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The Underwater NewsThe Underwater News The Publication of the

Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society

October 2011 Meeting Date: October 4, 2011

Speaker: Tony Terciera

Topic: Aquarium Photography

IN THIS ISSUE:

Proposed Change to PVAS Bylaws Page 4

PVAS Special Election Page 4

Photos from the September Meeting Page 5 With Speaker: Adam Harris

Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish By Jason Shaw Page 7

PVAS Library Update Page 9

Upcoming Events Page 10

Directions to the Meeting: The Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society meets at the Springfield Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts. Directions to the meeting can be found on Page 2 of the newsletter, and can also be found on the PVAS website at www.pvas.net

The Underwater News is the official publication of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, Inc. and is published either monthly or bi-monthly except for July and August. The views and opinions printed herein are those of the individual authors, and are not necessarily those of PVAS. The Underwater News is provided free to our members as part of their membership. Unless otherwise indicated, original articles and drawings may be re-printed in other non-profit publications, as long as credit is given to the author and The Underwater News. Two copies of the publication in which the reprint appears should be sent to PVAS. Address all exchange bulletins and correspon-dence to the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, Inc. c/o Michael Liu, 14 Indian Hill, Florence, MA 01062.

DIRECTIONS TO THE SPRINGFIELD SCIENCE MUSEUM: From the North - Take Interstate 91 South to Exit 7. Turn left onto State Street, proceed for three blocks and you will see the large, white marble Springfield City Library building on your left. Take the first left past the library onto Elliot Street and then the next left onto Ed-wards Street. From the South - Take Interstate 91 North to Exit 6. Stay on Columbus Avenue to State Street. Turn right, proceed for three blocks and you will see the large, white marble Springfield City Library building on your left. Take the first left past the library onto Elliot Street and then the next left onto Edwards Street. From the East - Take the Massachusetts Turnpike to Exit 6 (I-291). Exit at Dwight Street (Exit 2B), turn left. Follow Dwight to State Street. Turn left at the light, go through another light and you will see the large, white marble Springfield City Library building on your left. Take the first left past the library onto Elliot Street and then the next left onto Edwards Street. From the West - Take the Massachusetts Turnpike to Interstate 91 South and follow I-91 South to Exit 7. Turn left on State Street, pro-ceed for three blocks and you will see the large, white marble Springfield City Library building on your left. Take the first left past the library onto Elliot Street and then the next left onto Edwards Street. Parking: Free parking is available in the lots on Edwards Street. To Download Printable Directions go to http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/about/hours.php

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PVAS, Inc. Membership Form

Name: Address: City: State: Zip Code: Telephone: Email Address:

To join the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, annual dues can be mailed to: Linda Giza, P.O. Box 201, Palmer, MA 01069

Rates are $15.00 for a single membership and $20.00 for a family membership

OFFICERS President: Linda Giza, 413-283-8680 [email protected] Vice President: Will Fontaine, Sr., 413-467-1351 [email protected] Secretary: Martha Morris, [email protected] Treasurer: David Giza, 413-283-8680 [email protected]

BOARD MEMBERS

Michael Lucey, [email protected] Chuck Pixley, [email protected] Dave Giza, [email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS Bowl Show: Chuck Pixley Membership: Don Hennemann Programs: Linda Giza Museum Liason: Linda Giza Library: Bill Maier Store Liason: Will Fontaine Sr. BAP: Chuck Pixley & Mike Lucey Refreshments: Mike Lucey Sunshine: Linda Giza Newsletter: Michael Liu Bylaws: Chuck Pixley, Linda Exchange Editor: Linda Giza Giza, Michael Liu NEC Delegate: Will Fontaine Photo Contest: Chuck Pixley Website: Linda Giza Auction: Linda Giza, Will Fontaine

The Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, Inc. is a not for profit edu-cational group. We meet the first Tuesday of each month, except July and August, at the Springfield Science Museum. Meetings start at 7:00 PM and include refreshments. Club news and activities are discussed and planned, and an educational program or speaker is presented, followed by a mini-auction. The general public is wel-come at our meetings and is encouraged to see what fish-keeping is all about. The Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, Inc. is affiliated with the Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies, Inc.

Minutes of the General Meeting of September 6, 2011 at the Springfield Science Museum

7:20 PM Meeting called to order by Linda Giza who made the following announcements: Our speaker tonight will be Adam Harris, who will speak on amphibians. Next month’s speaker will be Tony Terciera, who will speak on photography. We have a nice card from Sandy Sakowski, who sent us a thank you for the donation. We needed a volunteer to sell shirts. Linda suggested that the volunteer could sell them for a half hour or so at the beginning of the meetings. Scott Craig volunteered. We need a membership person to make sure e-mails and phone numbers are correct, and to sign up new members. The New Hampshire auction is September 18, and the Rhode Island auction is September 25. Ed at Fish Frenzy will be doing a filter exchange. He will make a write-up about it. Linda updated the website. We are planning on updating the newsletter to make it new and fresh. Jerine Blissett is donating his time to produce a new sample newsletter. He said his goal is to give us a better presence through the newsletter since this is a professional, popular club. We might have a new version of the newsletter by the end of the year. Mike Liu suggested we notify other clubs when the latest edition of our newsletter is on the website every month rather than sending them the newsletter. As always, we are looking for contributions for the newsletter. Meeting adjourned.

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October President’s Message

Hello everyone, my favorite time of year is finally here. It is also a great time of year to be going to all the great club auctions and shows. Winter will be here faster than you know it, so take your family and friends and have a great time. We will be having an election at our December meeting for Treasurer. Mike has found that being the newsletter editor and our go to person for all of our flyers and correspondence is a full time club job (no argument here, he is the best at it and he also has things going on with his work) and he is stepping down from the Treas-urer’s position. David Giza will be acting Treasurer until the election. Think about it, talk with the members of the board, and we will publish the election notice in 2 newsletters. Our October speaker will be coming to us from the TFSRI club, Tony Terceira on Photography. I have seen this program and I loved it, and you will too. I want to thank the people who stepped up and took over some of the committees. Scott and Don, you rock. That’s it for now, see you on October4th. Linda Giza PVAS President

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PROPOSED CHANGE TO PVAS BYLAWS The following addition to Article V (shown in red text) is proposed to the PVAS Bylaws. This is the first pub-lished notice for the proposed change. This notice will also appear in the next issue of the Underwater News. A vote of the membership will take place during the December General Meeting whether to adopt the pro-posed change. ARTICLE V - Nomination and Election of Officers

A. The president will appoint a nominating committee chairperson, who may form a committee, which will

present a slate of candidates for the general election. At the June general meeting, the nominations will be presented to the membership followed by any additional nominations for Officers and Board Members from the floor. When there is only one nominee for an office the election of the nominee to that office may be by acclamation. The nominee for each office receiving the highest number of votes will be declared elected to that office. In the event there is a tie vote for an office, votes will be recast until one nominee receives the highest number of votes.

B. All voting will be done personally by members in good standing. Each member, whether a family member

or an individual member has 1 (one) vote. Voting by absentee ballot will or will not be allowed at the dis-cretion of the executive committee.

C. Term Limit for club officers will be two 1-year terms. They may run for another position other than

the one previously held. After 1 year they can they are eligible to run again.

PVAS SPECIAL ELECTION

A special election will be held at the December meeting for the position of Treasurer. The duties of the Treas-urer are:

1. To pay pre-determined accounts, as may be authorized by the membership, and, pay the bills presented. All

expenditures must be approved by the Board.

2. To prepare and submit written, itemized report of receipts and expenditures for the past fiscal year, and at

any other time when directed by the president;

3. To prepare and submit all reports required by any government agency;

4. To perform other duties, as from time to time, may be assigned by the president. For more detail information about the position, please contact Linda Giza, Dave Giza, or Michael Liu. Please consider making a commitment to helping out the club. We need you!

Photos from the September Meeting With Speaker: Adam Harris

Adam Harris gave a talk about amphibians for the September 2011 meeting. A good crowd of over 40 people filled the meeting room. Adam got an assist from two of his children, as can be seen in the photos below. Adam brought in a numerous frogs and toads, talked about setting up a tank for and keeping amphibians, and answered questions. Adam’s presentations are always of interest and fun as he brings many critters for a hands-on and up-close look!

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Adam’s amazing array of amphibians A European and North American toad

Adam and his helpers

Photos from the September Meeting With Speaker: Adam Harris

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Finley Aquatic Books P.O. Box 164

Pascoag, RI 02859 Fax: 401-568-1561

Finleyaquaticbooks.com

Argentine Horned Frog Cane Toad, or Marine Toad

Red Eye Tree Frog

White’s Tree Frog (underside)

Tomato Frog

Dwarf Neon Rainbow Fish By Jason Shaw

First published in Campbell River Aquarium Club, British Columbia, Canada Article taken from Aquarticles

(Photo by Hristo Hristov)

Common Name: Dwarf Neon Rainbow Fish Scientific Name: Melanotaenia praecox Wild Distribution: New Guinea Length: Up to 2.5 inches Water Temperature: 75 – 83f degrees

The Dwarf Neon Rainbow Fish is a fairly new addition to the rainbowfish collection. It was discovered in New Guinea and smuggled to North America in the early 90s. These guys are just a pleasure to watch. The colours of these rainbowfish reflect beautifully in the light. They are an excellent addition to the community tank since they are very peaceful and like to school with any fish. Males differ from females in colour and shape. Males (like the one pictured above) have a red trim on dorsal, tail and anal fins. The body shimmers with blue and silver. The males become much deeper body wise and the head may look more pinched. Females stay slimmer but do get a lot wider when carrying eggs. The females have more of a reddish yellow trim on their fins and the upper body is not quite as shimmery as the males. They are monstrous eaters - their eating habits are on the disorder side. I wish I could eat like them! They seem to prefer surface food, but will chase food to mid level. Breeding Notes I was introduced to these little guys in the fall of 2000. I hadn’t seen much of them before, but took an instant lik-ing. I’ve tried two different methods of propagation. They both worked, but one method was much easier: My brood stock consisted of two males and four females. Another good ratio would be one male and three females. I constructed a basket, which hung to the sides of a 33-gallon tank. The basket should be at least 15 inches long and

(Cont. Page 8)

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10 inches deep, with the width just fitting inside the main tank. These fish like their space. I siliconed a plastic grating to the bottom of the basket; holes should be 5 or 6 mm in diameter. I then stuck some old plastic plants to the grating, just to give them some spawning media. I had a pH of 6.9 to 7 and my hardness was 2 – 3 degrees. The water temperature moved between 78 and 80f. I introduced my breeders to the basket and started on a feeding regime. I always fed in small amounts to avoid food falling past the grates. Their diet consisted of bloodworms, adult brine shrimp, finely chopped beef heart and spirulina flakes. Within a few days the females became swollen with eggs. The dominant male then enticed the female around the spawning media. Each female would only release 20 – 35 eggs, but continued to do so every two to four days. The eggs are sticky and sometimes attached by a tiny thread. The fry appeared within eight to ten days, free swimming at the surface. At this point they were ready to be fed. They were very tiny at first and were too small to accept baby brine shrimp. They also stayed at the surface and that’s where they liked to eat. A.P.R. by O.S.I. seemed to work the best, and “E” type baby fish food by Tetra Min also worked. Once the fry were two weeks old, they would take microworms and the following week would accept baby brine shrimp. The fry are slow to start, but once they reach the one-month mark, look out!!! You should be able to sex your fish at about 2½ months. Using this method you will be able to harvest 20 – 30 fry every three days. Move the fry to a smaller tank and keep no more than two weeks’ worth of fry together in the same tank. If the parents are well fed, they will ignore their young. The basket method has proven itself. You can leave the parents alone and harvest the fry as they appear. Just be sure to keep the tank bottom clean and your brood stock well fed.

(END)

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PIONEER VALLEY AQUARIUM SOCIETY LIBRARY

BILL MAIER - LIBRARIAN

The following list is an update on the PVAS library. Please see Bill if you want to borrow any of the materials.

EXCHANGE BULLETINS

Newsletters from many different clubs that exchange with PVAS

(on CD’s)

GENERAL

100th Anniversary book from BASNY

All About Land Hermit Crabs, Mervin F. Roberts

An Evening with The Legends (video)

Aquarium Book, Vierkes

Aquarium Fish, Barron’s

Aquarium Fish, Erich Friese

Complete Guide to Freshwater and Marine Fishes, Simon & Schuster's

The Ecology of Fishes, Nikolsky

Encyclopedia Of Live Food, Charles Masters

Exotic Aquarium Fish, William T. Innes

Fish Health, Andrews, Excell & Carrington

Fishes of the Great Lakes Region, Hubbs and Lagler

Fishing Encyclopedia, John Schmidt

Fishkeeper’s Guide to Community Fish, Dick Mills

Freshwater Fishes, Page/Burr

The Healthy Aquarium, Dr. Neville Carrington

How To Have A Successful Aquarium, Norman Houlid

Introduction to Fish Physiology, Smith

The Natural Aquarium, Satioshi Yoshino

New Standard Fishing Encyclopedia, McClane's

The New Aquarium Handbook, Enes Scheumann

The Pet Library

FISH BREEDING

Breeding Aquarium Fishes, Axelrod

Fish Breeding, Dr. Chris Andrews

Keeping and Breeding in Captivity, Richard Stratton

CATFISH

Fishkeepers Guide To African and Asian Catfish, David Sands

GOLDFISH

Fancy Goldfish, Paradise Press

LIVEBEARERS

The Proper Care of Guppies, Stan Shubel

NATIVE FISH

Keeping Native Fishes

WATER GARDENS & PONDS

Your Garden Pond, Wigser & Loiselle

Water Gardens Barron’s

CICHLIDS

Back To Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlids, Ad Konings

Buntbarsche Bulletin No115 Dec.94

The Cichlid Aquarium, Dr. Paul Loiselle

Cichlids of the World, Goldstein

Discus Book, Schmidt Frock

Introducing Cichlids, Stratton

Lake Malawi Cichlids, Smith

Lake Tanganyika Cichlids, Smith

Oscars, Nigel Pronec

South American Cichlids

MARINE

Atlantic Coast Fishes, Robins/Ray/Douglas

Atlantic Seashore, Kenneth L. Gosner

The Book of Coral Propagation Vol. 1, Anthony Calfo

Boom of Coral Propagation, Calfo

Coral Reefs Caribbean & Florida, Kaplan

Damselfish of the World, Allen

Encyclopedia of Marine Invertebrates, Jerry G. Walls

Exotic Marine Fishes, Axelrod & Emmens

Marine Aquarium Guide Pet Library

The Marine Aquarium Problem Solver, Nick Dakin

Marine Fish and Invert Aquarium, Albert Thiel

The Marine Fish and Invert Reef Aquarium, Albert J. Thiel

Marine Fishes, Mills

Miniature Reef Aquarium in Your Home, Dr. C.W. Emmens

The New Saltwater Aquarium Handbook, Blasiola

Pacific Coast Fishes, Eschmeyer/Herald/Hammann

Reef Creatures Indentification Fla. Caribbean & Bahamas, Paul Humann

Reef Notes Vol.2, Julian Sprung

Reef Notes Vol.3, Julian Sprung

Saltwater Manual, Edward Mowka, JR

Sea Anemones. . . As a Hobby, Uerich Friese

Seashores, Kricher

Seawater Manual & Instant Ocean Handbook (2), Mowka, Jr.

Setting Up a Marine Aquarium, Emmens

Shells, Abbott/Morris

Shells, Douglass

Southeastern & Caribbean Seashores, Kaplan

Starting Your Marine Aquarium, Boruchowitz

Theatres of Glass, Stott

Tropical Marine Aquarium Fishes, Emmens

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NORWALK AQUARIUM SOCIETY

45th ANNUAL TROPICAL FISH SHOW

Sponsored by the Earthplace, the Nature Discovery Center

Saturday, October 1st, 2011 (Noon to 4:00p p.m.) Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

AND AUCTION Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

Auction Starts at 12:00 p.m. (noon) At

Earthplace, the Nature Discovery Center Westport, Connecticut

Special Feature

In Conjunction with the NAS Show The Connecticut Betta Club Will Sponsor an

International Betta Congress Sanctioned Betta Show

For Information & Rules for the IBC show contact Doug at: [email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Page 13

UPCOMING EVENTS

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BREEDERS AWARD REPORT

Tony & Denise Panetta 580 Points Master Breeder Award Jim White 380 Points Senior Breeder Award Chuck & Charlene Pixley 370 Points Master Breeder Award Michael Liu 385 Points Senior Breeder Award Dan Balser 225 Points Senior Breeder Award Joe Coleman 170 Points Breeder Award Elva Hughes 170 Points Breeder Award Tom Stevens 30 Points Seth Harris 25 Points Rit Forcier 15 Points Dave Giza 5 Points

BREEDERS AWARD ANNUAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM

In an attempt to increase participation in the BAP, the program will now have a monetary incentive. Each member who submits BAP fish for auction will be awarded 1 Point per bag. Totals for the year will be kept by the BAP Chair. This portion of the BAP is based only on the number of bags submitted and all other BAP rules apply. Awards will be presented in January and are as follows:

First Place: $50.00 Second Place: $25.00 Third Place: Free Annual Membership

2011 BREEDERS AWARD INCENTIVE STANDINGS: Michael Liu 12 Points Joe Coleman 4 Points Dave Giza 1 Point

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2011 BOWL SHOW RESULTS

There were six entries in the September 2011 Bowl Show. What a great way to kick off the fall season. First place went to Michael Liu for his male Green Texas Cichlid (Herichthys carpintes). Second place went to Joe Coleman for his Labeotropheus fulleborni. Third place went to Bill Maier for his Angelfish. People’s Choice went to Joe Coleman.

2011 BOWL SHOW STANDINGS: Joe Coleman 18 Points Dave Giza 8 Points Bill Maier 8 Points Rich DiGeorge 5 Points Elva Hughes 5 Points Seth Harris 4 Points Mike Liu 4 Points

The Bowl Show for 2011 will be conducted as in the past with a couple of minor changes. Points will be awarded as follows: 1st Place—4 Points, 2nd Place—3 Points, 3rd Place—2 Points, 4th Place—1 Point. Also, any fish entered in the Bowl Show that does not place will still receive 1 Point for participation. Point totals will be kept by the Bowl Show Chair and posted in each newsletter. Annual awards will be as follows:

First Place: $50.00 Second Place: $25.00 Third Place: Free Annual Membership

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PHOTO SHOW RESULTS

There were only two entries in the September 2011 Photo Show. First Place went to Elva Hughes for her photo of a Discus. Second Place went to Chuck Pixley for his picture of a Geophagus jurupari. As stated in the rules, the winners were chosen by the membership in attendance. Please, let’s keep those photos coming!

2011 Photo Show Standings Chuck Pixley 13 Points Elva Hughes 6 Points Michael Liu 5 Points Derek Aldrich 2 Points Martha Morris 1 Point

PHOTO SHOW RULES

1. The photo show is open to all members. Members must take the photograph and bring the entry to the show at each meeting. 2. Members may bring up to two photos, unframed, each meeting. Photos can be any size up to 8 x 10 inches. 3. Photos will be judged by the membership in attendance and winners will be determined based on popular vote. Points will be

awarded as follows: First Place-3 Points, Second Place-2 Points, Third Place-1 Point. Point totals will be kept by the Photo Show Chair. Winning photos will be published in the next newsletter.

4. The first place photo cannot be re-entered for the current year. Second and third place photos may be re-entered in future photo shows during the same calendar year.

5. Point totals will accumulate through the December general meeting. Awards will be presented in January, and are as follows: First Place-$50, Second Place-$25, Third Place-Free Annual Membership

First Place-Elva Hughes, Discus

Second Place-Chuck Pixley, Eartheater

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Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society c/o Michael Liu 14 Indian Hill Florence, MA 01062

What’s new in your fishroom?

Do you have a new fish? Did you buy something neat at a recent mini-auction?Did something recently breed in one of your tanks?

Please tell us about your experience!

The Underwater News is always looking for new material to be published. Tell one of the Board members at a meeting, or drop me an email. We will do our best to help put together a short and sweet article about your experience. It’s important to share information within the club and with sister organizations. Michael Liu, Newsletter Editor (see my email on Page 2)