June 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

J U N E 2 0 0 9
Fins & Tales
Serving Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding area since 1960
In This Issue: Volume 49, Issue 6
The Minimalist Aquarist in London - page 5
PlantED Tank: Fish Store Selections - page 14
HAP and BAP Details - page 13
Moonlighting in your Tank - page 12
Help out some great Fishy Science! - page 13
Official Publication of the Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium Society
Next Meeting:
Tuesday, June 2 nd at 7:30 pm
SUMMER SOCIAL
Complimentary Copy
Welcome to our club!
Visit us at http://www.kwas.ca

J U N E 2 0 0 9
In This Issue...
CAOAC 50 th Highlights
TMA writes from
London (Ontario, that
is) to document the
highlights of the 50 th
CAOAC Convention for
those of us who missed
out. Zenin also
contributes a few extra
photos for us.
Pages 5 & 9
Moonlighting
Zenin documents his
quest for the ideal
(made in Canada)
moonlighting system
for his tank and his
fishes reaction to the
new blue lights.
Page 12
PlantED Tank: At the LFS
Ed provides a summary
of all the information
you’ll need to take with
you to the LFS on your
next trip to make sure
you come home with
the right plants for your
tank.
Page 14
Aquascaping by Chance
Ed’s geophaus spawned
and re-scaped the tank.
Find out why
geophagus are also
known as “earth
eaters”, and the results
of the not-so-tidy
reaquascaping.
Page 18
From The VP’s Desk &
From The Editors’ Desk
May Jar Show Results
Page 4
Page 11
Help out with Fish Science &
BAP and HAP
June Exchange Editor’s
Report
Minutes
Page 13
Page 19
Page 20
Can We Bribe You?
Page 22
May Name That Fish
Page 23
Upcoming Fishy Events
• June 2nd - KWAS General Meeting
• June 9th - KWAS Business Meeting
• June 28th - CAOAC Meeting & President’s BBQ
• July 19th - KWAS Summer BBQ 1-6 pm
• September 1st - KWAS General Meeting
• September 8th - KWAS Business Meeting
• September 12th - Sarnia Show & Auction
• September 27th - London Show & Auction
• October 6th - KWAS General Meeting
• October 13th - KWAS Business Meeting
• October 25th - CDAS Show & Auction
• November 1st - OKTOBERFISH!
On the front cover
This photo of a Volitan Lionfish by
Will Hayward. This photo won
May’s Fish of the Month contest on
our forums.
On the back cover
This photo was taken by Zenin
during the February cross-border
shop hop and appears as part of
PlantED tank this month. Great shot
Zenin! Love the colour contrast.
• November 3rd - KWAS General Meeting
• November 10th - KWAS Business Meeting
• December 1st - KWAS General Meeting
Get your cameras out! Your fish or tank could be featured in an upcoming
edition of Fins & Tales! Simply email your high-res photos and a description
to us at editor@kwas.ca. Photos must be at least 2400 pixels wide by 1800
pixels tall to be printable. Bigger is better. Questions? Email us.
2

J U N E 2 0 0 9
KWAS Mission Statement
The Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society (KWAS) is a nonprofit
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 kinship with other clubs with
similar objectives
KWAS is a charter member of CAOAC:
The Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs
Fins & Tales is published 10 times each year between the
months of September and June for KWAS members. Opinions
expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not
necessarily those of the Fins & Tales editors or KWAS. The
mention of any product does not constitute an endorsement by
Fins & Tales or KWAS members.
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. Copies of the reprint must be sent to
both the author and KWAS. Any other use is prohibited without
the written consent of KWAS.
Exchange Program — KWAS exchanges newsletters with other
clubs across North America. If your club is interested in
becoming a part of this program please contact our exchange
editor by mail or e-mail zenin@golden.net
Correspondence — Please send all correspondence to the
Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society, Box 38037 256 King
Street North, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2J 4T9.
Submission of Articles
Cover images and articles can be submitted for publication in
Fins & Tales by all hobbyists and must be submitted digitally.
Priority is given to KWAS members and to topics that have not
been recently covered. Not all submissions will be printed in the
month they are submitted. The editors of Fins & Tales may be
required to edit your submission for length, spelling, grammar
and/or clarity. Please indicate if you would like to proof read
the edited version prior to official publication.
Submissions are due via email to the editors (editor@kwas.ca)
by the 15 th day of the month for publication in the upcoming
issue of Fins & Tales. Please contact us if you have any
questions or would like suggestions or feedback on possible
article topics.
KWAS Officials 2008 - 2009
Executive
President Geoff Money (gmoney@golden.net)
Vice President Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)
Treasurer Brad McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)
Secretary Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)
Past President Kevin Reimer (kevin.reimer@sympatico.ca)
Board of Directors
Editor/Publisher Cameron Turner, Tanya Morose
(cam.turner@gmail.com)
Exchange Editor Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)
Membership Chair Mary Lynne Lucier (marylynnel@yahoo.ca)
Auction Chair ***** Open *****
Oktoberfish Chair Al Ridley with Ed and Geoff
Librarians Dianna Daigle (daigledianna69@hotmail.com)
Beth Graham (zagraham@rogers.com)
Lunch Committee Katie McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)
Programs Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)
Raffle Chair The Quigley Family
B.A.P Chair Ryan Barton (rabar10@yahoo.com)
H.A.P Chair Ed Koerner (edkoerner@sympatico.ca)
CAOAC Reps Phil Maznyk (and one position open still)
Name That Fish Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)
Jar Show Anthony McAslin (mcspetworld@sympatico.ca)
Webmaster Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)
Pet Store Liaisons Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)
Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)
Advertise in Fins & Tales
Please contact the newsletter editor if you are interested in
advertising in KWAS Fins & Tales. Rates apply for ten (10)
consecutive issues (one year).
Business Card, B&W$25/yr
1/4 Page, B&W $60/yr
1/2 Page, B&W $100/yr
Full Page, B&W $150/yr
Full Page, Full Colour$35/issue
Advertising of any hobby related items in Fins & Tales is free to
KWAS members in good standing, space permitting.
Join KWAS
2009 Membership Fees
Adult Family
1 Year $25 $30
2 Years $48 $58
3 Years $71 $86
4 Years $92 $112
5 Years $100$120
Junior Members (under the age of 18) $10 per year
3

J U N E 2 0 0 9
Hi All,
From the President’s Desk
Hello All,
From The Editors’ Desk
Well where has the time gone? We now have a new Executive
and Board of Directors, and although some of the faces are the
same, we have some new people.
I would like to thank the previous BOD for your effort and
contributions to running the club, also a big thank you if you
are returning. I would also like to welcome Beth Graham and
Dianna Daigle for taking over the Library, Ryan and Kelli
Barton for taking the BAP, Ed Koerner for taking the HAP. I
expect all our programs will be up and running again, and we
will see certificates awarded at our meetings.
We have started planning for “Oktoberfish”, if you would like
to play a leading role contact Al Ridley the Oktoberfish Chair.
This is the last meeting before summer, so I would like to wish
you all “fun in the sun”, I’m looking forward to those nice
warms days and long evenings, and I plan to use my newly
acquired motor home a great deal this summer. I may have to
take up fishing again!!!!
The club has been contacted by the University of Waterloo to
participate in a research project regarding fresh water filtration
systems, so we should know more at the meeting (page 13).
June is pizza night, tank giveaway night and an evening of
fellowship and friendship, so be there or you miss out.
See you at the meeting,
Geoff Money
President, KWAS
First, we’d like to wish you all a happy, safe and prosperous
summer. We’ve already started our vegetable garden. Have
you?
Second, we’d like to announce a new policy for the covers. In
recent months it’s been hard to print some of the entries from
the online contest due to the small resolution of the winning
images. At the same time there have been some fantastic shots
by non-regular contributors who lost out by just a hair on the
forums. So, to encourage a wider set of people to submit their
photos and to enable a wider variety of fish, we’re going to take
submissions directly. Send any photo you wish to be considered
for printing in the newsletter (or on the cover) to
cam.turner@gmail.com. The minimum dimensions for the front
cover are 2400x1800 pixels but send any image along and we
may use it somewhere else inside an upcoming edition. Thanks!
Lastly, on page 22 you’ll find our latest plea for more articles.
We’re willing to bribe you for them now. Not having enough
material for each newsletter and scrambling for content at the
last minute is very stressful. Help save us from an early grave
and write something.
Have a great summer and hopefully we’ll see you at the June
social, the picnic in July or at the general meeting in September
if you’re back from summer vacation by then.
Take care of each other,
Cam Turner & Tanya Morose
Newsletter Editors, KWAS
4

J U N E 2 0 0 9
The Minimalist Aquarist
Doing more with less and keeping it simple: TMA Visits the 50 th CAOAC Convention
— Article and Photos by Rein & Char Breitmaier, KWAS (mrrein@gmail.com)
It was in March of 1976 that TMA received a KWAS newsletter
as a fledgling member of the club and it was two years
following, that CAOAC’s 19th Convention became a possibility
for this hobbyist from Kitchener-Waterloo. Conventions have
perennially blessed our calendars with TMA taking in stops
from Buffalo to Calgary.
Our opening photo shows this year’s convention speakers from
the left, Gary Lange of St Louis Missouri, TMA, Bob Fenner
from California and Heiko Bleher. Presenting is CAOAC
President Tony Bernard and Speaker Coordinator Ken
Boorman.
To everyone’s utter amazement CAOAC turned 50 this May.
KWAS was there from the outset and our own Dave Boehm and
Miecia Burden stepped forward to join the ad-hoc committee
struck to host this golden anniversary event. Truth be told,
Miecia conspired with Mrs TMA to orchestrate my appearance
as the after dinner speaker to the convention. The formal
invitation came from Co-chair Carl McCleary but I knew who
wanted a front row seat to hear the tales of our Mediterranean
Expedition. Sadly Miecia was unable to fulfill that ambition in
person but her customary Black Russian cocktail and a striking
bouquet of flowers graced the seat kept vacant in her honour
directly at the center of the convention head table this night.
The convention began with a grab bag of free-bies that should
keep your fishes fed for the next little while, courtesy of the
legion of suppliers and friends of the hobby that stepped
forward to support this milestone convention.
Friday night began in earnest with headline presenter Heiko
Bleher. Heiko flew 10,000km from his home base in Italy and
started off with his expedition to the upper Jutai river
(pronounced Jew-tye-ee) which is in the upper reaches of the
Amazon basin of South America and which is populated by 21
indigenous tribes who have never seen the white man. Heiko
proved to be a font of aquarist knowledge and his credits
include collecting in 164 different countries of our world. (Do
the math, there aren’t that many more!) The target area was a
known green discus habitat.
5

J U N E 2 0 0 9
So what did I learn? Heiko normally collects Discus at night
when they float up nearer the surface and can be scooped up by
flashlight. In the light of day they may dive to 4 and 5 metres of
water where they hover in schools for protection. Eighty species
were collected in the Jutai river including a new and interesting
Angelfish, a myriad of characins and catfishes, and the smallest
needlefish in the world, the Belonion.
Next up, Heiko returned with a unique trip to North Eastern
India. Nagaland as the area between the Himalayas and the
waters of the Bay of Bengal is called, is off-limits even to many
of India’s citizenry. The Brahmaputra River winds down 4000
km from Tibet into this indigenous region. An interesting
revelation was that two familiar genera share an identical
habitat but on two very different continents. A biotope shot
from South America’s Apistogramma family could easily be
confused for one where India’s Badis fishes can be found.
A diverse collection of fishes from Aplocheilus (killifishes), to
dwarf Channa (snakeheads) jumped to the projector screen as
did Heiko’s challenge to find the fish in an image of a dip net he
had lifted from a Nagaland stream. The projection screen may
have been huge but not sufficient for any among us to spot a
fully grown Darion, which at breeding size is a mere 9 mm in
length.
Gary Lange got the coveted ‘first speaker of the day’ spot
Saturday morning and led with how to photograph your fish
and embarrass your friends (translation blackmail perhaps?)
Aside from the usual primer on what Fstop and ISO should
mean to the wannabe fish photographer, Gary suggested a few
tips for those early risers who caught his opening act. Firstly
you need a digital camera with a manual focus feature to be
truly successful – now he tells me after I’ve replaced both of our
cameras already. Next, shoot fishes at the higher Fstop settings
(16-22) as you will enjoy more of the fish being in focus and
always, always, always focus on the eye of the fish. Nothing
else will save your photo if the eye is out of focus. Lastly you
cannot spend enough time on acclimating the fishes and
cleaning the glass before hand. There is always Photoshop but
imagine cleaning up the accompanying photo. Lastly if you’re
doing digital – shoot lots of shots, says Gary, digital film is free.
Bob Fenner made his debut with a slide that teased ‘Algae can
be your friend’. Bob proved a consummate entertainer and
teacher as he drew his audience through an understanding of
micro and macro algae, from diatoms to kelps and from
phenomena known as red tides to aegagropila balls which
themselves are an algae but are purchased by hobbyists to outcompete
lesser algaes and thereby suppress them from our
display aquaria.
Bob’s hints during this session were to understand the specific
algae in order to plan its demise. Frozen foods for example can
release unwanted nutrients into the aquarium while prethawing
and rinsing those brine shrimp is a simple
preventative. Bob also advocated having a duplicate set of
sponge filters so that a fresh filter can be inserted to the
aquarium while the used one is cleaned and permitted to air
dry between uses.
6

J U N E 2 0 0 9
construction as waterways become muddied. What also
‘muddied’ Gary’s experience on his recent trip as compared to
his 2005 visit to the same area, was rivers completely void of
fishes. Rotenon poisoning was suspected as this pesticide is
known to be used by some natives to flush out the fishes for
food.
With a wry sense of humour Gary explained how he came to his
passion for Rainbow fishes, and this accompanying slide says it
all – its hot, its humid and I’m muddied and bloodied
particularly where I ought not to be, and I’M HAVING A
GREAT TIME. It is all about the pursuit of the fishes after all.
TMA took an opportunity for a quiet walk through the fish
room which this year sported an amazing 306 entries between
the novelty classes through photography and to the wonderful
array of individual fish classes. Also on view were commercial
displays and a tank populated by freshly caught native
minnows, darters and crayfishes caught Friday morning by
Dave Boehm and company. The green side darters were a big
hit with the guests coming through the display.
Just to prove that judging is something we individually may
disagree with and while still giving all due to a wonderful fish
which ultimately garnered that ‘best in show’ nod from the
judges, it was interesting to watch Heiko Bleher in the fish room
and yes, he privately chose a different fish for his ‘best in’
honour.
Heiko returned one more time with an examination of
Geophagus species which are found east of the Andes in South
America. Some interesting DNA research has been done
recently which suggests that elephant and mice relatives
Geophagus brasiliensis and Mikrogeophagus should be
brothers, and yet visually similar fishes like Geophagus and
Satanoperca are in fact only the most distant of relatives.
One species, the Retroculus have been seen hauling half
kilogram rocks around their environment to get their breeding
nests just right. Interestingly the Gymnogeophagus fishes come
from more southerly locales in the area of Uruguay and gave
pause for TMA to consider whether they might be ideal fishes
for a garden pond having a greater tolerance for cooler
temperatures? Hmmm?
Gary Lange returned to the microphone with ‘Rainbowfish
Heaven, a tour through New Guinea’. Unbeknownst to TMA,
this island if superimposed onto North America would stretch
from New York City to Denver Colorado. Sadly habitat is being
destroyed in the pursuit of better roads and general
After a great meal prepared by the College’s chef “Turbo” and
his staff, introductions were made and TMA lead the
conventioneers through a tour of the Mediterranean starting
with the Iberian peninsula, crossing the top of Africa, once
through the Middle East and ending up in Greece. Regular
readers of this column will have followed this route with TMA
already, but new stories aplenty were introduced.
As a bonus, Bob Fenner returned with a discourse on a little
known catfish with a rather nasty propensity. He started by
7

J U N E 2 0 0 9
asking for the fish which could proudly bear the mantle of
‘most feared fish in the Amazon’. There were lots of takers from
piranhas which bite to marine sharks which may travel
thousands of km upriver, and from electric eels with hundreds
of volts to rays with those nasty barbs. Bob gave his designation
however to the lowly, ugly, skinny little catfish which is reputed
to follow urine streams up into the male urethra and painfully
lodge itself therein. About here most of the men in the audience
leaned back and crossed their legs tightly. Enough said.
Best fish in the Show was a magnificent Black Molly male which
coincidentally also won best fish at the recent Brant Aquarium
Society show, owned by Shawn and William Austin. Congrats
gents. To finish off the show a calculation is always made to
determine the competitor with the highest aggregate, meaning
the most points garnered with entries that date. At the
convention show the adult leader was Anthony McAslin but
beating him out in points was the high aggregate Junior, again
our own Jonathan Samson. Wow! Great competition and well
done both!
But we’re not done yet – KWAS gold continued at this golden
anniversary convention. Jr Hobbyist of the year went to
Jonathan Samson, Sr Hobbyist to Zenin Skomorowski, Betta
Champ of the year to Zena Ng, Jr Champion of Champions to
Jonathan Samson (best results over all the shows in the season)
and last but not least Phil Maznyk took honours for Best
Newsletter and Best Website. UNBELIEVABLY GREAT folks !!!
The next morning, the bleary-eyed who stayed too long in the
hospitality suite the night before, missed CAOAC’s annual
general meeting and elections which were by the way ably
handled by KWAS’ own Phil Maznyk. Special congratulations
to our Dave Boehm who was re-elected to the position of
Treasurer.
The awards brunch followed and several friendly rivalries came
to the fore. The Samson clan showed dad’s single award and
son Jonathan’s entire cluster of awards, most of them competing
in the adult classes. Fierce competition also emerged between
Jonathan and our friend Griffin Quigley who this time around
competed under the new Cambridge club banner. Well done to
both of you and keep it happening lads!
KWAS President Geoff Money gave justice to our latest club
initiative, the Miecia Burden Ambassador’s Award for
Outstanding Promotion of the Aquarium Hobby. There wasn’t a
dry eye in the room least of all mine, as Dave Boehm accepted
the inaugural award as given posthumously to Miecia. The final
presentation to husband Brian Burden will follow.
8

J U N E 2 0 0 9
The weekend closed as Leigh Woods and Bob Wright mugged
their awards in competition and as Bob and Jerry Draper
handled the auction of fishes and related items. Did you miss it?
If you did, you missed a beauty! Pure Gold. - TMA
CAOAC 50 th Convention in Photos!
Convention Photos by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net). Show results from CAOAC.
Zenin Skomorowski
2 nd - Angels
2 nd - Large Cichlids (non rift lake)
3 rd - Rift Lake Cichlids
3 rd - Corydoras or Brochis Catfish
2 nd - Barbs
1 st - Characins
1 st & 3 rd - Rainbows
3 rd - Kilifish
Phil Maznyk
2 nd & 3 rd - Photography
Jonathan Samson
2 nd - Rift Lake Cichlids
2 nd - AOV Catfish
3 rd - Betta Splendens Female
2 nd & 3 rd - Mollies
1 st - Barbs
1 st & 2 nd - Goldfish & Koi
1 st - Kilifish
1 st & 2 nd - Any Other Aquatic Animals
1 st & 3 rd - Any Other Variety Fish
3 rd - Junior Livebearer
3 rd - Junior Egglayer
Geoff Money
1 st - AOV Catfish
1 st - Sharks & Loaches
2 nd - Rainbows
2 nd - Kilifish
Anthony McAslin
2 nd - Any Other Variety Fish
Susan Money
1 st - Novelty, Art and Crafts
Congratulations to the joint members of CDAS and KWAS who also won many awards under the CDAS banner. Please see the CDAS
newsletter for those results.
Geoff and Rein representing KWAS at the CAOAC Annual Meeting
Jonathan Samson receiving Junior High Aggregate Award
9

J U N E 2 0 0 9
Receiving the first Miecia Burden Ambassador Award for Miecia
Biotope for local Native Fish
Griffin and Jonathan did well
Biotope for Rainbowfish
Display of CAOAC awards and Club Badges
Amazon Biotope for Discus
10

J U N E 2 0 0 9
June Tank Draw
for KWAS Members
• Free draw for KWAS members
• Your membership card is your raffle ticket,
no card, no entry
• Max two cards entered per family
membership
• You must be present to win
There will be one Marineland C220 canister
filter and two Hagen Waterhome 21 Euro Kits
each containing the following:
• Rimless Allglass Aquarium, 79 L (21 US G)
• Double Fluorescent Canopy with 1 Aqua-Glo
Fluorescent Bulb and 1 Sun-Glo Fluorescent
Bulb
• AquaClear 150 Filter
• Thermal Compact Pre-Set Heater, 100 W
• Digital Themometer
• 2 Plastic Plants
• Fish Net
• Nutrafin Max fish food
• Combo Pack (Cycle, AquaPlus, Waste
Control)
• Basic Aquarium Guide and Video
May Jar Show Standings
Judged by Anthony McAslin
Loaches
SpeciesPoints
Zenin Skomorowski Clown Loach4
Tony Gibbons
Horse Face Loach3
Zenin Skomorowski Dojo Weather Loach2
Juniors
Jonathan Samson Golden Dojo loach4
Johnathan Samson Khuli Loach3
Killie
Zenin Skomorowski Gardeneri4
Juniors
Johnathan Samson Golden Wonder4
Griffen Quigley Red Gularis3
Johnathan Samson Cuban2
Griffen QuigleyBlue Gularis 1
AOV
Zenin Skomorowski Long Fin Black Skirt Tetra4
Juniors
Jonathan Samson Golden Sail fin Molly4
Griffen Quigley Mustard Betta3
Jonathan Samson Plakat Betta2
Griffen Quigley White Mantle Betta1
Peoples Choice
Johnathan Samson Golden Wonder Killlie2
Tony Gibbons
Horse Face Loach2
Totals
Zenin Skomorowski 45
Geoff Money
33
Tony Gibbons
8
Al Ridley
7
Alan Smiley
5
Ryan Barton
1
Juniors
Johnathan Samson 56
Griffen Quigley
52
June’s class is Cyprinids and AOV. For future classes visit:
http://www.kwas.ca/jar_show.htm
11

A recent trend has been to provide moonlight in aquariums. In
an effort to try to recreate lighting patterns in nature, a blue
light system can be used to transition between your full lighting
system and total darkness. Some aquarium keepers feel this is a
more natural and less stressful method of lighting, especially in
a salt water marine tank where the lighting systems are quite
bright. I thought I would try something similar for my 100
gallon freshwater aquarium.
There are several options to provide moonlight in the aquarium.
The first option I considered was to use a canopy with
moonlighting built in along with the regular fluorescent tubes.
I already had two 4 foot light canopies and did not want to
spend the money for a new canopy.
Another option is to use blue Christmas lights, preferably with
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), rather than incandescent bulbs.
The LEDs are more energy efficient because they give off less
heat, and can give more hours of service than the traditional
bulbs. I found a string of blue LED Christmas lights, but the
lights seemed too far apart and the string was too long to use
without modification. Also, there were “rope lights” but these
also seemed to be too long to use without cutting them to fit in
the existing 4 foot canopy. My quest continued.
An option I found in Cichlid-Forum was to use cold cathode
tubes www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_moonlight.php
These tubes distribute the blue light evenly across the
aquarium. I usually like do-it-yourself projects, so I looked in
K-W Surplus and Orion Electronics, both in Kitchener. They
had 12 and 18 inch cold cathode tubes. Along with an adapter
and some other small parts mentioned in the article, the total
cost would be between 20 and 30 dollars. Another D-I-Y option
is to purchase LEDs and other components to make light tubes.
You can calculate the value of limiting resisters required to wire
up your LEDs at edcalc.com This option came in around 30
dollars as well, but I could not readily find my soldering iron,
so I continued my search for options.
A member on our forum mentioned that a manufacturer in
nearby Brampton had LEDs already mounted on circuit board
strips inside tubes ready for shipping. I surfed to their website
at www.pcboard.ca They had a 4.75 inch tube with 6 LEDs for
$18.95 and a 10.5 inch tube with 9 LEDs for $24.95. Each had
end caps for the one inch diameter tubes and a power adapter
with 6 feet of connecting wire. I can’t remember what the
shipping charge or taxes were at that time. Since they were all
made up and ready to ship, I ordered a couple of each. They
arrived within two days.
J U N E 2 0 0 9
Moonlighting a Tank
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).
To install, I simply lifted my light canopy a bit and placed one
of the long tubes on the glass with the LEDs pointing down into
the tank. Mounting clips are available at an extra cost. I
plugged into a timer set to come on a few minutes before the
other timer for the canopy turns off the large fluorescent lights
at 10 pm. This particular moonlight strip lit up about one third
of the tank, with the other areas a bit darker, and the corners
were the darkest. The sun gradually lights up my fish room in
the morning, so no blue light time was required before the
fluorescent lights come back on around 11 am.
For a few nights, I watched the behaviour of my fish for about
15 minutes before the canopy lights went out leaving the blue
moonlight. I made the following notes regarding the behaviour
of my fish during the hour or so of moonlight:
• all of my plecos, including my very shy L354, were
immediately out looking for food
• most of my loaches retreated to hollow logs or to the branches
of leafy plants
• the African Red Eye Characins formed a very tight school just
above a leafy plant, contrasting their usual constant motion in
all directions
• the iridescence on the Colombian Tetras was pretty intense in
the blue light
• all the various species of tetras pulled into tighter schools
hovering just above rock piles or near plants
• the larger Severum cichlids began to settle into their night
time spots in the corners or beside large rocks
12

J U N E 2 0 0 9
• the Denisoni barbs began to drift with their faces pointed
down to the bottom of the tank
I had noticed some of these behaviours years ago when I used a
flashlight with a piece of red cellophane over the light, to look
into an aquarium that had been dark for a few hours. It was an
interesting comparison, some things the same, some different.
The moonlighting option does seem to make the fish more
comfortable when the canopy lights are turned off, no more
sudden darkness. I have not yet put similar moon lighting on
other tanks, but I do have 3 more strips of LEDs, I just have to
get some more timers.
BAP and HAP
Submitted by Ed Koerner and Ryan Barton
(edkoerner@sympatico.ca & rabar10@yahoo.com)
Hey folks, just a friendly spring reminder that the club has
some fun programs available to all members at an unbeatable
price. That’s right – it won’t cost you one extra dime (or even
a penny) to take part in the KWAS Breeder’s Award and
Horticulturist Award Programs. It’s simple, too — if you
happen to find babies swimming in your tank or extra foliage
under your lights, you can take part.
Breeder’s Award Program (or BAP) points are given to
members for spawning their fish and successfully raising the
fry for a two month period. There are various point
classifications based on the type of fish (or non-fish) and the
relative ease or difficulty in breeding. Certificates of
recognition are handed out at club meetings for each success
story. For those with a green thumb, The Horticulturist Award
Program (or HAP) operates in the same manner, except it is
based on propagating aquatic plants. Both programs also
recognize and award specific levels of success and
accomplishment, both within our own club and also in the
Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs (CAOAC).
Wow, actually Made in Canada ! - Zenin
Please Help with Fish Science!
Dr. Josh D. Neufeld is a faculty member in the Department of
Biology at the University of Waterloo and is beginning a research
project investigating the microorganisms involved in freshwater
nitrification.
Until now, the understanding has been that
chemolithoautotrophic bacteria (e.g. Nitrosomonas and
Nitrobacter) are responsible for most environmental nitrification.
As it turns out, another newly discovered group of
microorganisms from the Archaea are more abundant and likely
more active in this process by an order of magnitude in marine
and terrestrial environments. The relative importance of these
two groups in freshwater environments is almost completely
unknown. Dr. Neufeld and a student are investigating the
relative abundance and diversity of bacteria and archaea in
freshwater and marine aquaria this summer.
They need your help.
Dr. Neufeld will be at the June meeting to explain the details and
sign up volunteers. If you're interested please attend, or at least
send a friend who can sign up for you.
These programs are made available to any and all club
members in good standing. All the specifics, including rules,
classes, awards, and current standings, are available on the
club’s website at http://kwas.ca/downloads.htm. Both
programs use an inspection process to count fry or examine
plants, and these make for great excuses (rather, opportunities)
to hang out with fellow fishy friends. To have a fish or plant
inspected, just contact any member of the club executive or
BOD, and they will help make arrangements for a viewing.
After you qualify your entry and submit your form, you will
be presented with a certificate at a future meeting.
The BAP and HAP programs are a great way to let people
know what you are breeding and growing. You may find that
members are looking for those fish or have questions on how
you were successful. It is a great way for the club to
communicate and share knowledge of the hobby. It also helps
make a statement in CAOAC on what our club is doing and
our club members’ achievements.
The club may have the summer off, but don’t let your tanks sit
idle till September. There’s a lot of time before the next
meeting to breed fish, grow plants, earn certificates, and enjoy
our common hobby!
- KWAS BAP and HAP chairs
13

J U N E 2 0 0 9
The PlantED Tank: Is Your LFS Green?
A Regular Column by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca). Photos by Ed, Phil & Zenin.
Okay, it’s the last issue of Fins & Tales before the summer break
and I’m looking for words of wisdom to fill these pages to carry
over till the fall. Okay, I’m always looking for some words of
wisdom, but I’m stuck with what I have to work with so please
take that into account and be kind to me as you read on. I’ve
been filling this column with chats on my experiences with
various plants. There are some that have not tried real live
plants yet, or have and have found that they’ve had better luck
trying to grow plastic ones. Don’t give up, because it gets easier
on the third, fourth or maybe thirteenth try. But I know that
some of you will decide to buy a plant or two over the summer
and for those brave folk we are talking about buying plants at
your local fish store.
that is key. Unless the salesperson just happened to sell you
every piece of equipment that you have and remembers you
and each of your purchases, they will not know what you have
at home. Also, any credible and respected LFS wants to do more
than just sell you something once. They want to develop a
relationship with you that will keep you coming back to that
store over time because you trust the service and advice you
receive. Having the proper information will go a long way in
establishing a good groundwork for many happy purchases.
Doing Your Homework
Most LFS will sell various and assorted plants for your
aquariums. There are choices to make and there are often
several questions to ask yourself before putting your money
down and bagging something up. Lets go over some of the first
few and see where we end up. This will also help the staff serve
you and help you make the best choices for your needs.
Remember when you walk into a store, an employee is there to
give you service and steer you in the right direction but they
can’t do that unless you come in with some basic information
One of the first questions to ask yourself is “What kind of
lighting do I have?” This will help determine the basic
parameters of plants that you can keep right off the bat. Most
lighting found today is fluorescent, but there are still
incandescent fixtures to be found. The latter are quite limiting to
the amount of light that can be used due to the heat produced
by the bulbs. Newer compact fluorescent bulbs can be used
safely in these screw in fixtures and will offer much more light
at a much lower temperature and can be quite effective. If the
lighting is fluorescent then you should know the size of the tube
as this will often determine the wattage of the bulb and whether
it is a single or double tube. Also, what is the width of the tube?
Older florescent bulbs were T12 or 1.2 inches in diameter. These
are being phased out. Some fixtures handle T8 bulbs but the
newer and most efficient bulbs are high output (HO) T5 bulbs.
These will give up to 50% more light per bulb than an old T12,
so that will also be a big difference to how much light your
plants will get. If you have gone out and spent money on metal
halides then you likely are more advanced or have switched
over from salt water. If that is the case, don’t worry because if
you are using MH bulbs you likely have enough of a light
14

J U N E 2 0 0 9
source to grow anything in the way of aquatic plants. So,
knowing your light source will now give you some choices of
what plants can be grown in your tank. Most plants are
considered low, medium or high light. Low light is usually
considered anything less than 1.5 watts per gallon (wpg) of total
light source compared to the size of your tank. Medium light is
between 1.5 and 2.5 wpg and high light would be anything
more than 2.5 wpg. Also consider that you will lose some light
if you have a glass top over your tank and the deeper the tank
the less light will penetrate to the bottom. The amount of time
that you have the lights turned on each day will also be a
determining factor.
the LFS staff might ask to help you in selecting your plants.
“What kind of substrate do I have?” This can make a difference.
Many people have gravel in their tanks but the size can make a
difference when choosing plants. If the gravel is too coarse, fine
or shallow rooted plants will have a difficult time establishing
themselves and may not survive. If your substrate is too
shallow, deep rooted plants will not have enough room to be
planted and stay in place. If you want to grow plants at
optimum conditions you may even want to change your
substrate to some of the newer products such as fluorite or
“Eco-Complete”. Water quality can also be a factor. Some plants
need soft water to grow properly while others don’t care. Other
plants need fertilizers or CO2 added to the tank to flourish.
These are things that you may or may not want to invest in so
will also determine whether you want to spend money on some
varieties of plants. Even the size of your tank can be a factor. If
you have a 10 or 15 gallon tank that is 12 inches high, it doesn’t
make a lot of sense to buy a plant that will grow 20 inches tall.
The second question to ask is what kind of fish are you
keeping? If you have silver dollars for example, the answer is
easy – go look at the plastic plant section because silver dollars
will eat most plants. If you are keeping large Central or South
American cichlids, you may find that they love to tear up and
uproot pretty much any plant you get. African cichlids can be
tough on some plants as well. Goldfish and koi are also known
for uprooting or chewing plants down to nothing. It doesn’t
make a lot of sense in trying plants in tank settings that may be
doomed from the start, but there is no hard and fast rules that
say that rules can’t be broken and experiences can differ. Even
silver dollars which are notorious plant eaters can live in a
planted tank if you chose the right species of plants. Java fern
actually produces a substance within its leaves that makes it
unpalatable to fish and can be grown in the same tank with
herbivores. The type of fish you have may also steer you to the
type of plants you might want as well. If you are keeping
livebearers you might want floating plants with bushy leaves to
protect new fry. If you are keeping tetras you might want fine,
soft leaved plants that will still allow the fish to show off their
colour. If you are looking to set up a bio type you may want to
match fish and plants from the same geographical region. These
are things to consider.
You will have been able to whittle down your initial choices a
bit but there are a few more questions that you can ask – or that
Now, you have some answers to help make your plant
purchases much easier. You are primed and ready to go. What
comes next? Well, a trip to your LFS is in order. You have likely
made many purchases there before and hopefully staff will
remember you and you have established a rapport with
someone. Hopefully they keep fish and plants themselves. Ask
them what they keep to find out a bit of their experience. Look
over the selections of plants in the store and discuss what you
are looking for and what your needs and limitations are. If you
see a plant that you like and you aren’t sure if you want to buy
it, take down the name. You can do some research and find out
whether it is for you or not.
Things To Look For
As you are shopping for your plants there are some basic things
to look for that could help. Take notice at how long plants have
been in the store. This should help tell you if plants are moving
or not. A good store should replenish their stock to replace
plants and bring in different species. If there is something you
15

J U N E 2 0 0 9
are looking for and you don’t see it you can ask if it might be
ordered. There may be limiting factors involved such import/
export regulations or what their main suppliers themselves
carry or have available. Sometimes demand can lead to stock
being ordered. Communication never hurts. Look at the
lighting and tank conditions that the plants are growing in. If
plants are under very high light and are being fertilized or
injected with CO2, don’t expect the plants to look as lush and
healthy after a few weeks in your tank unless you can provide
similar conditions.
leaves may die off in the process. The plant may not look like
the one you purchased, and I have experienced some that have
a high rate of expiry while acclimating. Cryptcorynes can often
be grown in an emmersed state. They are also sometimes sold
as a stock with most of their leaves removed to avoid the “crypt
melt” that often befalls them when acclimating.
Check and compare the maximum size of the plant you are
interested in. Is the plant being offered a full grown specimen?
How large will it get in your tank? Will it grow out of control
was acclimated? How fast will it grow? You might want a nice
foreground plant and later find out that the 3 inch plant you
bought is growing 12 inches or more high. Or you might put in
a nice grassy plant only to find that the runners and roots have
taken over half of your tank and nothing else will grow in the
dense tangle of weeds.
Choose good healthy specimens. Look at the roots – they
should be white and strong. Blackened roots are not a good
sign. Leaves should be solid and lush. Avoid plants that seem
slimy or weak with stems that are soft and mushy. Check for
brown dying leaves. Sometimes these occur naturally and can
be simply trimmed but if the majority are looking like last
week’s old salad, then you should probably pass. Look at the
tank the plants are in. If there is a lot of mulm or residue it
might be from leaves shedding from plants. Fine leaved stem
plants will often drop their leaves like Christmas trees in
January if they are unhealthy. Bunched stem plants are often
bunched close together and may not be getting enough air
between them. Check the bottom of the bunch for rot and decay.
Often these can be simply trimmed off a bit and planted with
fresh stems and they will start to root.
If you are looking at plants with red colouration then consider
your lighting source. Most plants with red in them require at
least medium light to do well. Some may grow in low light
conditions but will turn green and lose their brighter colour.
Green plants should have a consistent solid colour pattern
Some plants are grown on farms in an “emmersed” state. This is
a means to grow plants quickly and in larger volumes partially
out of water. If you see a plant labelled as something familiar to
you, but the plant seems to have thicker, heavier leaves, then it
may have been grown emmersed. The plant will have to
acclimatize to being fully submerged again and the original
Many plants are sold as bulbs. Some lotus, lilies and
aponogetons are sold as leafless bulbs. Choose solid, heavy
feeling bulbs. They should be somewhat hard. If they are soft or
mushy or smell a bit off, they are not healthy specimens.
Remember that most aponogetons go through a dormant phase
in which they lose their leaves and seem dead for a few months.
Many people will think they have died and throw them out but
they can sprout back to life if given the chance.
There is also the ever so popular snail to consider. This little
creature seems harmless at first sight but from one little rascal
piggybacking his way into your aquarium on a plant you can
end up with hundreds of them and they may be unwanted.
Some people hate them, some people work to get rid of them,
going to various lengths, while some people don’t really care if
they are there or not. If you do not want any snails in your tank
then you should be wary on each and every plant purchase. You
may wish to dip plants in a bleach bath for 15 minutes (and
rinsing well) before adding them to your tank. You can inspect
the plant for snails or eggs and remove them by hand, but this
is tough to do with fine leaved plants.
16

J U N E 2 0 0 9
found that some parts of the GTA seem to have a higher price
structure than others.
Pricing
One of the all important factors in your decision making when
you are buying anything is price. If money were no object most
of us would have a Mercedes instead of an Escort or Chevette
(do they still make those or am I dating myself?) and the same
can be said in a much smaller scale when it comes to plants.
Most LFS will set prices based on the market but there are other
factors. Sure, the more that can be charged for a product the
more profit that can be made which is the basic principle of
capitalism, but most LFS will try keeping prices fair and at a
level that will keep their product moving. Plants are a
perishable item and pricing has to cover losses in shipping and
handing over time. Seasonal growing conditions may affect
prices that suppliers charge which in turn have to be charged by
local stores. Even the original source of a supplier makes a
difference. Plants shipped from Denmark will normally incur
more costs than shipping from North America or certainly
finding product from local hobbyists. Many aquarium plants
are restricted by various government regulations or bans which
means they are harder to find or acquire which drives the price
up. Even the local market trends seem to affect pricing. I have
Now, I will say that there are other places to find plants besides
your LFS. Most club auctions have a good variety of plants to be
found and there can be some good buys. I have also seen prices
go through the roof and be double what you would pay at your
local shop. There are also hobbyists that are keeping and
growing plants and as room runs out people need to do
something with them. Many people will sell, trade or give away
extra plants and it is often a great way to meet other fish
keepers.
Well, that brings to an end this season’s shopping trip and plant
talk (Okay… those people silently cheering, I will hunt you
down) and enjoy your summer break. I have some topics
planned for the fall that I hope to follow up with such as a
beginner’s guide to planting your new tank for those that took
the summer to decide on taking the plunge and hopefully a
recap of some experiments I want to work on with some
outdoor ponds and flowering aquarium plants.
Take care all. - PlantED
Calling All Junior Jar Show Enthusiasts...
Hi to all you Junior Fish Hobbyists,
Here is some encouragement for you to take part in our monthly show
jar competition.
If you show your fish this year, you will have a chance to win this 16
gallon Tetra Water Wonders Kit.
So come on out to our next meeting and show off your fish.
Looking forward to Seeing You,
An"ony, Jar Show Chair for KWAS
17

J U N E 2 0 0 9
Re-Scaping a Show Tank
BAP Submission by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca).
Or……. What happens the first time you are spawning
geophagus. That’s right, I have now experienced what happens
when you have a somewhat tidy and planted tank and geos
decide to spawn. You end up with a tank that looks very little
like what you started with. A bit of floating salad, a new level to
the substrate, and many nervous fish that aren’t quite sure
where they are allowed to wander.
This all came about in my 120 gallon South American
community tank. There are about 20 various plecos, some
nymnogeophagus, anostomus, Columbian and serpae tetras,
corys and a few other odds and ends. There are several swords,
crypts and other plants in the tank and a substrate of peat moss
covered with kitty litter and fluorite. There are several pieces of
Mopani driftwood and I do add a bit of “black water” extract or
alder cones every once in a while. The pH in the tank is about
6.5 and there nothing but rain water that goes into the tank. The
temperature in the tank is 77-78 F. I have had pretty good
success with this set up for my SA’s and the general health and
activity of fish has been quite good. For anybody wanting to try
the peat approach, be aware that sediment will filter through
the substrate over time and there will be a bit of a mess when
planting or moving your substrate around later. There is
definitely a steeped tea look to the water that some people may
not like over time, but as I say, I have had very healthy fish in
these conditions. The tank has an Eheim and a small HOB filter
to add some circulation.
Getting back to the fish, I had a few fish given to me by a friend
to add to my nymnogeophagus. I was not sure what they were
at the time or their sex. Over time it became apparent that there
was a dominant male in the mix as he was growing quicker and
larger than the others and started marking his territory a bit or
at least asserting his will in the tank. There were a few other
geos in the tank that I still wasn’t sure of but as the male
coloured up and chose a female the colour patterns could be
differentiated and I found that I had a pair. They also made it
easy to tell they had paired off, swimming together, nuzzling up
to one another, and starting to keep the 6 other geos in the tank
clustered in one half of the tank. Soon they began re-arranging
my/their tank. First they started making pits in the substrate.
They didn’t care what was where – they just started digging. It
became very easy to see why they are called “earth eaters” (the
translation of geophagus) as soon the bottom of my tank looked
like a construction zone. My slate caves were exposed almost to
the bottom of the tank and they didn’t stop when they found
the peat moss so things became a bit messy and cloudy. They
even made cave areas larger by pulling out any extra bits and
pieces they could. Next came plants that were not located to
their liking. Several swords and one huge crypt were uprooted
and left floating in the cloudy water, but after a few days I
noticed that the smaller female was huddled in one back corner
of the tank in a pit and not leaving it. Having some other SA’s
breed for me I thought maybe there was a clutch of eggs but I
couldn’t see anything in the murky water.
Sure enough, a few days later there was a small cloud of fry that
were swimming with the parents. As is normal for most SA’s,
the parents moved the wigglers several times to new pits and
both parents were very good parents guarding the young and
chasing any would be predators away. I was very surprised that
the entire brood was not eaten as the tetras and anostomus can
be quite fast and daring when it comes to picking off easy
meals. The parents though kept a diligent watch over them and
seemed to pay more attention to the other geos. These seemed
to get their attention more often than other fish and the male
would chase them about as far as the tank would let him. The
fry grew and seemed to find a lot of food in the mulm on the
bottom but I also fed them frozen baby brine shrimp, frozen
daphnia and micro pellets. There were about 50 fry. They are
now about half an inch long, growing slowly (I had kribs spawn
at the same time and they are twice their size now) but are still
doing fine in the community tank. Although they have
increased their range that they venture, the parents are still
loosely guarding them and the fry do not seem to be harassed
or targeted by the other tank residents. I now have a tank to
move the fry to so I should be doing that soon.
The geos in question are Geophagus sp. “Red Bahia” and take
on some very nice reds in their fins and coloured up over all
very well with blues and iridescence. The male is only about 5
inches long with the smaller female not yet hitting 4 inches. The
adults are fed with flake once or twice a day (earthworm,
spirulina or cichlid) and conditioned with black worms, frozen
brine shrimp and a bit of beef heart. They also like to go after
veggie wafers. They are generally quite peaceful and a good
choice in a SA community in my opinion. -ED
JohnsFishFood.com
Our company is your number one source for high quality
aquarium products. We surpass the competition, in not only
price, but value as well. We only buy what we ourselves
would use and purchase. We value your business, so any
products we don't have, just ask and we will do our best to
get them.
Check out our web catalog at...
JohnsFishFood.com
18

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.
Let’s start with a Rainbow. Regina Spotti wrote about
Melanotaenia sp. “Kiunga” in the March 2009 issue of
Finformation from the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society.
This 10 cm ( 4 inch ) fish has pastel colours of mostly blue,
with some green, yellow and pink. They like a high pH and
hard water, a perfect companion fish for Rift Lake cichlids in
the tap water of Kitchener-Waterloo.
Think you know about Mollies ? Neale Monks’ article on
“The Truth About Mollies” was reprinted in the March 2009
issue of Below The Waterline from the London Aquaria
Society. He talks about the naming of the various species of
Mollies, their habitat and habits in nature, breeding, using
salt, and the appropriate aquarium set up.
Springtime brings thoughts of goldfish and koi in ponds.
Read more about breeding Goldfish and Koi Basics in the
April 2009 issue of Pisces Press from the Nassau County
Aquarium Society. Goldfish require a cycle of cold and then a
warming period to trigger breeding. Koi require a large
volume of water and space to thrive.
J U N E 2 0 0 9
June Exchange Editor’s Report
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).
edged sword extends only a short distance from the tail fin.
There are two or more red lines along the middle of the body
and red spots on the dorsal fin. The male has a turquoise blue
body, whereas the female is silver grey, but also has the red lines
along the body. Dave Unruh wrote about these undemanding
fish in the May 2009 issue of The Scat from the St. Catharines &
Area Aquarium Society.
Surf’s up ! Here is this month’s web site to explore:
Cichlids of Central America, including descriptions and photos:
http://mycichlidtank.oneinfostop.com/CAmerica_cichlid.htm
Backyard ponds contain not only fish but plants as well.
Charlie Drew details spring duties required for lily and lotus
plants in the April 2009 issue of The Monthly Bulletin from the
Hamilton and District Aquarium Society. Work done now will
encourage growth and flowering in the summer.
In Lake Tanganyika, there are very large schools of a slender
blue fish with a yellow tail. Cyprichromis Leptosoma “Utinta” is
one of many such mouth brooding species. Males usually
maintain a territory of about a metre ( 40 inches ) so a large
aquarium is required to keep more than one with a harem of
females. Roberto Prati wrote about his experiences breeding
these fish in the April 2009 issue of Finformation from the
Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society.
The April/May issue of Tank Topics from the Greater Akron
Aquarium Society contains three articles I want to highlight
for interesting reading. Wayne Toven wrote about the Spike
Tail Platy Xiphophorus xiphidium. There is a reprint of a BAP
report from 1978 for the White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Tanichys albonubes by Rick Johnson. Bob Miller wrote about an
attractive, relatively small, non-aggressive cichlid from
Panama called Cryptoheros nanoluteus.
A very beautiful live bearing sword tail is the Uplander or
Chiapas Swordtail Xiphophorus alvarezi. The yellow black
The Fish Sempai
www.fishsempai.com
info@fishsempai.com
(519) 648-9992
• Show quality goldfish: Ryukin, Ranchu, Oranda,
Butterfly Moors, Jikins, Pearlscales, Tosakin
• Japanese & Malaysian Koi
• Arrange to visit the fish farm to see one-of-a-kind,
rare and marvelous specimens
• Hobbyist Club members receive 10% off purchases
• Wholesaler inquiries are welcome
• Visits by appointment ONLY
1268 Kramp Road RR 2, Breslau, Ontario N0B 1M0
19

Meeting Minutes
Submitted by Al Ridley, KWAS
General Meeting on May 5th, 2009
President Geoff Money called the meeting
to order at 7:37 pm using the microphone
and sound system provided by the Adult
Recreation Centre. There were 41 people
present.
Executive Present: Geoff Money (Vice
President), Brad McClanahan (Treasurer),
Al Ridley (Past President)
BOD Present: Cam Turner (Newsletter),
Phil Maznyk (Webmaster/CAOAC),
Mary Lynne Lucier (Membership),
Quigley Family (Raffle), Anthony Mc
Aslin (Jar Show) Ed Koerner (Auction),
Zenin Skomorowski (Exchanges/Name
That Fish), Katie McClanahan (Lunch)
Absent: Lezley Smith (Secretary), Filipe
Martin (HAP)
Geoff welcomed our guests and invited
them to sign the guest book with Mary
Lynne and to help themselves to a
complimentary newsletter. The members
were also reminded to pick up their
newsletters from Mary Lynne during the
meeting.
There were seven members present who
will be attending the CAOAC Convention
on the May long weekend. Geoff
explained the award that will be
presented in Miecia Burden’s name and
what that award means to the hobby.
The summer picnic will be held July 19 th
at the picnic pavilion in Waterloo Park.
Enter the park off of Westmount Road.
Members are encouraged to bring a salad
or dessert to share.
BAP and HAP – nothing to hand out
Geoff asked if there was anyone who
wanted to forward their name to run for
an Executive position. Nobody replied
and a motion to close the nominations for
KWAS Executive was made by Rein
Breitmaier. Seconded by Jamie
McDougall.
J U N E 2 0 0 9
None of the positions needed an election
so by acclimation, the following people
were appointed.
Geoff Money – President
Phil Maznyk – Vice President
Brad McClanahan – Treasurer
Al Ridley – Secretary
Kevin Reimer – Past President
Geoff thanked the previous Executive for
their commitment and hard work and
congratulated the new Executive.
It was announced that anyone (including
the current BOD) who wanted to be on
the Board Of Directors needed to forward
their intentions to Mary Lynne so that the
Executive could appoint the BOD prior to
the May Business meeting.
Zenin hosted our “Name That Fish”
event. The sweep from last month’s NTF
was discussed as Griffin was not in the
room.
The Dwarf Neon Rainbows donated by
The Tropical Fishroom in Brantford was
won by Jamie McDougall after two
questions.
The TWO Red Calico Plecos were won by
Terry Clements.
Zenin advised of next months Tank Give-
Aways at the June meeting. Everyone
must bring their valid KWAS
membership cards to use as the actual
draw ticket. Family memberships will be
allowed two membership cards in the
draw.
Half of the auction goods were sold.
Our program was Bob Wright speaking
on the American Livebearer Association
convention. It was an excellent
presentation and we thank Bob for being
available at short notice after our
scheduled speaker had to postpone. We
will attempt to reschedule Kate (Shrimp)
for later in the year.
Geoff again plugged the CAOAC
Convention using Bob’s presentation to
show the camaraderie and quality of
speakers.
Zehrs tapes have netted us $86.00
towards our library fund. Members were
asked to submit ideas for books, DVDs or
other items to the Executive for
consideration.
June meeting will feature our annual
pizza night. All regular features will be in
place but there will not be a program. We
call it… “Friendship and Fellowship
Evening”.
There will be a slide show of people,
places and things KWAS that will play
throughout the evening.
The balance of the auction goods were
sold.
Raffle was held with Geoff Money wining
the Library Draw ($16.00), Diane Daigle
winning the power filter and Ryan and
Kelli Barton winning the starter kit and
heater.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:55 pm.
Business Meeting on May 12th 2009
The meeting was called to order at 7:30
pm at the home of Geoff Money.
Executive present: Geoff Money, Phil
Maznyk, Brad McClanahan, Al Ridley
BOD present: Zenin Skomorowski, Mary
Lynne Lucier, Katie McClanahan, Ed
Koerner, Ryan Barton
Guests present: Kelli Barton
Absent: Cam Turner, Quigley family,
Anthony Mc Aslin, Diane Daigle, Beth
Graham
Motion to accept the April Business
meeting minutes as published made by
Ed, seconded by Phil… V&C
Motion to accept the May General
meeting minutes as emailed made by
Zenin, seconded by Ryan… V&C
Future Business meetings – June at
Zenin’s and September at Cam’s.
20

Treasurers’ report read by Brad. Accepted
on a motion made by Zenin, seconded by
Phil. V&C
Signing authorities are currently Brad,
Geoff and Kevin. We need to change them
to Brad, Geoff and Phil. Minutes showing
the new Executive (May General meeting
minutes) and the letter for the bank
(Geoff has) are needed to make the
change. Brad to follow up.
Correspondence – Waterloo Inn has
emailed requesting new pleco(s) to
replace the one that has died. Al has
posted a request on the forum and will
follow up.
Committee Reports
Newsletter (Cam) – Chair absent, no
report.
Webmaster (Phil) – traffic on forum is
slowing down due to the nice weather
(regular trend). Things have settled down
and we hope that a positive focus
continues through the summer.
Our forum license renewal is due by May
31 st , 2009. Zenin motioned that the club
spend the $40.00US to renew the
vBulletin forum support license for the
next 12 months. Seconded by Ryan. V&C
Email from Tracey and Greg Riddell from
Elmira looking to advertise on the
website. Phil has responded suggesting
our Licensed Vendor Section and Geoff
has forwarded the contact information to
Cam for newsletter considerations.
Program (Al) – June; pizza evening,
tank/filter draw, possibly a U of W
researcher. Al will contact Pepi’s about
pizza for 75 people delivered between
7:30 to 7:45 pm. Zenin will bring photo
slide show on a stick and Geoff will
supply the laptop.
September: Phil and Matt on aquarium
photography, October: Kate Gallagher on
Shrimp; November: Jamie McDougall on
running and ordering stock for a LFS;
December: our annual Awards night/
Christmas party, January: Zenin has
posted on the forum that he is looking for
J U N E 2 0 0 9
loach stories and pictures for his
program.
Phil to ask about a longer microphone
cord.
Sue Money announced that Geoff is an
expecting Grandpa. Congratulations to
both of you from KWAS.
Oktoberfish (Al) – First meeting to be
held June 16 th at Al Ridley’s.
Sponsorships for fish show classes will be
opened up on June 1 st . Class sponsorship
will cost $30 per class and Geoff will
maintain the sponsorship listing. Geoff
has contacted the same judges as last year
and they have agreed to participate. Carl
McCleary CDAS has advised us that they
are looking at October 25 th as a date for
CDAS’s auction.
Exchanges (Zenin) – Emailing newsletter
to Canadian clubs and most American
clubs and we are receiving more
newsletters electronically also.
CAOAC (Phil) – Convention reports 80
rooms booked. CAOAC elections will be
held Sunday morning and KWAS has two
votes. Geoff will attend with Phil. We
discussed all contested positions and our
votes have been decided. NOTE – we
have two available CAOAC Rep positions
and only one rep.
Auction (Ed/Jamie) – the split format has
received no negative feedback.
Auctioneers have been asked to use
microphone.
Membership (Mary Lynne) – two family
and one adult renewal. One new family
membership. Do we have a policy for
NSF cheques? Do we get charged? MLL
needs to keep track of number of
members for CAOAC membership and
insurance. We advised MLL of the
elevator at the ARC for bringing all the
newsletters upstairs. MLL asked to
purchase a handcart for transportation of
membership boxes. Approved, she will
bring receipt into Brad. Discussion of
who should receive the KWAS
membership list. Should it go to all
KWAS Executive and BOD members or
just the KWAS Executive and
Membership chair?
Library (Beth and Diane) – chairs absent.
Advise to display books and DVD’s.
Advise of committed funds and keys.
Geoff will email them with information.
Raffle (Quigley’s) – chair absent. Geoff
picked up the balance of items from
Charity, There is not a lot of product
available. We discussed the old policy of
buying goods and a gift cards at different
stores. We discussed a $40 budget per
month if needed.
HAP (Ed) – There is a huge backlog to be
completed.
BAP (Ryan) – Geoff has a box of BAP
documents including a disc with many
files on it. We also received a letter from
the Ottawa Valley Aquarium Society
(Mark Warmington) asking our
permission to use our BAP program as a
guide in revamping their program.
Name That Fish (Zenin) – In June, there
will be one bag o fish and one bag o nonfish.
Show Jar (Anthony) – Chair absent.
Need to confirm the position with
Anthony. A reminder that beanie boxes
are available for $3 each or two for $5.
Lunch Counter (Katie) – Donut crisis!!!
The City of Wtaerloo has written us
asking if we are selling food and drink at
our meetings. We have received
documentation about charges that will
apply due to a conflict with their catering
contract. A suggestion that we ask for
donations for donuts and coffee rather
than charging for it.
Pet Store Liaison (Zenin and Al) – see
Cam’s thread on the forum for pet store
locations.
Calendar (Mary Lynne and Phil) – MLL
passed all responsibility to Phil. We will
be moving forward with this project
regardless of past issues. Phil is expecting
a CD of photos from Brad Smith and
Terry Clements. Phil made arrangements
to schedule shoots of people’s fish.
21

Calendar will go to print the first week of October.
Old Business – The Miecia Burden Ambassadors Award is at
Tomkar and will be picked up Friday in time to go to the
CAOAC Convention. The committee will work on the criteria
to be considered for this award in the coming months.
The picnic will be held July 19 th . Geoff will be absent due to
his work commitments at the Chip Wagon in Newfoundland.
Al will look into getting a barbeque made and Geoff will look
into renting one. Al will also post a request in the Members
Section of the forum.
New Business – Name tags were mentioned however MLL
reports that they didn’t go over very well when we last tried
them.
Motion to close made by Zenin.
Seconded by Mary Lynne. V&C at 9:50 pm.
J U N E 2 0 0 9
Pssst… Do You Take Bribes?
Various KWAS club members have agreed to conspire with the editors of this newsletter to offer you a bribe...
Fish Fry or Live Aquatic Plants
in exchange for
ARTICLES!
So far we have various common Malawi fry like yellow labs and peacocks (but some F2s), a wide assortment of plants and mosses
and some rarer Tanganikans like Paracyprichromis nigripinnis.
Our goal is to create a big backlog of articles over the summer so that we’re not scrambling for content in the fall and winter
months. So if you’ve been holding back, now is a great time to start writing. ALL contributions received by July 15 th are eligible
for this bribe.
Contact cam.turner@gmail.com to make a deal or to offer some of your own fish & plants for trade due to your extreme guilt
about not writing articles yourself.
22

J U N E 2 0 0 9
May Name That Fish
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).
Melanotaenia praecox - Photo by Zenin
This month’s first “Name That Fish” guessing game featured
three Dwarf Neon Rainbows Melanotaenia praecox. They were
donated by Jerry Draper from the Tropical Fish Room in
Brantford and won by Jamie McDougall.
The origin of Dwarf Neon Rainbows is New Guinea in South
East Asia. Commercial farms now produce most of the stock
found in the retail stores. These fish have a silver grey body
with a shimmering blue metallic sheen. Their fins are red, and
like all Rainbowfish, have two dorsal fins. The females are
usually a bit smaller and have less intense colours. On the
males, the first dorsal fin overlaps the second. Reproduction is
by scattering sticky eggs. The young are very small for a long
time, so be careful when doing water changes. The water
should be soft and have pH of around 7.0 for reproduction, but
they will live in a wide range of pH and water hardness. They
are an omnivore, which means they eat pretty well anything
from flake foods and small pellets to live and frozen foods.
Orange Calico Pleco - Photo by Kathleen Gallagher
range of 5.8 to 7.2 for breeding, but they will live happily in the
8.2 pH of Kitchener tap water. Softer water is appreciated, so
add some rainwater. A male will encourage a female to lay her
eggs in his lair, that could be a rock cave or a hollow part of
bogwood. After fertilizing the eggs, the male will chase away
the female and tend to the eggs himself. He will protect the fry
for quite a while until they use up the egg sack and venture out
on their own. Blanched vegetables, algae wafers and algae
growing in the aquarium makes up their diet. Plants will not
be eaten.
These plecos are good community fish with tetras, pencil fish,
livebearers, and most barbs, but avoid the larger aggressive
cichlids as tank mates.
The Dwarf Neon Rainbow should be kept in groups of 5 or
more. They are an excellent addition to a small, peaceful
community aquarium since they rarely get larger than 5 cm ( 2
inches ).
This month’s second “Name That Fish” featured two Orange
Calico bristle nose plecos. They were won by Terry Clements.
These dwarf plecos originally came from tributaries of the
Amazon in South America. They are readily bred by local
hobbyists. These plecos are also known as the Red Marble or
the Orange Marble bristle nose. They are all in the genus
Ancistrus, but no specific collecting location or breeding
information is available.
A good aquarium setup would have some bogwood for them to
rasp on, and a few hiding places. Water pH should be in the
Terry Clements won the second name that fish. Unfortunately we didn’t
get a photo of Jamie McDougall and his new Rainbows.
23

J U N E 2 0 0 9
Join our forums @ www.kwas.ca/forum
With over 4,000 unique visitors every month our forums are amongst the most active of any ‘local’ hobby club. With members
from all over the world, but especially all over Canada, the wealth of knowledge and advice is astounding. The moderators and
administrators take great pride in maintaining top quality discussion, debate and information and it shows. Thanks to everyone
who participates already. For everyone who hasn’t (yet), come join us and see what all the fuss is about!
Come to our meetings. We love to have guests.
KWAS meets on the first Tuesday of each month from September until June at the Adult Recreation Centre at 185 King Street
South in Waterloo (at the corner of King and Allen). We meet on the second floor in the large multi-purpose room. Parking is at
the rear of the building. The meeting room opens at 7 PM with the meeting starting at 7:30 PM sharp. Please feel free to come out
at any time and learn more about your hobby, KWAS and the many benefits of belonging to our club.
Guests are welcome any time.
Bring your friends and show
them what our club is all
about!
Meeting
Parking
24