June 2007 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

Fins & Tales 

A Publication of the Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium Society 

Look for us on the Internet at www.kwas.ca 

June 2007 

Serving Hobbyists in KW and Surrounding Area Since 1960 

KWAS 

Annual 

Summer 

Picnic 

Details on 

Page 11 

NEXT MEETING IS JUNE 5th AT 7:30


fins & tales 

MISSION STATEMENT 

The Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society (KWAS) is a non 

profit organization whose primary goals are to: 

• Further the hobby and study of tropical fish and related 

endeavours 

• Inspire the preservation of aquatic life 

• Maintain a meeting place for its members 

• Develop and maintain a library on aquatic life 

• Promote fellowship among its members 

• Seek out and establish a kinsh ip with other clubs with similar 

objectives 

KWAS is a proud member of the 

Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs 

Fins and Tales is published monthly September through June. All 

opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily 

those of Fins and Tales or KWAS. The mention of any product 

does not constitute an endorsement of the same by Fins and Tales 

or KWAS. Neither Fins and Tales nor KWAS has made any attempt 

to verify any advertiser's claims but invites all members to visit the 

source to make a personal evaluation. 

Reprint Policy 

Articles from this publication may be printed in a not-for-profit 

publication provided credit is given to both the author and KWAS 

and copies of the reprint are sent to both c/o of the Exchange 

Editor. Any other use is prohibited without the written consent of 

KWAS. 

Submission of Articles 

Articles may be submitted for publication in Fins and Tales in any 

form; hand-written, ty ped, CD, e-mail to miecia@rogers.com 

Photographs and/or drawings, either hard copy or disk files are also 

acceptable. 

Exchange Program 

KWAS exchanges newsletters with many other clubs across North 

America. If y our club is interested in becoming part of this program 

please contact our exchange editor. 

Correspondence 

Please send all correspondence to: 

Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society , 

PO Box 38037 King St N., Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2J 4T9. 

Advertising 

The following rates apply for one y ear (10 issues): 

Business card = $25; 1/4 page = $60; 1/2 page = $100; full page 

=$150; 

back cover = $225 

Advertising of hobby related items is free to members. 

KWAS OFFICERS 

EXECUTIVE 

President Al Ridley 519 571 9093 

pyrofish@sympatico.ca 

Vice President Phil Maznyk 519 585 7982 

webmaster@kwas.ca 

Treasurer Brad McClanahan 519 746 5742 

nasfan@3web.com 

Recording Secretary Kevin Reimer 519 884 5044 

kevin.reimer@sympatico.ca 

Past President Dean Crawford 519 887 8928 

twister@rogers.com 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Newsletter Editor Miecia Burden 519 745 1452 

miecia@rogers.com 

Newsletter Publisher Miecia Burden 519 745 1452 

Exchange Editor Zenin Skomorowski 519 748 0854 

zenin@golden.net 

Membership Chair Miecia Burden 519 745 1452 

Auction Chair Robin Pixner 519 746 2507 

rob.pixner@sympatico.ca 

Librarian Geoff Money 519 745 4346 

gmoney@golden.net 

Lunch Committee Joe Kopachinski 519 884 7684 

jkopachinski@kevtron.com 

Program Chair Bob Brown 519 884 9734 

bbrown@golden.net 

Raffle Chair David & Katie McClanahan 

B.A.P. Chair Kevin Reimer & Rob Pixner 

519 884 5044 

519 746 2507 

H.A.P. Chair Bob Brown 519 884 9734 

B.A.P./H.A.P. Committee Executive 

C.A.O.A.C. Rep Stephen Crawford 519 653 1569 

crawfordx@execulink.com 

Name That Fish Zenin Skomorowski 519 748 0854 

Jar Show Zenin Skomorowski 519 748 0854 

Webmaster Phil Maznyk 519 585 7982 

Pet Store Liaison Al Ridley & Zenin Skomorowski 

2 Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium Society 

C A O A C

fins & tales June 2007 

Treasurer’s Chest 

by Brad McClanahan KWAS 

nasfan@3web.com 

Well this is it. The last and final printing of this article. Sadly I will have to give up my position 

of treasurer but I am quite sure there will be another position for me to enjoy. I would like to 

take this opportunity to wish John and the rest of the new executive all the best in the future. 

Just to step back to the finances for a second, the bill for the post box has now been paid as well 

as the bills for the chatroom and the meeting room and finally the park rental for the summer 

picnic are all paid. The major bills for the year are now taken care of into next season so this 

will get John off to a good start in his new position. 

Now I would like to thank all those who helped me out over the last three years. I would like to 

personally extend a big thank you to Miecia for making these articles make sense every month. 

The ongoing battle I have had with her over finances are another thing that I will miss dearly 

but do not rest easy Miecia as I am sure I will get John trained to question every bill you submit 

and go over them with a magnifying glass. 

Best wishes to the new executive and see you at the next (and final for this season) meeting. 

Brad 

Hey Brad 

This is as good as it gets!!! 

First page finally 

CONGRATULATIONS 

Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium Society 

3


fins & tales 

Table of Contents 

June 2 





Sept 4 

Sept 11 

Sept 16 

Oct 2 

Oct 9 

Oct 21 

Oct 28 

Treasurer’s Chest 3 

Calendar Aquaristic 4 

Miecia’s Musings 4 

Prez Sez 5 

Minimalist Aquarist 6-8 

Bits & Pieces 9 

Fish & Chips 10-11 

KWAS Annual Picnic 11 

1YS 12-13 

Pond Visit 2007 14-15 

Heather’s Flake Food 16 

Miecia’s Beefheart Recipe 17 

Jar Show Results 18 

Name That Fish 19 

Minutes/Meetings 20-22 

Exchange Editor’s Report 23 

Meeting Information Back Page 

CALENDAR 

AQUARISTIC 

Waterloo Tank Maintenance 

KWAS General Meeting 

KWAS Business Meeting 

Waterloo Tank Maintenance 

CAOAC Meeting 

Summer Picnic 

July 29th 



CAOAC Meeting 



CAOAC Meeting 

OKTOBERFISH 

Miecia’s 

Musings 

Well folks, it’s looks like this is my 

last issue of Fins & Tales. Phil 

Maznyk is taking over as editor and I 

wish him all the best. I’m sure he’ll do 

a great job and hopefully have as 

many great authors writing for him 

as I did. My heartfelt thanks to eve- 

ryone who penned articles for me over 

the past seven years - you truly made 

this newsletter one of the best in the 

hobby. 

And Brad - I hope you’re happy now - 

the Treasurer’s Chest finally made it 

to the absolute front of the newsletter. 

I figured since it was my last issue 

and your last column I’d better make 

it a good one. You must have written 

as many Treasurer’s Chests as Al has 

written The Prez Sez...30 as Al counts 

and I don’t think you missed one is- 

sue in which you didn’t take a swat at 

me for something or other and that’s 

not counting the abusive emails!!! 

Well it’s over now and you know 

something, I’m going to miss you and 

your comments and I’m still trying 

to figure out how they always ended 

up in my JUNK mail folder!! LOL!!! 

See you all at the June meeting. 

Ciao……………………...Miecia 

Miecia 

4 Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium Society


The Prez Sez........ 

by Al Ridley 

(President of KWAS) 

pyrofish@sympatico.ca 

President’s Page #30 – The 

Last Chapter 

Well here it comes, my last 

President’s page. First and 

most importantly, I want to 

thank my other Executive and 

Board of Directors who have 

all worked so hard to make 

this club what it is. I have witnessed 

the rebirth of our webpage 

and the birth of our forum 

which have both become 

so important to this club. It 

has been a joy! 

To the incoming Executive - 

congrats on winning your positions. 

It is obvious to me 

that KWAS will be in great 

hands moving forward. There 

are some brand new faces and 

some wily veterans and that 

just adds up to more fun. 

Please give them the support 

that I was given. 

My summer months will now 

be consumed with Oktoberfish 

plans and exercises. I will 

now be able to focus all of my 

energy into this event and I 

will be asking for help in September. 

Miecia will once 

again run the fish room and 

Scott Smith has stepped up to 

run the auction room. I look 

forward to another great year 

and many improvements over 

last years event (yes, we did 

learn some very valuable lessons 

in 2006!) 

Please don’t forget about our 

summer picnic being held in 

Waterloo Park on… I forget 

and I’m too lazy to grab a 

newsletter but I promise I will 

have it for the June meeting. 

My pond and garden awaits 

me, so again – thanks for putting 

up with me for three 

years and please, anyone… 

let me sit at your table!!! 

Al 

Kudos for our CLUB!! 

Editor’s comment: This is an email I received after the May meeting. For those who aren’t sure who 

Carl is, he was the gentleman who so generously donated the large bags of live food to our May auction. 

Thanks Carl for the kind words - I’ll add you to my Newsletter mailing list as a thank you! And for those 

who are wondering I did send him Apistonut’s email address. 

Hi Miecia 

I was quite impressed by the way your exec. ran that meeting. If all your meetings are as interesting as that, 

you have a good club. I've been a hobbyist for fifty years and I learned new tricks of the trade by KWAS 

members. I would join your club but it’s too far away. I'm not a good night driver. 

I was glad to chat again with Rein and Char. Nice, easy-going, interesting couple. It was also good to see 

Bob Brown again. 

I am trying to get in touch with your club member who is the Apisto keeper. He and I talked for awhile about 

live foods and I may be able to help him. I think it was Stephen Crawford but I'm not sure. If it is, I'll just e- 

mail him. 

Thanks for your help and again I enjoyed the May meeting. 

Carl McCleary 


5


fins & tales 

The Minimalist Aquarist … 

‘doing more with less’ and ‘keeping it simple’ 

by Rein Breitmaier (KWAS) 

mrrein@gmail.com 

We tell a tale this month of a classic pursuit. This 

undertaking was for a most elusive and secretive 

sort of critter, the Irrawaddy. An endangered, 

aquatic mammal actually instead of a fish, but as 

their primary habitat also sources many of our 

prized aquarium fishes, I hoped you would accept 

the diversion none-the-less. 

TMA first heard the 

term “river dolphin” 

while chatting up 

another tourist in 

our hotel in China 

many months ago. 

She was trying to 

negotiate with the 

lone English speaking 

staffer in the 

tour office for transportation 

to an obscure 

little Chinese 

town where her information 

indicated 

that an institute had 

been founded to aid 

these endangered 

swimmers. The staffer was patiently trying to get 

connections and I was impressed with the idea of a 

freshwater mammal of 2 or 3 meters in length. 

While touring the Blue Zoo Aquarium a few days 

later, we chanced upon a poster that invited public 

support for saving this ‘Chinese National Treasure’. 

It identified their animal as Lipotes vexillifer and its 

range as the mid and lower Yangtze River. It also 

called them living fossils which seemed a bit of a 

stretch. 

One hundred survivors of the species were reputed 

to remain in the wild. Several weeks later when we 

found ourselves touring that same Yangtze system 

which flows through the dirty industrialized heartland 

of Chongqing City, TMA pondered how anything 

could live in such a murky, polluted environment 

much less downriver from same. We never 

heard whether the young American found her way 

to the research institute and through its doors. The 

Chinese can be quite secretive with things not yet 

on their official tourism map. We moved on to 

other things. 

Another month and another country away, TMA 

again chanced upon some River Dolphin lore while 

touring Laos. This time the mighty Mekong River 

was the waterway and while the common name of 

the species was the same, these mammals were said 

to have a blunt nose instead of the pointed snout 

shown in the Chinese poster. Information was slim 

again in Laos, showing them in a narrow geographic 

range in the extreme south of the country 

where the river swells to an incredible 14 kilometers 

in width and encompasses some four thousand 

islands before spilling across the border into Cambodia. 

We heard here the name ‘Irrawaddy’ for the 

first time and again exactly one hundred known 

specimens were purported to exist. The chase again 

ended before it started as our itinerary took us in 

another direction again. 

Several months and thousands of traveled kilometers 

later we found ourselves returning to the banks 

of the Mekong River, this time in the Cambodian 

Capital of Phnom Penh. We resolved to explore 

upstream as far as Kratie (pronounced Kroa-chey) 

as that was where the guidebook claimed the paved 

roads pretty much ended and travel became rugged. 

The 350 km ‘improved’ road to Kratie took 9 hours 

(Continued on page 7) 



(Continued from page 6) 

by highway coach … you do the math, and oh yes 

did I mention that the Air/Con in the bus failed? 

Endurance and perseverance are hallmarks to any 

pursuit, am I right? 

We were buoyed by reports that the river dolphins 

were indeed being regularly sighted with the help 

of local fishermen. Fresh upon our sweaty arrival 

we were confronted with posters and tour touts all 

forecasting success in the nearby waters. The poster 

photos always showed the animal perched on its 

pectoral fins in what appeared a shallow rapids or 

riffle. I wasn’t going to miss that. Again one hundred 

was the magic number of remaining dolphins 

and it bode well (they said), that we arrived in the 

dry season as the river level was lowered in depth 

by some 3 meters or more. 

What we found instead was that the Irrawaddy are 

quiet, secretive animals and that seeking them out 

in their few remaining habitats involves patience, 

resolve and luck. It was a similar experience to 

whale watching tours in Atlantic Canada and elsewhere. 

We traveled firstly by a steadily worsening 

road a further 15 km upriver to the village of 

Kampi and hired a small wooden ‘longtail’ boat 

(yes lucky number 13 was proudly displayed on the 

bow) to ply the remarkably clear waters just out 

from the river’s edge. The boat engine was 

equipped with a prop-guard to protect against inadvertent 

injury to the dolphins; apparently a new development 

for these boats. The waterscape was dotted 

with sandy islands as well as rocky outcroppings, 

but the Irrawaddy were reputed to like this 

particular spot for the deep water holes within the 

river bottom that offered both refuge and a supply 

of fish and crustaceans upon which to feed. 

The Kampi population numbers between 25 and 35 

Irrawaddy and has only 5 known sister populations 

further upstream toward the Laos border, all of 

them even smaller in numbers. The dolphins oddly 

enough have depleted largely because of drowning. 

Being mammals they need to breathe air through 

their top mounted blow-hole and should they get 

caught up in a gill net they succumb within minutes. 

It seems the locals also had a penchant for 

dynamite fishing and that practice took its toll. 

Then throw a 14 month gestation period and largely 

single births into the story and one can see why 

their numbers are threatened. The Mekong river 

dolphins are Orcaella brevirostris (orca as in 

whale, brevi as in brief or short, and rostris as in 

nose … ergo a short nosed whale) and are similar to 

Beluga whales. They begin life as a 1 meter youngster 

and top out between 2.1 and 2.6 meters in 

length. They seem gentle and calm albeit distant. 

Our boatman was careful not to ‘chase’ the dolphins 

we spotted, turning off his engine and quietly 

sculling us with a large rear mounted oar in their 

direction. We spotted several pods of two and three 

animals as they surfaced. It was a true joy to ob- 



7


fins & tales 


serve their unique and characteristic behaviour, tail 

slapping and spouting from the blow-hole. These 

events are unpredictable and infrequent and eluded 

our camera lenses. We joked that we may have 

heard one of them laughing at our efforts. TMA’s 

trusty companion proved both a better spotter and a 

sharper shooter, to Char goes credit for the close-up 

photos. While tourism often makes a circus out of 

efforts to see animals in their natural environment, 

these were clearly wild animals which displayed 

only a measured tolerance for us, the humans who 

have been their long time foes. 

We learned that measures and laws have been enacted 

to protect both the Irrawaddy and their environment. 

Despite these efforts we routinely observed 

locals dumping their plastics 

and other trash into the river and local fishermen 

still cast nets into the waters at sundown to put 

something onto their family’s dinner table. Habits 

and physical realities will persist despite the obvious 

boost that tourism has recently given the local 

economy. The nets 

we observed were 

of the hand-thrown 

smaller variety and 

while relatively 

harmless to the 

dolph ins, o bviously 

worked toward 

depleting the 

food stocks upon 

which the Irrawaddy 

rely. 

TMA observed a 

well-oiled tourist 

licensing system 

yet found no evidence 

of monitoring 

of the locals or their catch by any conservation 

officials. The Irrawaddy are caricatured in posters, 

books and carvings as bearing a wide docile grin 

and we hope they find something to smile about in 

their future. I encourage you to check 

www.wdcs.org for more information on river dolphins. 

We finished our time in Kratie by dipping 

into the warm Mekong waters and perching ourselves 

upon those very rapids in the river where that 

poster shot may have been taken. Predictably not a 

single dolphin joined our sundown swim and photoop. 

Pursuits are seldom easy but this one ended 

having searched for and found this interesting treasure 

of the lower Mekong, the Irrawaddy. 

TMA 



Bits & Pieces 

HOW TO INCREASE BABY BRINE SHRIMP HATCHES 

Add baking soda to the water one teaspoon of Baking 

Soda to 6 teaspoon of salt in the hatching mix should 

increase the hatch percentage. This is because all brine 

shrimp eggs are collected from mineral rich inland lakes. 

Our tap water which we consider hard is still very soft for 

brine shrimps. 

SOME QUIRKY FACTS 

100 people a year choke to death on ball -point pens 

35% of people who use personal ads for dating are already married 

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older 

Women blink nearly twice as much as men 

No word in the English language rhymes with "month" 

Average life span of a major league baseball is 7 pitches 

The electric chair was invented by a dentist 

"Typewriter" is the longest word that can be made using the letters 

only on one row of the keyboard 

"Go" is the shortest complete sentence in the English language 

The cigarette lighter was invented before matches 

On average, people fear spiders more than they fear death. 

Americans on average, eat 18 acres of pizza in one day. 

We don't have a clue how many hectares Canadians consume daily. 


DID YOU 

KNOW??? 

You can measure 

the temp in your 

fish tanks using 

one of those digital 

meat thermometers 

- very accurate and 

easy to use! 

Miecia 

9


fins & tales 

Fish & Chips 

by Phil Maznyk KWAS 

webmaster@kwas.ca 

Hi everyone and welcome to the 

summer issue of Fish N Chips. 

This will be my last article until 

our regular meetings start again 

in September. I thought I’d 

spend some time this month going 

over a few of the more common 

or shall I say popular technologies 

related to computers 

and how we use them today. 

O perating System 

Most of you know that Microsoft’s 

new flagship operating 

system Windows Vista is now a 

full 5 months old and no longer 

fresh out of the gate. As of the 

writing of this article Microsoft 

claim to have sold more than 60 

million copies of the successor 

to Windows XP. Some love it, 

some hate it and some users are 

neutral tending to take a wait 

and see approach. Make no mistake 

though, if you’re a Windows 

user and you are thinking 

of purchasing a new PC in the 

next year you too will be using 

Windows Vista. 

What’s the big deal with Vista? 

Better communication, easier to 

use, much safer than any previous 

version of Windows, more 

entertaining to name just a few. 

The visual appeal with the new 

GUI (short for graphical user 

interface) is really quite remarkable. 

Certainly nobody that has 

ever used Windows in the past 

has ever seen anything like this 

except on the Apple’s OSx. 

Windows Vista coupled with 

Direct X 10 is finally poised to 

bring PC Gaming back into line 

with the big console players 

Sony PlayStation and Xbox 360 

as far as visual appeal and playability 

are concerned. 

Music 

Apple and its ever popular I- 

Tunes still rule in this ever so 

hotly contested market. Why? 

It’s all about the music. Music 

rules our lives. From your car 

stereo to your home CD library, 

music enriches our daily life. It 

inspires and energizes us, even 

when we are feeling the weight 

of the world on our shoulders. 

Just plug in your headphones, 

fire up your playlist and lose 

yourself in the music. And having 

the ability to access a massive 

library with thousands of 

audio tracks from various artists’ 

right at your fingertips is simply 

put musicopia. 

Everybody wants to get in on the 

act, however Apple has got the 

user experience and ease of use 

down to a science. Finding a 

song in iTunes couldn’t be simpler. 

Apple even offers a free 

download of the week and highlighting 

of celebrity playlists. 

This is why so many iTunes 

wannabe’s are copying Apple’s 

formula. All those 99 cent songs 

are adding up to a major revenue 

stream for whoever can grab the 

most customers. My kids each 

have one and it seems every 

which way I look I see a new I- 

Pod. What a cool little device. 

Where were these when I was a 

youngster! 

Search Engine 

Google the über popular search 

engine that I think almost the 

entire wired and wireless world 

use is now butting heads again 

with Microsoft over both internet 

search engine technology 

and desktop searching. Make no 

mistake; Google has become a 

huge company. Do you Google? 

Or have you ever Googled for 

something. These are 2 of the 

most used phrases in the computer 

world today. Google began 

as a simple research project in 

early 1996 by Larry Page and 

Sergey Brian, two Ph.D. students 

at Leland Stanford University, 

USA. They made it into a 

company, Google Inc., on September 

7, 1998 at a friend's garage 

in Menlo Park, California. 

Conservative estimates say that 

by the end of 2006 Google’s 

servers will have indexed and 

archived almost 6 billion webpage’s 

and close to a billion images. 

That’s billion folks. What 

else makes Google the leader it 

is? Well how about Gmail, 

Google Calendar, Google Maps 

and Google News to name a 

few. Now that Google owns the 

ever popular You Tube we have 

access to millions of online videos 

instantly. I’m not sure what 

it is about Technology, backyard 

garages and young nerdy types 

but make no mistake these guys 

are wealthy beyond what you 

and I can comprehend. 





Instant Messaging 

Instant Messaging or IM for 

short. MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and 

MIRC to name just a few are so 

very popular today with not only 

the younger crowd but people of 

all ages. Instant messaging offers 

us real-time communication 

and allows easy collaboration 

within groups, which might be 

considered more akin to a genuine 

conversation than email’s 

more formal “letter” format. 

Unlike e-mail though, people 

know whether the other person 

or is actually online and available 

for a chat. Most systems 

allow the user to set an online 

status or away message so people 

are notified when the user is 

available, busy, or away from 

the computer. 

On the other hand, people are 

not forced to reply immediately 

to incoming messages. For this 

reason, some people consider 

communication via instant messaging 

to be less intrusive than 

communication via phone. However, 

not all popular systems 

allow the sending of messages to 

people not currently logged on 

(offline messages), thus removing 

much of the difference between 

IM and email. Allowing 

for instantaneous communication 

between any number of people 

at the same time, instant 

messaging can thus transmit information 

quickly and efficiently, 

as well as receive an 

immediate acknowledgement or 

reply. 

With the benefit of being able to 

see the other party using webcams, 

and even talking directly 

for free over the internet, this 

form of digital communication 

has been widely accepted by 

individuals of all ages and cultures. 

Many businesses even use 

this form of communication internally 

and amongst other divisions 

which may be spread 

around a city block or even the 

country. Today I’ve shown you 

just a few of the technologies 

that are at the top of their game. 

Many of us are already using 

them and if you aren’t I suspect 

you know someone who is. Enjoy 

the summer everyone and I 

hope to see you all at the club 

picnic in July. 

KWAS Annual Summer Picnic 

July 29th 

1 - 7 pm 

Waterloo Park - Picnic Shelter 

Westmount Entrance 

KWAS supplies Burgers/Dogs and the trimmings 

Along with the cold drinks 

Please bring a dish for sharing 

Games/Chairs/What ever & Who ever you want 

Everyone welcome!!!! 


11


fins & tales 

1YS or One Year Syndrome (How Is Your KH?) 

by Kevin and Annette Omura (DRAS) 

This is another one of the articles that was entered in the Durham & Region Aquarium Society’s article contest. 

It was one of the top three articles as judged by Zenin, Noel Nathaniel and myself. 

Thanks to DRAS for permission to publish this article. 

Almost every fishkeeper knows 

the term NTS or New Tank Syndrome, 

but most have never 

heard of 1YS or One Year Syndrome. 

This is similar to Old 

Tank Syndrome, but for some 

reason a lot of new fishkeepers 

run into trouble at about the 1 

year mark, and so we like to call 

it ‘1YS’. 

Many new fishkeepers start out 

being very diligent with water 

tests and water changes. After a 

while the honeymoon ends, and 

regular maintenance and testing 

are not so regular anymore. It 

wasn’t all that long ago that we 

were new to the fishkeeping 

world and were guilty of this as 

well. We started off doing readings 

for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate 

and pH on a weekly basis. After 

a while, we stopped doing the 

tests because everything looked 

and seemed just fine every time. 

Our regular tests for ammonia, 

nitrite and nitrate became sporadic 

at best, and we stopped 

testing for pH altogether. KH? 

We didn’t even know what that 

was in the beginning. With 

every test we did, the water was 

crystal clear, no ammonia, no 

nitrite or nitrate, perfect! Or so 

we thought… 

Then one day it happens. You 

may notice some odd problems 

developing with your fish. Fin 

rot, maybe cloudy eyes, perhaps 

pop-eye or even some unexplained 

sores. Your first reaction 

might be to grab the old test 

kit, only to find that ammonia, 

nitrite and nitrate are all within 

normal limits. Oftentimes we do 

not think to test the pH and KH. 

We think everything is fine 

when ammonia and nitrite/ 

nitrate readings are within spec. 

After all, these are always the 

ones that cause the problems, 

right? Not necessarily. 

As fishkeepers, we have a pretty 

good idea what pH is all about. 

pH is a measure of the water’s 

acidity or alkalinity. It measures 

hydrogen ion activity in the water. 

The more hydrogen (H+) 

ions present, the more acidic the 

water (lower pH). The more 

hydroxyl ions (OH-) present, the 

more alkaline the water (higher 

pH). The relationship between 

the two is usually constant. Water 

has a built-in regulating system 

to maintain this relationship, 

and this is known as its ‘buffer’. 

A buffer is a reserve of carbonate 

and bicarbonate ions in the 

water. Water wants to stay stable 

at a given pH, and when excess 

hydrogen ions are added, 

instead of becoming more 

acidic, its buffering system will 

absorb these extra ions to keep 

the water stable. Hydrogen ions 

bind with carbonate and bicarbonate 

ions and will effectively 

be removed from having any 

effect on the pH of your water. 

It also works in reverse, releasing 

hydrogen ions if the pH of 

the water rises too high. This 

concentration of carbonates is 

your tank’s buffering capacity, 

otherwise known as Carbonate 

Hardness or KH. Hard water 

generally has a higher KH, making 

it more resistant to changes 

in pH than soft water. 

So then what about those problems 

you may have been observing 

with your fish after months 

of ‘perfect’ water readings? 

Your water may have been quietly 

running out of carbonate 

and bicarbonate ions until it 

reached a threshold that initiated 

a pH crash. 

A few years ago we experienced 

this very problem with one of 

our largest show tanks. It had 

been so stable for so long that 

we finally stopped testing the 

water. After six months of no 

changes with the ammonia, nitrite 

and nitrate readings, we 

figured we were just wasting test 

reagents. We didn’t realize that 

the tank was slowly using up all 

its carbonates. This resulted in a 

pH drop to very acidic levels. 

As a result, our fish (Silver Dollars) 

began to exhibit mouth 

sores and we were left scratching 

our heads because the test 

results we did (ammonia, nitrite 

and nitrate) looked normal. We 

were not testing for pH and KH 

however, so had no clue that was 

at the heart of our problem. 

Why did our tank go acidic? It 

begins with the production of 

hydrogen ions which is a result 

of the nitrogen cycle that converts 

ammonia to nitrite and then 

to nitrate. As ammonia and nitrite 

are removed through this 





chemical process, the level of 

nitrate rises…as well as the 

quantity of hydrogen ions. If 

your tank is well buffered 

(higher KH), these excess hydrogen 

ions are immediately tied up 

by the carbonate and bicarbonate 

ions (buffer), and your pH will 

remain relatively stable for the 

time being. If at some point 

your water’s buffering capacity 

gets used up (all available carbonate 

and bicarbonate ions 

have bonded with free-floating 

hydrogen ions) any additional 

hydrogen ions have nowhere to 

go except to affect the pH of 

your tank. It is at this point that 

you will notice the pH start to 

drop, sometimes quite rapidly. 

What is the best way to avoid 

this? Excess waste in the aquarium 

contributes to the increase 

of hydrogen ions which in turn 

will act to lower the pH. Since 

your buffer absorbs these excess 

ions and keeps your pH relatively 

stable, this effect is not 

noticed until your buffer is used 

up. So you want to avoid too 

much waste in your tank. Monitor 

the buildup of sludge in your 

filter and keep your tank well 

‘vacuumed’. Do regular water 

changes (as long as your tap water 

is safe! - see last month’s 

article). Water changes are the 

only way to remove waste in the 

form of nitrate (nitric acid) and 

to replenish your tank’s ‘buffer’. 

And don’t overfeed. 

Abrupt changes in pH should be 

avoided. Besides the direct, and 

often fatal, effect on the fish 

themselves, a wildly fluctuating 

pH can indirectly affect every 

aspect of your aquarium. Certain 

medications may not work 

properly, or become toxic, at 

lower or higher pH. Nitrifying 

bacteria are inhibited at low pH, 

causing ammonia levels to rise. 

(What is interesting is that the 

low pH will actually keep ammonia 

in its less toxic molecular 

form instead of the highly toxic 

ammonium [ionic] form.) 

So dig out that old KH test kit, 

dust it off, and test the KH of 

your water. If your tank is nearing 

1 year old, and you’ve begun 

to slack a bit on the maintenance, 

it might just be close to 

running on empty. 

CONGRATULATIONS - REIN 

AUTHORS AWARD 2006 


13


fins & tales 

Pond Visit April 2007 

By Zenin Skomorowski KWAS 


On Sunday April 22, a small group of us visited a 

few ponds in search of live food for our aquarium 

fish. We met at the Tim Horton’s at the corner of 

Fischer-Hallman and Ottawa Street in Kitchener. 

Soon, Peter Kipfer and his son Taylor, Ian Campbell 

and his young son Robbie, along with John 

Van Rompu were off to the first destination of a 

series of four ponds nearby. 

The main pond has always been there, but recently 

has been expanded to accept the storm water run off 

from the new housing subdivision that now surrounds 

it. This pond is ideal for Canada geese and 

other birds, but was too large and too deep to make 

it easy to find the insect larvae and fresh water 

shrimp that we were looking for. 

On the other side of the road was a smaller pond. 

The water was shallower and more sheltered by 

trees. Some of us managed to find some shrimp but 

no larvae, a very slim collection. I saw several 

frogs here, so I imagine that they have already 

eaten most of the live food. 

Further down the road, another pond that is part of 

the storm water management system yielded nothing. 

Back in the forest, there was a shallower black water 

pond with lots of leaves on the bottom. Taylor 

got right in and found some tadpoles and snails, but 

very little in the way of the live food we were looking 

for. I was getting somewhat discouraged thinking 

that we were too late to get anything useful 

from these ponds. Then John mentioned that he 

found a smaller pond further back in the forest that 

had lots of mosquito larvae and freshwater shrimp. 

Everyone was then able to collect a good bucket of 

live food. 

We got back into our cars and went to Lakeside 

Park, in behind the Greenbrook Pumping station. I 

had been here the day before, checking out the shallow 

reedy areas near the forest, when I saw a group 

of about 20 goldfish. Yes, it looks like someone 

released some goldfish here some time ago, and 

judging by their assorted sizes, have reproduced. I 

walked along the shore for a few steps and saw another, 

larger group of goldfish. Further on, I saw 

hundreds. They were gathered in the shallow water 

to warm up. This is also where the insect larvae 

would be, so I knew we would not be catching any 

here, but it was interesting to see the schools of 

goldfish for fun. 





towel 

• bottled water for you to drink 

Here is a photo of my collection of mosquito larvae, 

freshwater and fairy shrimp. 

Some things to consider when looking for a suitable 

pond to collect live food: 

• should be small, shallow and sheltered by 

trees 

• water should be slow moving 

• bottom should be covered with leaves 

• if you can see fish and/or frogs in the water, 

then they have probably already eaten 

the live foods 

• avoid storm management ponds, they 

routinely get flushed out when it rains 

• earlier in April, you can also find glass 

worms 

Make sure that when you feed your fish at home, 

give only a few larvae at a time, to make sure that 

they all get eaten. You do not want to have any 

of these larvae become flying insects in your 

home. 

Items to bring: 

• rubber boots – or waders if you have 

them 

• assorted nets, some fine, some course 

• one long handled net to move leaves and 

other debris on the bottom of the pond 

• a pail with a lid to accumulate the collection 

• a hat and sunglasses so you can see into 

the water 

• spare socks and shoes (just in case) and a 

Photos by Zenin 


15


fins & tales 

HEATHER’S FLAKE FOOD RECIPES 



MIECIA’S BEEFHEART RECIPE 

As demonstrated at the May KWAS meeting 

Ingredients 

Fresh Beef heart 

Flake food - any variety 

Greens - Romaine lettuce, spinach, beans, peas - fresh or frozen - chop into small pieces 

Raw fish - any kind other than the real oily varieties, fresh or frozen 

Unflavoured Gelatin - 2 pkg. per beef heart 

Optional Ingredients 

Bottle of Baby Vitamins - Tri ViSol brand is good 

Feather meal - one cup - available from a feedmill store 

Wheat germ - one cup 

Bran Flakes - one cup crushed 

Tools 

Very sharp knife to trim the beef heart 

Blender or Food Processor 

Large bow l 

Plastic bags 

How to prepare 

Cut beef heart into 1 inch cubes trimming off all of the fat and veins - the fish 

cannot digest fat/veins 

Grind/chop beefheart and fish in a blender* or food processor 

Size of resulting particles depends on the size of fish being fed 

Mix everything but the gelatin and vitamins in a big bow l - looks awful and smells ……..phew ! 

Add vitamins and mix 

Dissolve gelatin as per pkg instructions and add to beef mixture 

Mix thoroughly and spoon into suitable size plastic bags 

Seal and pat flat and freeze 

*If you use a blender add a little w ater to aid in grinding up the mixture. You can remove the excess 

water from the beef mixture before adding the veggies, fishmeal, etc. 

To feed 

Break off pieces and feed directly to fish or grate and feed. It's up to you. 

Feed sparingly at first until the fish are accustomed to the new flavour. 


17


S 

H 

O 

W 

J 

A 

R 

R 

E 

S 

U 

L 

T 

S 

fins & tales 

May 2007 

Judged by Zenin 

Loaches Species Points 

Jonathon Samson Yoyo loach 4 

Geoff Money Clown loach 3 

Rob Pixner Khuli loach 2 

Anthony McAslin Zodiac loach 1 

Killies 

John Van Rompu Blue Gularis 4 

Anthony McAslin Epiplatys Annwatus 3 

John Van Rompu Fundi Gardeneri Akure 2 

Jonathon Samson Golden Wonder Killie 1 

Anthony McAslin Rambax Panchax 1 

AOV 

John Van Rompu Pineapple Albino Swordtail 4 

Rob Pixner Apple Snail 3 

Geoff Money Blue Calico Platy 2 

Jonathon Samson Gold Gourami 1 

Dianna Daigle Betta 1 

Geoff Money Whiptail catfish 1 

Anthony McAslin Buraras Beigitae 1 

Anthony McAslin Long Fin Blue Ram 1 

Renee Trottier Mystery Snails 1 

People's Choice 

Geoff Money Clown Loach 2 

Totals 

Anthony McAslin 47 40+1+3+1+1+1 

Geoff Money 44 36+3+2+1+2 

Jonathon Samson 17 11+4+1+1 

Zenin Skomorowski 11 

John Van Rompu 10 4+2+4 

Griffin Quigley 7 

Taylor Kipfer 5 

Rob Pixner 5 2+3 

Renee Ballard 3 

Featured Show Jar Classes for June will be: 

Cyprinids and AOV 



May 2007 Name That Fish 

by Zenin Skomorowski KWAS 


This month’s “Name That Fish” was a bag of 

two Jordanella floridae guessed by John Van 

Rompu. They are commonly known as Florida 

Flagfish or American Flagfish. 

The Florida Flagfish originates from shallow, 

slow flowing water in Florida and other southeastern 

U.S. locations, as well as some areas of 

Mexico. The colouring of the male is similar 

to the U.S. flag. Their shape suggests that it 

might be a livebearer or goodeid, but it is an 

egg laying killie. 

The majority of their diet is vegetable based, 

including many varieties of algae, especially 

hair algae. Feed them blanched leafy greens, 

algae wafers, vegetable flake food and the occasional 

live food like larvae and brine shrimp. 

Keep them in slightly alkaline water with some 

aquarium salt. Temperature should be around 

20C (68F). 

For breeding, provide Java Moss for egg laying. 

After spawning, remove the female, and 

then remove the male when the eggs start to 

hatch. Fry will emerge over 10 days, so they 

will be at various stages of development. Feed 

them micro worms for a few days then supplement 

with brine shrimp. After a week, start to 

move the larger fry to other tanks with larger 

foods. The males grow to 8cm (3 inches); the 

females are smaller at 5cm (2 inches). 

Photos by Zenin 


19


fins & tales 

Minutes 

of the 

Meetings 

GENERAL MEETING 

May 1, 2007 

President Al Ridley welcomed everyone & started the 

meeting at 7:30 P.M. There were 56 people present, 

including 3 new guests. 

Executive present: Al Ridley (President/PSL), Brad 

McClanahan (Treasurer), Kevin Reimer (R ecording 

Secretary, BAP) 

Announcements: 

- May 25 – 27 - CAOAC Convention - There will be a 

Junior Workshop (16 yrs & younger) for $20 they will 

build a tank 

Elections: 

Close the nominations for Executive. Motioned: Richard 

Adams, Seconded: Scott Smith 

Two candidates for Vice President: Geoff Money & 

Stephan Crawford 

President: Kevin Reimer by acclimation 

Vice President: Geoff Money by vote 

Treasurer: John Van Rompu by acclimation 

Secretary: Lezley Smith by acclimation 

Name That Fish: Two Jordanella floridae (Florida 

Flagfish or American Flagfish ) guessed by John Van 

Rompu. 

Question & Answer: Hosted by Rein Breitmaier. Discussed: 

Rein’s trip back from Hong Kong, his trip to 

south East Asia, the fish culture there, & just some of 

his & Char’s experiences. 

Al presented Rein with the KWAS Author of the year 

award 

Show Jar Results: There were 7 people showing 18 

fish in 3 classes. See results in the Newsletter. 

BAP Certificates: 

Scott Smith 

Pterophyllyum scalare (Koi) 

HAP Certificates: 

Scott Smith 

Robin Pixner 

Kevin Reimer 

Geoff Money 

Stephen Crawford 

Vesicularia dubyana 

Cryptocoryne wendtii 

Riccia fluitans 

Sagittaria subulata 

Hygrophilia polysperma 

Egeria najas 

Alternanthera reineckii 

Echinpdorus bleheri 

Cryptocoryne blassii 

Cryptocoryne becketii 

Award: 

KWAS Expert Aquatic Horticulturist 

Alteranthera reineckii 

Lilaeopsis novae zelandia 

Bacopa caroliniana 

Vallisneria Americana 


Anubius petit 

Vallisneria Americana 

Vesicularia dubyana 

Riccia fluitans 

Hygrophila poysperma Ceylon 

Hygrophila polysperma rosanervig 

Hygrophila corymbosa 

Lilaeopsis brasiliensis 

Alternanthera reineckii 

Rotala rotundifolia 

Limnophila sessifloria 

Echinidorus bleheri 


Microsorum pteropus 

Awards: 

KWAS Beginning Aquatic Horticulturist 

KWAS Aquatic Horticulturist 

Our program: Excellent fish food presentation by our 

own members!! 

Flake food – Heather Coleman 

Beef heart – Miecia Burden 

Worms – Stephen Crawford 

Brine shrimp – Geoff Money 

Beef heart & worm packages were handed out to Members 

Library Draw: $18 won by Jacob Reimer 

Raffle Draw: Our large prize was a food, filter media, & 

$10 gift certificate won by Tony Gibbons 

Auction: Robin & Todd auctioned a full table fish & 





plants 

Submitted by 

Kevin Reimer (Recording Secretary) 

BUSINESS MEETING 

May 5, 2007 

Phil Maznyk called the business meeting to order at 7:30 

PM, hosted by Kevin Reimer. 

In Attendance 

Phil Maznyk 

Kevin Reimer 

Geoff Money 

Bob Brown 

Stephen Crawford 

Zenin Skomorowski 

Joe Kopachinski 

Rob Pixner 

Guests 

Lezley Smith 

Regrets 

Katie McClanahan 

David McClanahan 

Al Ridley 

Brad McClanahan 

Miecia Burden 

Vice-President / Webmaster 

Recording Secretary / BAP 

Librarian 

Program / Raffle / HAP 

CAOAC 

Jar Show / Exchange Editor / 

NTF / PSL 

Lunch 

Auction / BAP 

Raffle 

Raffle 

President / PSL 

Treasurer 

Editor / Membership 

April Business Meeting Minutes: 

Approved as published, Motioned: Lezley, seconded: 

Bob. Voted on & carried. 

May General Meeting Minutes: 

Approved, motioned: Joe, seconded: Geoff. Voted on & 

carried. 

Future business Meetings 

June - Zenin Skomorowski’s; 34 Pathfinder Cres., 

Kitchener, ON N2P 1S6 

Sept. or Oct. - Matt & Renee’s in Woodstock – possibility, 

perhaps consider hosting meeting on a Saturday 

> Kevin will connect with Matt & Renee re: Sept. 8 or 

15 @ 1 PM 

Treasurer Report: Read by Phil. Brad will provide the 

KWAS books to Bob & Stephen to perform an independent 

audit prior to handing the books to John Van Rompu. 

Motioned: Geoff, seconded: Zenin. Voted on & carried. 

Correspondence: 

• Al received a letter from the city of Waterloo – encouraging 

us to look at alternatives to other meeting 

rooms – basically promoting the city. We’re happy 

with our current meeting location. 

Oktoberfish 2007 (Al): Absent – Donation letters going 

out this month. 

Al to provide a copy of Oktoberfish contacts, letters & 

emails sent out to the club for safe keeping / archiving / 

back up. 

Committee Reports 

NL Editor/Publisher (Miecia): Absent – deadline is 

May 18th 

E x c h a n g e s ( Z e n i n ) : G o i n g w e l l 

Membership (Miecia): Absent – no report 

Auction (Rob): Absent 

Library (Geoff): Going well 

• Geoff won’t be able to attend the next meeting & 

Stephen will look after the library 

• Zenin has the ‘Plant Label CD’ should we meet up 

with Jim Robertson at the CAOAC Convention 

Program (Bob): 

June 

• No speakers available for the next meeting 

• Stephen has the National Geographic VHS tape & 

will transfer to DVD 

• Phil will provide the projector & speakers 

(PhilMAX) 

Raffle (Katie / David): Absent - We’re in good shape up 

to October 

• Will discuss with Al which items we still have from 

the Hagen donations, perhaps raffle off the Fluval canister 

filter at the June or September General meeting 

HAP (Bob): Going well 

BAP (Kevin): Going well. 

• Specialized Breeders Award discussion: everyone 

will read Heather’s proposal again, highlight & bring 

notes for the BAP Chair at the next business meeting 



21


fins & tales 


CAOAC (Stephen): We increased our membership to 

two votes at the April meeting. 

CAOAC Convention & elections coming on May 25, 

26, & 27. Another KWAS Member needs to join 

Stephen for the CAOAC voting. The list of candidates 

is listed in the general minutes of the April CAOAC 

meeting. There will be a bid from the Aquarium Club 

of Edmonton to host the 2008 Convention and a vote on 

whether to accept the bid will be held at the 

AGM. Web award criteria were published in the 

CAOAC May Newsletter and we are registered to be in 

the 2007 competition. 

NTF (Zenin): Going well 

• The last Name That Fish was the fastest ever in 

KWAS history 

Show Jar (Zenin): Going really well – 18 fish submitted 

last meeting 

• Zenin clarified that you are eligible to enter 2 fish 

per class 

Webmaster (Phil): 

• Thread on the Forum asking KWAS Members to 

submit tank photos for the presentation Geoff’s putting 

together – going well 

• The Advanced Breeders section needs to be active. 

Emails went out to remind Advanced Breeders & 

Licensed Vendors to post at least once a month. They 

will be removed from the Forum if they don’t keep 

their section active 

• Discussed the potential new logo. Phil will email 

out & will discuss at next meeting 

Lunch (Joe): We need to have at least a dozen water 

for each general meeting – Kevin will connect with 

Miecia 

Pet Store Liaison (Al/Zenin): 

• Zenin will visit KW Aquarium to provide flyers & 

a holder 

• Planet Aquarium – salt water tanks are up & running 

now 

Old Business 

• Vacancies still available on the Waterloo Inn Tank 

Maintenance Schedule – reminder: please make an 

entry in the log book 

• KWAS logo/web address on banners – Bob received 

a quote by fax & will email to Scott & 

Lezley / Scott following up on additional quotes 

New Business 

• Koi breeder / importer close to Breslau – Zenin 

will contact regarding a group visit 

• Visit to Toronto Zoo – bring up at next business 

meeting 

Board of Directors - tentative appointments 

Auction 

BAP 

CAOAC 

Exchange Editor 

HAP 

Jar Show 

Librarian 

Lunch 

Membership 

Newsletter 

NTF 

Oktoberfish Chair 

Program 

PSL 

Raffle 

Webmaster 

Charity 

Kevin 

Stephen 

Zenin 

Bob 

Zenin? Anthony? 

Stephen 

Open 

Miecia 

Phil 

Zenin? Anthony? 

Al 

Rob – Scott? 

Al, Zenin, & Scott 

Bob & Joe 

Phil 

Submitted by 

Kevin Reimer (Recording Secretary) 

ZEHRS TAPES 

Save ‘em and bring 

‘em to the club. 

The Library will 

collect them and 

we will use the money 

for 

Library Books 



Exchange Editor’s June Report 

by Zenin Skomorowski KWAS 


The newsletters featured in this column 

and others are available to you. 

Please let me know by email, or at the 

monthly meeting, which ones you 

would like to read. 

A couple of months ago, Charlie Drew 

from the Hamilton & District Aquarium 

Society came to talk to KWAS 

about plecos. Read his article on 

“Spawning the King Tiger Pleco” in 

the April issue of The Monthly Bulletin. 

This carnivore, also known as L- 

066, grows to about 12cm (5 inches) 

and is grey with black striped markings. 

Rick Wittner writes about Neolamprologus 

leleupi in the April issue of 

TropiQuarium from the Motor City 

Aquarium Society. Sometimes known 

as firecrackers, these rock-loving cichlids 

from Lake Tanganyika, make a 

great addition to your rift lake setup. 

Do scientific names of fish give you 

grief ? Paul Mansfield writes about 

their importance and gives some tips 

on pronunciation in the April issue of 

Fins & Friends from the Regina 

Aquarium Society. 

Wayne Cole describes his experience 

“Breeding Labidochromis Pearlmutt” 

in the April issue of Aqua Antics from 

The Sarnia Aquarium Society. This 

beautiful Malawi cichlid is quite 

peaceful and has a pearly white body 

with subtle dark bars and yellow dorsal 

and tail. Also in this issue, Wayne 

writes about his thoughts on the internet 

and Aquariums clubs in “Will The 

Internet Spell Death for Aquarium 

Clubs ?”. 

Part Two of “Working With Yabbies” 

by Tom Mason is in the April issue of 

Tank Talk from the Durham Region 

Aquarium Society. This is a 

continuation of his discussion of 

crayfish from Australia and their 

related cousins in Europe and 

North America. Derek P.S. Tustin 

talks about “Why I DIY or 

There Are Many Ways To Save 

A Buck”. Check out some of his 

suggestions for alternatives to 

supposedly “ aquarium specific” 

items. 

If you would like to keep an unusual 

killifish, then look for 

Pachypanchax sakaramyi. It is 

originally from northern Madagascar. 

Peter Melady relates his 

experience keeping this fish in 

the May issue of Aqua Antics 

from the Sarnia Aquarium Society. 

Also in this issue, Wayne 

Cole writes about “Breeding 

Copadichromis Borleyi”. This 

mouth brooder from Lake Malawi 

features males with blue 

faces and fins, a yellow body 

with orangey-red flash on the 

sides. The female has more subdued 

dark sides with red fins. 

Also in this issue, a very versatile 

plant is the “Indian Fern AKA 

Watersprite”. Marc Frey describes 

how this plant can be put 

into a clay pot with small gravel, 

or secured to glass with a suction 

cup, or left floating. 

Surf’s up ! Here is this 

month’s web sites to explore: 

Hans Brost, from Palm Springs 

California, decided to build an 

outdoor acrylic tank. I guess 

here in Canada, we would have 

to drain it and blow out the lines 

each fall, and refill in the spring, 

just like a swimming pool. The 

final size of his aquarium is 

about 500 gallons. He used his 

existing 50 gallon tank as the 

biological filter. There is also an 

underground thermal mass for 

heating and cooling, because 

some nights do get cool and daytime 

temperatures can be quite 

h i g h . h t t p : / / 

w w w . w i z a r d s c a v e . c o m / 

aquarium.html 


23

We meet on the 1st Tuesday of each month 

from September through June at the Adult 

Recreation Centre on the corner of King and 

Allen Streets in Waterloo. The meeting room 

is open at 7 PM and we get under way at 7:30 

PM. Each meeting usually has a very brief 

business section then we get on with “Name 

That Fish”, a program or speaker, a couple of 

raffles and a small auction. A number of 

other features may also be present at any 

meeting. 

Please feel free to come out at any time and 

learn more about the many benefits of a 

KWAS membership. 

Library 

Field Trips 

Picnic 

Oktoberfish 

Conventions... 

JOIN US 

ALL 

ARE 

WELCOME

June 2007 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

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