Madison Area Aquatic Hobbyists

The next general meeting of MAAH will take place Saturday, May 18

• location:  13 Atlas Ct., Madison (Dream Lanes bowling)
• time: doors open at 11:00 AM, meeting starts 11:30

Guest Speaker: John Krepper – Keeping Lake Tanganyika Cichlids

John has been an avid hobbyist for over 40 years, with nearly all of that time dedicated to the keeping of cichlids from Lake Tanganyika.  He will share that breadth of experience in a presentation that sticks to the practice of successfully keeping and breeding this astoundingly diverse group of cichlids.

Also at this meeting:

• Executive Board election nominations
• Grimey Award
• BAP and CBP submissions
• Monthly Auction

Our scheduled speaker on the topic of Aquascaping has rescheduled to June.  Instead we will NOT be having a featured speaker, but will instead use the time to socialize and talk about fish.  This is a good opportunity to share ideas, get some feedback on projects or to help solve a problem.

There will be NO DOOR FEE for this meeting…

The rest of the meeting will be the same.  Club business, Grimey Award, BAP & CBP submissions and the mini-auction.  See you Saturday!

The next meeting will be on Saturday, March 16…

Speaker Presentation: Ben van Dinther

Ben is a life-long aquarium hobbyist living in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  His aquarium store, Blue Fish, is one the the premier destination stores in the midwest.  Ben is an award-winning aquascaper, and will be in Madison to give a presentation and demonstration on how to create a beautiful aquascape.  He will literally start with a bare aquarium and put together a display in less than an hour.  This is not a meeting to miss!

Also at this meeting:

• Grimey Award
• BAP and CBP submissions
• Monthly split auction

This year’s holiday potluck party will be hosted by Michael and Rosi Laursen in their home in Beloit.  Michael has been doing a lot of renovation to his fish room lately, and we should all take this opportunity to take a gander at it.

When:  Dec. 8. 2012  1:00 PM – ????

RSVP on the forum:  http://madisonaquatichobby.com/forum/index.php?threads/maah-holiday-party.4024/#post-29523

Sign up for something to bring.  This is most definitely a family event, so bring everyone.

The New York Aquarium sustained substantial damages from superstorm Sandy, and it will be many months before the doors will reopen for visits.  MAAH has a connection to the NYA and the Wildlife Conservation Society (the organization that operates the aquarium) through our friendship with Dr. Paul Loiselle.  Paul has dedicated the majority of his professional life to the NYA and WCS, where he is a curator and researcher.  We received a letter from the NYA asking for assistance, and MAAH will respond with a donation to the restoration fund.  Here is the letter:

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium weathered the storm. But I can’t mince words about its condition: critical damage.

I hope you’ll consider making an emergency gift to the Aquarium Restoration Fund to bring us back into operation as soon as possible.

Located just off the beach at Coney Island, the 14-acre aquarium was completely overtaken by water. At this moment, we are working on restoring life support systems and have restored power to two exhibits. Water is still being pumped out of areas that house crucial operating systems.

Our primary concern remains the health of the thousands of animals, including Mitik, the orphaned walrus – many of whom will be relocated to other aquariums if power cannot be restored within a safe timeframe. Next comes the long process of repairing and rebuilding.

During Sandy, 18 aquarium staff remained on duty throughout the storm, working nonstop to protect and care for the animals as the waters rose and the winds battered the coast. This was especially crucial for the safety of Mitik, the orphaned walrus calf who only recently arrived and whose pre-existing health issues require constant attention.

That same staff has continued to work around the clock to restore our operating systems critical to thousands of animals in our care. We’ve established temporary life support for the aquatic systems, are pumping flood waters out of basements and mechanical areas, and are working to restore filtration and other life support essentials for the exhibit and holding tanks.

It will be months before we can reopen the doors of the New York Aquarium. We need your help for immediate repairs and rebuilding.

Every dollar will aid in the recovery of an institution that serves as a beacon to the storm-battered Coney Island community.

We wish everyone as quick and full a recovery as possible from the effects of this historic storm. And we look forward to welcoming you to the reopening of a restored New York Aquarium in the months to come.

Sincerely,

Bertina Ceccarelli

Executive Vice President, Global Resources

Wildlife Conservation Society

We will be accepting donations of fish, plants or aquarium equipment for auction at our November general meeting.  All proceeds will go to the restoration fund.  We will also be accepting cash donations.  Please help!  Bring something to donate, and bid on items that are auctioned.

The next event on tap for MAAH will be out November general meeting.

Location:  Dream Lanes (13 Atlas Ct., Madison)

Time:  Doors open at 11:00… we are usually done by 2:30

Presentation:  Matt Pederson – Building a Marine Breeding Fish Room

Matt Pederson is one of the most successful hobbyist breeders of marine fish.  He is very active as a writer and speaker at marine events around the nation, and is THE breeder entrusted with the Lightning Clown Project (click on the name to see what it is all about).  Matt is also very active with the conservation and preservation of the bangui cardinalfish, and recently completed the construction of a very high tech fish room specifically designed as a breeding/research facility for working with bangui cardinals… in his basement… in Duluth, MN.  Matt is coming to Madison to tell us all about what he is up to.  Even if you do not keep marine fish, there are plenty of fish room tips to learn in this program!

Also at this meeting:

• BAP and CBP submission
• Grimey Award
• Split auction

October 20, 2012.  Doors open at 11:00, meeting gets started at 11:30.

Location: Dream Lanes (13 Atlas Ct, Madison)

Presentation:  Ted Judy – the Genus Pelvicachromis

The west African cichlid genus Pelvicachromis includes the very popular aquarium species P. pulcher… the krib!  But there are eight species and dozens of different populations of fish in genus, all of which are fun to keep in the aquarium.  Ted Judy has spent 30+ years keeping and breeding these cichlids, and has even been to Africa to collect them.  Ted will give talk that covers the interesting history of this genus, how to keep them and introduces us to dozens of kribs.  Ted will also bring some fry from different species for the auction!

Box swap with Grand Valley Aquarium Society (Michigan)

Ted and Jeff A went over to Michigan with several boxes of fish from MAAH members, and have returned with several boxes of fish from over there.  These fish will be featured in our auction, so come on out to get some species that have not been available in the Madison area… until now!  This is a great chance to pick up a species that has not been bread in the club.  Here is the list of fish that were sent to us in the swap:

Malawi Cichlids:  Copadichromis borleyi, Pseudotropheus aurora, Metriaclima zebra gold, Metriaclima greshakei, Pseudotropheus elongatus ‘chewere’

Tang. Cichlids: Lepidiolamp. hecqui, Telmatochromis vittatus, Lamp. ornatipinnis

Catfish: Aspidoras sp. ‘albator’, Corydoras aeneus ‘black Venezuela’, Corydoras melini, Corydoras venezuelanus

Killi: Rivulus marmoratus (the parthenogenic killi… one is all you need!)

CA Cichlid: Thorichthys sp. ‘Mextico’

Victoria Cichlid: Haplochromis sp. Tomato, Pundumalia nyererei ‘Mwanza Gulf’

Livebearers: Skiffia lermae, Girardinus fulcatus, Girardinus rivasi, Girardinus uninotatus, Girardinichthys multiradiatus, Black Moscow Guppies, Phallichthys fairweatheri Rio Puote, Poecilia butleri, Characodon lateralis ‘Los Berros’, Xenophallus umbratillis, Neoheterandria elegans, Allotoca goslinei

Plant:  Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia (HUGE crypt)

Also at this meeting:

• BAP and CBP submissions
• Grimey Award
• Monthly Auction