Lateral Line January 2007.pub - Hill Country Cichlid Club

Volume 2, Issue 18 January 2007Inside This IssueHCCC Christmas Party 20062006 Year in ReviewMeet a New Member

The Lateral Line Page 2BAP ReportJanuary 15, 2007INSIDE THISISSUE:HCCC Christmas Party 32006 Year in Review 5Meet a New Member 9Upcoming Events:• HCCC Monthly MeetingJanuary 21st• HCCC Winter Auction February10thThe Holidays are past us and the beginning of a new year is alreadyin progress. Not a lot of entries for December, guess the fish weren'ttoo receptive in September and October. But we did have three entriesand the first one for the month was from Diane (Gryhouse).Congratulations Diane on your entry of Ps. Zebra Hara White TopGalilea.Greg's (Mokkers) entry of Stigmatochromis pholidophorus is a 1st ofspecies spawn. Congratulations Greg and pictures I have seen showthat to be a very nice looking fish.Congratulations goes out to Lisa (LKBlair) and her daughter, Caroline,on their entry of "Bristlenose". This Ancistrus species is a Class"C" spawn and the fry are always in demand. This spawning entitledNick A to received 5 point bonus for second generation spawn. Congratsagain Lisa and Caroline. And Nick, keep spreading them fisharound.Just a reminder for the members submitting BAP fish: You can donateyour parents or fry to our FOTAS Fund via the Aqua Bid. Theauction is doing great, but there isCurrent BAP Standings always a need for more donationsNameYTDand you still will receive your BAPcredit.Greg W. 70Dave H. 50■ Jim BeckPaul 30Cover Photo:EretmoduscyanostictusBy Dave HansenGreg S. 20Lisa Bl. 20Diane 15Nick 5

The Lateral Line Page 3Club Event:HCCC Christmas Party 2006Ho, Ho, Ho!!! Christmas-time in South Texasmeans that you listen to Christmas music whilein a pair of shorts with flip flops on. That wasthe scene on Saturday, December 16 at the annualHCCC Christmas Extravaganza!!Well.... we weren't all in shorts and flip flops -a few made the mistake of coming in longsleeve shirts. Poor souls! It was a balmy 80+degrees... There's somethingnot right about settingout Turkey and Ham and allof the trimmings with sweatdripping off the end of yournose! However, Club Membersoutdid themselvesagain. There were appetizers,side dishes, rolls andDESSERTS! Of course,Greg Steeves and I were ina panic when YvonneBeevers hadn't shown upwith her famous CheesyPotatoes! She called andsaid she was stuck by atrain. It took a while butshe finally arrived.We had an RSVP list of over 50 members. Notall of them were able to attend, but we had agood showing. There were probably over 40people there with their families. Numerouspeople came from Austin, San Antonio, Kerrvilleand the longest trek award went to CharlesJones who came in from Houston(accompanied by some delicious stuffedchicken). After we all enjoyed the amazingfood - it was time for some awards. DaveHansen (Mullet) was the Master of Ceremonies.He gave a brief recap about the club'sactivities to-date, including our fund raisingefforts for FOTAS 2007. He then turned themic over to Yvonne Beevers (Lemurtx) topresent the photo contestwinners. She stepped updressed in her festive greenChristmas sweater andobligatory bright yellowfish hat to make the presentations.In true fashion,Dave Hansen and GregSteeves picked up a numberof awards. Someone madea comment about me andthe 3rd place spot... whichI picked up in the OpenClass. Last year, in thepresence of my hero AdKonings - I picked up aSLEW of 3rd place finishes...But it was time for aChristmas miracle... I also picked up a 2ndplace and 2 (count them 2) 1st place wins!!Merry Christmas to me!!After the photo awards were presented, Daveturned the mic over to Jim Beck (Bristlenose)to present breeder awards. I was pleased toreceive a bump to Advanced Breeder thisyear. Of course, I aspire to the Master

The Lateral Line Page 4Breeder award. This year there were 2 winners,Greg Steeves (GAS) and Charles Skillern(Tangfish23). Both were on hand to pick uptheir beautiful plaques. And another of myaspirations, Breeder of the Year, went to DavidDockwiller! Congratulations, Doc! Awardswere also presented to Dave Schumacher(ds1196) of Dave's Rare Aquarium Fish andJeff Johnson (jjoilrig) of Texotic Tropicals fortheir continued strong supportof the club and all ofit's activities. After theawards were finished wetook a brief dessert breakwhile our movie was set up.We watched a presentationon Nicaragua and it's variousfish populations. I wasfascinated by the number offry these fish have and howwell they parent. It wasalso interesting to see onelake that sits near an activevolcano and has pockets ofgases that rise up through the water. Looks likethe lake is populated with airstones! Apparently,the bubbles are VERY hot and the fish dowell to avoid them. While watching the movie,my phone beeped... I had brought my teenagedaughter and her best friend. The text messagesaid "OMG - were soooooo bored". I just don'tget it. What teenager WOULDN'T be interestedin the spawning and parenting habits ofNicaraguan fish?? I got up to find the restroomand found them sitting in the back withAmanda (Dave Schumacher's better half). Sheinformed me that the girls were educating heron "Emo's". This is similar to what we called"Punks" or "Skaters" in my day. However,Amanda was pleased to learn that apparentlythere are "Happy Emo's" (of which my daughterand her friends belong). Since most Emo'sare depressed and sullen - I was quite "happy"about that myself. I promised the girl's 15more minutes. The movie finished and webegan the cleanup.Oh, the gift bags.....Yeah, no HCCC Christmasparty is completewithout those! Robert(Ripple) and his wife puttogether bags for all of thechildren in attendance.And I have never walkedaway with so manyMarineland products andHikari samples!! WOW!!Thanks to everyone whoput those together.Thanks to everyone whoattended and brought the amazing food (p.s.sorry about the burned rolls - I should NOT beput in charge of that next year...). Thanks toeveryone who helped with setup and cleanup.And a special Merry Christmas thanks to allof our HCCC members. Thanks for makingthis club one of the highlights of my life forfriendship and people to share my little "fishaddiction". Here's wishing that everyone hasa safe and happy holiday season!■ Diane Tennison

The Lateral Line Page 5Retrospective:2006 Year in ReviewThe third full year of HCCC existence has expired.The membership holds strong as ourclub continues to grow into a cohesive unit. Atthe beginning of the year it was decided that wewould accept the opportunity to host the Federationof Texas Aquarium Societiesannual convention. This chance is presentedto member clubs on a rotatingbasis and with eight clubs presentlywith memberships in FOTAS, it is possiblethat we will not get another hostingprospect until 2015. As a relativelynew club it was decided that if we weregoing to host FOTAS, it would be nothingshort of top-notched. We set oursights are high and it was explained thatin order to achieve a convention of thelevel we want, a huge cost would beinvolved. The Hill Country CichlidClub members understood and set theyear of 2006 as primarily a fund raising effort.We have been very successful with over$4500.00 banked so far. When the HCCC setsRiver City Aquaticsa proud supporter of the HCCCMember discounts:20% off livestock10% off dry goods / 10% off aquariums12108 Roxie Dr., Suite DAustin, TX (512)219-7200their mind to something, it will happen.Retrospective summary:In January members were treated to a presentationby Donald Davis entitled An Overviewof Digital Photography. This was held in Austin.The February meeting was hosted by JenniferPrince at her home in Austin. Lots ofgreat food was provided. Jenniferproudly displayed her beautiful aquariumsfor all to see and many took the chance todo some photography as well.We held an auction in March. CarlosCardenas owner of River City Aquaticsand long time club supporter graciouslypicked up the facility cost in Austin. This

The Lateral Line Page 6event ran very smooth and a great time was hadby all. Also in March the TCA held its springshow and auction. A good HCCC contingentmade the trip north to Ft. Worth for a greatshow hosted by our good friends.Young Dave to Rare Dave.The May meeting was held at Daves RareAquarium Fish in San Antonio. Everyonewas quite impressed with the new shop.In June we hosted a BBQ inLanda Park New Braunfels andinvited our friends from the TCAto join us. Many people and theirfamilies took advantage of somegreat food, fish collecting, ahorseshoe tournament and lots ofgreat laughs. It was decided thatthis would become an annualevent for our club.The April outing was JJ's first annual crawfishboil at his fishplex. This was the talk of themessage board for a couple weeks. It must benoted that "annual" means just that. Jeff wasplanning the 2007 crawfish boil the verynext day! During this time many membersassisted Young Dave in relocating hisequipment from New Braunfels to SanAntonio. Dave bought the business formerlyknown as Armkes Rare AquariumFish and had to relocated hundreds ofaquariums and equipment. Dave is a popularmember in the club and we were allhappy to help him out where we could.His name also changed at this time fromJuly was ACA month. This yearis was held in Chicago and hostedby the GCCA. A contingent fromthe HCCC attended and gave theconvention rave reviews.The August meeting was again held at DRAF.Dave gave a presentation on constructing eggtumblers and everyone in attendance wentAmazonia Internationala proud supporter of the HCCCMember discounts:20% off Fish & Live Plants10% off Tanks, Stands, Eheims & Eclipses25% off Filters & Powerheads4631 Airport #116 Austin, TX(512) 451-0958

The Lateral Line Page 7home with one.In September we held our fall auction in SanAntonio at the Bracken Methodist Church FellowshipHall. This facility has become a favoritelocation for club activities. This auctionwas suppose to be on the small side but endedup consisting of more than 400 lots. Dave andCharles handled auctioneering duties andzipped through everything in record time. Ifnot for them we would still be there. RareDave graciously paid for the use of the facility.In October the owner of Darby's Tropicalshosted a HCCC gathering. Also this month,the Houston Aquarium Society hosted FOTAS.Again, a number of club members road tripped.This was a fantastic time and we can only hopeto do the job when we host FOTAS that HASdid.The November outing was to the San AntonioZoo. This is sure to be another annual trip forthe club.December was our Christmas party. This isalways the highlight of the year and lookedforward to by all. This capped another greatyear for the HCCC.Club Direction:This past year has seen some changesin the Leadership group. Diane andJim were inducted in February followedby Jennifer in June. Allchanges to the Leadership Group occurfrom within. There are no particularcriteria for becoming an LG member.When a position opens we activelydiscuss who would make forgood candidates. We make all decisionstogether and in the past, choiceshave been made based on personalitywithin the club and club involvement.Our club is run differently than mostother clubs. The Leadership Group isa survival mechanism to ensure the HCCCwill be around for many years to come.There have been some tough decisions madeAquTek Tropical Fisha proud supporter of the HCCC10% off Fish8023 Burnet Rd. # 1Austin, TX 78132(512) 450-0182

The Lateral Line Page 8this year in regards to membership. It is unfortunatethat no matter how successful an organizationbecomes, there are always those that forone reason or another wish to destroy it. Weneed not tolerate this.think of how you can best help out and makeit happen.Robert has continued to edit the Lateral Line,our club publication. He is always in need ofmaterial, so write often about your hobby.Jim has done a great job with the BAP sincetaking over last year. The number ofspawns and species recorded by club membersis astounding. Nick has launched theEndangered Species Program (ESP). This isa way for us hobbyists to really make a differencein species survival. If you are notfamiliar with this program, take some timeand read up about it on the web site. Dianehas done a great job handling membership.Dave is in charge of our treasury. Allscheduling of club activities are handled byDoc. Jennifer and Rare Dave have headedup an ongoing fundraiser of donated fishposted for auction on Aquabid.There is another issue of trying to get back thatpersonal feeling we had in the first coupleyears of our existence. We have grownquickly in terms of membership thisyear. We want to find methods to leteveryone meet and get to know eachother.As this club has grown, the need formore members to step forward andoffer to help out where needed has becomeextremely important. PleaseRemember that this is your club. Get involved!■ Greg SteevesDave’s Rare Aquarium Fisha proud supporter of the HCCC5121 Crestway Drive Suite 300San Antonio, TX 78239 (210) 599-9444Member discountswww.DavesFish.com

The Lateral Line Page 9Profile:Meet a New MemberDave Hansen graciously offered me an opportunityto revive the "Meet a New Member"article for the Lateral Line. I have boundlessenergy and am quite talkative, so it took littleor no time for me to take this and run with it.Dave H. explained that he used to email questionsto new members, but decided to let meformat this article on my own. I guess he hasseen me in action on the forum, where I havebeen known to ask and answer my own questions.Oh, and comment when no comment isdue. Did I leave anything out Dave Hansen?I chose to go 'old school' with this article andresearch Lateral Line articles from April andMay 2005. I know it was years ago, but I readthe "Meet a New Member" articles by foundingfather, Dave Hansen, and founding mother,Terry Isbell. I wrote down notes and took whatI liked from both articles. Like any decentteacher, I learn from the best and steal ideasfrom the rest. My final decision was to use acombination of questions from both these articlesand to interrogate, or interview, myselfwithout any conflict, hopefully.Kevin: Tell us how and about when you fellinto the hobby.Kevin: My parents used to keep aquariums inthe house as far back as I can remember. Theyeven kept Synodontis nigriventris and probablydid not know it. They called it the "Upside-Down catfish." They also kept tropical communityfish like tetras and angelfish.Kevin: What were your earliest fish?Kevin: My first aquarium was bought for mewhen I was 12 years old. I kept communitytropical fish including some swordtails thatwere suicidal. They would be swimming oneday and found a week later behind the stand,dessicated. I also kept a crayfish that I raisedsince a juvenile. When it was time for us tomove again, he was 12" long and turned frombright red to bright blue!In high school I kept Altum angels from ForeverPets on Nacodoches Road. I also keptPelvachromis Pulcher, Corydas catfish, neontetras, and a few other community fish. TheKribs were what led me down that dusty, arid,African road.In college, I snuck a 20 gallon high tank intomy dormroom where the strict rule was, "Nofish tanks above 10 gallons." In my contrabandtank was Lodotropheus sprengerae,Labidochromis caeruleus, Melanochromisinterruptus(my favorite), and a couple of Synodontisbudgetti (I still have these catfish toDarby’s Tropicalsa proud supporter of the HCCC10% off Livestock & Plants5514 IH 35 SouthNew Braunfels, TX 78132(830) 625-1122

The Lateral Line Page 10this day. They must be 10 years old by nowand I haven't managed to kill them, yet.)Kevin: What is your setup like now and whatfish do you keep?Kevin: Tanganyikans, I tell you! I have thesame 20 gallon high from college with thesame catfish. In there are some rogue Tanganyikansthat don't get along with any othercichlids in my house. They even eat angrilyand show little appreciation for me. I feed highquality New Life Spectrum and Omega OneSuper Veggie Pellets and they still glare at mewith disdain. I need to call Cesar "The DogWhisperer" for some help with these guys. Iam not the "alpha male" leading this pack here.The pack includes: a large Tropheus sp. RedMoliro (5-6") 'the leader', one NeolamprolugusCylindricus (4-5") 'the instigator', and the two'invincible' Synodontis budgetti. They battleeach other all the time and there are surprisinglyno injuries. Oh, but there is some gravelmoving and they keep me awake with all thenoise.In a 55 gallon, I have 17 Tropheus brichardiKabimba "Canary Cheek," one Tropheus sp.Red Moliro, one lone male Eretmodus cyanostictussp. Red Ikola 'the cranky boss', oneAuchenoglanis occidentalis, and one Synodontislongoriostrus. The tank has holey rock,limestone boulders, and is planted with amazonswords, red ludwiga, crypts, mondo grass, andjava fern. In another tank, I have 6 Callochromismacrops Namansi "Green Face," 6Cyathopharynx foai Mbita "Yellow Chin," 6Synodontis petricola, 5 Neolamprologus brevisKatabe "Orange Spot or Head," 4 LamprologusStappersi "Pearly Occelatus," and 3Altolamprologus Compressiceps Zambia"Yellow Calvus." This tank is a grow outtank with limestone rocks, vallisernia, mondograss, and variegated grass.In a 125 gallon tank, I have 3 Opthalmotilapiaventralis Mpimbwe "Silver Streak," 6 Cyprichromisleptosoma 'Jumbo' Katete, 2 AltolamprologusCompressicips Mwela "Orange"and 2 Cyphotilapia sp. "North" Karilani. Thistank has holey rock, limestone flat rocks tomake caves, and is planted with various anubiasincluding afzelli, congensis, and barteri.Madagascaran lace bulb plants also add to theaesthetics of this tank.Kevin: What if any, are your future plans foryour setup?Kevin: I will quote Diane Tennison here andsay, "More tanks, more fish."Kevin: What is your occupation?Kevin: I am a special education teacher foran elementary school in San Antonio. If anyoneever questions my high energy level, Ihave to sustain it to get through my day.These children that I work with have A.D.D./A.D.H.D., specific learning disabilities, andemotional disabilities. I did have two that arehigh functioning students with autism andnone that are mentally retarded. All my studentsare capable of passing the state examstarting in 3rd grade like everyone else. Ihave a 100% pass rate, so far and yes, it is a

The Lateral Line Page 11lot of work! Teaching reading, language arts,and math is my specialty.Kevin: Any other pets or critters besides fish?Kevin: Four family dogs.Kevin: Have you always lived in San Antonio,if not, where did you grow up, school, etc.?Kevin: I am a classic military brat. My fatheris retired USAF personnel and we have lived inAlaska, New York, Germany, Virginia, andSan Antonio. Because we moved around quitea bit when my father would be stationed at anotherbase, I am used to leaving friends behindand trying my best to make new ones at ournew destinations. I have developed a defensemechanism, I guess, to make the emotionalhardships of leaving friends behind a little easier.Kevin: What are your favorite things aboutHCCC?Kevin: Let's be honest, the discounts. DaveSchumacher knows me on a first and last namebasis. I have all the receipts since Septemberand I am afraid to add them all up to see howmuch I have spent altogether. It's best not toknow, but I am guessing in the high threefigurerange. I helped him move into that newhouse of his in more ways than one.Kevin: If you could have a dream job, whatwould it be?Kevin: Hmm…I would like to be a psychologistsome day and specialize in self-help.Joking aside, I earned a bachelor's degree inpsychology from St. Mary's University. Adecision has to be made on graduate school inthe near future for me to earn any money outof my degree. Until then, I teach.So, there you go. If you want to know anymoreabout me, just ask in the forum or at afuture meeting. I will gladly answer any questionsthat I can, and change subjects quicklywhen I can't. Just kidding, I am a veryfriendly and generous guy that you would beglad to know. Look forward to meeting witheach and every one of you as we take thisjourney of keeping cichlids together.■ Kevin AllenLisa’s Lair BookstoreOnline BooksVarious Discounts forHCCC Memberswww.lisaslairbookstore.com

The Lateral LineOfficial Publication of theHill Country Cichlid Club