Announcements, BAS Events

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

President's Message

President’s Message – January 2013

Happy New Year for 2013 from all of us at BAS! February marks our 102nd year of providing education, encouragement and enlightenment for the maintenance and prosperity of our aquatic creatures and plants. Our January guest speaker was Joe Yaiullo, curator of the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center, located in Riverhead, Long Island.

Joe’s topic for the evening was the care and maintenance of the Aquarium’s 20,000 gallon marine tank. Joe and his crew have been extremely successful in propagating not only corals, but the marine fish are spawning as well. Joe discovered many interesting and unknown species’ behaviors which he was kind enough to share with the member audience. Joe donated several beautiful coral frags to our auction. As always, Joe was well received by our enthusiastic members.

February may bring cold weather, but it starts us thinking about Spring. When we think about Spring what naturally comes to mind – Ponds! Kathy Cardineau, President of the Nassau County Aquarium Society, will be our guest speaker and her topic will be “Ponds – The Easy Way.” Come on down for a warm, relaxing evening with fellow BAS members on February 8. Doors open at 7:30 PM and, as always, there is FREE Parking and FREE Refreshments.

This is YOUR club, so – please — if you want to see different speakers, different topics and have ideas to better YOUR experience, then please let me know about it. As an example, several members wanted to have a 50/50 split for fish, corals and plants, so we will have this at this meeting. Remember this is for livestock only, not equipment or food. We also have the Forum contest for the most posts in our BAS Forum. First prize is $25 in BAS Bucks and second place is $10 in BAS Bucks. So please participate because you can’t win it if you’re not in it!

Remember to use our Hot Line number for updates to BAS events: 718-837-4455.

Joe Graffagnino
President

President's Message

President’s Message – December 2012

Our November event was the first event that had to be cancelled due to the weather in many years. I think the last time we cancelled a meeting was 20 years ago when Seth Kolker was President. The reason we had to cancel back then was that a large snowstorm had deposited several feet of snow in Brooklyn. This year, Hurricane Sandy, also known as “Frankenstorm,” destroyed everyone’s peace of mind and happiness for quite a while. I believe that this was a rude awakening to what “Mother Nature” can do if we are not prepared or if we become complacent thinking that it won’t happen to us. I hope that all of us emerged from this horror safe and sound. Homes, cars and businesses can be rebuilt, but lives cannot. I hope that all of our aquatic creatures are also safe.

The storm hit our NY Aquarium hard. There were many new elements recently installed at the Aquarium to be used for current and future projects, that were destroyed. Offices and exhibits suffered damage. Thankfully, the fish and animals got through the storm and aftermath successfully, but the Aquarium will require a major clean up and won’t be open to the general public until the Spring.

There is good news in all of this darkness. NY Aquarium Director Jon Dohlin, via Kate Fitzgerald, has granted us the OK to have our Holiday party at our Education Hall. So on Friday, December 14, we will have much to be thankful for. Doors will open for our members, families and friends at 7:30 PM. As in previous Holiday parties, everyone is to bring something to eat and/or drink. Please contact Second Vice President Marie Licciardello at our BAS Hotline (number listed below) as to what you will be bringing to the festivities. Any one not bringing anything will be charged $10 per person, at the door.

As always, there will be free parking and BAS Fish Bingo and we will be presenting BAS awards for all hard working and dedicated members.

People still ask me why they haven’t received the Bulletin and Aquatica in the mail. The reason is that they are now on our web site — and in vibrant color! So please visit our new web site where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. Provided you have given us your email address, we can email you our publications and other important notifications of club events.

The interactive forums and sponsor sections on our site are truly enjoyable. Speaking of our interactive Forum – we are having a contest every month as to who has the most posts on our Forum. Please post questions and help provide answers to other hobbyists. You can also post items for sale and ask for items you need. There will be a $25 BAS BUCKS first prize and a $10 BAS BUCKS second prize for the most posts! It is a great place to web connect with other members and a fun location to interact and share information. Several of our wonderful sponsors have “rooms” within our Forum, such as Air, Water & Ice, Zoo Med and Reefs2Go
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!

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

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, 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.

Joe Graffagnino
President

President's Message

President’s Message – November 2012

I am filling in on the President’s message for our President, Joe Graffagnino. My name is Steven Matassa and I am your First Vice President. We had a great giant auction in October, with over 200 bags of fish, plants, and coral. We had a large selection of dry goods at our sales tables and we also had two sponsors, Bill Arnet from Your Fish Stuff with fish food, filters, and heaters, and Paul from Fish Junk with a large selection of Python products. Paul also donated a 55 gallon tank, so thanks, Paul. We had raffle bags, baskets and prizes. We also want to thank Petland for donating a 55 gallon tank and stand to our club. We also introduced our cool new bags with the BAS logo on it which are available for sale at $10 each. They are thermo lined to keep your livestock temperature steady.

There were also free bottles of startup given away by TLC Products that will help start up your tank’s cycle quickly and keep it stable. Anyone that did not get a free bottle, don’t worry — we will have more next month. The only thing we ask for in return is a review of your experience with this product to bounce back to TLC for their reference.

We are always looking for more help, so if you are interested, let us know at the next meeting. We never turn down help.

When you’re cleaning out your closets and find old fish products you don’t have any use for, keep us in mind. We accept all donations of livestock or dry goods. In fact, next month, we are doing a 50/50 with all live goods. Whatever we get for the sale of your live goods, you receive 50% of that the following month. Please visit our new website where you can read the BAS Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email. We’re also having a Forum Contest which is open to anyone who registers on our forum. The member that has the most posts will receive $25.00 in BAS Bucks and the second most posts will receive $10.00 in BAS Bucks. For anyone who doesn’t know, BAS bucks can be used at any of our auctions or tables to pay for items at our events.

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!

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 at 7:30 pm, please notify Joe at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

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

Steven Matassa
First Vice President

Announcements

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

President's Message

President’s Message – September 2012

Dear Aquarist,

Welcome to the start of our new season. Our guest speaker was most probably the best fish breeder in the United States, if not the world. Mike Hellweg came in from St. Louis, Missouri to discuss his fish breeding contest with Ted Judy. Mike bred 169 species of fish in one year. The contest was sponsored by Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine. The first question on everyone’s mind was “Would you do it again?” Mike’s answer was “Definitely not!” It was a grueling 12 months of non-stop water changes, feeding fish and changing fish into various tanks. The discussion and presentation was educational and very enlightening, especially to people who enjoy breeding fish. Mike was very generous with his ideas and success stories and even spoke on some not so successful spawns. The Q & A went on for a long time. It was interesting to note that several members procured a couple of Mike’s books via our website link to Amazon.com. Mike was happy to autograph each book during the meeting.

October brings our Fall Giant auction featuring marine fish and corals, freshwater plants, fish and invertebrates. As always, we will have many bags of your favorite species. Great bargains will be available, so make sure you come to the greatest auction in New York on October 12. Our unique sales tables will be open for shirts, hats, books, magazines and other aquarium equipment and supplies. Doors open at 7:30 and the giant auction will start at 8:30 PM sharp!

As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

People still ask me why haven’t they received the Bulletin and Aquatica in the mail. The reason is that they are now on our web site in vibrant color! So please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

Speaking of our interactive Forum – we are having a contest every month for the most posts on our Forum. Please post aquarium-related questions and help provide answers to other hobbyists. You can also post items for sale and ask for items you need. There will be a $25 BAS BUCKS first prize and a $10 BAS BUCKS second prize for the most posts! It is a great place to web connect with other members and a fun location to interact and share information. Several of our wonderful sponsors have “rooms” within our Forum, such as Air, Water & Ice, Zoo Med and Reefs2Go.

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!

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

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.

President
Joe Graffagnino

Articles, Freshwater Fish

“Breeding Anabantoids” by Joe Graffagnino

1 Comment

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.

Announcements

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

Announcements, BAS Events

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

June 2013 | July 2013 | August 2013

Articles, Freshwater Fish

“Breeding Blue Angelfish”

1 Comment

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.

Continue reading “Breeding Blue Angelfish” →

Announcements

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.

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Every single attendee at the swap this Sunday will be receiving the following:

  • 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:

  • Joe Yaiullo – Nutrient control in a 20,000 gallon reef and why this matters to you.
  • Gary Parr – “How’d you shoot that?” has helped thousands of hobbyists across the country refine their photographic skills.

    • Lots of free corals will be given away at our frag demonstration station throughout the day including chalices, soft corals, SPS and more.

    If you have not already RSVP’d, do it now on the first post in the thread here:
    http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/spring-frag-swap-2012/119980-mr-spring-frag-swap-sunday-may-20th.html


    Don’t wait until the event is sold out!
    President's Message

    President’s Message – May 2012

    Dear Aquarist,

    The May giant auction was a huge success. We had over 200 items up for grabs and a packed house of members and friends looking for (and finding) great deals. We had an enormous selection of marine fish, invertebrates and corals, as well as freshwater plants, fish and interesting shrimp and snails.  We needed our three auctioneers because there were so many items that their voices were getting tired really fast. Dennis Alestra, Bill Amely and former President Seth Kolker all pitched in and made like a tag team, giving breaks to each other when needed.

    We also had several tables represented by Your Fish Stuff manned by Bill Arndt and his lovely wife (who won the 50/50 drawing), Python Products, and Charles Stein aquatic supplies, in addition to BAS equipment with a special $1 only table. Members and friends departed the evening with many great deals.

    June will be our final event for the year.  As always, we shall finish it off with a big bang and who better to end the year with than Todd Gardner, whose topic for the evening will be “Getting Started In Marine Aquaculture.” Todd is an aquaculturist at the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center. For a great night of educational fun, join us on June 8 at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.
    We are planning a bus trip to Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center, Riverhead, NY, on Saturday July 28, 2012. Anyone interested in attending, please let me know at the June event.

    I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different topics offered, please let me know. June is elections month; please consider running for a position as an Officer or a Board member. If anyone is interested in running for a position, please let me know at the beginning of the June meeting. Believe me, we need all the help we can get.

    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!

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

    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.

    Joe Graffagnino
    President

    Announcements

    Earn 50%* on donated livestock in June 2012

    1 Comment

    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/

    BAS Events

    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

    Event Photos

    [nggallery id=15]

    Event Donors

    Individuals

    Bernard Deren, Louis Beltran, Louise Bergstresser, Bonnie Biancardi, Matthew Bronsnvag, Joe Caparetti, Anthony Denicola, John Fox, Lita Goldberg, Joe Graffagnino, Marty Karfinkel, Gene Kogan, Kay Martin, Steve Matassa, Seth NovickScott Peters, Chris Potter, Dan Puleo, David Ramirez, Nelson Rowe, Charles Stein, Ken Walsh, Michael Weiner


    Local Stores

    Absolutely Fish, Aquarium Village, Aquatic Empire (Tommy), Brooklyn Zoo, Mark’s Discus, Pacific Aquarium, Pet Shanty, Petland Discounts, Royal Aquarium, Tri County
    BAS Events

    BAS Event – “Setting Up A Fish Room” by Larry Jinks, April 13, 2012

    This BAS meeting was hosted at the New York Aquarium on April 13, 2012

    Title: “Setting Up A Fish Room” by Larry Jinks

    Event Flyer: Download / View Here

    Event Photos

    [nggallery id=14]

    Event Donors

    Individuals
    Bill Amely, Norman Benjamin, Walter Chow, John Fox, Joe Graffagnino, Brian Goldstein, Mike Gallo, Abid Ikram, Larry Jinks, Marie Licciardello, Kay Martin, Steve Matassa, Frank Nell, Scott Peters, Dan Puleo, Lisa Quilty, Dan Smith, Ed Vukich

    Local Stores
    Brooklyn Zoo & Aquarium,Fauna,Mark’s Discus, Pacific Aquarium, Petland Discounts, PetQua, Royal Aqua World,

    President's Message

    President’s Message – April 2012

    2 Comments

    Dear Aquarist,

    The warm winds of April blew in a good friend of Brooklyn – Larry Jinks. Larry is the apex fish breeder. He stands alone in his entitlement as the “Grand Poobah Yoda” of fish breeders, with greater than 4,000 BAP points. This is truly an unbelievable achievement. How many guesses do you want for what Larry’s topic for the evening was? Yes, about fish breeding, BUT Larry went one better – his topic was creating your own fish room. What Larry did was visit and take notes from every person who breeds a lot of fish. He took all the best and none of the worst hints and created the ultimate fish room for breeding and raising fish. It was a fantastic evening. Larry drove up from North Carolina and brought with him many species of fish that he generously donated to our club.

    May not only brings the flowers, but it also brings our Giant Auction! Yes, on May 11 there will be no speakers, only fish, plants, corals and aquarium products. As always, this will be a lively event that brings people in from the surrounding areas. It is not to be missed, with the best and most hard to acquire species any hobbyist has ever seen.

    There will also be several vendors available that have many unique and interesting items. So come on down and join us on May 11 at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

     
    We will be panning a bus trip to Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center, Riverhead, NY. We are looking at Saturday July 28, 2012. Anyone interested in attending, please let me know at the May event

     
    I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different topics offered, please tell me. 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!

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

    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.

    Joe Graffagnino
    President

    Articles, Freshwater Fish

    What’s In A Name? Much Confusion! by Joseph Graffagnino

    What’s In A Name? Much Confusion! by Joseph Graffagnino

    As Chairperson of the Breeders Award Program, I must research fish species to determine that the hobbyist who has bred that particular species, registers all of the particulars of that species onto the breeder form, accurately and truthfully. On rare occasions I must question the breeder regarding the spawning behavior or the environment or the aquarium parameters of that species if what the person has written is beyond the normal parameters of that particular species’ requirements. In almost all cases the hobbyist has rendered the information truthfully and accurately because many species can and do spawn outside of the range the “experts” list for them.

    I use a multitude of methods to determine the accuracy of what the person applies to the breeder form. During the fish fry witnessing, I need to verify that the species is indeed the one supported by photographs or drawings. I use several research books such as Baensch Atlases on tropical fish, Tropical Fish Hobbyist research books on various species and also aquarium related books on particular geographic areas and their endemic species. I also make generous use of the World Wide Web, searching aquatic fish sites, international club sites, such as Planet Catfish, American Cichlid Association, American Livebearer Association, American Killifish Association, International Betta Congress; the list goes on and on.

    I believe that I have all of this finally under control when the powers that be decide to change the names of fish species. Some of the experts say that the reason for the name changes is to better align groups into families based on the species’ fins, teeth and jaw bones and/or skeletal body bones. Others say the reason was to sell books with the updated species names. Any way you look at it, when one researches the fish presented, it is a nightmare to verify it wasn’t presented before.

    As an example; I found a very nice Central American cichlid that goes under the name Cryptoheros myrnae. The fish were in a plastic bag and obviously stressed, so the coloration and close inspection would have to wait until they were home and acclimated to an aquarium prepared for cichlids. Through trial and error, I had tried to breed these fish. My error was trying to breed them in a gravel-free tank. After I moved several members that weren’t breeding into another tank, I noticed the relocated fish were digging in the gravel and moving it to clear an area near the cave they wanted to spawn in. Aha! So that was a little secret they shared with me.

    No problem. I added gravel and kept a pair, or what I believed was a pair, in a separate 10 gallon tank that contained caves. A couple of months went by and viola! a batch of little babies came out of the cave and were guarded and paraded around by mom and dad. Great! Now I wait the required two months before I can register them as being successfully spawned and reared. I look up the species and discover the common name is Topaz cichlid. That name stirs my memory a bit. I check through the voluminous records of the Breeders Program and discover that I had already bred Topaz cichlids five years previous. In those days, they were called Archocentrus myrnae. No credit is given for breeding the same species twice, even though it went through a name change. I was aggravated and wanted to give the fish away at my earliest opportunity so I can clear my aquarium to breed another species.

    The next species I want to breed is called Melanochromis Joanjohnsonae Exasperatus, a beautiful African cichlid that goes by the common name of “Pearl of Likoma.” Oh wait, this species also had a name change. It was formally called Labidochromis exasperates. All right, how about Cichlosoma sajica, the “T Bar Cichlid”? Wait! it also changed its name to Cryptoheros sajica- darn it, foiled again!

    President's Message

    President’s Message – March 2012

    Dear Aquarist,

    March is a warm month for us and it became sizzling hot when Tony Vargas came in to be our guest speaker. As always, Tony provides a fantastic presentation to our marine loving and freshwater members. Tony’s topic for the evening was “Successful Reef Aquariums Around The World & How They Got That Way.”  Tony provided dazzling pictures and phenomenal video clips of individuals’ giant aquariums and the audience ate it up. Tony has a new book out entitled “The Coral Reef Aquarium: From Inception to Completion.” Those who purchased the book through our website received a nice discount.  Tony had fun autographing the book for our attendees.  In case you weren’t aware, Tony did his first presentation at BAS, back in the 80’s. Tony hung around with a great group of guys that had gotten into salt water fish and corals and today are leaders in that arena. Are these names familiar- Joe Yaiullo, Greg Schiemer, Julian Sprung? If memory is correct, I think the majority of them started their speaker presentations at the Brooklyn Aquarium Society.

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    April will bring in a great freshwater breeder, probably the greatest freshwater fish breeder ever – Larry Jinks. Larry has bred all species of tropical freshwater fish and holds the record in Brooklyn and North Jersey for the most first time spawns in the respective clubs. Larry moved to North Carolina last year and maintained his passion for breeding fish by creating a fully automated fish room. Needless to say, Larry’s topic for the evening will be “Creating My Fish Room.” So come on down and meet with us on April 13 at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.
    We will be planning a bus trip to Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center, Riverhead, NY. We are looking at Saturday July 28, 2012. Anyone interested in attending, please let me know at the April event.

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    I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different topics offered, 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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    For more info please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455

    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.

    Joe Graffagnino
    President