THE SPLASH THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC.

Photo courtesy of Dwight Lehman

In this Issue: Betta albimarginata Plus Little Yellow Catfish With Spots??

August General Meeting – Jim Gasior Killifish

August/September 2001

MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY

SOCIETY OFFICERS

President: Dwight Lehman (414) 332-3735 Vice President: Ken King (262) 284-2684 Secretary: Heather Hertziger (414) 875-7831 Treasurer: Jerry Michels (414) 353-5370 Sgt. At Arms: Virginia Lehman (414) 332-3735

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairperson: Ray Gettler (262) 662-5591 Splash Editor: Naomi Gettler (262) 662-5591 Board Members: Bonnie King (262) 284-2684 Joe Martin (262) 252-3148 Ron Revolinski (414) 353-7680 Bob Suchocki (262) 246-8739 Past President: Ray Gettler (262) 662-5591

THE SPLASH STAFF

Editor: Naomi Gettler (262) 662-5591 Exchange Editor: Ralph Bahrke (262) 377-6546 Technical Editor Joe Martin (262) 252-3148 Publisher: Judy Martin (262) 252-3148

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

Breeders Award Program (BAP): Kevin Korotev (414) 332-9785 Tom Wojtech (414) 527-0399 Librarian: Bob Suchocki (262) 246-8739 Participation Awards (PAP): Bonnie King (262) 284-2684 Program Committee: Dwight Lehman (414) 332-3735 Ray Gettler (262) 662-5591 Membership: Judy Martin (262) 252-3148 Bowl Show: Ken King (262) 284-2684

VISIT US AT OUR WEB SITE AT: www.fishclubs.com/WI/MAS

PRESIDENT’S PAGE

From the desk of the President:

Here it is August already. The summer is moving right along. There are still many club activities to look forward to between now and the end of the year.

We have Jim Gasior talking about killies at our August meeting and Charlie Grimes talking about diving in Mexico at our September meeting. In between those meetings we have our Fall Speaker Workshop and Rare Fish Auction on September 15 with Jeff Cardwell and Chuck Rambo speak- ing, followed by our Fall Auction the next day. I hope to see as many of you there as possible because we have some great speakers lined up.

I would like to thank Gary Lange for his informative talk on rainbows at our June meeting. I certainly learned things about rainbows and will be giving them a try in the near fu- ture.

For those of you that missed the picnic in July, you missed an enjoyable afternoon of food and football and sitting in the shade. Ray Gettler was the master of the grill for the after- noon. There were sausages, burgers and corn from the grill and the usual abundance of salads and desserts. No- body went away hungry. Thanks to Naomi for organizing the picnic again and Ray for cooking all afternoon.

Don’t forget about the Shedd trip October 20.

Dwight Lehman President, MAS

MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC

AUGUST MEETING PUBLIC WELCOME

JIM GASIOR KILLIFISH

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2001 7:30 P.M. (No Admission Charge)

ST. PETER IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH 7801 W. ACACIA – MILWAUKEE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC. 1955-2001

General Club Information & Assistance: (262) 662-5591 www.fishclubs.com/WI/MAS

2001 MAS BOWL SHOW SCHEDULE

August A. Cory catfish B. Bettas C: Apistogramma D: Youth Entry in above categories

July A. Tetras B. Livebearers (no guppies) C. Julidochromis species

Quarterly drawing to be held at the September meeting

D = Youth 2 to 14 years old, any fish in categories A, B or C “DID YOU KNOW???” A LITTLE GOSSIP, NEWS, ETC. ABOUT OUR CLUB MEMBERS THAT’S NOT NECESSARILY FISH-RELATED.

Did you know that Heather Hertziger will celebrate her birthday on August 18th, Judy Martin’s birthday is on August 23rd, and Cassandra Gettler will turn 19 on August 27th. Also, a special happy birthday wish to Sean Lehman, who will turn 21 on August 18th. Celebrating their birthdays in September are Virginia Leh- man on the 3rd and Naomi Gettler on the 23rd.

One of this year’s trips that was sponsored by the ACA was to the New York Aquarium, which not only featured tropical and salt water fish, but marine mammals, as well. One of my favorites was the walrus exhibit, featuring an “excited” male walrus. You may want to rethink which animal you would like to come back as in another lifetime, Bob Suchocki.

Did you know that Bonnie King has acquired yet another nick name? That’s right, Bonnie (just call me Crash) had some trou- ble parking the van the night of the August board meeting. I think she was trying not to get too close to Bob Suchocki’s “Goat“, and ended up hitting the curb and knocking off a hub cap.

Even though the weather was hot, everyone who attended this year’s picnic had a great time. Thanks again to Bonnie and Ken King, who provided “goodie bags” for the kids and some neat fishy items for the adults. As usual, there was the super soaker fight that was limited to the kids this year, and Sean Lehman, who had this year’s largest water gun.

Congratulations are in order to Jason Revolinski, son of Ron and Ingrid. He has been accepted to the Medical College of Wiscon- sin and begins classes on August 13th.

Until next time,

Naomi

BAP UPDATE

The spell check, name check, point check and double checks are nearly done. Tom and I have spent months trying to, hope- fully, improve the BAP language, rules, species names, spawn reports and point schedule. We need your help on the last phase of this.

By August’s end, current (paid) BAP member participants, who’ve registered spawns since August of 2000, should have what we consider to be their individual, updated spawning lists. If you do not; please contact me at [email protected] or call me at 414-332-9785.

More important than having it…is your REVIEWING it. You will want to look for species name changes, point changes, missed or incorrect entries. This report belongs to you. It is your re- cord. You are the only one that can truly know it. Do not hesi- tate to question, but be prepared to defend!

Any changes to your spawning list must be made known to me by the September, 2001 monthly meeting.

After that event, Tom and I will finish our work. Complete “packets” will be available at the October, 2001 monthly meet- ing. There will also be a few certificates and plaques (and up- dates) to award.

Thank-you for your patience in this matter. We hope you will find it worth the wait.

Kevin Korotev MAS BAP CO-CHAIRMAN 8/5/2001

Wading Thru the Exchanges …

By Ralph Bahrke, MAS

RBahrke@aolcom)

There is a wealth of interesting articles available in the ex- changes. Here are just a few…

REVIEWS

The GCCA “Cichlid Chatter” from our friends in Illinois has been a source of great articles on fishkeeping. The May 2001 issue is no exception.

“The Ultimate Shell Dweller Tank” by Bob & Laura Matthews puts a new twist on raising those fascinating little guys so dear to my heart. Would you believe a 125 GALLON TANK? Why not? How about clear plastic shoe boxes in the tank?? This entertaining article with a focus on economical ways to decorate and setup a large tank comes complete with step-by-step pho- tos. Great article.

Like ‘em big & brawny …10 to 12 inches? In the same issue… check out Del Calhoun’s article one of the big guys “Central American Cichlidom – N. Istlanum” a great little monster from Mexico.

The “Michiana Tropic Times” from the folks in South Bend, Indiana continues to provide informative articles.

The April 2001 issue contains part II of Ed Fitzgerald’s article on “African Cichlids Breeding Behavior” namely..”How to Success- fully Strip the Eggs & Fry From an African Cichlid Female”. (Iggy: you may want this one too).

The May 2001 issue contains another informative article from this prolific aquarist “Breeding the Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens)”. Ed details the need for conditioning both male and female, and “introducing” them. He continues with bubble- nest building, spawning, fry care, and the importance of cover- ing the fry tank. Ed says “The covers are needed to keep the warm humid air in the tank. Somewhere between 4 to 6 weeks the fry will be forming what is called a labyrinth. This is what allows them to take air from the surface of the water to be ab- sorbed into their system instead of gills”.

“’Here’s Kevin’ Ramblings from Kevin Carrol” is a column in the North Jersey Aquarium Society “Reporter”. His May 2001 arti- cle “Inner City Blues: Julidochromis Regani” details his exploits with “Julies” and the use of Cyclops-Eeze as a substitute for the expensive artemia cysts.

For you cat lovers out there…”Farowella Cats – by Paul & Linda Parciak appears in the March 6, 2001 issue of “The Underwater News” of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society. Anyone who has done “cats” can relate to the elation of spawning and the frustration of fry raising and the heartbreak of fry mortality. (Secret fry food Green Giant French style green beans).

How about MBUNA?…you say. Our friends in Green Bay have the answer. The “Green Bay Aquarium Society Newsletter” of May 2001 contains several breeding articles by John Gantz: “Otopharynx Lithobates Zimbawe Rock” “Pseudotropheus sp. Zebra Mbenji” “Cynotilapia Afra Cobue” “Pseudotropheus sp. Elongatus Ornatus Tanza- nia”

This issue also contains breeding articles by John Michna: “Barbus Nigrofaciatus” “Poecilia Reticulata” “Neolamprologus Pulcher” “Julidochromis Dickfeldi” “Copadichromis sp. Kawanga”

I would be remiss if I did not mention Joe Huisman’s article “Ancistrus Lineolatus” and John Wolfgram’s “The Wooden Fish Tank” in which he uses oak veneer plywood to construct the tank.

Nice color photos in this publication. Very interesting and di- verse issue!

REPRINTS

“IN SEINE M.E.N.U.” from the Champaign Area Fish Exchange, Inc. has reprinted David Mentjes’ article “Revisiting an Old Fa- vorite…Aequidens Rivulatus in it’s May 2001 issue.

The May 2001 issue of “Tropic Tank Talk”, the publication of the Greater Detroit Aquarium Society contains Ron Revolinski’s article on “Tropheus sp. Black ‘Kiriza’”.

And Kevin Korotev’s popular article “Breeding Hypancistris Ze- bra” is reprinted in the May 20001 issue of the North Jersey Aquarium Society “Reporter”.

REVIEWED MAS ARTICLES

The following articles were mentioned in the May 2001 issue of the “Michiana Tropic Times”:

“Eretmodus Cyanosticus…Say What?” by Jeff Michaels.

“Copadichromis sp. ‘Virinalis Gold’” by Rick Nemeth.

Please contact me if you would like to further explore any of these articles, or if you are looking for other information that may be available in the exchanges.

MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC.

INVITES YOU TO ATTEND OUR 8TH ANNUAL SPEAKER WORKSHOP FEATURING

JEFF CARDWELL SPONSORED BY AQUARIA/MARINELAND AND CHUCK RAMBO SPONSORED BY ACA/MARINELAND

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH 2:30 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M. BURNHAM BOWL 6016 W. BURNHAM WEST ALLIS, WI

COST: $10.00 PER PERSON BEFORE SEPTEMBER 7TH $15.00 PER PERSON AFTER SEPT. 7TH OR AT THE DOOR INCLUDES BUFFET DINNER AND $5.00 PER CHILD (AGES 3 – 16) RARE & UNUSUAL FISH AUCTION TO FOLLOW AT 8:00 P.M. THE RARE FISH AUCTION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken King: (262) 284 2684 – Workshop Dwight Lehman (414) 332-3735 – Workshop Naomi Gettler (262) 662-5591) - Rare Fish Joe Martin: (262) 252-3148 – Rare Fish Betta albimarginata

By Tom Wojtech, MAS [email protected]

I have been enamored of Bettas for more than 45 years ever since I watched Uncle Joe’s rare Cornflower Blue Siamese Fighting Fish flare up at his own reflection back in 1954. He had a pair of these beauties with the male tending his bubble nest where he would place and take care of the eggs he squeezed from the female. The first egglaying fish I had succeeded to spawn was a pair of Cornflower Blue Betta splendens; see the connec- tion? I have since kept and bred splendens many times having gotten stock from some of the top show breeders in the country. Although I really appreci- ate a quality splendens, I’m too lazy to give them the exacting care they need to bench a winner. Years later when I had gotten into the stupid area of fish keeping, as defined by having more than 10 tanks, I discovered species Bettas. The first being Betta smaragdina that was obtained from stock collected by Rolloff through a killie connection in Germany. These smaller species have all the interest and grace of splendens without the attitude or need to raise the males in separate containers. They were my kind of Betta. When Yohan Fer- nando and a couple other local hobbyists decided to start a local Betta club, I joined. Yohan was working with splendens and some species Bettas at the time and became one of the top breeders of species Bettas in the country having a collection to die for. We have traded fish back and forth many times over the years and I have acquired some of the rarest species through his efforts. Yohan is currently the president of the IBC and the source of my start with Betta albimarginata. Betta albimarginata is a relatively new fish from Borneo having been described in 1994. It is a Betta with a twist; it is one of the mouthbrooding species. This is really not too uncommon for Betta species with about half the species falling into this category. No-one knows for sure why there are two distinct spawning methods for Bettas but it is postulated that mouthbrooding developed as a response to living in flowing water whereas the bubblenester’s are from stagnant waters. Which came first is a topic for debate. The apex of desirability in Bettas is held by Betta macrostoma, hav- ing seen both species, I think, albimarginata wins the race. It is a smaller species reaching two inches at full maturity and holds more color when not in full spawning dress. The ground color of the body and base of the fins is a warm honey brown shading to nearly orange on the caudal peduncle. The center of the fins and gill covers and mouth of the males are jet black with the fins having a broad stark white edge. Although my description doesn’t do them justice, the overall appearance is of show stopping beauty. They do not tend to be shy with the males constantly surveying their territory with slow deliberate movements. They are also capable of lightning fast bursts when frightened or when another male invades their space. My experience with the Whiteseam Fighter, as Aqualog calls them, started with a call from Yohan. He was looking to cut down the number of species he was keeping and asked if I would like the last reverse trio of albi- marginata he had. As I said before, we had traded fish back and forth in the past but I have refused some very rare fish including macrostoma when I wasn’t sure I would be able to give them the care they demanded. This was one of those times. I knew the rarity of the fish and was not devoting enough time to what I had, so I was hesitant to accept his offer. I didn’t want to be- come one of those people who had rare species but never bred them. Yohan explained that he had a few spawns and had distributed some to others and these were the last of his babies and needed the room. I acquiesced. I set up a five gallon tank in the manner recommended by Yohan, an active sponge filter, some hiding places, a piece of driftwood with a growth of Java Fern attached, soft water and a tight cover since they are as good a jumper as the most prodigious Rivulus. I also had a second five with similar conditions so I would be able to separate the female for conditioning. When I placed my new charges in their new homes, separating the female immedi- ately, I made up my mind that if I was able to do any maintenance, these beauties would be first in line. I kept in contact with Yohan trying to glean any bits of information I could acquire to help me succeed with my Whiteseams. I watched the female who had been separated to allow her to be conditioned without the harassment of males wanting to spawn. I was looking for signs of added girth and hopefully a small breeding tube. After two weeks, she looked good but did not look ready to spawn. I went back to the source, Yohan. He explained that they have small spawns so she may not be rounded with eggs and I should try placing them together. I was still hesitant. While watching them later that day, I noticed the female spending time flirting through the adjoining glass of the male’s tank. Whenever she twitched her lovely tail at the males, one male would display for her intensifying his already gorgeous colors and made a beeline for the hapless second male who dove under the driftwood. They were ready. I wanted to be able to monitor their introduction so the next day after work; I moved the female into the males’ tank. The female slowly sized up both males who then spent a few minutes in a dominance dance, slowly cir- cling each other, fully extending their fins, intensifying their color and making quick dives at each other. This went on for a few minutes before one male took to hiding. The winner went over to claim his prize. He approached the slightly smaller female with fins extended, gills flared and the confidence of a winner. She was not impressed. The female I was so worried about being torn up by the males, grabbed the male by the mouth and tossed him about like a rag doll. Not to be swayed, he again put his best fin forward and ap- proached her again. He didn’t look as confidant with his now split lip but was as determined. As he circled her in tighter and tighter circles, she took the initiative and nudged him in the side. This caused him to curl his body into a U shape, where the female swam in for the embrace. At the last instant as he closed the embrace, she slid out. This was repeated a few times before I left them to their own resources. I was hungry and it was well past dinnertime. From my experience with other mouthbrooding Bettas, I knew they would be all right from this point and it would take hours for the spawning sequence to be completed. When I returned, the deed was done. The male had a bursting jaw of eggs. You could actually see the eggs through his nearly transparent extended jaw. What to do next? Many mouthbrooding Bettas are not very good parents and end up eating the spawn, so back to Yohan. Yohan relayed to me his methods of rearing the Whiteseams. He had left them alone and let them incubate full term, stripped free-swimming fry and stripped eggs for artificial hatching. One of the Whiteseams problems was not in eating the spawn but holding the fry too long! When a male finally released the fry they were too weak to eat and live. I decided to remove the female and extra male to the other five and leave the incubating male alone and then try to strip him after 10 days. In trying to be as careful as possible and not spook the incubating male I netted out the female. I then went for the extra male. You would not believe how fast this sedate graceful fish can be! I chased, I swore, I was convinced the male would eat the spawn. I suc- ceeded in catching the male and put him with the female. Wrong male. He was the incubator. To cause the least disturbance, I caught the other male and placed him in with the pair. I could not simply re- move the female since I had a few tetras in the five where I conditioned her and they would be even harder to remove. I went in to get the right male out, the one with a split lip. Gotcha! Placed him back in the spawning tank. Wrong again!!!! I could make a truck driver blush with the kind terms that spewed forth from my mouth. I tried to regain my composure and caught the right male and put him with the other male. One more try. Don’t even think about it; I couldn’t make that mistake again. Wanna bet! I was hopping mad. I knew he wouldn’t take this kind of abuse and not eat the spawn. I was crazed. I was furious. I did one more switch; this time I got it right. Yes, he was still holding but had this real bewildered look on his face, he really did. The worst part of the whole ordeal was there were witnesses, Jeff and Rob, had come over to see my fish and get a couple from me. After they left and I had regained a calm demeanor, I resumed a triad of cursing for being so inept. Sufficiently vented, exhausted, and still having an incubating male, I went upstairs. The wait began. The male was a model parent and incubated for the next 10 days uneventfully. I was hoping that, being alone; he would release without any problems. No such luck. I’ll wait one more day. No release. I have to strip him, remembering Yohan’s experiences. This meant I would have to catch him again and hold him and not kill him in the process of strip- ping. His jaw was not nearly as full as it initially had been but he was defi- nitely still holding something. I gently as possible held the small thin male head down and shook with his head in a small specimen cup. Nothing. I shook harder. One fry popped out. I shook again, repeatedly. One more fry was released. I persisted. No more fry, I put him back in his tank and put in a couple brine shrimp. He ate. Either it was all the fry he had or my attempts caused him to eat the rest. I caught him and placed him with the pair. The fry were long and very thin. I place them back into the spawning tank. These are the oddest fry I had ever seen. They were jet black with a white mouth and top of their head. The fins looked like black bumps on their bodies giving them a distorted look. They were able to eat baby brine shrimp at this point but after a couple days, I was down to one. He grew evenly and at about ¾” he lost the black color trading it for a light brown. At a little over an inch he started to show a white edge to his fins. He was a male since the females have clear fins. About two weeks later the female spawned with the second male, the first not having fully recovered from his fast. I had no place to separate him from the group so I left him with the pair and tetras and crossed my fin- gers. Since the first male was so tenacious in his duties, I thought I had a chance. He held for ten days. I waited. Eleven days, I waited. Twelve days, I waited. I can’t wait any more. He was still holding so I emptied a two-gallon tank and stole water from both fives to fill it up. I netted out the right male the first time and proceeded to strip him right into the two-gallon tank. I saw five fry. I repeated. I got two more but saw one get half out and go back. I re- peated. I tried to pry his small mouth open and shake at the same time. One more showed up. A few more tries got one more fry and I returned him to his tank. He looked pretty shaky. He did die two days later even after eating and looking like he was going to recover. Maybe I should have kept him alone after his ordeal. Of the nine fry, seven survived, one was a “belly slider” and died after a few weeks. The first male spawned again about a week later. I waited for 16 days without having him release. I girded up my loins for an attempt at strip- ping him. I was down to a pair and after causing the other males’ death, I wanted to be extra careful. I shook. No fry. Shook some more. No fry. I chickened out and put him back. He was still holding but I was done. At 19 days post spawning, he ate. I figured the fry were food for the tetras and thought no more about it. About a week later, I saw a fry in the tank with the pair and tetras. I eventually saw two fry. I do feed them baby brine shrimp every day so they were able to eat but I was surprised. The tank has a cover of long fibered sphagnum moss so there were plenty of hiding places. He spawned a few times unsuccessfully since and I figure he is still protecting the fry but hopefully I will continue to get more spawns from these most beautiful Bettas.

Little Yellow Catfish With Spots??

By Robert Moneyhan, MAS [email protected]

Working at a pet store gives me the opportunity to en- counter many unique species of fish. One afternoon, about two years ago near the end of May, we obtained a group of catfish from one of our wholesalers. The cats had a torpedo shaped body that was pale yellowish green with black leopard spots fading to a bright white belly. They were small, only about an inch and a quarter long. It was easy to tell male from female with these little catfish. They can be sexed just like a live- bearer. The female’s anal fin looks like a normal fish’s anal fin, but the male’s anal fin is modified and resembles a spearhead. I had never seen anything like them before and was immedi- ately captivated by them.

I hunted all over the place (books, Internet, library docu- ments, etc.) but could not find any information on how to keep and breed these little gems. At that time the only information available on these unique catfish was a few photos of dead specimens in atlases (not much information), and a very short article in issue number 12 of the Aqualog News. I decided to research this catfish’s behavioral habits and reproduction my- self. At that time I had NO idea what that would entail. I found out soon enough though! The catfish turned out to be very noc- turnal in nature, venturing out only occasionally during the day to grab a bit of food and then rapidly return to their hiding place. If I was to learn anything about these little cats I was going to have to observe them in the dead of night. There was just one problem though, I’m not a cat that can see in the dark. How was I going to see them to research them? If any lights were turned on in the room, the catfish would swim off and hide. I decided to draw from my experience with saltwater reef aquari- ums where I would watch the nocturnal life using a red lens on a flashlight. So there I was, 3 O’clock in the morning, laying on the floor of my basement with a pen in one hand and a flash- light in the other taking notes. Needless to say, that didn’t last very long. After a lot of very early mornings I decided that I had to do something different. Little did I know what I was about to do next! The only viable answer was an infrared video camera. One thousand three hundred dollars later I was back in busi- ness. I know, who in their right mind would spend $1300.00 just to watch their fish?! A fish hobbyist, that’s who!! We are never in our right minds! I ended up contacting Richard Vari of the Smithsonian Institute’s Ichtheological division. He gave me the e-mail ad- dress of a lady at the National Museum of Rio DeJaneiro in Bra- zil, a Dr. Luisa Maria Soares-Porto. She had just finished a re- vision of the subfamily Cetromochlinae (driftwood catfishes) in 1997, and presented it at the International Symposium of the Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes held in 1998. Dr. Soares-Porto informed me that I have what was for- merly known as Tatia perugiae (syn. T. altae). The new classi- fication of this catfish was Centromochlus perugiae. I spent the next two years taping, researching, taking notes, and taking measurements of the fish and their water parameters. After the March 2001 M.A.S. meeting, while we were awaiting our food at the Rustic Inn, Tom Wojtech asked me how my leopard cats were doing and if they had spawned yet. “No” I said, “just the same old swimming in circles and the male chasing the fe- males”. That night I went down to feed my catfish and some- thing tiny moved! I had perugiae cat fry!! There were 18 that I could count. Most of them still had a small yolk sac remnant, so they couldn’t have been more than a few days old. The only thing I could think of that induced the parents to spawn is that I had done a 50% water change the weekend before, after which I noticed that the deionizing resin on my reverse osmosis filter had expired. The water hardness and pH in the tank had in- creased because of it. The fry looked like little brown splinters of wood a little smaller than 1/4 inch in length and very thin. Over the next few weeks they grew at an alarming rate. Since March they have grown to almost 3/4 of an inch long. At only a couple of months of age they started to develop their spotted pattern. Eventually they looked like tiny versions of their parents. They are very ravenous feeders preferring to search the water’s surface for food. The catfish fry were not picky about what they ate. They ate flakes, bloodworms (insect larvae actually), baby brine shrimp, shaved adult brine shrimp, and live mosquito larvae, it didn’t seem to matter to them. It has been two long years since I started this project, but all the money, lack of sleep, and patience has paid off. It was definitely worth it.

ACA 2001 Or, How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

By Naomi Gettler, MAS

This year’s ACA convention was held in Parsippany, New Jersey on July 12 – 15. Normally, one wouldn’t think about spending part of their vacation in New Jersey, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it truly a beautiful state with many worthwhile attractions.

The Gettler family left on July 7th and visited Lancaster, PA and That Fish Place, the largest pet wharehouse in the country. The rest of the trip in- cluded touring the historic sites in Philadelphia, Atlantic City, NJ, and the Jersey shore, including Cape May. We also went on a whale/ and olphin watch, but unfortunately only saw dolphins. It is truly amazing to see these mammals in the wild. Cassandra and J.R. got their first taste of the ocean at Ocean City, NJ.

Ray Gettler in front of That Fish Place, Lancaster, PA

Dwight and Virginia Lehman left a week early for the convention, and spent their vacation visiting Dwight’s sister in Syracuse, NY, and Virginia’s mother in Cape Cod. They also went on a whale watch while in Cape Cod, and saw many whales. Dwight was able to get several good pictures, and has pro- vided the photo for the front cover of the Splash. Virginia spent a day at a famous quilting shop in New Hampshire with her mother and sister, and Vir- ginia’s mother, Meem, joined us at the convention.

Joe and Judy Martin stopped in Niagara Falls and had a fantastic time tour- ing both the American and Canadian Falls. Joe took some great shots of the falls at night with his digital camera. Of course Judy had to stop at Hershey, PA for her favorite passion, chocolate, and they toured Lancaster, PA before spending a day at the casinos in Atlantic City.

Ken and Bonnie King also stopped at Hershey, and were planning on touring Lancaster County, but unfortunately the day they were there a tornado also visited the area, and, as a result, their sight seeing was limited.

Warren and Carol Kloth also visited Hershey, Lancaster, Philadelphia and Atlantic City, and had a great time touring the New Jersey country side and the Turnpike system, and drove through Holland and Lincoln Tunnels (twice, I think). According to Carol, they were on their way to Albany, NY, when they realized they were going the wrong way. Warren sure is an adventur- ous driver, since the freeways in the Newark area are six lanes on each side.

We “bumped” into Warren and Carol on the Garden State Parkway on our way to the convention, and also saw Mike Schadle and Robin, who unfortu- nately were having car problems. The next time you see Mike ask him how to “cook” a caravan.

Ed Curran flew out to the convention and stayed with a friend of his from the area. I hope that Ed had fun at his first convention. He probably attended more of the talks than anyone else from the Milwaukee group.

The first two days of the ACA included tours to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Thursday, and to the New York Aquarium, Coney Island, and the South Street Sea Port District on Friday. Everyone from the Milwaukee con- tingent who attended these tours had a great time, including the bus ride back to the hotel, which featured a scenic tour by our bus driver, who was lost.

The MAS members found a great Irish pub in Whippany, NJ, a short drive from the hotel, where we had dinner on Thursday night. The service was great, the portions huge, and the group thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We were joined by Jeff Filz, our MAS member from Appleton, and his friend, Joe Huisman. Warren had the largest Reuben sandwich I have ever seen, and Dwight’s corned beef and cabbage dinner could have fed a family of four.

This year’s convention was hosted by the North Jersey Aquarium Society. They were very well organized and exceptionally good hosts. This hospital- ity room even featured a bartender, who served the now infamous NJAS special “red drink”. There was the usual fun and merriment at each night’s festivities. The Babes in the Cichlid Hobby again had their silent auction table, featuring many unusual fish items like a cocktail dress with a fish de- sign, a cookie jar in the shape of a fish, fish jewelry, etc. This looks like it may turn out to be an annual event. The preliminary figures totaled over $4,000 which will be donated to the Guy D. Jordan Endowment fund and the Paul V. Loiselle Conservation fund.

I am told that the speakers on Saturday were again very informative since instead of staying at the convention, I went with Cassandra, J.R., and Cas- sandra’s boyfriend, Bill, into New York City, along with the Kane family from Atlanta. Warren and Carol attended the banquet on Saturday night, and had a great time. Carol told me the meal was excellent. The rest of the gang broke up and went different ways, some went back to the Irish pub, and the Gettler entourage found another pub that featured 1 ¼” lobster din- ners for $12.95 and 16 oz. Steak dinners for $16.95. Again, the food was great.

Of course there was the auction on Sunday, and a shopping opportunity for the ladies to a local outlet mall. It was hard to drag Warren out of the auc- tion to take a group photo. Ken King was also hot on the trail of a tropheus species that was up for auction.

The ACA convention is a great way to make new friends, catch up with pre- vious year’s friends, acquire new fish, keep learning about the hobby, and do some sightseeing along the way. Mark your calendars for next year’s con- vention, which will be held on July 25 – 28 in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information on “Cichlids on My Mind”, visit their web site at ACA2002.com.

The gang from Milwaukee at the auction on Sunday Front row, Bill Bojar, Cassandra Gettler, Naomi Gettler, Judy Martin, J.R. Gettler. Second row: Carol and Warren Kloth, Bonnie and Ken King, Dwight and Virginia Lehman, Joe Martin, Ray Gettler Corydoras polystictus

By Dan Cram MAS

Corydoras polystictus is just one of many of the dwarf catfishes of Brazil. This Cory resides in the main river of the Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Corydoras polystictus, often called the “Big-Blotch Cory” attains a length ap- proximately 2 inches in length. Having large black dots over its entire body and also having a huge black blotch where the body ends and the caudal fin begins.

Males and females are the same length, but it’s the females that are truly different. The female is wider at the shoulders than the male. Making the female look broader larger than the male when viewed from above the fish. A general consensus is that one must use two males for every female in the spawning tank; so the 2:1 ratio might be regarded as a minimum when spawning.

I purchased six of these Corys from a pet store in downtown Milwaukee late last summer and immediately put them into a 55-gal tank that already housed 4 six inch Blue discus. It seemed that the discus did not even know of the existence of the catfish, even when the catfish were spawning. The tank is heavily planted and is powered by an underground filter.

The cats seemed to grow rapidly, even though it took several months to bring the cats to size and then into breeding condition. As the cats matured they would start to assume the T-position, the time was right and they would soon be spawning. Not for another two months did this act go on, before I would notice fish eggs stuck onto the glass at various locations. The discus would never even go to these spawning sites and remove the cat eggs. Boy, was I lucky.

Well, I eventually collected quite a number of eggs in different stages of de- velopment. Finally, the eggs would start to hatch and I immediately started to feed them micro worms. This always works with catfish, I thought. Well, it did, I was now on the way to raising the baby cats in specimen containers.

Mind you. That the tank was a 55-gal and the temperature was being held at a constant 80 degrees, tap water for now, since the discus are not ready to spawn. The fry were fed a variety of flake food and even black worms, blood worms and adult and baby brine shrimp.

A New Badis Badis sp. “Scarlet”

By Kevin Korotev [email protected]

The 26th AQUALOG NEWS has a headline, “Fantastic Dwarf Badis Discovered in Assam Lately”. Frank Schafer writes the arti- cle. In the article, the author states that the fish was first imported at the beginning of June 1999. He also states (I summarize) that it is NOT one of the 3 presently known species; It is a dwarf. The article ends with this, “All the Badis known to date are cave- spanners…”

This article and my experience with Badis Badis was all I had to go on.

I bought 8 Badis sp. “Scarlet” and set them up in a 50% R/O water to tap water mix. I set the temp at 78-80 degrees, fed them live and frozen foods (the only things they’d eat), placed a simple co- conut shell in the tank and waited. This set-up had worked fine for their bigger cousins. I expected similar results.

It didn’t work.

I tried PVC tubing, clay pots, little terra cotta huts…I tried small tanks, large tanks, soft water and –heaven forbid – I even tried TAP WATER! I tried separating the sexes, underfeeding, and overfeeding…

Who was it that defined insanity as “Continuing a behavior while expecting different results”?

If I kept live plants, I would probably have spawned this fish months ago with little effort. In fact, I suspect a handful of Java moss would have been enough. The final, successful experiment was with a new item I’d never used. TW and Gary (Pets ‘n’ Things) had suggested it for some of my other fish, so I finally went out and got some “long fibered sphagnum moss”. It’s a great item. It floats for a day or two then slowly sinks. You can has- ten this process or slow it down as need be. It’s natural, does- n’t stain the water badly nor significantly change the water val- ues. It can be a little messy at clean-up time, but we’re used to that.

So, if you get your hands on Badis sp. “Scarlet”, you can try caves, because “All the Badis known to date are cave spawn- ers…” Who knows? Maybe they are…but I’d tuck some Java or sphagnum moss inside first.

MINUTES – GENERAL MEETING JUNE 22, 2001

Library: Nothing to report.

New Members: 73 members 2 new members 2 guests

BAP: A quarterly drawing tonight. There will be an update meeting in August. The whereabouts to come.

PAP: The PAP is up to date except for the fish collecting. The PAP book will be at the August meeting.

Bowl Show: August bowl show will include: Cory Cat Fish, Bettas, Apistogramma September’s categories are Tetras, Live Bearers (no guppies), Julidochromis Species

FAAS: Ken King is sending in the article on the Fall speaker workshop and the information on the breeder program.

Splash: We are always looking for articles. The board meeting is the last day for articles.

Fish Collecting: There were lots of good food. The ladies to a walk through Maxwell Street Days, while the guys collected fish at the local Mukwonago River.

Picnic: Will be July 29 at 12:00 p.m. at Jacobus Park. Bring a dish to pass (meat, buns and beverages provided by the club). There will be gifts for the adult members and fun stuff for the kids.

Speaker Workshop: Will be September 15th at Burnham Bowl. If you sign up early it is $10 for adults. Kids 3-16 $5. Children over 16 same as adults. If you sign up after September 7, the fee will be $15

Fall Auction: Will be September 16 at Burnham Bowl. Sign up to help. Remember it's extra PAP points for helping.

Shedd Aquarium: The Shedd trip will be Saturday, October 20th. The bus will be leaving State Fair Park at 8:00 a.m. The bus is free for members. You will have to pay your admission to the Aquarium.

Christmas Party: The party will be Sunday, December 9. We will be bringing back the White Elephant. There will be adult & kids gifts, craft making. Sign up for desserts or snacks.

T-shirts: The club is still looking for more entries.

Respectfully submitted,

Bonnie King

MINUTES – BOARD MEETING JUNE 30, 2001

In attendance: Ray and Naomi Gettler, Ron and Ingrid Revolinski, Joe and Judy Martin, Bonnie and Ken King, Dwight and Virginia Lehman, Bruce and Diana Roberts, Jerry Michels. Absent: Heather Hertziger, Bob Suchocki Treasurers Report: Currently the club has a balance of $1,949.39 in checking. Of that amount, $152.97 is for the library. June’s mini auction had 21 items for a total of $252.50.

Membership: Judy Martin reported that there are now 73 members.

BAP: No report available.

PAP: Bonnie King will have the PAP book at the August general meeting.

Bowl Show: Ken King announced the following categories for the bowl show:

July: No bowl show - picnic August: Cory catfish, Bettas, Apistogrammas. September: Tetras, Livebearers (no guppies), Julidochromis species

Speakers: Jim Gasior will speak in August on Killifish. Charlie Grimes will speak in September on diving at Custro Ciengas, Mexico. Rick Perez from the GCCA will speak in October on New World Cichlids. November’s speaker to be announced.

Fall Speaker Workshop: Chuck Rambo will speak on Tanganyikan Cichlds and Jeff Cardwell will speak on his Peru collecting trip. Ken King is going over the menus for the dinner, and the rare fish committee will begin looking for fish for the rare fish auction to follow the workshop. The workshop will be held at the Burnham Bowl on Saturday, September 15th.

Auction: The fall auction will be on Sunday, September 16 at Burnham Bowl.

FAAS: Ken King will be working with Kevin Korotev and Tom Wojtech on the BAP program and sending the report in to FAAS for their BAP program.

Store Liaison: The club is still looking for a member to act as a liaison between the club and the local fish stores. Contact Dwight Lehman if you are interested.

Raffle: Joe Martin reported that the club took in a smaller amount than normal at the June raffle.

Web Page: Ron Revolinski is currently working on updating the web page. He would like to invite Shawn O’Brien from the Fish Clubs site to our fall speaker workshop.

Stationery: Jerry Michels made a motion, which Ken King seconded, to look into having sta- tionery printed with our logo for the club’s use. Motion passed.

Picnic: Plans are being finalized for the picnic, which will be on Sunday, July 30th at Jacobus Park. Approximately 35 members and their families have signed up to attend.

Shedd Trip: Dwight Lehman will have a sign up sheet at the August general meeting. The club will provide the bus. Members will need to pay for their admission into the aquarium. The date for the Shedd trip is Saturday, October 20th.

Christmas Party: Jerry Michels will have a planning meeting for the Christmas Party after the speaker worskhop. The date is Sunday, December 9th at the Mitchell Park Pavilion.

Constitution: The board will need to contact Heather Hertziger to get a corrected copy of the Constitution. The previous copy had several typos.

Joe Martin made a motion to adjourn, which Ken King seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Naomi Gettler

Shedd Aquarium Trip

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 20 for the MAS sponsored trip to the Shedd aquarium in Chicago. The newest exhibit is the Amazon Ris- ing which show Amazon River from low water to the floods and the reced- ing water. Also at the Shedd is the Seahorse Symphony which is the world’s largest collection of seahorses and their relatives. The aquarium is home to seals, sea otters, penguins, dolphins, beluga whales among the usual aquarium residents.

The club will supply the bus and we will board at 8:00 a.m. at the State Fair park and ride lot near the Petit ice rink and head for the Shedd. You will be responsible for your own tickets at the Shedd. The cost is $15.00 for adults (12-64) and $11.00 for children (3-11) and seniors. It includes the aquarium, Amazon Rising, Caribbean Reef, Oceanarium and Seahorse Symphony. For an additional $3.00 you can get the audio tour also.

We will be boarding the bus at 3:00 p.m. and go to Scott’s Pet Store in Westchester and spend approximately 1 hour there. We should be arriving back at the park and ride lot at about 6:00 p.m.

There will be a sign up list at the August and September meetings.

Please sign up as soon as you know if you are going so that we may get a reasonable count. There are only 47 seats on the bus so the first to sign up get the seats.

THE MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC.

Presents a TROPICAL FISH AUCTION

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2001 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

THE AUCTION BEGINS AT 12:00 NOON ADMISSION IS FREE!

For additional Auction information contact:

Naomi Gettler (262) 662-5591 www.fishclubs.com/WI/MAS

MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY 1955-2001

The Milwaukee Aquarium Society is a non-profit organization promoting tropical fish keeping. PISCES PAGE 6767676767 For Sale – Want – Trade – Give away

20 Gallon High Tank, Heater & Sponge Filter: $20.00

10 Gallon Tank, Top, Heater & Sponge Filter: $15.00 Contact Ray Gettler (262)662-5591 E-mail [email protected]

Neolamprologus leleupi 2 - 3 inches $3.00 each Sciaenochromis Fyeri 1 1/4 + $2.50 each Tropheus Moori Namansi 1 1/2 + Group of 8 $120.00

Contact Ron Revolinski (414) 353-7680 E-mail [email protected]

Would like to trade two 44 Gallon tanks for two 33 Gallon Long.

Contact Cheryl or Shirley Ratzman at (262)786-6877

To submit a request for an upcoming issue, please send desired information to: Naomi Gettler, S74 W25825 Hi Lo Drive Waukesha, WI 53189 Or e-mail at [email protected] 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 MILWAUKEE AQUARIUM SOCIETY, INC. T SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST

DESIGNS WERE VOTED ON AT THIS YEAR’S PICNIC

NEW T-SHIRTS WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON!! MORE DETAILS AT THE AUGUST GENERAL MEETING

EDITOR’S NOTE

Although summer is almost over, you will note that many of our members have stayed serious about the hobby, even though the weather has been great and most of us would rather be outdoors doing various activities. Thanks to everyone who contributed articles. If they didn’t appear in this issue, I am sure they will in future ones.

It’s great to get articles with pictures. If you can’t send them to me via e- mail, I now have the capability of scanning your photos. Keep that in mind.

Soon the auction season will start (including our rare fish auction on Sep- tember 15) along with more opportunities to obtain new fish to keep, and more articles to write – so I look forward to lots of articles this fall.

Naomi

AQUA EXHIBITS HUGE SELECTION OF FRESH & SALTWATER FISH OPEN DAILY 10 - 6 SUN. 12-5 4000 GALLON SHARK DISPLAY! 1335 N. 3RD (KING DR.) (414) 224-0486 DOWNTOWN 1 1\2 BLOCKS NORTH OF THE BRADLEY CENTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 24th: MAS General Meeting Jim Gasior Killifish St. Peter Immanuel 7:30 p.m.

September 8th: Board Meeting – 5:00 p.m. Contact Bob Suchocki

September 15th: Fall Speaker Workshop – Burnham Bowl Chuck Rambo – Tanganyikan Cichlids Jeff Cardwell – Peru Collecting Trip 2:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For info call: Ken King (262) 284-2684 or Dwight Lehman (414) 332-3735

September 15th: Rare & Unusual Fish Auction – 8:00 p.m. Burnham Bowl For info call: Naomi Gettler (262) 662-5591

September 16th: Fall Auction – Burnham Bowl – 12:00 Noon For info call: Naomi Gettler (262) 662-5591

September 21st: MAS General Meeting Charlie Grimes Diving at Custro Ciengas, Mexico St. Peter Immanuel 7:30 p.m.

October 6th: Board Meeting – 6:00 p.m. Contact Ron Revolinski

October 26th: MAS General Meeting Rick Perez New World Cichlids St. Peter Immanuel 7:30 p.m.

THE SPLASH

The Splash is the official publication of the Milwaukee Aquar- ium 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 fourth Friday of odd numbered months to be included in the next issue. Articles should be sent to the editor, Naomi Gettler, S74 W25825 Hilo Drive, Waukesha, WI 53189. Or e-mail to [email protected]. We will gladly exchange our publication with all interested societies. Please mail exchanges to Ralph Bahrke, P.O. Box 250824, Milwaukee, WI 53225. 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 forward- ing 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 mem- bership consists of hobbyists gaining expertise in all phases of raising and breeding tropical fish, as well as area retailers. Our member- ship’s expertise covers a wide range, from beginners to expert breed- ers, but all members are interested in promoting the hobby and en- couraging others to join in the fun. General meetings are held monthly, generally the fourth Fri- day of the month, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Peter Immanuel Lutheran Church, 7801 West Acacia, 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. 6333 West Boehlke, Milwaukee, WI 53223

The Splash The Official Publication of the Milwaukee Aquarium Society, Inc.

Milwaukee Aquarium Society, Inc. P.O. Box 250824 Milwaukee, WI 53225

Forwarding and Address Correction Requested