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Earn 50%* on donated livestock in March 2013
We will once again be having a 50/50 split on donated livestock only (corals, fish and plants in good health) for members only. Members must sign in at the donation desk that they want 50% of whatever their livestock items are auctioned for (no reserves). The total of all donations must be greater than $5 and your return check will be available for pickup at the next regular meeting.
If you have any questions regarding this event please don’t hesitate to contact us or just post your questions below.
Not a member yet? No problem, become one today http://membership.basny.org/
Big Donation – Big Thanks To Brooklyn Zoo
Thanks to The Brooklyn Zoo for their generous donation and their continued support to the Brooklyn Aquarium Society.
Please visit their website at http://brooklynzooandaquarium.com/
Remember to show them your BAS membership card to both show your support and get additional discount.
Once again, thank you!
February 8, 2013 Event CANCELLED!
Dear members,
It is with deep regret that we must cancel our February 8th “Ponds; the easy way” by Kathy Cardineau event due to severe storm warning for our area.
Please note that there will be NO meeting tonight. The next meeting is scheduled for March 8th, 2013 and will feature Kevin Kohen of LiveAquaria.com
The 50/50 split for livestock only will be at our March event.
For a complete list of upcoming events please kindly visit Our Events
Please download the latest copy of The Aquatica and our Bulletin for your reading pleasure.
P.S. Everyone who has received a bottle of STARTSMART COMPLETE for either fresh or marine aquariums please send your product evaluation to the our P.O. Box or email it to me at JoeGraffagnino [at] yahoo.com.
Stay warm and safe,
Joe
President
November 9, 2012 Event CANCELLED.
All,
It is with sadness and regret that I must cancel the Brooklyn Aquarium Society meeting for this Friday November 9. Due to Hurricane Sandy the NY Aquarium will be closed until the Spring.
The Education Hall is being used for volunteers working to repair the aquarium. Any person seeking to volunteer to work as a laborer to help the wildlife survive at the NY Aquarium please go to the Facebook page or the web site of the Wildlife Conservation Society and leave information that you want to volunteer at the NY Aquarium. Someone will contact you.
We hope to see you at the Holiday Party on Dec. 14. I am not sure where it will be but I will let you know.
Joe Graffagnino
President
“Breeding Anabantoids” by Joe Graffagnino
Breeding Anabantoids with emphasis on Bettas
Anabantoids are extremely interesting fish. Most anabantoids go through great lengths to prepare a nest site, attract a suitable mate and then place the fertilized eggs into the nest. After the fry hatch generally it is the father that cares for the fry and he chases mom away. As the children start to leave the nest, to explore their surrounding area, dad is kept very busy in protecting the fry, even to attack the hobbyist hand if it gets too close to the nest. You can feel the frustration on the harried father as the little fry start darting away from home. He must try to eat to sustain his strength and health, protect and recapture his fry and spit them back into the nest continuously. It is no wonder that after several days of this hectic activity that he starts to cannibalize his offspring. I’m sure that many of us have thought the same with human offspring – remember the terrible two’s?
I deviate from the story. Anabantoids can be separated into three distinct classes:
- Bubble nest builders – Examples of these are the majority of gouramies and betta splendens (Siamese Fighting fish).
- Submerged plant nest builders – Examples are betta brownorum, betta coccina, betta tussyae and betta livida. From Africa there is the centopoma species.
- Mouth brooders – They include betta channoides, betta albimargineta, betta unamaculatum and betta macrostoma,
The bubble nest builders I have found to be the easiest to spawn. Bubble nest builders build their nest to impress and attract a female to spawn with them. I generally have a Styrofoam cup cut vertically so the long side is now in half. I let that sit in a shallow tank, such as a 10 gallon with 6 – 9 inches of water at neutral pH (7.0) and a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Water in Brooklyn comes from the tap soft (3-4GH) and neutral pH. Add floating plants such as duck weed and fairy moss so the fish can use the plant to anchor his bubble nest together.
At this point the male becomes very aggressive. He would even attack your hand or finger should it enter his territory. I keep the female in a small, clear glass container with the top of the container a few inches above the water line, in the same tank as the male, at the opposite side of his bubble nest. When the nest is complete and the females’ abdomen has become full with eggs, it is time to release her into the tank. Within a couple of hours the breeding should begin. One method to know if the female has eggs in her is after feeding them a diet of live or frozen food such as black or blood worms for 5 continuous days, don’t feed her for a couple of days. If she still has a round stomach area then its eggs. After spawning the female should be removed from the aquarium to protect her from the male and to help her recuperate from her strenuous ordeal. Within a few days the male will start chasing the fry that are hatching from the nest. He wants to keep them in his nest. At this point I would remove the male and place him into a separate tank from the female.
Allow the fry to grow in their original aquarium. It is important to have the same water parameters for the male and female as was in the spawning tank. Also the surface air temperature cannot deviate more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit from the water temperature, for when the fry come up for their first gulp of air they could catch pneumonia. The fry will grow very quickly on baby brine shrimp (live or frozen). Depending on how many fry you want to keep it would pay to start moving the fry to grow out tanks after their first month or for many of them their growth would become stunted.
Species that are submerged plant nest builders are more difficult mainly because you normally can’t see the nest and if there are fry in it. The usual method of noticing a successful breed is when you start seeing fry moving around the tank. Problem with this is that the parents may eat them and if there are other fish in the tank they will definitely eat them. Fish of this type generally like slow moving water and that the water is more acidic (4.5-6.5 pH). African centopomas fall into this category. I accidentally found a betta brownorum nest inside a submerged 35mm film canister.
Mouth brooders such as betta macrostoma utilize this type of spawning behavior. Breeding takes place between one pair of fish. When the female is gravid she initiates the mating process. The male wraps himself around her and squeezes the eggs from her while simultaneously fertilizes them with his milt. I have seen the female recover the eggs and at times the male will also recover eggs and while both fish face each other she will spit the egg into his mouth. Both betta channoides and albimargineta the female gathers the eggs in her mouth and spits them up over her head where the male is positioned to catch them. The male then holds the eggs until they hatch and he will release them from 14 to 28 days, depending on the species.
Anabantoids are beautiful and amazing fish. If the hobbyist wants to experience a different type of spawning behavior I highly recommend them getting a group of anabantoids.
Request for donations – Please Read
Dear members,
Month after month, the Brooklyn Aquarium Society continues to bring you great speakers, auctions, aquarium books and supplies. We even maintain two publications to help everyone become better hobbyists. This is hard work that all of us chip in to make possible, but it costs time and money.
The only way we can continue with the high standards we have been maintaining for the past 101 years is by generous donations from manufacturers, stores, and members. We have many members that continue to bring us donations to our monthly auctions.
Donations can mean fish, plants, other live stock, old tanks, filters, aquarium equipment: pretty much anything that you have no further use for (but is in good working order). Remember, one man’s unused or unwanted item is another man’s treasure. So dig deep in the back of those closets. I know there are aquarium items you don’t use anymore. If you have bred fish, propagated coral or plants and can spare some, that will be greatly appreciated.
Please notify any Board member and we will contact you.
Steven Matassa
First Vice President
2012-2013 BAS Sponsor Calendar – Available For Download
2012-2013 BAS Sponsor Calendar –
For a list of our upcoming event please visit “Our Events”
You can now download/view/print your own copy of Sponsor Calendar. See all area events happening each month at BAS and all sister societies around the tri-state area.
Many thanks to our board member Gene Kogan for creating this nifty calendar.
Enjoy, and let us know (by leaving a comment below) if you’d like to see something included/changed.
2012
September 2012 | October 2012 | November 2012 | December 2012
2013
January 2013 | February 2013 | March 2013 | April 2013 | May 2013
“Breeding Blue Angelfish”
Breeding Blue Angelfish
by Joe Graffagnino
At a Greater City Aquarium Society meeting last year, fellow member Jerry O’Farrell came up to me and asked, “Have you breed angelfish?” I said that I had, but it was over 25 years ago. He said. “Good, then it’s time you did them again,” and he thrust a bag of 8 beautiful quarter size blue angels in my hand. Before I could respond, he walked away. I looked at the plastic bag full of fish and marveled at how beautiful and majestic these little cichlids appeared. The blue on their heads stood out in dramatic contrast to their silver bodies.
Reef Swap; Sunday, May 20th at Pace University.
If you are into saltwater fish and reefs this event is definitely for you. Entrance is $25 per person, children under 16 admitted FREE.
.
- Fluval Sea Salt – 10 gallons worth of salt
- Fish Pellet Samples
- Fluval ION Water Conditioners
- Live Aquaria $20 Gift Certificate
- Instant Ocean Marine Stablilizer
- Gift Bag
…and of course, the swap includes:
- Free catered lunch
- Coffee, Cookies
Our guest speakers for this swap are:
Lots of free corals will be given away at our frag demonstration station throughout the day including chalices, soft corals, SPS and more.
Don’t wait until the event is sold out!
Earn 50%* on donated livestock in June 2012
We will once again be having a 50/50 split on donated livestock only (corals, fish and plants in good health) for members only. Members must sign in at the donation desk that they want 50% of whatever their livestock items are auctioned for (no reserves). The total of all donations must be greater than $5 and your return check will be available for pickup at the next regular meeting or during our board meeting on July 13th.
If you have any questions regarding this event please don’t hesitate to contact us or just post your questions below.
Not a member yet? No problem, become one today http://membership.basny.org/
Hagen GLO T5 High Output Lighting System
Our own member, Robert Debonis (Big Thanks!) donated a brand new HAGEN GLO T5 36-inch light which will be auctioned at our June 8th event.
You don’t wanna miss it!
BAS Event – GIANT SPRING AUCTION, May 11, 2012
This BAS meeting was hosted at the New York Aquarium on May 11, 2012
Title: GIANT SPRING AUCTION
Event Flyer: Download / View Here
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