrus ornatus 08/06 Glossolepis wanamensis 03/06 Melanotaenia parva 01/06 Glossolepis pseudoincisus

15 15 10 15

Ekstedt, Chuck & Rita 04/06 Otopharynx lithobates 04/06 Tanichthys albonubes

10 10

Participant Carey, Randy Mathis, Jim Ancheta, Lenny Randall, Bob Sarslow, Anchor Smaciarz, Rich Nordby, Ken & Sharron Peterzen, Pete & Carol Kruckenberg, Jenny Garrity, Paul Hansen, Ron MacNabb, Larry & JoAnne Swanson, Brad & Nancy Rees, Craig Gromek, Tom Ruzek, Kenneth V. Jr. Byers, LeeAnne Nab Dahl, Barry Scepurek, Terry Hougen, Dean & Teague, Cynthia Fries, Mike Jolivette, Kris & Ted Ellickson, Dani Squires, Milo Berglund, Ken Lowe, Jay Wilson, Zack Chronakos, Tom Weber, Robin Morrison, Steven

►BAP Standings as of June, 2006◄

| 17 |

Points 2590 2055 1350 1250 1190 1170 1100 1075 915 795 785 780 730 655 640 630 555 495 480 465 435 425 340 335 320 310 300 295 270 250

Spawns 191 189 112 106 96 85 93 88 86 67 66 70 67 62 62 54 47 50 45 40 41 35 31 29 29 30 23 27 26 22

cont. on page 18

Robb, Chad Loh, Willie Lowe, Mike Brobst, Curtis H. Philstrom, Richard K. Benson, Brandon Trembly, Lisa Macmillan, Sue Meuret, Patrick Newton, Bruce Bishop, Dava Rossa, Ron French, Will Rankins, Ted Stowe, Chris Carlson, Jan Behler, David Carter, Bob OGara, Debbie Hutchinson, Melissa Helland, Brentt Siegel, Bob Lauer, Richard Hansen, Kim Christopherson, Karen Dale, Andrew Doyle, Chris

►BAP Standings as of June, 2006◄ Marchan, Edward Nystrom, Steve Balfanz, Ken Turley, Paul Robertson, Terry Heinen, Shane Lucken, Robby Hallett, David W. McAninch, Carter Ekstedt, Chet Alegre, John N. Engelking, Robin Bradbury, Richard Kalvig, Peggy Ekstedt, Chuck & Rita Schoeler, Karl Steffensen, Jerry & Shana Hirsch, Jim Johnston, Brian Stemper, John Smith, Christopher Methven, Paul Routh, Bruce Mechtel, Chuck Heyer, Jon

HAP

245 235 230 225 205 205 195 185 180 180 175 160 150 150 140 135 120 120 105 95 90 90 85 65 60

23 22 19 14 19 19 17 17 17 14 14 13 14 16 14 14 10 12 11 10 8 5 8 7 6

60 60 50 50 50 45 45 45 40 40 35 35 30 20 20 20 15 15 15 15 10 10 10 10 10 5 5

6 4 5 5 5 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Horticultural Award Program

►HAP New Members◄

►HAP April and May 2006 Entries◄

None

Randy Carey 10 Ludwigia repens 5 Vallisneria spiralis

►HAP New Awards◄

Bob Paulsen 5 Ceratophyllum demersum 10 Heteranthera dubia 10 Hydrocotyle leucocephala 15 Limnobium laevigatum 10 Limnophila sessiliflora 10 Pistia stratiotes 5 Riccia fluitans

Randy Carey – Associate Aquatic Horticulturist Bob Paulsen – Associate Aquatic Horticulturist Matt Proost – Associate Aquatic Horticulturist

Matt Proost

| 18 |

cont. on page 19

Barry Nab Dahl Bruce Newton S & K Nordby Steve Nystrom Bob Paulsen Richard Pelkey Pete & Carol Peterzen Richard Philstrom Matt Proost Sigrid Rademacher Dennis Riebesell Terry Robertson P & H Rosa Ron Rossa Ken Ruzek Robin Ryan Anchor Sarslow Janet Sarver Larry Scales Terry Scepurek Cindy Schneider Karl Schoeler Gary Schultze Rich Smaciarz Milo Squires John Stemper Jason Stevens Chris Stole Geoff Stone Brad Swanson Brian Thinnes Jodi Tripp Paul Turley Robin Weber

►HAP April and May 2006 Entries cont.◄ 10 10 15 15 10 10 10 10 5 5

Ammania senegalensis Bacopa caroliniana Barclaya longifolia Echinodorus bolivianus Glossostigma elatinoides Ludwigia repens Microsorium pteropus Najas indica Sagittaria subulata Vesicularia dubyana

►Standings

Name Brent Aitchison Leonard Ancheta Dat Au Tyler Barth David Behler Jay Bickford Dava Bishop Richard Bradbury Troy Brantner LeeAnne Byers Bruce Cameron Randy Carey Jan Carlson Bob Carter Pat Chowen Andrew Dale Chuck Domeier Dennis Drews Charles ‘Chet’ Ekstedt Chuck Ekstedt Lisa Ekstedt Robin Engelking Robert Fink Will French Paul Garrity Tom Gromek David Hallett Bill Heaney Shane Heinen Amy Honsey C Teague & Dean Hougen Melissa Hutchinson Ted & Kris Jolivette Peggy Kalvig Jenny Kruchenberg Robby Lucken L & J MacNabb Chad & Tina Mastbergen Jim Mathis Carter McAninch Chuck Mechtel

thru May 2006◄ Entries

Points

10 16 5 2 42 8 1 28 5 17 34 11 3 8 75 4 31 6 2 8 11 26 21 4 139 13 32 8 38 2 4 1 31 4 17 1 16 22 66 3 12

85 180 45 20 455 70 5 335 45 160 365 110 35 70 870 50 315 35 25 70 85 255 195 40 1475 115 285 55 390 15 25 10 330 45 155 15 120 175 725 20 80

►2006

85 3 13 16 16 11 1 69 16 18 27 19 40 3 49 6 51 14 5 4 6 145 2 10 103 30 4 3 1 16 5 1 9 1

980 20 105 130 150 105 10 800 160 175 300 190 450 15 515 55 550 150 35 35 50 1730 30 120 1065 315 60 25 15 155 50 10 115 10

HAP Rookie of the Year Standings◄

Name Bob Paulsen *Robert Fink

Points

Start

End

150 125

11/05 3/05

10/06 2/06

* = 1st year in HAP program completed. ►2007

HAP Rookie of the Year Standings◄

Name Matt Proost Bob Carter Troy Brantner Will French

Points

Start

End

160 70 45 40

4/06 4/06 2/06 3/06

3/07 3/07 1/07 2/07

15

4/06

4/06

3/07

Amy Honsey 3/07 Melissa Hutchinson 10 * = 1st year in HAP program completed.

| 19 |

cont. on page 22

Minnesota Aquarium Society Minutes of the MAS Board Meeting For August 10th, 2006 Meeting called to order by Jenny K. at 7:04 p.m. Officers and Board Members present – Jenny K., Brad H., Mike F., Tom G., Carter M. Absent – Anchor S., Dani E., Milo S. Committee Chairs present – Tiffany S., Bob C., Mike H., Bob R., Ted J. Other members present – none A heartfelt Thank You to Jenny and the outgoing Board members for a wonderful 75th year! Jenny K. handed the Presidency over to incoming President Mike Fries. Mike F. appoints Tom G. to continue as MAS Treasurer. Tom accepts the nomination. Mike F. appoints Mike H. to assume the Secretary position. Mike F. appoints Milo Squires to continue serving as Under Director. New Directors, Bob Randall and Anchor Sarslow take over for outgoing Directors Jim Mathis and Mike Fries. Secretary’s Report (Mike H.) - Minutes of the previous meeting were handed out to be read individually. Sentence about Tom G. purchasing two part tickets for raffles to be moved to Donations section, not under Bowl Show. Motion to approve as amended by Brad H., 2nd by Bob R. Motion passed. Treasurer’s Report (Tom G.) – Tom will send out reminder notes to those

holding outstanding checks against MAS. Tom will look into changing checking account. Bob R. moves to approve and Brad H. 2nd. Motion passed.

Donations (Dennis D.) – $52 from last meeting. FAAS (Carter M.) – Jenny won 2nd Place article with FAAS for the best traveling aquarist article. Way to go Jenny!

Committee Chair Reports

Fund Raisers (No Chair) – Brad H. has leftover fishbowls. He will bring to monthly meetings to sell for $1.

2007 Tropical Fish Show (Bob R.) – 2007 Show will be held at North Air Banquets in Fridley. This is same location as last three MAS shows. North Air Banquets is no longer called Knights of Columbus Hall. March 10-12. Bob R. will try to hold Show meetings starting in October.

HAP (Milo S.) – No report, chair was absent. Library (John H.) – ANGFA was finally brought in my Bob C. Mike F. will ask John to update the list of library holdings.

Aqua News (Dani E.) – Jenny mentioned only getting two complaints about not having printed version. Postcards will have to be sent to exchanges notifying them of the online Aqua News. Issues were raised about the copyright of online articles and photos. Bob R. will email Dani about this issue.

Membership (Bob C.) – Bob handed out complete, current membership list. Postcards were sent out. Membership stands at 175. We are up from same time last year. Discussed having two different membership prices based on online or mailed Aqua News.

Auctions (Tom G. & Brad S.) – October 7th. Info on the website. Still no word on Project Piaba from last auction. Fish Ark will receive donations at the next auction.

Programs (Randy C.) – Chuck Hawkes next month on Angelfish and genetics. October will be a killie speaker. Ted Judy will be giving a hands-on program on RO water for the general meeting followed by a Friday night speech on Pelvicachromis in November. Newbies meeting before meetings was very well received.

BAP (Randy C. & Chris S.) – No report, chair was absent. Book Points (Mike H.) – Some changes to allow more points for participation. Mike H. will update more later. Mike still hasn’t received any information from Chris.

Publicity and Advertising (Tiffany S.) – Mike F. needs to send contact information to Mike H. to take over sending info on monthly meetings. Mike H. will look

Bowl Show (Tiffany S.) – Things are going well, we had 12 entries last month. | 20 |

into doing banner exchanges with other websites. Tiffany S. has volunteered to chair the committee. Mike H. will help. Special Events (Jenny K.) – July trips were great. Very good turnout, around 50 people. Jenny has volunteered to chair this committee. T-Shirts/Jackets (Jenny K.) – Jenny will be working on a new shirt, with artwork/ photo contest for a MAS shirt, for release right before the show. Trophies – Changing trophies will be looked at by the show committee. Website (Dani E.) – Website is not updated and current. Not as flashy as many other aquarium sites. Dead links should all be removed, perhaps have an under construction banner put on the website. Webmaster was not present at this meeting.

OLD BUSINESS Participation Awards – Participation awards are taken care of. MAS email addresses Email addresses are probably not done yet. MAS logo - Bob C. has the official logo, and will distribute to the BOD at the next meeting. BOD Information sheets - Mike F. handed out information forms for BOD and Committee chairs. Monthly Meetings – Bob R. will start to write up articles about what happened at the last monthly cont. on page 21

Minnesota Aquarium Society Minutes of the MAS Board Meeting For August 10th, 2006 meetings, but would like some one to volunteer to take this over. Mike F would also like us to start recording monthly speakers. Need a volunteer with a camera to take this over. Recordings would go in the library for checkout. Speakers would most likely need to sign a release form. Need a sergeant

at arms, the big kids were pretty noisy. Noise during meetings was brought up. Idea of having swap tables set up in the hall. This will be announced at the next meeting.

away, the services were very nice. The final service will be Monday. Jenny has done an inventory of John’s fishroom. MAS will waive the limit for goods for this purpose if that is her choice to dispose of the fishroom.

NEW BUSINESS Randy has sent an email about new software for

John Alegre has passed

sending MAS emails. Tabled until next month’s meeting. Meeting Adjournment – Brad H. moves to adjourn, Mike H. 2nd, passed.

Mike Harris Secretary

UPCOMING MAS EVENTS October 5th General Meeting — Darrell Ullisch from Detroit speaking on Killifish Friday evening open fishroom talk at Mike Fries’ house, topic TBD

November 2nd General Meeting — Ted Judy from Madison, WI on Pelvicachromis. Ted will be speaking at a local fish room Friday evening.

December 7th General Meeting — Matt Proost (MAS Member) speaking on his high tech approach to raising plants

MAS AUCTION October 7th, 2006 See the MAS website for details www.mn-aquarium.org

| 21 |

From the Editor, cont. from page 2 difficulties were experienced as a result of this transference, for example, the email addresses ending in mn-aquarium.org were not initially functional. This issue has been resolved and you will begin to see changes in how you may contact some of your Board of Directors. You may notice there are two different email addresses above. Sure, both of these addresses are to contact

contact your MAS president, for example.

myself at the present time. However, the idea behind centralized email addresses is to allow the email address to move with the Board or Committee position and maintain a central method of contacting the volunteers in that position. This way, the volunteer’s personal email address can remain personal and you won’t need to worry about which email address is needed to

I will continue to publish the paper version of the Aqua News alongside the online version for this issue. Don’t forget to check out the online version at http://www. mn-aquarium.org/aquanews. html. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts and ideas. If you do not have access to email, please

feel free to catch me at the general meetings or the board meetings. Don’t forget to submit your articles, photos and artwork for the Aqua News. Without these submissions, we don’t have an Aqua News. I know you all have something to say! Dani Ellickson AquaNews Editor

President’s Message, cont. from page 3 many new (and fun) ways we can publicize the club, from signs and information in every pet store in Minnesota, to links on other websites, to a booth at the Minnesota State Fair, to marching in area parades, to hosting a night at the St. Paul Saints game. The possibilities are endless. Let Tiffany or myself know if you would be interested in becoming a member of the MAS publicity committee. Jenny K has volunteered to continue to build our relationship with area pet stores. Currently we have a number of stores that are willing to give MAS members a discount (another advantage of being a member of MAS) and post information about upcoming events. During the year, Jenny will

reading the second issue of the new and improved Aqua News. Thank you Dani, for taking on two of the largest jobs in the club - Aqua News editor and Webmaster. (Ed. Happy to help where ever I am able!) Dani’s current focus is the online version of Aqua News. If the first issue is any indication of things to come we can look forward to a publication we can all be very, very proud of. In the near future, Dani and other members of her team will role out the updates to our website. Thanks Dani for a great publication. Once again, we need your help, in order to make this publication a success. Consider writing at least one article a year. It could be on a new fish you just bred, an aquarium you just visited (I’d like to see an article from

continue to build this important relationship. Again, we are looking for MAS members that would be willing to work with Jenny. With the number of stores and the distance between them, we need other members willing to assist Jenny with this important function. Another related idea is to feature a pet store in each issue of Aqua News. We need someone to interview the owner, take pictures, and do a short write up about the store. If interested please let me know. I want to end my first message the same way it started, by saying thanks to all of you for making our 75th anniversary years a great success. As we move into year 76, I think we are off to a great start. You are

one of the many members who visited the Shedd during the ACA convention) or aquarium related websites you just discovered. If each member wrote one article at least once a year….well we wouldn’t have to beg for articles each month. If you have suggestions on how we can improve MAS during the next year please send me an email. However, to improve MAS over the next year we need everyone’s help. At the September meeting, let one of the board members know your interest and what committee you would like to be on. We’d love to have you join us in the fun. Mike Fries MAS President

HAP, cont. from page ►2006

Points 160 125 120 70 45

Horticulturist of the Year Standings◄ Plants 16 13 13 8 5

Member

40 30 15 15 10 5

Matt Proost Robert Fink Bob Paulsen Bob Carter Troy Brantner | 22 |

4 2 2 2 1 1

Will French David Behler Randy Carey Amy Honsey Brent Aitchinson Melissa Hutchinson

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?

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