Dear Aquarist,

March winds came and blew in Richard Ross from the California Steinhart Aquarium. Richard gave a very interesting talk on a rare subject with an elusive compulsive – octopuses!  I never knew how many varieties of octopus there are around the world. Rich also spoke on other interesting and unique creatures such as cuttlefish. His talk kept the audience on the edge of their seats. It was very entertaining. His talk brought in many members from other clubs as well, such as Greater City in Queens, and Nassau County Aquarium Society and several members of Manhattan Reefers. A great turnout for a great guy.

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Next month we will have Leslie Harris as our guest speaker. Leslie will also be coming from California and her topic is on marine aquariums entitled “Life Styles of the Wet & Spineless.”  Come on over and meet with Leslie and have an entertaining and educational time with us on April 8 at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

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By the time you receive this Bulletin, the new website (www.basny.org) will be up and running. You will automatically be directed there if you “dial up” the old URL.  We have put a lot of effort and hard work into this endeavor. We want your feedback as to how you like it. Please get back to me on this.

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I guess nobody is missing the Bulletin and Aquatica being mailed to them. With over 300 members, only 7 people told me they wanted to continue receiving them in the mail. WOW — aren’t we in the computer age! Bernard, our Webmaster, will be running both sites for a few months until people are familiar with the new site. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Also, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

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I hope that many of you have gone to and enjoyed the Northeast Council Convention in Cromwell, CT at the end of March. As you know, the NEC has selected the Brooklyn Aquarium Society’s theme of “100 Years of Advancements In The Hobby.” We had our booth there and entertained the audience and convention members with antique aquariums, books and stories. We sold our latest T-shirt there with John Todaro’s winning design of the 1911 old logo with new logo and 2011 under that. Being the oldest club in the United States is something that we are very proud of and it’s something that you should be proud of also.

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What is our next venture, you ask? Well, that ‘s easy!  Our Birthday Party is set for July 8 starting at 7:00PM at the NY Aquarium. We will have a Bar B Q style food set-up, a sea lion show, pretzel, popcorn and ice cream carts, dancing under the stars, the complete new and vastly remodeled aquarium to ourselves and don’t forget the fireworks – after all we do have something to celebrate. Invitations are literally in the mail, so please send in your acceptance no later than May 15.

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I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle, by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

Joe Graffagnino
President

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Do you know a deserving Marine Biology (or related) High School Teacher or College Instructor? We would like to hear from you.  The Marine Aquarium Society of North America (MASNA)  is giving away a Full Admission Ticket (including banquet, talks and trade show) to MACNA 2011 to one deserving Teacher or College Instructor along with 2 of his/her students.         

MACNA XXIII, Sept. 9-11, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa is the largest & oldest marine aquarium conference in North America. MACNA is an exciting, annual event you can listen to lectures from any and every field related to reef keeping. Subjects from conservation to reef chemistry, to equipment and husbandry, there is something for everyone.  

Send an email to MASNA Speaks telling us why you think this teacher deserves this. Be sure to include the teachers name, the school (be sure to let us know if it is a high school or college) and the teacher’s email.  

Teacher & Students are responsible for travel and lodging.         

All entries must be received by Friday April 15, 2011.

This year features an unprecedented line-up of speakers, vendors, and raffle prizes! Check out cutting-edge aquarium products and load up with some of the sexiest coral frags in the country.  Hosted at the Atlantis Marine World public aquarium on Long Island, you get to ogle the world famous 20, 000 gallon reef tank with your free aquarium admission. So join us! Eat, drink, and be merry as you mingle with hundreds of other reefers on March 19^th.

$35 Admission includes:

• Free lunch catered by Atlantis
• Free Aquarium Admission
• Tons of raffle prizes including a chance to win a snorkel in the Atlantis 20, 000 Reef Tank!

View Event Flyer

Get your tickets through www.neracvi.com, by emailing webmaster2@longislandreef.org or at the door.  Call 408-930-8777 with any questions.

We make things easy! You can either do it online at the following link or mail in your application with a check if you prefer to do things the old-fashioned way.  We are not saying that one way is better than the other, so be comfortable and do it your own way.

P.S. Doing it online is easy and fast. 

Membership info is posted here…

https://www.basny.org/membership

and secure online renewal is done here….

http://membership.basny.org/index.htm

Dear Aquarist,

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Aquarium Society! February 14 is our birthday when we turn 100 years old. We had a great time at our birthday party with a beautiful fish birthday cake. We had horns, kazoos, birthday hats, balloons and as our birthday present to you the members new or renewal membership for the same price as it cost in 1911. With one year membership at the regular price of $20 (or $25 for family membership) for an additional $3.00 dollars you get another year.

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To help us kick off our next hundred years we had Christine Williams as our guest speaker. Christine’s topic for the evening was “When Aquariums Attack”.  Christine pointed out the very serious problems and consequences of not being prepared if you get stung, bit or having an open wound that can cause infections. No matter how minor the cut, abrasion, sting or puncture wound it may appear, preventive medicine is always the best remedy. Christine mentioned and described how seemingly harmless an unfortunate accident may be aquarists have lost limbs and in some cases have died because of them. Safety comes first! It was a great presentation and I’m sure we will all start using water proof gloves the next time we clean or feed our aquarium pets.

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I haven’t received any complaints regarding the on line BAS Bulletin and Aquatica. I must assume that you enjoy the full color Aquatica and can still get your information from the Bulletin via the Internet. We brought many Bulletins to the meeting, but only a few were taken so I guess the email notification with the link is working and your content with this new method to present our news and articles  to you. Our new web site should be up as you are reading this. Bernard, our Webmaster, will be running both sites for a few months until people are familiar with the new site. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Also you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

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March winds bring many things our way and it is really blowing hard for our next speaker. Richard Ross is coming in from California to present us with a truly memorable event. Richard is the aquatic biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium. He is also an author and much desired speaker. Richard’s topic for the evening is “Cephalopods: Is There An Octopus In Your Future?” So come on down and meet with us on March 11 at 7:30 PM.  As always there is free parking and free refreshments.

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I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle, by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

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On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

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Joe Graffagnino
President

Dear Aquarist,

Happy New Year, everyone!  Wow — we have entered into our 100th year – pretty amazing! We are the oldest and largest general aquarium society in the United States. Next month at our February 11 meeting, we will have a birthday cake to celebrate this one of a kind event. For our members, we will be having a birthday present to you in the form of a new or renewal membership for the same price as it cost in 1911. With one year membership at the regular price of $20 (or $25 for family membership), for $3.00 dollars more you get another year. This is also good for multi year membership. Pay for 1 year – add 3 bucks = 2 years.  Is this great or what?

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Also we have started emailing the BAS Bulletin, and the Aquatica will now be found on our web site. If anyone still wants the Bulletin in paper format, please attend our meeting because there will be plenty of them at the meeting. Anyone who does not have a computer, please let me know so I can mail you a copy. Our new web site should be up as you are reading this.  Bernard, our Webmaster, will be running both sites for a few months until people are familiar with the new site. We have finally joined the 21st century and will be saving lots of money in printing and postage costs. Please bear with us in this new creative process. I know you will love it when you participate. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Also you will be getting notifications of club events via email. Come on and join us in the “new” Brooklyn Aquarium Society; you’re gonna love it!

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Our January event starred Rit Forcier and his topic was “3 Weeks In Mexico.” Rit is the former Chairman of the American Livebearers Association and helped create the Northeast Livebearers Association. Rit is a great speaker and has been a guest lecturer for almost every club in the Northeast and many others throughout the United States and abroad. Rit brought in many exotic livebearer species from his own aquariums. Many of these species are extremely endangered in the wild. It is up to hobbyists such as us to keep these species going. It was a great talk and Rit stayed late to answer everyone’s questions and to tell bidders how to keep some of the exotic species he had donated for our auction. Needless to say, the auction went hot and heavy as everyone was trying to get some of those great fish and the livestock donated by members and our sponsor stores. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

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Our guest speaker for February will be Christine Williams and her topic will be “When Aquariums Attack.”  Be ready for some fast movements and volatile action. Christine will be lecturing on aquarium bites, stings, infections and other unfortunate events and what you can do about them.  We have all had cuts, bruises and injuries while maintaining our tanks and fish. I remember speaking to a skin doctor and she mentioned that many of her patients are aquarists who get cut or stung while their hands are in their aquariums. It can be very dangerous!  So come on down, brave the cold, for a truly rewarding lecture. Mark the date on the calendar, February 11 at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

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I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone.

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455

On a more personal note – This is your club and we are looking for interested and helpful members to participate!  Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

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Joe Graffagnino
President