ACA News, volume 6, #11


ACA News

Volume 6, #11, November 2020

Amazon Smiles

 

Editor: Alan De Angelo

Publisher: Daryl Hutchins

Contact: [email protected]



Greetings and ever-so-Thankful Salutations!

 

It’s a beautiful 74°F (23°C) today in northern Illinois. Before you get all global warming panicked, we call it Indian Summer, an annual phenomenon. I know, I know, you PC police are saying it’s Indigenous People’s Summer, but for what they pay me around here, Indian Summer is what you get. It is nothing new and has happened for every one of the past 65 years that I’ve roamed the Earth. Here’s another factoid: in grammar school, we all had pocket knives and played with them at lunch outside, didn’t wear bicycle helmets and told jokes that offended nobody. “Cutting” each other up was a daily occurrence and we laughed with each other. Oh, and teachers cracked us over the head with reckless abandon. Hah, most of us deserved it. (Not me! I was an angel; they were sadistic thugs! – D)

What’s this got to do with cichlids? Nothing and yet, everything. We grew up roaming the streets, walking the tracks, slogging through swamps, wading in lakes, riding our bikes sometimes 70 miles a day round trip to visit various lakes with our fishing rods and nets. We explored our world, unafraid. Our fascination with the out of doors led us to many aquatic environments that were ripe for the picking, and pick it we did, coming home with wet pants, muddy shoes, dirty faces, crayfish, minnows, game fish, bugs and gigantic grins on our faces. Water fascinated us. It still does. It’s our way of life.

Our hobby is under attack! Sandy Moore is asking us, all of us, not just the ACA, to donate to PIJAC. PIJAC is in the trenches every day fighting the battle against those that would destroy the aquarium hobby using emotion instead of reason and fact. And don’t you believe for one minute that they only want to stop one thing from occurring, or that it is only our hobby that is at risk. These people want to ban us from keeping our beloved dogs and cats, too. But, they start with one spot and chip away at it as best they can until a crack forms and they get a toe-hold to expand the damage they have begun.
The Hawaiian Pet industry, a totally sustainable industry, is under siege. If they win this battle, the anti-aquarium crowd will come after the hobby as a whole next. Don’t think it can happen? We are now living in a world where rioters, looters and arsonists are allowed to roam free in some of our cities. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything, as common sense is becoming a rarity.
So, open those wallets and let those moths get some air and make a donation to PIJAC to help fight the anti-aquarium lobby. I am now asking the ACA BOT to donate to the cause, too. The ACA can help by being an example to other aquarium organizations and clubs throughout the country. Donate now!

Eternity

LIFE MEMBERSHIPS

As ACA BOT Chair, I reinstated the Life Membership for the ACA. Why should you become a Life Member especially when the ACA has gone digital? Well, for one thing, you will never miss out on any announcements, publications and news that is coming out of the ACA and you will never have a problem with your membership lapsing. Secondly, and most importantly, it gives the ACA funds to work with and do good things for the hobby as a whole, an obvious example would be donating to PIJAC to help the industry. I also instituted a graduated membership system where you can increase your membership level with additional donations. You can even donate to a specific fund if you’d like. Your donations can be earmarked for the General Fund for day to day operations, the Paul V. Loiselle Conservation Fund or the Guy Jordan Fund that is used to fund research projects. So, while those wallets are open for PIJAC, consider becoming a Life Member of the ACA and help us keep the organization on track both financially and by allowing us to do good things in the Conservation and Research arenas. Don’t forget, the ACA is a 501c3 and your membership is tax deductible. Go to > Store > Life Memberships

ACA-CON 2021

CONVENTION NEWS

For those of you that have missed the announcement, the Missouri Aquarium Society is our host for the 2021 convention. Pat Tosie, the Convention Chair, and his fellow MAS members, extend a warm invitation to you all to attend. Mark your calendars and make your reservations early. There is a lot of pent-up energy since this CoVid19 debacle and I’m sure attendance will be great. I’ll see you in St. Louis. convention.cichlid.org

2021 ACA Convention Schedule

Friday July 23, 2021
8:00 am 10:00 pm Tank delivery, show & rental room setup
8:00 am 10:00 pm Vendor Room Set, Tank Rental Room Set up
12:00 pm 7:00 pm Registration Open
3:00 pm 6:00 pm BABES silent auction tables
3:00 pm 4:00 pm Steve Edie: On Keeping Tanganyika Cichlids
4:30 pm 5:30 pm Pam Chin: Tropheus
6:00 pm 7:00 pm Dave Schumacher: Lake Malawi Mbuna
7:00 pm 8:30 pm Dinner Break
8:30 pm 9:30 pm Don Danko: History of Central American Cichlids
10:00 pm 12:00 am BABES Auction
10:00 pm 2:00 am Hospitality Room Open
Saturday July 24, 2021
8:30 am 3:00 pm Registration Open
9:00 am 5:00 pm Tank Rental Room and BABES Auction tables Open
9:00 am 5:00 pm Vendor Room Open
9:30 am 10:30 am Dave Schumacher: Victoria Basin Cichlids
11:00 am 12:00 pm Don Danko: Mouthbrooding Cichlids of Lake Tanganyika
12:00 pm 1:30 pm Lunch Break
1:30 pm 2:30 pm Pam Chin: Swimming with Cichlids – Lake Tanganyika
3:00 pm 4:00 pm Rusty Wessel: Cichlid’s with Livebearers
3:00 pm 5:00 pm Sunday Auction Pre-registration available
5:00 pm 6:00 pm Social Hour
6:00 pm 7:30 pm Banquet
7:30 pm 9:00 pm Keynote Speaker Steve Edie: The Talk
10:30 pm 2:00 am Hospitality Room Open
Sunday July 25, 2021
9:00 am 6:00 pm Tank Rental Room Breakdown
9:00 am 6:00 pm Vendor Room Open/ Breakdown
10:00 am 6:00 pm Auction (rules will be posted by June 15, 2021)

Link to convention site: convention.cichlid.org

 

Turkey - eat steak!

As we approach the Thanksgiving season, let’s all take inventory of all of the things we can be thankful for, may it be good health, family, friends or a fascination with things that swim. Think about the hobby as you know it and how it can be devastated by far-reaching interests and be thankful for PIJAC fighting for our rights. (This is where I get to sneak in another request for donations to PIJAC.) I am thankful for the 49 years that I have been able to say that I am a member of the American Cichlid Association, the experiences and vast number of friendships that I have made during the years as a member. I’m thankful for the fish hobby in general and the countless hours of joy that it has brought me.
I am also thankful for my annual attempt to make Daryl Hutchins blush as I thank him for joining me, as Publisher of the ACA News, for making the publication more than just a printed email, for his insights, and for his friendship, as well.

(Aaaaaw it ain’t nuffin’!)

The ACA is not only about conservation, research and education, it’s about Fish, Friends and Fun. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

Social Distance

USBB

– Alan


PSSSST:
Don’t forget the OCA Extravaganza … just a couple of weeks to go now
⬇⬇⬇


LOCAL CLUB EVENTS

OCA Extravaganza 2010

Send your cichlid-related news/events to the AN Editor at [email protected] and we will be happy to help you spread the word about your local events. Please allow six weeks lead-time.


Update Details

WHERE ARE YOU?

Please ensure that the ACA has your current e-mail address. Otherwise we could lose touch … e-mails not arriving, fire and brimstone coming down from the skies, rivers and seas boiling, 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, dead rising from the grave, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together – mass hysteria! Oh, wait …

Your street address and/or mobile/phone number could prove useful too … just in case.