Volume 7, #2, February 2021
Editor: Alan De Angelo
Publisher: Daryl Hutchins
Contact: [email protected]
Greetings and Salutations
from the Great Northern Whiteout!
Many areas of the Midwest and north-east got dumped on with 12” of snow or more. Not fun to shovel, either, it was a wet snow, great for making snowmen and snowball fights. Next week starts the deep freeze! What fun!
I hope that you got a chance to check out the information about the International Tropheus Conference hosted by the Ohio Cichlid Association on March 14, 2021 at 1 PM EST. It looks to be a very informative event. Kudos to the OCA. Visit ohiocichlid.com for updates.
(with apologies to J.R.R.T.)
Have you ever noticed that certain fishes fall in and out of favor throughout the years? This phenomenon is especially prevalent in some of the local clubs. Someone brings in a new fish, they breed the heck out of them and then the whole club buys the fish from that initial person, get their BAPs, flood the market and the fish is never seen again. POOF! Gone! That is the importance of Species Maintenance Programs and organizations like CARES. We all need to make a concerted effort to keep fish in the hobby.
A prime example of this is Rocio spinosissima. After being very common in the hobby, it vanished and was not seen for years. The fish has now returned and is being bred and distributed again. It’s apparently a fish that does well in heavily planted tanks. To those of you keeping this species, please, take the tank space to keep it in the hobby for perpetuity. The same goes for many fish that, while they may not have monetary value, have immense significance to the hobby as a whole. Please consider taking on a species to maintain in your tanks for as long as you are in the hobby. If you leave the hobby, please pass the fish along to a responsible hobbyist.
See You in St. Louis
Things are still on-track for the ACA Convention in St. Louis. Look up the details at convention.cichlid.org.
BB Needs You
The need for material in BB is never-ending. Take the time to write an article for us and you will be well-compensated. The ACA will pay by the word for articles and we also pay for photos that are used with the articles. Consider sitting down on one or more of these cold nights and writing for the ACA. Contact our esteemed BB Editor, Daryl Hutchins at [email protected] for more information.
Amazon Smiles
Did you know that you can order from Amazon and help the ACA? The Amazon Smiles Program is designed to help charities make a little money for their operation. When you shop, remember the ACA.
Kudos 👍 💗 💐
Our own Rusty Wessel has recently been elected to the Board of the American Livebearer Association. In conversation with Rusty, I also learned that Matt Anderson, an ACA Life Member, is also on the Board. Tim Stone is acting as the ALA Convention Liason, too. I also know of several other ACA members, including myself, who are members. Many cichlid hobbyists also keep livebearers and are active in their organizations. Swordtails and Mollies are my choice of livebearer but Guppies hold a special place, as well.
Killifish are another story. For the record, I love killies. They are gorgeous and with a fish like Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianum, I could be happy for life with keeping only them. Am I successful with killies? Not so much. There aren’t too many cichlid guys that I know keeping killies but there are a few, like me, that do. But, then again, in 59 years as a hobbyist, I have kept everything from danios to barbs, anabantoids, tetras, rainbows, etc. You name it, I’ve probably kept something like it. I even dabbled in marines years ago and look forward to doing it again. I killed more beautiful and expensive marine angelfish than you can shake a stick at. Lessons learned. We didn’t know back then that copper pipes could deliver a lethal dose of copper to marine fish. We were told that copper was a cure all. If I did it again, I’d use R/O as the base water to remove unwanted substances and build my water from there. This approach is much like an Apistogramma or other soft-water or black-water cichlid keeper would use.
Cichlids, of course, are my passion and will always hold the dominant position in my fishroom. That’s just so cichlid-like, isn’t it? But there will always be room for other fishes, I enjoy them all.
Every month, I try to bring you what is new in the ACA along with different ways of looking at our great hobby. This includes many personal experiences and maybe a few ramblings. I hope that you enjoy it and are entertained. You can put your thoughts to paper and send them in to the BB Editor as an article. I am sure that all of you have something to share. You even get paid! Send your submissions to Daryl Hutchins: [email protected].
Have a great month.
– Alan
LOCAL CLUB EVENTS
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.
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.
