February 2013 - Milwaukee Aquarium Society
Transcription
February 2013 - Milwaukee Aquarium Society
SPLASH ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! FEBRUARY 2013 Milwaukee Aquarium Society Society Officers: President: Austin Braganza (414)447-5693 Vice President: Rob McLure (414)349-2226 Treasurer: Jerry Michels (414)353-5370 Secretary: Andy Hudson (262)389-2456 Sgt. At Arms: Don Hinske (262)238-1916 Board Chairman Tim Pilat (262)853-4895 Board Member: Rock Smith (414)678-9757 Splash Editortim.pilat@gmail.com Tim Pilat (262)853-4895 Breeders Award Program (BAP) Andy Hudson (262)389-2456 Horticulturists Award Program (HAP) Aaron Glass (262)436-1157 Fish Store Liaison Don Hinske (262)238-1916 Librarian open Participation Awards Program (PAP) Ken King Speaker Chair Jim Everson Board Members: Committee Chairpersons: (262)284-2684 On the Cover: Microdevario kubotai, Cyprinidae from Thailand, photo compliments of Ted’s Fishroom Important Dates! M.A.S. March Board Meeting March 9 2:00 at Don Hinske’s home, (262) 238-1916 Everyone is Welcome M.A.S. March Meeting March 15 M.A.S. Fish and Plants Auction 12:00 at New Berlin Bowl (check in at 9:00) March 17 7:30 at Hoffer’s Tropic Life 7323 N. 76th St. Milwaukee, WI 53223 16000 W. Cleveland Ave. New Berlin, WI 53151 M.A.S. April Board Meeting April 6 M.A.S. Fish-O-Rama Swap April 7 10:00 at New Berlin Bowl (check in at 9:00) 16000 W. Cleveland Ave. New Berlin, WI 53151 M.A.S. April Meeting April 19 For more information visit milwaukeeaquariumsociety.com We will begin including a calendar of events for Species Clubs and surrounding City Clubs. Please submit your entries to tim.pilat@gmail.com. American Cichlid Association Convention July 18th - 21st, 2013, Aurora, Colorado MAAH general meetings: visit madisonaquatichobby.com Wisconsin Reef Society general meetings: visit wisconsinreefsociety.com From the Fish Room of the President The winter is almost done, the Superbowl is behind us, as are groundhog day, Chinese New year and Valentine’s Day. The stores are carrying Spring and Summer stuff like gardening supplies, bathing suits and flip flops, one of the many signs that Spring is just around the corner. For those of you that enjoy winter sports we had some powder - enough to hit the ski slopes and get the jet skis out. The Wisconsin hunters got to hunt wolves for the first time in a very long time. We have Milwaukee Aquarium Society (MAS) t-shirts again after many years. I hope to write an article about the painting that was used on the shirts. And we even have some technology on the shirts, a giant QR code, so you don’t have to write the website down people can just scan the code to go the MAS website. Thanks to my art teacher for teaching me and to my wife for signing me up for the oil painting class where it all started. So get ready to snap the covers off those ponds and put some root tabs to awaken your water lilies that have been sleeping in their cold dark wintery abodes. Don’t forget we have another Fish–O-Rama on April 7th, back by popular demand. Thanks to Jerry for suggesting it. I know you all enjoy these events. And if you haven’t you should attend these swap meets. They are another great opportunity to get great deals brought to you by your favorite fish club and as an added bonus you get the stuff directly from the breeders and get to chat with them as well as run into your buddies. It’s a great event to bring the kids. You could be in and out in 10 minutes or stay for hours. The choice is yours. You could even drag your spouse along if you have a way to hide your bags of fish. I know you guys have your tricks for smuggling fish and tanks into the house. May your fish thrive and may your plants flower, Austin Braganza President, Milwaukee Aquarium Society aka LIONFISH on the MAS forum Speakers for 2013 M.A.S. Meetings March - Michael Laursen (Terrestrial biotopes in the aquarium) April - Stephan Tanner (plecos) May - John Krepper (Lake Tanganyika cichlids) June - open August - Steve Lundblad (Peacocks & Imports) September - Gary Lange (rainbow fish) October - Karen Randall (plants) November - Mike Wise (Apistos) Breeding Laimosemion xiphidius by Nick Ternes Laimosemion xiphidius was originally discovered by Dr. Carl Ternetz in 1925, collected in 1978 by G. Oelker, and described by Huber in 1979 as Rivulus xiphidius. It is found in small creeks in French Guiana, Brazil, and possibly Suriname. They inhabit waters that are very soft and acidic, with plenty of tannins from decaying organic matter on the bottom. Many people (myself included) are of the opinion that this is one of the most beautiful of all killies. I’ve wanted to try breeding it since I first saw it in 2002, but until 2010 never gave it a try due to reports of it being difficult to spawn and raise. Here are some of the common recommendations for breeding them. From cynolebias.org: “They are not very prolific, producing a maximum of 15 eggs per week. Specimens need to be mature, aged between 12 and 18 months to breed. Breeders need to be well fed with live food. Eggs need hatching in aged tank water with a pH of 5 - 6 with a hardness of 0.2 - 1° DH. Some males are incapable of fertilizing eggs.” From itrainsfishes.net: “The species is not very productive and only regular water changes and enough small life food will bring them in a good breeding condition.” From those two accounts, this fish should not be reproducing in my fishroom. But I’ve been able to maintain this fish for 3 years and I’m raising the 4th generation now. Here’s how I breed this beautiful fish: I started initially with 1 pair obtained at Michiana’s Killifish Karnival in 2010. They were probably about 8-10 months old. I set them up in a 2.5 gallon tank half-filled with sphagnum moss. Water was kept 80-100ppm hardness and about 80°F. For comparison that’s 4.5-5.5°DH, a bit harder than recommended. I change 80% of their water about once per month, with almost pure RO or rain water. I mix enough tap water in to keep it above 80ppm. I’m sure between water changes this value drops, but I’ve never measured it below 50ppm. I feed them baby brine every day, with occasional feedings of fruit flies, frozen bloodworms, daphnia, white worms, grindal worms, black worms and flakes. I spotted my first fry about 6 weeks later, at more than ¼” long. Once I’m sure I have a number of fry, I will set up another tank and move the parents. I then slowly remove most of the moss a small amount at a time by hand. Once the moss is removed, I count the fry and if needed move them to a 5 or 10 gallon tank for growing on. When raising fry I do more frequent water changes, and I’m much less picky about water conditions. I use aged tap water, which for ranges from 200-400ppm hardness, and change 50% of their water once every week. They are fed pretty much the same diet as the parents, and while they aren’t fast growing they do grow well. I set up new breeding pairs around 6 months of age, and try to keep at least 2 pairs at all times. I’ve found Laimosemion xiphidius to be significantly easier to breed and maintain and much less picky about water conditions than most articles will lead you to believe. But there’s a catch. It comes down to sex ratio. I’ve generally been fairly lucky to get a ratio of 85% males to 15% females. There doesn’t seem to be one key value that determines ratio. Some people say hardness, some pH, others say temperature. It could involve dissolved organics. This fish remains somewhat uncommon in the hobby, and a number of people have difficulties maintaining it long term. MAS Exchanges Well hello dear readers. Have you read Amazonas magazine? Do you have a subscription, it hear it is all the rage, it is not on our exchange list but I thought I should mention it. Beautiful photography. HYRIDS – be responsible, pretty fish, just please don’t destroy habitats. Don’t submit hybrids for BAP. Please don’t release these fish into the wild. Even in coder parts of the state there could be warmer parts of the water ways that could allow these tropical species to survive and breed. Oh Hybrid, where dost thou belong? By Mark Tomasello. 2013 January/ February Cichlidae Communique, publication of the Pacific Coast Cichlid Association. Hybrids are the subject of this article by Mark, he realizes that he has a strong reaction against hybrids in the hobby and this article discusses various hybrid related topics in an attempt to understand the reasons for this. The author discusses such topics as the inclusion of hybrids into some cichlid shows as, “Ornamentals” while others such as the 2009 host of the ACA decided against it. Of course Blood parrots and Flowerhorns are mentioned. Hybrids are often sterile however fertile offspring do occur as well. These fertile hybrids have the ability to bridge the gap between two often distinct species and alter the genetic pool of both parent species. Another issue relating to the existence of hybrids is the release of hybrids into the wild and the consequent habitat destruction. I would like to remind you that as expert hobbyists you can advise new hobbyists of the dangers of introducing these non-native species into the wild and to encourage them to research a hobbyist species before buying them in the first place. Often a fish gets too large for the aquarium and the hobbyist may feel that releasing their pet into the wild is their only option. Research and responsible behavior can help avoid this situation. In some cases the hybrid can even lead to the extinction of the parent species. Making That Leap to Multiple Tanks by Nan Singhasemanon. 2013 February issue of The tropical News from The Sacramento Aquarium Society. This article is about things to consider before or while adding more tanks to your aquarium collection. I know a lot of you readers have already passed the multiple tank stage especially those in the more than 21 tanks class, so you may reminisce about when you were considering adding that second or third tank or twenty second tank but maybe you are one of those considering that second tank and wondering what it will be to take care of two or three tanks instead of one. The author discussed points to consider like the increased investment in money, labor, space, overcrowding which could relate to fish health and finally, a problem I’m sure we would all like to have, deciding what to do with all those extra fish and plants. Spawning Corydoras oiapoquensis by Charles Drew printed in the Hamilton & District Aquarium Society, January 2013 currently in their 61st year of publication. A short article on spawning what are also known as Royal Pandas or Flagtail Pandas. Fattened on black worms, white worms or blood worms these corys spawn in the evening to overnight with temperatures in the low 70’s. These fry grow slowly but they grow into some awesome looking corys. Spawning Danio Tinwini by Charles Drew printed in the Hamilton & District Aquarium Society, February 2013. This is yet another spawning article from the prolific author and fish breeder Charles Drew. This nano species of Danio was discovered in Myanmar formerly known as Burma. These fish also known as Gold Ring danios were spawned in a fairly small tank with a spawning grid on the bottom of the tanks and the fry were raised on infusoria. While being easy to spawn the author says they are difficult to raise. The Figure 8 Puffer Tetradon biocelatus by Chris Fowler printed in The Reflector, publication of the Central New York Aquarium Society, January 2013. These puffers will survive in freshwater but they are less likely to get infected with ick parasites if kept in brackish water. These fish like to dine on snail and this diet also helps keep their teeth or beak trimmed. This is not a spawning article but a description of how much fun these gorgeous fish can be, the author has these fish literally eating out of his hand. Well that’s all I have for now folks, enjoy the rest of the winter for those of you that love this cold weather and the rest of you hang in there people Spring is but a few short months away, Austin Braganza Exchange Editor Milwaukee Aquarium Society Breeding Corydoras ehrhardti By Rob McLure Corydoras ehrhardti is a medium sized Cory that is found in coastal rivers in the Brazilian states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul. It has also been found in mountain runoff streams in Santa Catarina, Brazil. C. ehrhardti is probably most similar to Corydoras paleatus and there is a variant of paleatus that is often confused for ehrhardti. In the adult form C. ehrhardti is a beige or light tan fish with 3 bands or blotches of a dark iridescent blue-green. In nature full-size specimens are estimated to be 1.6 to 1.9 inches in length, but they grow larger in the aquarium. My adult females are definitely larger than 2 inches. I was lucky enough to obtain a previously spawned group of 5 adult C. ehrhardti from a friend and fellow Milwaukee Aquarium Society member in the fall of 2012. He explained that they did not seem to predate their fry or eggs, and if conditioned properly and given the right environment should spawn without much intervention. He said he had been feeding them on sinking pellets, brine shrimp and a gelatin protein based food. I had read (unfortunately) that they preferred cooler water so I set them up in a 10 gallon tank with ½ inch of silica sand as a substrate, no heater, a large sponge filter and 2 sunken spawning mops. The mops were made of dark green 100% acrylic yarn. I used dechlorinated Milwaukee tap water as I did not know at the time they had been kept in pure RO previously. They must’ve liked the change because within 2 or 3 days there were eggs in the mops, on the sponge filter and all over the glass. I fed them daily on baby brine shrimp, sinking shrimp pellets, the afore mentioned gelatin food, and occasionally flake food. The eggs hatched in about 5 days and after lifting the sunken mops I verified there were indeed a group of wigglers hiding. At this point I added servings of microworms 2 times per day to the tank in hopes of giving the fry a bit smaller food to eat. After 2 weeks I shook and pulled out both mops removed the sponge filter and caught 12 tiny fry with a small net and container. I moved them to a 5 gallon tank with all of their own tank water keeping the water level low at first then raising it day by day. An interesting thing I noticed when chasing the fry in the breeding tank was that they often hid under the adults. This may have been just because they were the only “large” objects left in the tank to hide under, but it was fun to watch nonetheless. At this time the adult tank which was near an outer wall in my basement fishroom must’ve really cooled off. Given the subzero outside temps in December, I wasn’t surprised. I don’t think the tank temp ever got below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but it had negative effects. All of the adult fish got ich. They stopped swimming and eating, and I thought they were all goners! One female even spent an entire 24 hours laying on her side breathing heavily. I treated them in the usual way by slowly raising the temp, adding aquarium salt, and an over the counter ich medication. One by one over a period of 3 weeks all the fish miraculously recovered. I did a big water change, added a carbon based filter, replaced the spawning mops, and this time kept the heater in the tank! The temp now stays a steady 75 deg. F, and the adults have since rewarded me with a second spawn. They fry are good eaters, but like most Corydoras, relatively slow growers. I have since found that both fry and adults will eat small amounts of live blackworms. I wouldn’t recommend them as a staple, but they’re good for an occasional treat. This species is fun and could make a good beginner Cory for someone trying to breed them for the first time. Elassoma Zonatum – The Banded Pygmy Sunfish by Nick Ternes Banded pygmy sunfish, Elassoma zonatum, are a small freshwater fish found in North America. They range from North Carolina to Florida, west to Texas and north to Indiana and Illinois. Like most Elassoma species, they inhabit swampy slow moving waters with plenty of aquatic vegetation. Not true sunfish, they’re in their own family, Elassomatidae, with the other species of Elassoma. E. zonatum is probably the least colorful species in the genus, but they are still attractive despite their drab coloration. Both sexes are grey to tan and have vertical bars on their bodies. Males tend to be darker, have more pronounced bands, and have dark fins whereas the female has relatively clear fins. My females are slightly larger and more robust looking. Males can get some very subdued blue iridescence, but you really have to look to find it. My fish are from Texas and were collected by Brian Perkins. I received a group of 6 in late December and set them up in a 5 gallon tank with a huge clump of java moss. I lost 2 in the first week, but they settled in well and turned out to be 1 male and 3 females. Water was kept about 225 ppm hardness and 75°F. They hide quite a bit, but not so much as to be hard to find. They come out readily for food or to explore the tank but spend their resting time in hiding. E. zonatum tends to stay near the bottom of the tank, but will explore mid water to find food. So far they don’t seem inclined to take flakes or granules. They will pick at Repashay foods a bit. I feed them mostly frozen bloodworms, frozen tubifex, blackworms, white worms, grindal worms, and baby brine shrimp. They have good appetites and will eat quite a bit. I wasn’t 100% sure I had any males in early January, so I slowly lifted the moss out to find the adults. My curiosity was answered by the very large number of miniscule fry dropping out of the moss as I lifted it through the water. I didn’t need to ask Brian to bring any males to the January meeting; I obviously had males and females. At this point I moved the adults to a 2.5 gallon tank with a spawning mop for cover while I cleaned out and set up a 20 gallon to house them permanently. Fry are very small, maybe only slightly larger than tetra fry. I’m pretty sure I found them newly hatched, I didn’t come across any free-swimming fry for another week. I started feeding them on 50-100 micron Golden Pearls and microworms. After about a week I started them on baby brine shrimp. For such small fry, they grow fairly quickly. Once they got to be about 1/8” I started doing 80% water changes every week using aged tap water. Most fry are growing at a fairly constant rate, but there is a small number that are absolutely huge. Most are about ¼”, but a few are ½” or a little bigger. I’m not sure why this is. I’m not sure that it’s a simple matter of males growing faster, as that’s a much bigger difference than I normally experience with other species. Good tank mates would be other small fishes that inhabit the upper regions of the aquarium. I’m now keeping them with Epiplatys annulatus, the clown killifish. It seems to work well as the killies stay at the surface and the sunfish stay near the bottom. A small mid-water schooling fish would be an excellent addition too. While a little picky about what they will eat, Elassoma zonatum have been overall easy to keep and would make excellent candidates for nano tanks or planted setups. Milwaukee Aquarium Society Board Meeting Minutes January 12, 2013 The Board meeting was held at Jerry Michels’ house. It was called to order at 1:00 pm. In attendance were Austin Braganza, Jerry Michels, Tim Pilat, Don Hinske, and Rob McClure. Membership Report: We currently have 11 paid members. Treasurer’s Report: $10,468.51, of which the library has $108.96. The November mini-auction sold 21 bags for $233, bringing us up to 222 bags and a running total of $1729.00. Splash: Tim is still working on the December Splash. Manufacturer liaison: No report Auction: Will be held on March 17. HAP: No report PAP: Rob to contact Ken about getting running total of PAP put up on website along with points values sheet. Review points system needed to update for new positions and remove old ones. Motioned by Tim, Approved by all. BAP: No report CAP: MAS joining national CARES program. Had conference call with Troy Veltrop to discuss implementation. Old Business: T-shirts will be here for distribution by the 22nd. It was decided that extra T-shirts will be given to speakers as a thank you gift. New Business: None The next Board meeting will be at Tim Pilat’s house on February 2nd at 1 pm. Austin made a motion to adjourn meeting, 2nd by Rob. Meeting adjourned at 4 pm. Milwaukee Aquarium Society Board Meeting Minutes February 2nd, 2013 The Board meeting was held at Tim Pilat’s house. It was called to order at 1:00 pm. In attendance were Austin Braganza, Jerry Michels, Tim Pilat, Don Hinske, Rock, and Rob McClure. Membership Report: We currently have 21 paid members. Treasurer’s Report: $10,951.35, of which the library has $108.96. And CARES has $85.00. The January mini-auction sold 52 bags for $253. Splash: December Splash was delivered and sent out. Exchanges: No report Webmaster Report: No Report Library: No Report Store liaison: No report Manufacturer liaison: No report Auction: Will be held on March 17. HAP: Discussion about desperate need to update HAP totals. Program has been neglected for those who participate. Need new ownership of the program or else we could lose club members as a result. Rob and Austin will follow up with Aaron about program. Jason has voiced interest in taking over program. PAP: Points document revised to include new positions. Motion to accept PASSED BAP: End of year totals were posted on the forum. Chair needs to get off his butt and get plaques and certificates awarded. CAP: No report Old Business: Speaker list for 2013 confirmed. February:Matt Magee (replaced by Rick Borstein), March: Mike Laursen, April: Stephan Tanner, May: John Krepper, June: Ron or Troy Veltrop?, August: Steve Lundblad, September: Gary Lange, October: Karen Randall, November: Mike Wise New Business: Jerry brought up that there was a large amount of funds in unclaimed auction checks. The board decided that checks that have not been cashed by 6 months of date of issue will be voided and the money deposited into the general fund. Noted that this is 3 months longer than most banks normally allow. Board decided and voted on adding a third swap due to popular demand on April 7th at New Berlin Bowl. Jerry Michels had already confirmed the available date. The next Board meeting will be at Don Hinske’s house on March 9th at 2 pm. Austin made a motion to adjourn meeting, 2nd by Rob. Meeting adjourned at 4 pm. Milwaukee Aquarium Society General Meeting Minutes January 19, 2013 Membership (Jerry Michels): We currently have 18 paid members. Last year we had 62 members - please renew your membership. Treasury (Jerry Michels): We currently have $10,844.20, of which the library has $108.96, and CARES has $82. During 2012 the mini auctions sold 222 bags for $1,729.00 (up from 210 bags / $1000 in 2011). Splash (Tim Pilat): Please send any articles or classified ads to tim.pilat@gmail.com. Exchanges (Austin Braganza): no report Webmaster (Rob McLure): no report Library (Jim Everson): no report PAP (Ken King): no report BAP (Andy Hudson): no report HAP (Aaron Glass): no report Store liaison (Don Hinske): no report Manufacturer’s liaison (Bonnie King): We have sent notices to 21 manufacturers. Fish-o-Rama: The January Swap had record attendance and generated $589.87 in profit. Thanks for participating. Old Business: T shirts were distributed and several members were disappointed that they did know about the event. New Business: The next board meeting will be at Tim Pilat’s house on February 2nd at 1 pm. Speaker: Brian Perkins presented the Flora and Fauna of Peru. He has developed a travel and collecting service which is described in www.wildperu.net. He described to rapid development occuring in Peru which is challenging its great biodiversity. The country is blessed with highlands or cloud forests as well as lowlands. Both have large rivers, but the highlands have fast flowing, clear, cool waters and the lowlands have forest pools that are shallow, very soft and acidic. Thank you Brian for a very interesting presentation. Milwaukee Aquarium Society General Meeting Minutes February 15, 2013 Membership (Jerry Michels): We currently have 26 paid members. Last year we had 62 members - please renew your membership. Treasury (Jerry Michels): We currently have $13,844.61, of which the library has $108.96, and CARES has $85. The January mini auctions sold 52 bags for $253.00. Splash (Tim Pilat): Austin won a first place award from FAAS for his article published in the Splash in 2011. Rob McLure won an honorable mention award for the same period. Please congratulate them. Also, please send any articles or classified ads to tim.pilat@gmail.com. Exchanges (Austin Braganza): no report Webmaster (Rob McLure): no report Library (Jim Everson): no report PAP (Ken King): no report BAP (Andy Hudson): no report HAP (Aaron Glass): no report Store liaison (Don Hinske): no report Manufacturer’s liaison (Bonnie King): no report Fish-o-Rama: The next Swap is scheduled for April 7, 2013. This is a new addition to the schedule that we are trying out. Old Business: no report New Business: Jeff Michels will be having an open house on Sunday 2/17. Nick has reported that WAKO will be having a meeting on Sunday 2/17. All are welcome to attend either event. The next board meeting will be at Don Hinske’s house on March 9th at 2 pm. Speaker: Rick Borstein is president of FAAS and also president of the Chicago Livebearer Society. He gave a great talk about creativity in the aquarist hobby. His Sixty Tips in Sixty Minutes presentation can be reviewed on tinyurl.com/sixtytips. Check it out! Thanks Rick! The following Stores Support M.A.S. Aquatics Unlimited 3550 S. 108th St Greenfield, WI 53228 (414) 543-2552 Best Fish 1335 N. 3rd St. Milwaukee, Wi 53212 (414) 224-0486 Feed Bag 10900 N. Port Washington Rd Mequon, WI 53092 (262) 241-7061 Gary’s Pet Jungle 2857 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207 (414) 744-3338 Hoffer’s Tropic Life 7323 N. 76th St. Milwaukee, WI 53223 (414) 353-6553 Marineland Pets 3519 W Villard Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53209 (414) 527-2511 Pet Supply Port 620 E. Green Bay Ave. Saukville, WI 53080 (262) 268-9966 REMEMBER to show your M.A.S. membership card to possibly receive discounts on your purchases. Splash Classifieds USED AQUARIUMS FOR SALE: - (4) 20 gal. long $15 ea. - (1) 20 gal. high $15 ea. - (1) 25 gal. high $20 ea. - (1) 40 gal. breeder $40 ea. NEW - (2) 33 gal. long $35 ea. ACRYLIC - (1) wrought iron stand for 20 gal. long $15 ea. - (1) wood stand for 55 gal. $25 ea. - (1) wood stand for (2) 15 gal. long $20 ea. contact Ralph Bahrke (414) 282-6897, (262) 844-1410 King’s Firewood & Tree Service Iron Ridge, WI Your home & camp fire wood distributor. Camp bundles $5 1 cord (hard) $225 1 cord (soft) $200 1 cord (mixed) $175 Face cord $90 To place an order call: Bonnie King @ 262-343-0218 Owner Kenny King We are privileged to support The “Milwaukee Aquarium Society” and their aquatic hobbyists. Visit our website: kingsfirewoodandtreeservice.com (Place your Ad Here for items you wish to sell or are looking for) Contact Jerry Michels or Austin Braganza for ad information. THE SPLASH The Splash is the official publication of the Milwaukee Aquarium Society, and is published six times per year under the direction of the Board of Directors. Articles are always welcome. Please submit them to the editor (Tim Pilat) no later than the first day of even numbered months to be included in the next issue. Articles should be submitted in digital format to tim.pilat@gmail.com. We will gladly exchange our publication with all interested societies. Please mail exchanges to Exchange Editor, P.O. Box 250824, Milwaukee, WI 53225. Reprints of articles published in the Splash are always permitted and encouraged, provided that credit is given in reprinting to The Splash, author and Society. It is also requested that a copy of the issue containing the article reprinted be sent to the address above to be shared with the author. This would be in addition to any exchange copies. Please inform the editor of any address changes in forwarding of this publication to members or other societies. THE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY The Milwaukee Aquarium Society is an organization devoted to the hobby of tropical fish, both freshwater and saltwater. Its membership consists of hobbyists gaining expertise in all phases of raising and breeding tropical fish, as well as area retailers. Our membership expertise covers a wide range, from beginners to expert breeders, but all members are interested in promoting the hobby and encouraging others to join in the fun. General meetings are held monthly, the third Friday of the month, 7:30 p.m. at Hoffers’s Tropic Life Pets, 7323 N. 76th Street, Milwaukee. We thank them for their hospitality. Free parking is available, and guests are always welcome. No general meetings are held in July or December. Annual membership dues are $20.00 for a Family and $15.00 for an individual. Membership dues provide for the Splash, monthly speakers, community support, annual events, and show support. A yearly subscription to the Splash is available for $15.00. New or renewal of membership dues should be sent to the treasurer: Jerry Michels 6333 W. Boehlke, Milwaukee, WI 53223