THIRD ROW FROM THE BACK

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Otter Valley Aquarium Society’s May 19 Auction Flyer is on page 6. Please post.

See exciting details on page 5

MARCH 12 at 7pm

David BanksPresident of theTropical Fish Club of Burlington

Speaking on

Breeding Fish - Getting StartedThis meeting will be held at Joan Snider’s home.

See page 5 to get directions

VOL. 7 • MARCH 2013 • NO. 3

OTTER VALLEY

AQUARIUM SOCIETY

WWATERLINEATERLINE

After a brief business meeting and future eventsschedule discussed, I'm still confused.This month we watched a DVD which was

new from the NEC Convention of 2012. The speakerwas the founding editor of Amazonas Magazine,Hans-Georg Evers. The subject mater was collectingin Sulawesi (formerly the island of Celebes). There is amultitude of new fishes to be discovered here and alot of ald favorites. The presentation focused on thefishes and collecting them. Not the conditions of the

villages and number of flat tires it takes to arrive atones destination which seems to make up the bulk ofso many presentations.

I was very impressed with and enjoyed thistalk and look forward to seeing any others he mayhave.

Til the next time, Keep'n it wet.

Brian Scott

The Otter Valley AS meets the 2nd Tuesday of each monthat the Maclure Library in Pittsford, VT, at 7:00pm. We now

meet in the library’stop floor meetingroom rather than theground floor space.This is a large privateroom with comfort-able chairs and a longtable. After parkingplease enter the librarythrough the front doorand go up the stairs tothe left. We will all bethere. John T.

THIS MONTHS EVENT

The NewMagazine ofFreshwater

Aquariums andTropical

DiscoverySubscribe Now!AmazonasMagazine.com

Clifton Park12 Fire Rd.

518-973-1007

Saratoga3083 Route 50518 584-7777

Colonie197 Wolf Rd

518-495-1738

Queensbury118 Quaker Rd518-793-6655

A Full Line Pet Supply StoreFor All of Your Furry, Feathery, and Scaly Needs.

OVAS Members Receive 10% Off Purchase!www.bensonspet.com

Benson’sPet Center

• Mar 12 David Banks - Breeding Fish - GettingStarted. Meeting at Joan Snider’sDirection snider6959@gmail.com

• Apr 9 TBA • May 14 Charles Clappsaddle Breeding

Livebearers - Auction• May 19 OVAS Annual Auction in Rutland, VT.

More Information - page 6• June 11 Joe Ferdenzi Topic TBD• June DTBD* Summer Picnic @Echo Lake• Jul DTBD* Shop Hop• Aug DTBD* Local Collecting Trip• SEPT 10 TBA• OCT 8 TBA• NOV 12 TBA• DEC 10 HOLIDAY PARTY

*Date To Be Determined

2013 CALENDAR OF EVENTSWE MEET AT 7pm AT THE

MACLURE LIBRARY IN PITTSFORD, VT.ALL MEETING ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

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The Tropical Fish Society of Rhode Island's "Triple Crown"Fish Auction is Saturday, March 16th. At St Joseph's ParishCenter, 1303 Mendon Road/Route 122 in Cumberland, RI.Easy access both on and off Route 295 there in Cumberland.Doors will open for vendors at 10AM, the auction starts at 12noon "sharp".There will be "NO LIMIT" on the number of lots per vendor.Lots must be live fish, plants or aquarium related items only.Livestock should be double bagged to prevent leaking and are-bagging fee. Dry goods must be clean and in good "working"condition. Additional rules and auction forms please visit theTFSRI's web site at: http://www.tfsri.net. ContactAl Wagonblott at 401-619-7805 after 5 p.m. daily.

TROPICAL FISH SOCIETY OF RHODE ISLAND MARCH 16th AUCTION

~ ATTENTION ~ New Meeting Room at the Maclure Library

David Banks, along with his wife Janine, have beeninvolved in the tropical fish hobby for almost 30years. Their first exposure to a tropical fish club

was the Aqualand annual auction held in CT back in1983, and from there they were hooked on the idea of aclub. In 1989 they co founded the Tropical Fish Club ofBurlington. From there they became much more involvedin the Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies, whereDavid has served as vice-president, then president andhas also held a number of committee chairs along withbeing the only NEC delegate from TFCB since 1989. Theirfish tanks expanded from the first 20 gallon tank from Janine'schildhood, to a fishroom of 40 tanks. A move fromHinesburg to Grand Isle forced them to reduce the numberof tanks to 25, and then was reduced to 12. The fish interestshave changed drastically over the years. At the apex of40 tanks, they mostly contained African cichlids.Todays fish still include African cichlids, but also manycatfish, rainbowfish, livebearers, killifish and freshwatershrimp and they all fit in 16 aquariums! Breeding hasalways been a strong interest and is what keeps the hobbyfresh and entertaining.

David’s power point program tonight will be onBreeding Fish- Getting Started it is an introduction tothose interested in starting to breed their fish.

Everything, from getting ready to breed fish toraising the fry and all things in between, is covered.Specific breeding processes for three species are alsoincluded. While the target audience is those withlittle or no experience breeding fish, this programwill help experienced hobbyists as well.

PIONEER VALLEY AS Meets 1st Tuesday of the monthat the Springfield Science Museum, 21 Edwards St.,Springfield, MA at 7:00pm. Free parking in lot. Publicwelcome. Info contact: Dave & Linda Giza (413)283-8680 or email: mike@berkshiredesign.com. Fordirections go to PVAS.NET

NEW ENGLAND CICHLIDS Meets 1st Saturday ofthe month and start at 6:00 pm at the Lutz Children'sMuseum 247 S. Main St, Manchester, CT., 06040.For more info: necichlids.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE AS Meets 2nd Wednesday of themonth at 7pm in room 110 at Somersworth High School,11 Memorial Drive located off of route 9 in Somersworth,NH. For info. NewHampshireAquariumSociety.com. Directions go to MapQuest.

TROPICAL FISH CLUB OF BURLINGTON Meets2nd Thursday of the month at VFW Hall, 73 PearlSt., Essex Junction, VT. Free parking in the back.

Contact David Banks for info 802-372-8716 ordbanks@together.net or www.tfcb.org

BROOKLYN AS Meets 2nd Friday of the month at7:30pm at NY Aquarium, Bklyn, NY. More info: BrooklynAqauriumSociety.org

NORWALK AS Meets 3rd Thursday of the monthat Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center, 10Woodside Lane, Westport, CT. Open to public. Moreinfo: Norwalkas.org

GREATER HARTFORDAS Meets 4th Tuesday at theLUTZ Children’s Museum located in Manchester,Connecticut. For Info &directions visitwww.ghasct.org.

DANBURY AREA AS Meets 4th Friday of the monthat Carmel Ambulance Corps Vink Dr., Carmel, NY.For more info: Rich Litsky (845) 228-0372 or JoeMasi (845) 896-4793 or daas@northeastcouncil.org.

LOCAL NEC SOCIETIES’ EVENTS

• Aquatic Wildlife, 179D Deming St., Manchester, CT,06040, Ph: 860.648.1166 aquaticwildlifecompany.com-- 25% off dry goods, 30% discount off livestock.• Benson’s Pet Center, 12 Fine Road, Clifton Park,NY, 12065 - 10% Discount. • Claremont Pet & Aquarium Center,201 Washington St., Claremont, NH. Ph: 603.543.188910% discount on dry goods only.• Eddie’s Aquarium Centre, 1254 Rte 9, Latham, NY.Ph: 518.783.3474 eddiesaqua.com - 10% discount.

• Lebanon Pet & Aquarium Center,196 S. Main St., West Lebanon, NH. Ph: 603.298.8789 10% discount on dry goods only.• Something Fishy Aquarium Sales Inc.,219 Mohawk Ave., Scotia, NY 12302Ph: 518.346.FISH -- 10% discount.• The Pet Advantage, 350 Dorset St.,S. Burlington, VT, 05403, Ph: 802 860-1714.15% discount with your OVAS membership card. Hours: M-F 10am-9pm Sat 10am-8pm Sun 11am-5pm.

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PET SHOPS OFFERING OVAS MEMBERS DISCOUNTS

APRIL 5 - 7 NEC CONVENTION INFORMATIONFRIDAY - SUNDAY, APRIL 5-7 NEC CONVENTIONat the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell, CT. Speakersinclude: Lee Finley, Mark Denaro, Todd Gardner,Rachel O’Leary, Charles Clapsaddle, Andre Carletto,Greg Steveeves, Richard Poerce, Amanda Wanger.Convention rate is $99 per night (plus tax) for nightsof April 5 - 7. This special rate is available through

March 31, 2013. Please make hotel reservations byusing the link listed.https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=9602169 or call 1-860-635-2000 or 1-877 2 CROWNE (1-877-227-6963).Mention code NFQ. Contact Leslie Dick by e-mailif you have any questions or concerns.

Introduction:

This cichlid is one of few which truly fascinate me. I havelonged for ages to keep this species, but unfortunatelythey appear to be fading out of the hobby. They have

some of the most amazing breed-ing habits I have ever seen.Keeping:

The Egyptian Mouthbroodercan be quite unpredictable attimes. One moment they can befine and very peaceful, and thensuddenly they can wreak havoc.They are commonly found in theRiver Nile, where they are foundin the hundreds.Feeding & Diet:

Luckily, they feedexceptionally well on a widerange of frozen, freeze-dried foods.I have noticed that they needquite a bit of bloodworm in theirdiet to keep them healthy. Theyalso adapt very well to newlyintroduced foods. It is very rarethat they will refuse to eat, which onlyhappens when a female is brooding.Preparation forBreeding:

The only preparationspawning that is required is avery good diet beforehand. Youcan tell when a female is ready to spawn because her abdomenwill swell tremendously. The male really won’t need any conditioning, as they are very easy to induce.Breeding:

When you have completed the beginning stages,place both male and female into an 18” x 10” x 10” tank. It isbest not to have any gravel, as the eggs can easily get lost,meaning you have very few resulting fry. Simple filtration,such as a sponge filter, will be adequate. A heater placed at atemperature of 82˚F will bring them up to breeding temperature.

Continue to feed them on black mosquito larvae, androughly a week to ten days later, spawning should begin. Themale will deepen a lot in color. Reds and blues will becomeextremely vivid. You will soon notice him ‘shimmying.’ Thisis a common characteristic practiced by most male cichlids toattract a mate. This can go on for several hours, even days,before the female feels comfortable with the male. When shehas accepted him, they will both join in a mating ritual,which involves circling each other.

They soon begin what is known as ‘dummy runs.’

This is when they practice laying and fertilization of eggs.This can often occur a number of times; eventually you willsee approximately 5-6 eggs laid on the tank floor. The male willhover above them, fertilize them and move away. The female

will then pick these eggs up in hermouth and so the process continues.After spawning is complete, you willhave a very tired female, so it isadvisable to remove the male fromthe tank. Try to do this in the dark,as this is less disturbing for thefemale.

Incubation time of the eggs,depending on temperature, isroughly 10 days. During this time,the female will move her mouth ina ‘chewing’ action. This is to try andmake sure that the eggs receiveplenty of oxygen and circulation.After 5-6 days you will see her mouthjerking a bit - this is the developingfry ‘jumping’ around in her mouth.You will actually see the fry eyesthrough the buccal cavity. After 10to 14 days, the female will graduallybegin releasing fry. At first theymay not swim properly; after all,there are about 100 of them crammedin there. After a couple of hours,they will begin exploring. Duringthis time the female will keep an

eye on them and any sudden movements will cause her tosignal the fry to return to her mouth. You can safely leave thefry with the mother for 4 days, as she can be very unpre-dictableFeeding of Fry:

These fry are very delicate for the first few weeks oftheir life. To start with, I feed them BBS (Baby Brine Shrimp).Their bellies will swell and go red when they have eaten.Clean up any uneaten food, as they can die fairly easy duringthis stage. When refilling the tank, use mature water fromparents’ tanks, as fresh water is harmful to these little guys.On average, I try to do at least a water change per day taking20% of the water out.

Continuing this, fry should grow rapidly. It will notbe long before you can introduce daphnia, and begin to weanthem onto freeze-dried foods such as brine shrimp. Oneword of warning: the fry reach a period in roughly 7-8 weekswhere they are extremely susceptible to disease. Just be extracautious and everything will be great.

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Keeping & Breeding the Egyptian Mouthbrooder

Haplochromis multicolorJohn Todaro OVAS, BAS

Hi Folks,

Once again we are partnering with our sister clubs inBurlington and Montreal to bring in some great speakersfrom all over the country for the 2013 - 14 season. If you

are not getting our newsletter with all of the details please letme know and I will be sure that you do (please specify if youwould like to receive it electronically or by snail-mail).

I want to remind you that our 2013 membershipyear begins on January 1st. If you haven't sent in your duesfor 2013 yet please pop a check in the mail today. We wouldlove to have you join us at the membership table again this year.

There are a ton of area pet stores that offer our membersa regular discount on all purchases, plus we have a growinglending library of great reference books available only to our

members. We are members of the NEC (Northeast Council ofAquarium Societies) and have access to their speaker pro-grams and can offer our members a discount to attend the an-nual convention in Hartford, CT. In addition we are planningseveral field trips this year for members only.

The dues are very reasonable at $20 for individuals and$25 for families. You can mail your 2013 dues directly to ourTreasurer (Tom Conway) at 90 Center Street, Rutland, VT, 05701.

As you know, we meet at the Maclure Public Libraryon US Rte. 7 in Pittsford on the second Tuesday of the monthat 7:00 pm.

Please contact me if you have any questions.Thanks! Bob Hooker, OVAS President

PS. Don't forget our GIANT fish and dry-goods auction(including raffles and tons of door prizes) coming up onMay 19 at the Holiday Inn in Rutland!

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The Otter Valley Aquarium Society is dedicated to educating those seeking knowledge in the breeding, raising and conservation ofexotic tropical fish and aquatic plants in the home aquarium. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at the Maclure Library in Pittsford,

VT, at 7:00pm. Featuring knowledgeable speakers, a Q & A session, plus a small tropical fish and plant auction.Meet friendly aquarists and learn more about how to care for your fish.

Meetings open to the public. For information call, John Todaro @ 802 824-3743

MEMBERSHIP • Otter Valley Aquarium Society • MEMBERSHIPYES, I would like to become a member. Here’s my check for a one year

membership. Please mail my membership card to the address bellow.

Name___________________________Occupation_________________

Address________________________________City_________________

State____Zip______Phone______________Email__________________

Membership: Individual $20_____Family $25____Student $10_____Make check to; Otter Valley Aquarium Society

Mail to: OVAS, Tom Conway, 90 Center St., Rutland, VT 05701

ABOUT THE OTTER VALLEY AQUARIUM SOCIETY

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE OVAS

Joan has be kind enough to invite us to see her fishroomset-up and the fish she has been breeding. So, not only willwe see a presentation on Breeding fish but see a workingfish room. For directions Email:

snider6959@gmail.com

The March 12th Event will be held at

Joan Snider’s home.

PLEASE NOTE

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AUCTION RULES1] Each vendor must fill out auction entry form, vendor does not

need to be a member of OVAS.2] Limit of 4 lots per species per vendor.3] Limit of 40 entries per vendor. 60/40 split if received by

May10, 2013 after the split will be 50/50.4] Additional entries per vendor will be accepted as a donation

to OVAS.5] No minimum bids can be set unless authorized before the auction.6] All entries must be registered by 11am.7] Entries should be marked as to what it contains and the assigned

entry number.8] Entries for breeder program should have breeder credit forms

submitted with Lot Registration.9] Each bidder must fill out auction bidder form and get a number.

10] The auction is open to the public, anyone can enter lots for auction, non-members are welcome and encouraged toparticipate in the auction.

11] All used equipment should be clean and in good working order.12] All fish must be doubled bagged, fish not bagged properly

will be rebagged at a charge of $2 per bag.

For more information contact Lee Scott at (802) 537-2713 or Leenbrianscott@yahoo.com

or www.ovasociety.com

The Rutland/Killington Holiday Inn is located on US Route 7 near the junction of Rte 4.IMPORTANT DRIVING INFORMATION: The GPS systems will not recognize their physical address.

We highly recommend you use 1 Holiday Drive, Rutland, VT 05701.MAKE IT A WEEKEND GET AWAY. ENJOY BEAUTIFUL VERMONT THEN ATTEND THE AUCTION ON SUNDAY.

Special room rates for the Auction weekend $92 per night including breakfast.For reservations call 800 462-4810 or info@hivermont.com

AQUARIUM SOCIETY

OTTER VALLEY

OTTER VALLEY AQUARIUM SOCIETY

SUNDAY MAY 19, 2013SPRING

TROPICAL FISH &PLANT AUCTION &PEOPLE’S CHOICE

BOWL SHOW1st prize $100 - 2nd $75 - 3rd $50

AT THE RUTLAND/KILLINGTON HOLIDAY INNFEATURING

Freshwater Fish, Aquatic Plants,Dry Goods &

Rare & Hard To Find Livestock

VIEWING LOTS 9:30AM - 11:30AM • AUCTION STARTS 12 NOONFREE ADMISSION • REFRESHMENTS AVALIABLE

BOWL SHOW RULES1] SHOW IS OPEN CLASS PEOPLES CHOICE ONLY.2] Limit 2 fish per entrant.3] Entrants may set up from 9am – 11am.

All bowls will get a number.4] Entrants must supply their own bowls, with at least one

flat side. (a.) There will be 12 bowls available for those whoneed one.

5] Bare tanks only no décor. (air only)6] Bowls will be labeled with the scientific or common name.7] Voting from 11am until 2pm. Winners will be announced

at 2:30pm.8] Entries may also be put into the auction, if you choose to due so.9] No Hybrids’ or Mutant fish

10] No Native fish.

PLEASE POST THIS FLYER