In this Issue: AMERICAN CHARACIN BASICS. Plus WHO SAYS THERE AREN T RICHES IN TROPICAL FISH? JANUARY GENERAL MEETING ELECTION NIGHT

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1 THE SPLASH THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! In this Issue: AMERICAN CHARACIN BASICS Plus WHO SAYS THERE AREN T RICHES IN TROPICAL FISH? JANUARY GENERAL MEETING ELECTION NIGHT December 2003/January 2004

2 SOCIETY OFFICERS MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY President: Aaron Glass (262) Vice President: Warren Kloth (414) Secretary: Shane Czarnecki (414) Treasurer: Jerry Michels (414) Sgt. At Arms: Warren Berg (414) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairperson: Dwight Lehman (414) Splash Editor: Naomi Gettler (262) Board Members: Ken King (262) Joe Martin (262) Jeff Michels (262) Ron Revolinski (262) Past President: Dwight Lehman (414) THE SPLASH STAFF Editor: Naomi Gettler (262) Exchange Editors: Brian Torreano (262) Austin Braganza (414) Technical Editor Ray Gettler (262) Publisher: Judy Martin (262) Webmaster: Ron Revolinski (414) COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS Breeders Award Program (BAP): Rob Moneyhan (414) Jeff Michels (262) Librarian: Bob Suchocki (262) Manufacturer s Liaison Kerri Michels (262) Participation Awards (PAP): Bonnie King (262) Program Committee: Ray Gettler (262) Membership: Judy Martin (262) Bowl Show: Ken King (262) VISIT US AT OUR WEB SITE AT:

3 From the desk of the President: Winter is now upon us and we have already been targeted by snowflakes and colder days with more snow are certainly ahead. Hopefully everybody has had ample opportunity to get themselves ready, especially those that have ponds. At the November general meeting I was delighted to have had the opportunity to again be guest speaker with my presentation of the 2003 Aquatic Gardeners Association convention. There were also a large number of guests at this meeting and I hope that they found the presentation interesting and informative. I would like to thank them for attending and hope to see them again at our future meetings. The club is beginning another program starting with the 2004 January general meeting. We will now have a Horticulture Awards Program (H.A.P.) that will target the raising and propagation of aquatic plants. The H.A.P. Chairman will be Aaron Glass with Warren Berg functioning as an assistant. General information along with rules and regulations will be available prior to the January 2004 general meeting. Also at the January 2004 general meeting we will have our annual elections for Society Officers and Board members. We began taking nominations at the November 2003 general meeting and will take final nominations at the January 2004 meeting prior to voting. If yourself or somebody that you know is a member and has an interest in being in a leadership position within the club this is the time to think about it and make nominations. In closing, I would like to thank all the members, Society Officers, Board members, and Committee Chairpersons for their contributions and efforts to the Milwaukee Aquarium Society in We have again had another successful year and with the spirit and dedication that continues to be demonstrated I am sure that the club will continue to enjoy success in years ahead. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!! Best regards, Aaron J. Glass President, M.A.S.

4 MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC JANUARY MEETING ELECTION NIGHT PUBLIC WELCOME SPEAKER TBA FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, :30 P.M. (No Admission Charge) HOFFER S TROPIC LIFE PETS 7323 N. 76TH STREET MILWAUKEE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC General Club Information & Assistance: (262) MAS BOWL SHOW SCHEDULE January: A. Livebearers (No Guppies) B. Photo of your fish tank C. Fishy Serving Dish D. Youth Entry in above categories February: A. Guppies B. Photo of your 8 or larger fish C. Goldfish D. Youth Entry in above categories D = Youth 2 to 14 years old, any fish in categories A, B or C

5 DID YOU KNOW??? A LITTLE GOSSIP, NEWS, ETC. ABOUT OUR CLUB MEMBERS THAT S NOT NECESSARILY FISH-RELATED. Happy December birthdays to Joe Martin and Warren Kloth. We had several members who traveled for the holidays. Austin Braganza and his wife, Chris, were in Hawaii just before the holidays. They had a great time snorkeling and whale watching. Michael and Rosa Laursen traveled to Mexico City with Rosa s family and enjoyed Christmas there with her relatives. Cassandra Gettler, daughter of Ray and Naomi, spent 5 days in the Bahamas with her boyfriend Bill just before Christmas. They also did some snorkeling in the Atlantic - a bit chilly though, according to Cassandra. Did you know that Shane Czarnecki s mother, Diane, really out did herself cooking for the January board meeting. Don t let Shane tell you that he did it all himself. Her cheesecake was exceptional! Thanks again, Diane!! The Gettler s have a new addition to their family. Be sure to ask Ray about his 2003 Harley Soft tail when you next see him. Aaron Glass furnished the following information: Ron Revolinski has updated the M.A.S. website with a newly designed homepage. The site also has photos on it of M.A.S. member aquaria. You can visit the website at Aaron Glass brought back 5 new species of plants that he obtained from the Aquatic Gardeners Association convention that was held in Dallas, Texas this year. Best wishes to Virginia Lehman for a speedy recovery, whom I am told is under the weather. Here s hoping that your Holidays were wonderful and best wishes for a healthy and happy 2004! Until next time, Naomi

6 BAP 2003

7 7323 N. 76th Street - Milwaukee, WI

8 December 2004 SPLASHING THROUGH THE EXCHANGES By Austin R. Braganza & Brian Torreano, MAS Hello all, hope you ve been good this year or Santa won t bring you any fish. Another year is on it s way out, this may be a good time to reflect on the fish that have come and gone. Maybe some that stayed and bred. Reprints were as follows: Spawning the Blue-Eye Rainbows by Jeff Michels reprinted in the Aqua Babble, October This is the official Publication of the Aquarium club of Edmonton (ACE). A very well written article, if I may say so. Jeff has described these fish from the tips of their fins to their blue eyes. These fish belong to the genus Pseudomugil, How do you pronounce that Jeff? Ameca Splendens The Utterly Beautiful Butterfly Goodeid by Austin R. Braganza, reprinted in the October 2003, Reflector. The Reflector is a publication of The Central New York Aquarium Society. Kevin Korotev had his article In Defense of Snakeheads My Experience with Channa orientalis reprinted in the Setember 2003 CalAquarium, the publication of the Calgary Aquarium Society. I noticed two articles on Hoplos 1. Hoplosternum (Dwarf hoplos) by Mike Shockley, Circle City Aquarium Society (CCAC), Indianapolis, Indiana. 2. Hoplosternum Thoractum in The Underwater News, the official publication of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, Inc., Chicopee, MA.

9 Maybe Kevin Korotev started a hoplos trend, as you know he spawned the bubble nest building catfish earlier this year. I d like to end by telling you about a very unique aquarium that is being built at the new Dom Aquaree urban center in New Berlin. It is an aquarium that completely surrounds the elevator. We wish you all the best for the holidays & the New Year. Austin & Brian Editor s Note: I received the following from Howard Norfolk of Aquarticles regarding Kevin Korotev s article on snakeheads that was mentioned in the exchange column: Hi Kevin and Naomi, Congratulations on your Snakeheads article being reprinted in the September Underwater News, Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society. I just got my copy today. Thank you again for letting me add the Splash articles to Aquarticles, and if you have any new ones I'd be pleased to hear. Howard Norfolk DON T FORGET!!! THE JANUARY 23RD GENERAL MEETING IS ELECTION NIGHT PLEASE TRY TO ATTEND THIS VERY SPECIAL MEETING!!!

10 THE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC. Presents a TROPICAL FISH AUCTION SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2004 BURNHAM BOWL 6016 W. BURNHAM MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Doors open for viewing at 10:30 a.m. Consignment of fish and aquatic plants taken from members and the general public New aquariums and equipment will be available Large selection of fish books and magazines THE AUCTION BEGINS AT 12:00 NOON ADMISSION IS FREE! For additional Auction information contact: Naomi Gettler (262) WEB SITE : MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY The Milwaukee Aquarium Society is a non-profit organization promoting tropical fish keeping.

11 AMERICAN CHARACIN BASICS By Eric Rogne, MAS More and more I become fascinated with small schooling community fish. Many species come with red, blue, black, orange, yellow, silver, and gold. They bring an accent to really set off the look of any planted aquarium, with other small aquatic life. The schooling characteristic gives an aquarium a soothing flow. Their personalities in a species only aquarium are much like cichlids. A sense of dominance and aggression most displaced to others of the same kind. There are different levels of compatibility; which I will not talk about at this time. It will be saved for a revised version. Males present to females and spar off with other males just like cichlids. This would be in a manor of a side to side presentation of erect fins to show body size. Very intriguing to see these pint size animals combat with each other. At times you can see a dominant male stake out a section of a breeder tank to where he wants to spawn. On the other hand they do not defend the territory after spawning, and the eggs end up being scattered among the fine leaved plants. Recently a few species of these American Characins spawned in my mine aquarium. You can find that these tetras are easy to spawn, but can be rather difficult to raise the fry under aquarium living. These are the four species that I was able to spawn and raise to the required time for BAP. Such as: Hyphessobrycon columbianus (Columbian Blue Tetra), Aphyocharax anisitsi (Bloodfin Tetra), Hemigrammus rodwayi (Golden Tetra), and Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae (Red Eye Tetra/Yellow-Banded Moenkhausia). I will give more information about these species individually later. They were spawned and raised under similar conditions. Differences will be pointed out with the individual information. The way that I plan to have these species spawn is to have one or two community aquariums where I can easily pull out the species that I wish to try. This could be a twenty gallon up to a 55 gallon. Choose what you have available. The water conditions can be around a ph of 7.5 to 7.8, TDS of around , and a temperature of around 76 to 78 degrees F. The breeders are feed standard tropical flake as the staple. The day before and day of transfer to the breeder aquarium I feed Cyclops and zooplankton. These are freeze-dried foods, and yes live would be better in the best case. I travel a lot, thus I have to use what is convenient. The breeder aquariums are ten gallon bare bottom. I use a simple sponge filter. The water conditions are set up anywhere from a week to a day prior to transfer of the breeder colony. The conditions are set with a ph of (most 7.0), TDS of 20-45, and a temperature of degrees F. This can vary with the species. These modifications may not work with light sensitive egg layers, such as the Paracheirodon innesi (Neon Tetra). I have not had experience with this grouping, but will get into it down the road. I

12 usually buy a group of one species with any fish. I use to spawn little fish like this in standard trios or pairs. I found for me it takes too long to get the spawn. These fish naturally spawn over a couple days. I choose to develop using a group, usually two males and four females. For species where females are much larger than males I used two females and four males. By doing this you will risk predation on the eggs being layed, but the spawning usually occurs the same day of placement in the aquarium. The breeders are placed into the tank with a quick acclimation period. I call this a shock shift style. It is also risky. The fish will be stressed for a few minutes, but most species handle this procedure well. Do not do this to very sensitive tetras. The breeders of choice are also fed just before being pulled from the community aquarium. I have found that some species will not eat while in a species only aquarium, but they will spawn. Now about décor. I use live plants ( naja grass, and java moss). I found these to work best for me. The live plants not only give good hiding spots for fry, but also will contain some livefood. The plants are weighted down with small rocks. Other plants are left floating to give the breeders hiding and privacy. The sponge filter is first placed at a high current flow to give enough dissolved oxygen for the breeders. Lights are placed on a timer for 12 hours per day. Once the breeders have spawned, seen by looking under the bare bottom aquarium, they are removed to minimize predation on the eggs. Do this as soon as possible. I have had situations that resulted in losing the eggs, because I waited until the next day. At this time I may add a black water extract and/or methyl-blue. A small rock is placed under one of the corners of the sponge filter. This will prevent any of the fry from getting crushed. The sponge filter is also slowed down to a very slow rate of one bubble per second. The fry hatch generally for most species within 36 hours. The eyes develop within three days of spawning. The eggs are 1mm in size, and the fry 2mm when hatched. They require small food, thus use something with a small micron size that is also digestible. I use a prepared powder that I will go more into detail on a later article. The fry will grow at a stratified rate. Some grow fast than others. It will get to a point, where if you do not separate the larger from the smaller, you will end up losing fry due to predation of siblings. Get other tanks ready ahead of time. These little bodies are predators by nature. They will do best with live food (insuforia, and later baby brine), but will convert to a prepared food when offered. They constantly look for food. My fry only get fed once per day, but they should be fed multiple times per day. Water changes are done once per week. Initially they are given 10%, and eventually will handle 25-50% water changes in the weeks down the road. With these species a smaller water change is better. I tend to get them acclimated over time to the conditions of the breeder community tank. Hyphessobrycon columbianus comes from the Darien region of Columbia. It is a newer fish to the atlases of our fish community, but a fish that has been enjoyed in the hobby for at least six or more years. Known as the Columbian Blue Tetra, it sports a vivid blue color base on the body with red fins. Males are slightly larger than females and have a longer dorsal fin. This species is

13 very passive and will only get about 5cm. They were spawned with two males and four females. Aphyocharax anisitsi comes from the Rio Parana in Argentina. This fish comes equipped with a silver body and red fins; hence the name Bloodfin Tetra. The males and females are about the same size. Females will have a larger belly when mature. The males on the other hand will have white tips on the pelvic and anal fins. Watch out they are highly predatecious on the eggs. Spawned in same quantity as the species prior. The fry will also cause a big problem with preying on each other. They are slightly nippy in nature. Not too bad, but may be better placed in a faster moving community aquarium when adults. Hemigrammus rodwayi can be found in Guyana. They sport a gold body, thus being called the Golden Tetra. Males will be slightly smaller with brighter gold color and a white tip on the anal fin. Spawned the same. Do not prey too bad on spawns. Found fry in the aquarium with the parents. I had to leave the breeders in the breeder aquarium for week. Fry do at least pick on each other as they grow ( bigger on the smaller ones). Rather peaceful in nature when adults. Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae comes from western Brazil over to Paraguay. Plus this species has a not so much good name to pernounce in Latin. This fish is silver in color on the body with a white/yellow and black stripe on the caudal peduncle. The eyes are red and can be called the Red Eye Tetra. The body in squat and compact. The males are brighter and much smaller than that of the females. This species is very aggressive with each other, and the females bully the males around. I found it better to use four males and two females to get them to spawn. Keep the adult breeders in a larger group in an aquarium that is faster moving with other nippy fish (such as mid-sized barbs). trails. That is it for now. Until next time, give American Characins a try. Happy

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15 WHO SAYS THERE AREN T RICHES IN TROPICAL FISH? By Jeff Michels, MAS I ve tried to spawn a several different Characins over the past year or so and not with much success. In my attempts to propagate a tetra I ve tried multiple methods, any where from separating the adults before setting up a pair to spawn, using groups of adults, soft water conditions, dark tanks, large and small aquariums, you name it. The best I was ever able to do was to raise two fry from one batch to adulthood. Mind you the adults I was attempting to spawn were Milwaukee tap water raised and removed from a community tank were they had been born. The two cases were I managed to get fry from Tetras were both accidental. I had Lemon tetra and ember tetra both spawn in conditioning tanks prior to being set up in a spawning tank. Upon removing the adults and cleaning up the conditioning tank I found, in one case, one baby, and in the other, two fry. Any attempts to find fry in the spawning tanks resulted only in disappointment. This only goes to show how truly easy tetras are to spawn. It s hard to look at a tank of happy mature tetras and not find a male courting a female or even spawning, it s another thing to actually save the eggs from being eaten by the adults and to then raise the fry. After all of my extremely limited successes, I looked for some help and new ideas. Eric Rogne had been submitting a lot of tetras into the BAP so I decided to seek his advice. Eric said he used a ten gallon tank filled with straight reverse osmosis water, a sponge filter, and plenty of Java Moss and other spawning materials. After letting the tank sit without fish for at least a week he stated that he added a group of conditioned tetras, making sure to have females plumb with eggs and several males that had been showing bright colors. Generally after 2-3days Eric said he would see eggs in the Java Moss if he looked close enough and that was his trigger to remove the adults. Then it was a waiting game. It would take the fry several days before they pushed their way out of the eggs and still

16 several days more before the fry would be ready to eat very fine powered food. Eric indicated that this method would produce a number of fry. I tried Eric s method using some Diamond Tetra (Moenkhausia pitteri). Things went according to plan, except the number of fry. At first I only had 3 or 4 tiny silver slivers swimming near the surface and hanging around the sides of the tank, but the next day I found 10 or 12. But then disaster struck, after about a week I could only find 5 fry and then quickly only 1. I assumed the powered food wasn t enough for the babies and that I would have to start all over. I let things sit for a few days and waited, without feeding, to see what would happen. When I finally took a close look at things again I found several babies, much larger then I would have expected. Every time I got out the flashlight and looked for babies I would fins a few more. I managed to find a total of 6, five larger ones and one little guy. The bigger tetras were now eating baby brine shrimp after about two weeks of growth and were putting on size fast. It was fun to squirt in some shrimp and come back in a few minutes to look for these little gray slivers with huge orange bellies; it made counting the babies a lot easier. The little runt could barely eat the baby shrimp and consequently was not growing much. It didn t take very long until one of its siblings made a meal out of the little diamond tetra. Now, after almost two months, the remaining five diamond tetra are almost a ½ long and about 3/16 tall and look like tiny versions of their 1 ½ parents. After all this fuss to raise five fish I can honestly say there is no money to be made in cultivating diamonds in your home. Don t raise tetras to get rich, just raise them to see a sparkle and shimmer in your fish tank.

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18 CATS DOWN LOW and FEATHERS IN THE AIR By Ralph Bahrke, M.A.S. After a major downsizing (67 tanks down to 5) I moved to a new apartment. It was rumored that I was asked to move, but that s another story. Well, my new place was just ideal! I had a private basement room of reasonable size. What better place to put a fish room! I managed to get my 5 tanks up and running with no loss of fish. I proceeded to refill some of my larger tanks ( a 55, a 38, a 30, and 2-20 long). Thinks are going good! Time to get new fish! Here s where I was thrown a curve. My buddy Dan Cram sold his house and was moving to Princeton, WI. He had gotten rid of most of his fish, but still had several plecostomus and a boatload of fry. Could I fish sit while his house was being built? Of course I could. Just what I was looking for four tanks of plecos! The little buggers kept me busy. They preferred romaine lettuce with supplements of zucchini. Bring on the veggies! Tank temperature was a balmy 79 degrees, and filtration was supplied by three #3 hydro sponges. Weekly 30% water changes were done (when I remembered!). One day as I was watching the plecos devour some green stuff, I hit on an idea. Why not find some type of fish to co-exist with the little guys, and use some of the upper areas of the 38-gallon tank? I decided it was time to try some feather fins. I obtain two trios of Cyprichromis leptosoma and put one trio into the 38 with the plecos. They are supposed to be a mid-water fish, but mine spent most of their time near the surface and thrived on flake food and live brine shrimp while the cats fed on zucchini and lettuce. After several weeks, I noticed an obvious bulge in one of the females. She was holding! Cyprichromis are mid-water spawning, female mouth brooders. I didn t observe the actual spawning sequence, but I understand they do a headstand type of thing, release the eggs and catch them before they hit the bottom. Seems pretty hit-and-miss to me. I waited 20 days, and then stripped the female. There were nine eggs with little tails and eyeballs. I aerated them in a specimen container with small holes drilled into it, and hung in the same tank as the parents. They grew rapidly on baby brine, and I was able to feed them easier because of the small container they were in. No problem doing water changes on the babies- just lift the container let most of

19 the water come out of the holes, then put the container down into the water Presto! If you are looking for a way to use that extra tank space, I recommend looking into a mid-water fish like Cyprichromus. They can be a rewarding addition to your tank.

20 NANNOSTOMUS MARGINATUS By Tom Wojtech, MAS About two years ago I found a group of Nannostomus marginatus while making my usual trip to Pets n Things. These have been a favorite of mine for a long time. They used to be a fairly regular import but it had been years since I had seen any for sale. I ended up getting a group of eight. I only had a bare 10-gallon tank available on the low row of tanks so this would be their temporary home. Nannostomus marginatus is one of the smaller Pencilfish and one of the nicest. They have two longitudinal black stripes on a creamy body with a hint of red near the tail end. The fins are edged in black with brilliant red in the center when they are happy. They are a schooling fish so you will see the group glide through the tank in single file or bunch up to feed. The males will select a territory and try to entice females to spawn and square off at other males. They do this in a rather gentle manner and generally for a short time going back to a cohesive school easily. My temporary tank lasted for two years. I was cleaning one day and noticed I had three left. Due to my crummy back I didn t spend much time crawling on the floor in order to get a good look at the tank. I did keep them in 80% RO water and did feed live baby brine but never made any attempt to breed them. The small bunch of Java Moss had grown to take over half the tank. I had not been able to keep up with water changes and green algae covered the Java Moss. One day when I was feeding, I thought I noticed a group of pencils swim into the moss when I came towards the tank. I went through my feeding routine and then lay down on the floor to watch their tank. It took a couple minutes but slowly a group of baby marginatus came out to eat. There were a couple only just starting to show a stripe, which I figured were about 3 weeks old, and a few more about half an inch, which had to be nearly 2 months old. I have seen about 10 fry so far. This prompted me to try to insure their survival so I did a good cleaning and water change. This was a basically bare tank but while cleaning I found out that much of the Java moss had died from being choked by the algae. This must have caused the ph to drop and made the tank acid enough to support breeding. I was surprised to see any babies from these two-year-old fish since most tetras spawn better and easier as young adults.

21 MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY INC. THIRD ANNUAL FISH-O-RAMMA A Swap Meet SUNDAY, MAY 2nd 11:00 A.M. TO 3:00 P.M. BURNHAM BOWL 6016 W. BURNHAM AVENUE MILWAUKEE, WI Fish & Fish Related items - New or used available ADMISSION $2.00 PER PERSON - $5.00 per family VENDOR TABLES AVAILABLE CONTACT JERRY MICHELS (414) TO RESERVE A TABLE OR FOR INFORMATION Web Site

22 Meeting Etiquette Guidelines Monthly general meetings start at 7:30 pm. Please arrive on time. This is to allow you time for open networking, catching up with other members, and completing business as necessary. When the meeting portion is opened at 7:30 pm you are asked to please sit down quietly and give your attention to the meeting moderator (usually the club President). Turn off your cell phone or pager. It is best to put these devices on vibrate, if needed. If you have to take the call please take it outside of the meeting room. In that way, you will not disrupt the meeting and no one else will know about your private conversations. When you find it necessary to get refreshments or visit the bathroom, please remember to do it quietly as possible. Please refrain from talking while someone else is speaking or has the floor. It is rude and disruptive. Writing down your thought and expressing it later may serve you better. Please openly welcome and greet someone you don t know. There may be a visitor or guests in attendance at the meeting. Lastly, have fun!

23 Vice President: No report. Secretary: No report. Web Master: No report. Minutes- General Meeting October 24, 2003 Treasurer s Report: Jerry Michels reported that the club had $1, Of that amount, $ was earmarked for the library. The Naja bill has not been received as of yet. Last month s mini-auction had 39 bags and brought in $ The consignment checks have been mailed out. 1 book was purchased at the fall auction. Splash: No report. Exchanges: No report. Web Page: No report. BAP: If your B.A.P. report is typed or written it will not be in The Splash. It must be in a soft copy format for submission if a person wants it published in The Splash. Library: Ed Curran reported that he is looking for suggestions on books. Manufacture s Liaison: Jeff Michels reported nothing new. Thank you letters have been sent out. PAP: Bonnie King reported that she was in the process of working on it with updates. Speakers: Ray Gettler reported that tonight Jim Gasior would be speaking on Killie fish. Membership: Judy Martin reported that there are 62 members, 13 lifetime members, and 4 honorary members for a total of 79. Bowl Show: Ken King announced that tonight s categories are: Swordtails, Stuffed fish 6 or larger, and Photo of your pond. November entries will be Rainbows, Corydoras, and Place mats of fish. If anybody has any new ideas for the 2004 Bowl Shows let Ken King know. Auction: No report. Fish-O-Ramma: Jerry Michels announced that the date has been set at May 2, Fish Collecting: No report. Board Meeting: The next Board meeting will be at Jeff Michels on Friday, November 7 at 7pm. See Jeff Michels for directions. Picnic: No report. F.A.A.S: Jerry Michels reported nothing new. Need to work on 2003 award submissions.

24 Raffle: Joe Martin reported that there would be a raffle tonight. Christmas Party: Jerry Michels reported that there would be a meeting on October 28. Old Business: The Advertising and Fish Store Liaison positions are open. See Aaron Glass if interested. The club is looking into having a Horticulture Awards Program. New Business: Nothing new to report. Respectfully submitted, Aaron J. Glass President, M.A.S. Filling in for Shane Czarnecki. MINUTES - GENERAL MEETING November 28, 2003 President: Aaron Glass called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Vice President: Warren Kloth, no report. Secretary: Shane Czarnecki, no report. Webmaster: Ron Revolinski reported that the club s site has changed, as far as appearance goes. Exchanges: Austin Breganza & Brian Torreano, no report. Library: Ed Curran reported that the club has obtained a new book about plants that are native to Wisconsin lakes. Membership: Judy Martin reported that there are currently 64 paid, 13 lifetime and 5 honorary members. PAP: Bonnie King, no report. Speakers: Ray Gettler reported that he is working on speakers for Bowl Show: Ken King spoke about the bowl show for the upcoming months. Jan.- Livebearer (no guppies), photo of your aquarium, fishy serving dish. Feb.- Guppies, photo of your 8 or larger fish, goldfish. Mar.- Pseudotropheus Sp., photo of your fish room, knick-knack fish (6 or smaller). Apr.- Platties, stuff fish (8 or larger), Corydoras Sp. May- Rainbow fish, fish jewelry, Jullidochromis Sp. Jun.- Betta Splendens, Fish beach towel, Tetras. FAAS: Jerry Michels, no report. SPLASH: Naomi Gettler reminded everyone that there is a December 7th deadline. Auction: Naomi Gettler reported that the spring auction will be held Sunday March 14th 2004 at Burnham Bowl. Treasurer s Report: Tom Wojtech, filling in for Jerry Michels, reported that the club has $1, in checking. $ belongs to the library. The October mini-auction consisted of 19 bags, and brought in $59.

25 BAP: Rob Moneyhan reported that Jeff Michels has made a form for the club s new specialist category. Christmas Party: There will be a meeting after the October auction to discuss, the party. It will beheld on December 7th. Old Business Advertising and fish store liaison position are still open. Speak with Aaron Glass if you are interested in either position. New Business Nominations for elections were taken at this meeting. As nominated: President- Aaron Glass. Vice President- Ken King. Secretary- Shane Czarnecki. Treasurer- Jerry Michels. Sergeant at arms- Warren Berg. Board Members: Ron Revolinski, Joe Martin, Jeff Michels, Ray Gettler, Warren Kloth. Respectfully submitted, Shane A. Czarnecki MAS Secretary MAS Board Meeting December 5th, 2003 Dwight Lehman called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present: Shane Czarnecki, Ray and Naomi Gettler, Aaron Glass, Ken, Bonnie and Sam King, Warren Kloth, Dwight Lehman, Joe and Judy Martin, Jeff Michels, Jerry Michels, Ron and Ingrid Revolinski. Membership: Judy Martin reported that there are currently 64 paid, 13 lifetime and 5 honorary members. Treasurers Report: Jerry Michels reported that the club has $1,701.02, of which $ belongs to the library. The mini auction consisted of 48 bags and brought in $ BAP: Jeff Michels, Rob Moneyhan: No report. Bowl Show: JAN- Knickknack fish (6" or smaller), Goldfish, Aulonocara sp.(peacock) FEB- photo of your 8" or larger fish, Pseudotropheus sp.,red or pink fish (Valentine fish) MAR- Green fish, Stuff fish (6" or larger), Jullidochromis sp. APR- White, purple, blue fish (Easter fish), Lamprologus sp., Pelvicachromis sp. MAY- photo of your fish tank, Betta splendens, killifish JUN- Angelfish, fish beach towel, tetras AUG- fish shape beach toy, livebearers (no guppies), Knickknack fish (6" or larger) SEP- photo of your tub pond, platys, barbs OCT- swordtails, stuff fish (6" or smaller), photo of your in or outdoor pond NOV- rainbow fish, corydoras and place mats of fish. PAP: Bonnie King, no report. Exchanges: Austin Breganza & Brian Torreano, no report. Fish Store Liaison: This position is currently open.

26 Library: Ed Curran, no report. Manufacturers: Christmas presents have been wrapped. Raffle: Joe Martin reported that there will be a raffle in January. Speakers: Ray Gettler reported that we have no speakers lined up for January and February. April: Chuck Templeton- ponds. March: Rob Moneyhan- advanced salt water. Splash: Naomi Gettler reported that the deadline for the Splash will be some time after the Christmas party. Web Page: Ron Revolinski, not present. FAAS: Jerry Michels reported that he has the December/January booklet. Christmas Party: 19 families have signed up for the Christmas party so far. Joe and Judy Martin will be bringing the puzzles, Ken King is in charge of the white elephant. Spring Auction: The Spring auction will be held March 14th at Burnham Bowl. Fish-O-Rama: will be held May 2nd at Burnham Bowl. Picnic: Naomi Gettler reported that the picnic will be held July 11th at Jacobus Park. Fall Auction: The fall auction will be held October 17th. H.A.P.: Aaron Glass reported that he will have information regarding the club s H.A.P. program before the next meeting. New Business: Nominations were taken at the November general meeting. Shane Czarnecki motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:34 p.m. Joe Martin seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Shane A. Czarnecki

27 AQUA EXHIBITS HUGE SELECTION OF FRESH & SALTWATER FISH OPEN DAILY 10-6 SUN GALLON SHARK DISPLAY! 1335 N. 3RD (KING DR.) (414) DOWNTOWN 1 1\2 BLOCKS NORTH OF THE BRADLEY CENTER

28 THANK YOU! I would like to thank the following people who helped with this year s Christmas party: Ken and Bonnie King, Ray and Naomi Gettler, Joe and Judy Martin, Jeff and Kerri Michels. Hopefully everyone who attended had a great time. Mark your calendars for the 2004 party - it will be held on Sunday, December 5th at the Mitchell Park Pavilion. Jerry Michels MAS Christmas Party Chairman A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Here s hoping that this issue of The Splash finds you all happy and healthy, despite the fact that it is getting out a little later than usual - there were some unfortunate events that occurred at the Gettler household this past December. I am excited about the new year, and the opportunity to make our club s publication even better. There are a few things that must take place to make this possible. I need your cooperation in getting reports and articles to me on a timely basis. I also am in need of someone to assist in typing the few articles that are handwritten. If you are interested, please see me at the general meeting. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2004! Naomi Gettler Editor

29 For sale: PISCES PAGE For Sale Want Trade Give away My aquarium plants are routinely posted for sale on AquaBid. I am able to ship nationwide (including Alaska and Hawaii) via USPS Priority mail. Visit and look for seller name Akaplantboy. Aaron Glass For Sale: Air pumps 1 Airwhist 1000 $20.00 each 1 Supra 4 Filters 3 Emperor Filters (less then a 1yr old) $20.00 each Miscellaneous 1-48" Fluorescent Light (Double bulbs) $ Metal Stand (30 gallon) $15.00 Mike Hablewitz (414) To submit a request for an upcoming issue, please send the desired information to: Naomi Gettler, S74 W25825 Hi Lo Drive Waukesha, WI Or at fishfam@core.com Deadline is the last Friday of odd-numbered months. Although anyone may purchase from the Pisces market, you must be a member to have an ad posted.

30 UPCOMING EVENTS January 23rd: January 18th: February 7th: February 27th: March 14th: May 2nd: MAS General Meeting & Election Night 7:30 p.m. Speaker TBA Hoffer s Tropic Life Pets GCCA All Species Auction Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows 3405 Algonquin Road Contact Chuck Templeton MAS Board Meeting 7:00 p.m. Contact Jerry Michels MAS General Meeting 7:30 p.m. Rick Perez Building a Fish Room Hoffer s Tropic Life Pets MAS Spring Auction 12:00 Noon Burnham Bowl 6016 W. Burnham Street Milwaukee, WI Contact Naomi Gettler (262) Fish-O-Ramma 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Burnham Bowl 6016 W. Burnham Street Milwaukee, WI Contact Jerry Michels (414)

31 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 (Naomi Gettler) no later than the first day of even numbered months (i.e. February 1st) to be included in the next issue. Articles should be sent to the editor, Naomi Gettler, S74 W25825 Hilo Drive, Waukesha, WI Or to We will gladly exchange our publication with all interested societies. Please mail exchanges to Exchange Editor, P.O. Box , Milwaukee, WI Reprints of articles published in The Splash are always permitted and encouraged, provided that proper 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. ABOUT 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 s 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, generally the fourth Friday of the month, at 7:30 p.m. at Hoffer s Tropic Life Pets, 7323 N. 76th Street, Milwaukee. We thank them for their hospitality. Free parking is always available, and guests are always welcome. Annual membership dues are as follows: Families: $20.00 a year; Individuals: $15.00 a year. 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 a year. New or renewal of membership dues should be sent to the treasurer: Jerry Michels West Boehlke, Milwaukee, WI 53223

32 The Splash The Official Publication of the Milwaukee Aquarium Society, Inc. Milwaukee Aquarium Society, Inc. P.O. Box Milwaukee, WI Address Service Requested