April 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society
April 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society
April 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society
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A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Fins & Tales<br />
Serving <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong> and the surrounding area since 1960<br />
In This Issue: Volume 49, Issue 4<br />
The Minimalist Aquarist in Israel - page 5<br />
PlantED Tank: Backyard <strong>Aquarium</strong>s - page 8<br />
From Beginner to Planted Tank Specialist - page 12<br />
More Than a Hole in the Ground - page 16<br />
Remembering Miecia - page 26<br />
Official Publication of the <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong> <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong><br />
Next Meeting:<br />
Tuesday, <strong>April</strong> 7 th at 7:30pm<br />
Setting up a Pond<br />
Complimentary Copy<br />
Welcome to our club!<br />
Visit us at http://www.kwas.ca
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
This Issue Contains...<br />
TMA in Israel (part 2)<br />
More Than Just a Hole...<br />
Shop Hop <strong>2009</strong><br />
Remembering Miecia<br />
From The VP’s Desk &<br />
From The Editors’ Desk<br />
Page 4<br />
Junior Jar Show Contest<br />
Page 7<br />
TMA returns again to<br />
the Underwater<br />
Observatory Marine<br />
Park in Eilat, Israel.<br />
Capturing the beauty of<br />
a outdoor pond, a large<br />
shark tank and more<br />
turtles. Also, check out<br />
the image at the end of<br />
the article and see if you<br />
can devise a good<br />
caption. Email<br />
editor@kwas.ca with<br />
your ideas :).<br />
Page 5<br />
Ed delights us with a<br />
double feature this<br />
month. Not only does<br />
he dive in to plants for<br />
your backyard<br />
aquarium in The<br />
PlantED Tank (on page<br />
8) he goes off the deep<br />
end with an article<br />
about how to construct<br />
your backyard<br />
aquarium. Just in time<br />
for the spring/summer<br />
reno planning season.<br />
Enjoy.<br />
Page 16<br />
At the end of February<br />
a small group of our<br />
dedicated KWAS<br />
Finatics braved a<br />
threatening blizzard,<br />
the US border guard<br />
and each other for a<br />
shop hop to “That Fish<br />
Place” in North<br />
Tonawanda. Zenin took<br />
his camera and of<br />
course we have<br />
pictures. Take a look.<br />
Page 20<br />
The smile, the laugh,<br />
the dedication and most<br />
importantly the<br />
friendship. Saying<br />
goodbye to a close<br />
friend, a long time club<br />
champion and one of<br />
the most dedicated<br />
volunteers any<br />
organization has ever<br />
known: Miecia Burden.<br />
Page 26<br />
The PlantED Tank<br />
Page 8<br />
Interview with Cam Turner<br />
Page 12<br />
CAOAC Convention Details<br />
<strong>April</strong> Exchange Report<br />
Name That Fish<br />
March Jar Show Results<br />
Page 19<br />
Page 22<br />
Page 23<br />
Page 25<br />
Upcoming Fishy Events<br />
• Apr 7th - KWAS General Meeting<br />
• Apr 14th - KWAS Business Meeting<br />
• Apr 18th - Sarnia Auction<br />
• Apr 19th - Durham Show and Auction<br />
• Apr 19th - CAOAC Meeting<br />
• Apr 20th - CDAS General Meeting<br />
• May 2nd - St. Catharines Auction<br />
• May 3rd - London Auction<br />
• May 5th - KWAS General Meeting<br />
• May 12th - KWAS Business Meeting<br />
• May 15-18th - 50 th CAOAC Convention<br />
On the front cover<br />
This photo of a Blue Turkquoise<br />
Discus was taken by Jerry Doucette<br />
and tied for first place (with another<br />
of Jerry’s photos) in March’s Fish of<br />
the Month contest.<br />
On the back cover<br />
This 75 gallon planted discus tank is<br />
owned by Mary Lynne Lucier and<br />
won March’s Tank of the Month<br />
contest on our forums.<br />
Get your cameras out! Your fish or tank could be featured in an upcoming<br />
edition of Fins & Tales! How All you have to do is win the monthly People’s<br />
Choice Photo Contest on our forum. Submit pictures to webmaster@kwas.ca<br />
before the 1 st of each month then vote between the 1 st and the 7 th .<br />
2
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
KWAS Mission Statement<br />
The <strong>Kitchener</strong> <strong>Waterloo</strong> <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong> (KWAS) is a nonprofit<br />
organization whose primary goals are to:<br />
• Further the hobby and study of tropical fish and related<br />
endeavours<br />
• Inspire the preservation of aquatic life<br />
• Maintain a meeting place for its members<br />
• Develop and maintain a library on aquatic life<br />
• Promote fellowship among its members<br />
• Seek out and establish a kinship with other clubs with<br />
similar objectives<br />
KWAS is a charter member of CAOAC:<br />
The Canadian Association of <strong>Aquarium</strong> Clubs<br />
Fins & Tales is published 10 times each year between the<br />
months of September and June for KWAS members. Opinions<br />
expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not<br />
necessarily those of the Fins & Tales editors or KWAS. The<br />
mention of any product does not constitute an endorsement by<br />
Fins & Tales or KWAS members.<br />
Reprint Policy — Articles from this publication may be printed<br />
in a not-for-profit publication provided credit is given to both<br />
the author and KWAS. Copies of the reprint must be sent to<br />
both the author and KWAS. Any other use is prohibited without<br />
the written consent of KWAS.<br />
Exchange Program — KWAS exchanges newsletters with other<br />
clubs across North America. If your club is interested in<br />
becoming a part of this program please contact our exchange<br />
editor by mail or e-mail zenin@golden.net<br />
Correspondence — Please send all correspondence to the<br />
<strong>Kitchener</strong> <strong>Waterloo</strong> <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>, Box 38037 256 King<br />
Street North, <strong>Waterloo</strong>, Ontario, Canada N2J 4T9.<br />
Submission of Articles<br />
Cover images and articles can be submitted for publication in<br />
Fins & Tales by all hobbyists and must be submitted digitally.<br />
Priority is given to KWAS members and to topics that have not<br />
been recently covered. Not all submissions will be printed in the<br />
month they are submitted. The editors of Fins & Tales may be<br />
required to edit your submission for length, spelling, grammar<br />
and/or clarity. Please indicate if you would like to proof read<br />
the edited version prior to official publication.<br />
Submissions are due via email to the editors (editor@kwas.ca)<br />
by the 15 th day of the month for publication in the upcoming<br />
issue of Fins & Tales. Please contact us if you have any<br />
questions or would like suggestions or feedback on possible<br />
article topics.<br />
KWAS Officials 2008 - <strong>2009</strong><br />
Executive<br />
President ** To Be Elected in May **<br />
Vice President Geoff Money (gmoney@golden.net)<br />
Treasurer Brad McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)<br />
Secretary Lezley Smith (scarlett_0767@hotmail.com)<br />
Past President Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Editor/Publisher Cameron Turner, Tanya Morose<br />
(editor@kwas.ca)<br />
Exchange Editor Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)<br />
Membership Chair Mary Lynne Lucier (marylynnel@yahoo.ca)<br />
Auction Chair Ed Koerner (edkoerner@sympatico.ca)<br />
Oktoberfish Chair Al Ridley with Ed and Geoff<br />
Librarian David Bradley (davesolo29@sympatico.ca)<br />
Lunch Committee Katie McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)<br />
Programs Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)<br />
Raffle Chair ***** Open *****<br />
B.A.P Chair ***** Open *****<br />
H.A.P Chair Filipe Martins (filipem@rogers.com)<br />
CAOAC Reps Phil Maznyk (and one position open still)<br />
Name That Fish Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)<br />
Jar Show Anthony McAslin (mcspetworld@sympatico.ca)<br />
Webmaster Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)<br />
Pet Store Liaisons Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)<br />
<br />
Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)<br />
Advertise in Fins & Tales<br />
Please contact the newsletter editor if you are interested in<br />
advertising in KWAS Fins & Tales. Rates apply for ten (10)<br />
consecutive issues (one year).<br />
Business Card, B&W$25/yr<br />
1/4 Page, B&W $60/yr<br />
1/2 Page, B&W $100/yr<br />
Full Page, B&W $150/yr<br />
Full Page, Full Colour$35/issue<br />
Advertising of any hobby related items in Fins & Tales is free to<br />
KWAS members in good standing, space permitting.<br />
Join KWAS<br />
<strong>2009</strong> Membership Fees<br />
Adult Family<br />
1 Year $25 $30<br />
2 Years $48 $58<br />
3 Years $71 $86<br />
4 Years $92 $112<br />
5 Years $100$120<br />
Junior Members (18 years and younger) $10 per year<br />
3
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Hi All,<br />
From the Vice President’s Desk<br />
Hello All,<br />
From The Editors’ Desk<br />
We have a busy meeting coming up this month, we have to vote<br />
on the changes to the by-laws that where published in the last<br />
newsletter, a 2/3 majority vote is need for them to be accepted.<br />
The Executive and Board of Directors will also be looking for a<br />
vote on a motion made at the business meeting, to go ahead<br />
with a project to have KWAS calendars made up for 2010, and<br />
be ready by November. This would be a great way for<br />
promoting the club and make a great calendar for home.<br />
A motion to open nominations for Executive positions will also<br />
be made. Anybody who would like to contribute to running the<br />
club is welcome to put their name forward. The Executive<br />
positions are President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.<br />
These positions will be voted on at the May General Meeting. If<br />
you wish to stand let MaryLynne Lucier know, she is running<br />
the elections.<br />
Once the elections are over the new executive will appoint the<br />
Board of Director positions, once again if you have an interest in<br />
any of these positions you need to make yourself known to the<br />
new executive.<br />
This month’s Jar show is Catfish; this is a big category including<br />
Plecos, Corydoras and Synodontis, so let’s see a table full for<br />
catfish.<br />
I would like to thank MaryLynne Lucier for taking over the role<br />
of membership chairperson, she is working hard to get up to<br />
speed in the role, so please have patience with membership<br />
cards and picking up your newsletters.<br />
See you at the meeting,<br />
Geoff Money<br />
Vice President, KWAS<br />
First, we’d like to start this column with a moment of silence for<br />
our beloved friend and club member Miecia Burden:<br />
May we never forget those who came and went before us.<br />
Second, we’d like to thank this month’s contributors. When we<br />
started this issue on the 10 th of March, we had only Phil’s article<br />
and Zenin’s regular items. Within a matter of days Ed had both<br />
his regular column and a bonus article for me and Rein had<br />
taken time out of his busy move to ensure TMA didn’t skip a<br />
month. Thanks Guys! Instead of a 12 page issue, we have 28!<br />
Lastly, we also want to thank the rest of the newsletter team.<br />
This month was the perfect storm of distractions preventing us<br />
from putting this together. Everything from a trade show at<br />
work, to out renovations (you try living in ⅔ of your house!), to<br />
some family stuff. Regardless, when we got the team the draft<br />
at the very end of the month, they all had their corrections<br />
submitted within hours, instead of the days we usually try to<br />
give them. Thanks again guys for stepping up when we were<br />
down.<br />
The upside of the delay is that we were able to add in the<br />
tribute to Miecia on pages 26 and 27. Be sure to read it. We dare<br />
you not to choke up. We read it dozens of times and it still gets<br />
us.<br />
See you at the meeting.<br />
Cam Turner & Tanya Morose<br />
Newsletter Editors, KWAS<br />
4
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
The Minimalist Aquarist<br />
Israel Beckons<br />
Doing more with less and keeping it simple: TMA’s visit to Israel (part 2)<br />
— Article and Photos by Rein & Char Breitmaier, KWAS (mrrein@gmail.com)<br />
TMA continues this month in Eilat, Israel at the Underwater As promised our second day’s admission was free and the big<br />
Observatory Marine Park. The view from the top of the Sea marine cube just inside the front gate welcomed us back. Some<br />
Tower shows how the naturally occurring coral heads hug the of you know that TMA has a soft spot for artificial ponds and<br />
shoreline, how the arid mountains fringe those crystalline blue koi ponds in particular especially having built and rebuilt my<br />
waters of the Gulf of Aqaba and how the theme park cuddles own from scratch several times. This love was about to be<br />
that remaining periphery between the two. Like much in the eclipsed in one beat of my pounding heart. Right along the sea<br />
Middle East, it is a delicate balance of life. Cactus and coral! shore on a raised patio lay a magnificent ‘marine’ pond. If that<br />
looks like a dinner plate sized Mono swimming by at knee level<br />
I believe you would be correct.<br />
5
Of course the ground level glass inserts made this pond<br />
something the home aquarist with his rubberized pond liner<br />
might only drool about. If this were a home project on a closed<br />
water system, even without a desert in the back yard,<br />
evaporation would be a problem. However when the Gulf of<br />
Aqaba is at the front door and the pure blue waters simply flow<br />
through, this opportunity clearly beckoned Eilat’s designers. As<br />
a pond it was way over-populated, but as a show piece it held<br />
foot long puffers, 2 inch damsels and all sorts from tangs to<br />
triggerfish between those extremes. Oh and did I mention<br />
corals Live of course and not just one or two but stacked in<br />
plentiful supply so the fishes within the ‘pond’ could feel at<br />
once comfortable and at ease while captive in an artificial sea<br />
which was barely thirty inches deep.<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
lighting made the great outdoors happen within. Of course<br />
there were the usual feeding displays with a suited-up diver<br />
complete with scuba gear, but from a technical standpoint it<br />
differed mostly because here finally a working filter system was<br />
needed due to the huge bio-load presented by the sharks, manta<br />
rays and other large fishes kept together in the one system. A<br />
three stage sand filter incorporating down flow, then upflow<br />
through the middle chamber, and finally down flow again at the<br />
end was Eilat’s choice. The constant water changes<br />
incorporated in all of the marine park displays were enough to<br />
eliminate any need for ultraviolet lighting or ozonation, while<br />
good old fashioned mechanical filtering did the rest. Okay there<br />
was probably something biological happening in those sand<br />
filters as well but primarily their function was pooper-scooping.<br />
The open top predictably invited splashing by little fingers and<br />
yet not one among the ever vigilant staff ever dissuaded that<br />
interaction. This was a play zone like no other for the young<br />
and for the very young at heart. Like any world class museum,<br />
touchy feely learning was encouraged here.<br />
Next up TMA got caught up with the Sea Turtles once again.<br />
Maybe it was the wet-suited staffer chasing a four and a half<br />
year old turtle around his environment because it was<br />
grooming day that captured my attention. Think of the<br />
difficulties you might have on fish-show day netting your prize<br />
specimens for display and judging. Now add a few pounds (to<br />
the quarry) and a lot of strength in those forelegs and imagine<br />
the task then. And once again you heard it here first folks, we<br />
have yet another utility for the ubiquitous recycling blue box.<br />
Set it on top of a digital scale, zero out the reading and plop in<br />
one wiggly toddler turtle. Presto, a captive weigh scale.<br />
Next up we visited the pre-requisite shark tank. Check out that<br />
lighting! To create a controlled environment the shark display<br />
was domed with a tent-like enclosure and the high intensity<br />
6
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
After the weigh in and general health inspection, the carapace is<br />
measured and the painstaking process of algae removal begins.<br />
A watery vinegar solution is employed to loosen the green<br />
growths and then soft scrub brushes and plastic ice scrapers<br />
with elbow grease aplenty tackle the bigger patches. It comes<br />
out the same in any language: some turtles resist this procedure.<br />
Just another day for the staffers here at the Marine Park.<br />
Lastly, their spa day all but done the sea turtles look forward to<br />
their special diet and treats. Check out the contents of this<br />
feeding pail – we’re talking squid, fish guts, bits’n pieces that<br />
defy naming and yummy stuff like that. It is just the ticket to<br />
put the kilograms onto these captive yet spunky loggerheads.<br />
Surgical gloves are optional, dig in. And your spouse cringed at<br />
live white worms huh<br />
To close out this month – I offer a caption photo and a<br />
confession. First the confession, we’re going to visit Eilat one<br />
more time next month for the world’s largest indoor reef. And<br />
lastly, doesn’t it just itch you to write a caption that fits our<br />
parting shot Forgive the blurring as I had to aim the lens<br />
through two different tanks to capture the image, but I’m<br />
thinking those young adult angels are wishing they had better<br />
neighbours here in Eilat. Perhaps its a pantomime of Middle<br />
Eastern politicking - TMA<br />
Calling All Junior Jar Show Enthusiasts...<br />
Hi to all you Junior Fish Hobbyists,<br />
Here is some encouragement for<br />
you to take part in our monthly<br />
show jar competition.<br />
If you show your fish this year,<br />
you will have a chance to win this<br />
16 gallon Tetra Water Wonders Kit.<br />
So come on out to our next<br />
meeting and show off your fish.<br />
Looking forward to Seeing You,<br />
<br />
Anthony<br />
7
8<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
The PlantED Tank: Backyard <strong>Aquarium</strong>s<br />
A Regular Column by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca). Photos by the author.<br />
As promised this month, we will spring past the snow and cold<br />
and focus on taking some plants outside for some fresh air - or<br />
water, as it were. I will be talking about pond plants of all sizes<br />
and colours to wet your whistle and ease you out into the new<br />
season.<br />
Pond plants are really divided into 3 categories based on the<br />
function they provide – floating or cover plants, oxygenating<br />
plants and marginal or edging plants. I will describe each in its<br />
role and function and list some examples that I have<br />
experienced over the past few years. Most are considered<br />
perennial, which is to say that they can be left planted for the<br />
winter and they will survive our climate conditions and regrow<br />
starting in the spring. So, once you invest some money on<br />
these plants they are quite hardy and after a few years will have<br />
multiplied and spread to the point you may be finding new<br />
homes for them. These plants can be propagated in various<br />
ways, many by simply splitting or dividing the plant into<br />
several smaller versions that will grow on their own. Some will<br />
flower and produce seed that will create new plants each<br />
spring. Some will send out runners and will create a small<br />
jungle underneath the surface that will literally choke the life<br />
out of the water.<br />
Floating and Cover Plants<br />
As the name suggests these plants will normally float on the<br />
water surface and provide cover. There are many purposes to<br />
these plants. Some have wide surface leaves like water lilies<br />
that will provide shade and cooling to fish below. This is<br />
important on hot summer days when the sun is at its peak and<br />
fish would cook a bit if they were exposed. Other floaters have<br />
fine root structures that provide shelter and hiding areas for fry<br />
and tadpoles and other water creatures. Without these most of<br />
the insects and other small animals would be simply eaten very<br />
quickly and the water would become dead and fail to support<br />
much of the life it does. As that life develops it also pollutes the<br />
water and other floating plants are specialized to absorb<br />
nutrients and dissolved waste and act as bio filters that cycle<br />
and refresh the life feeding them.<br />
Lemna minor (duckweed)<br />
This is an easy to grow floating plant that will overwinter and<br />
can be found naturally in the wild or in many of our indoor<br />
aquariums. Its small star-like leaves will multiply quickly and<br />
will be grazed on by most koi and goldfish. If left unchecked<br />
this plant can spread to cover a pond and will choke out life<br />
going on under the surface and will hinder water flow. This is a<br />
good plant to have in limited and controlled amounts.<br />
Salvinia<br />
Another small leaved plant but larger and more easily<br />
controlled than duckweed. It will develop roots underneath that<br />
will offer a bit of cover to very small fish and water life. This<br />
plant is not as hardy as duckweed and may not winter as well.<br />
Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth)<br />
This is a popular floater as it serves many purposes. It is known<br />
for its water filtering properties. The roots are long (over a foot)<br />
and absorb many impurities and wastes while providing very<br />
good shelter to small fish. If given full sun they will develop<br />
attractive blue flowers that look similar to the garden hyacinth.<br />
Individual plants are about 6 inches across and will propagate<br />
by sending out runners and new plants. Three or four plants<br />
purchased in the spring can cover a 5x10 pond by the end of the<br />
summer, but at first frost they will be killed off as they are a<br />
tropical species. Take them out of the water and compost them<br />
as they will foul the water over time if you leave them in the<br />
pond to rot. They can be brought inside and overwintered if<br />
you have a good high light source.<br />
Pista stratiotes (water lettuce)<br />
This is another tropical plant that will not winter. It has the look<br />
of a small crinkled head of lettuce and forms new clone plants<br />
much like the water hyacinth. It may produce small<br />
uninteresting flowers but is used more for a simple floating<br />
plant to offer some cover. It does not provide near the same bio<br />
filtering and its root structure is much finer than the previous<br />
plant. It too will be killed off at first frost.<br />
Nynphaea species (Water lily)<br />
The water lily is not a floating plant but used for surface<br />
coverage. The root or rhizome is potted at the bottom of the<br />
pond and leaf stems will grow to the surface and float large<br />
round dinner plate-like leaves. There are many cultivars and<br />
colours to water lilies and far too many to describe in one<br />
article. Flowers can be found in reds, yellows, pinks, whites and<br />
purples with some varieties that will even change colour as they<br />
mature. Lilies will be found in assorted sizes as well, ranging
from dwarves that will grow 18 inches deep with a coverage of<br />
2 or 3 square feet to monsters that can be potted 4 feet below the<br />
surface and cover a surface area of 25-30 square feet or more.<br />
Most lilies purchased are hardy but there are also tropical<br />
species available. They are often more vibrant in colour and<br />
may be fragrant. Another twist is that there are night blooming<br />
tropical lilies that can be interesting. These are usually one<br />
season specimens as they are difficult to keep over the winter<br />
without adequate space and lighting needs but are worth a try<br />
for something different.<br />
Lilies serve another important purpose in the pond. They are<br />
very heavy feeders – as in, they absorb large amounts of<br />
nutrients from the water. Many people will worry and complain<br />
about the amount of algae in their ponds early in the season.<br />
This is a natural cycle as there is fresh water in the pond, heavy<br />
in nutrients in the spring, with very little plant life ready to<br />
absorb these nutrients. An algae bloom takes place until either<br />
the nutrients are used up or other sources compete for them. As<br />
lilies are heavy feeders, once they become active they will suck<br />
up those extra nutrients and compete with algae and the pond<br />
will stabilize and the algae will subside more quickly. To help<br />
produce more flowers you can add fertilizers tabs into the pots<br />
near the roots but I have found that once lilies become<br />
acclimated, fertilizing is not something you need to worry<br />
about.<br />
Hardy lilies have a long life and are very easy to propagate.<br />
They have a large rhizome than can get quite thick and woody.<br />
A potted plant can be pulled out and the rhizome chopped and<br />
cut and any place there is an eye it will send out a stem. I have<br />
grown plants that became so large and thick that the whole<br />
weighted pot started floating because there was so much<br />
floating plant growth. The leaves of a water lily will provide<br />
very good shade for fish and other pond life. The leaves will<br />
often have varied colours and patterns on them as well and can<br />
be quite attractive. Keep them away from fountains or<br />
waterfalls as the leaves do not want to be constantly wet on top<br />
once they have developed into surface growth. Many fish will<br />
like to use the undergrowth for hiding and spawning as well<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
and of course if you have frogs in the pond they will use the<br />
leaves as their own personal tanning beds.<br />
Water lotus fall under the same species name as water lilies and<br />
are quite similar. Plants tend to grow from bulbs or tubers<br />
instead of rhizomes though. There are tropical and hardy<br />
versions of water lotus to be found and even the aquarium<br />
version of the red tiger lotus can be grown outdoors during the<br />
summer.<br />
Oxygenating Plants<br />
These plants are placed into the pond to provide a gas exchange<br />
for the fish being kept much like we were taught way back in<br />
the dark ages of aquarium keeping (I’m certain that some of<br />
you can remember reading that in an old scroll or tome<br />
somewhere). The good thing is that most of us have all seen or<br />
heard of many of these plants already and may have them in<br />
our tanks. Many are North American species or have come from<br />
other parts of the world and will manage to overwinter in a<br />
pond that does not freeze solid to the bottom. This makes the<br />
plants perennial varieties that don’t have to be replaced each<br />
year (unless of course the fish enjoy them a little too much and<br />
chew them down to nothing). Most of these plants will also<br />
provide cover for small fish to hide in and will make very good<br />
spawning mops for goldfish and koi or whatever fish may be in<br />
the pond. When using these in a pond it is best to plant them in<br />
a pot with some pond soil and fill the top with stone or gravel<br />
to keep fish from uprooting or tearing them apart. While most<br />
of these plants will winter, many people will harvest them in<br />
the fall. Please be wary and careful when doing so. If you put<br />
them directly into an aquarium there are several pitfalls that<br />
you may be dealing with. For one by the time you bring it in at<br />
the end of the season most plants will have acclimated to cooler<br />
temperatures. Putting them into a heated aquarium will shock<br />
them and very often kill them. Additionally, many varieties of<br />
parasites and diseases will piggyback along with them as well<br />
and plants are better quarantined for a while. Snails, insect<br />
larvae and even predatory insects could get into your aquarium<br />
and cause havoc. Also keep this in mind when bundling things<br />
up for those fall auctions. Quarantine, quarantine quarantine!<br />
Ceratophylum demersum (hornwort)<br />
Yes, this is the ever popular and simple plant that we all know<br />
and love for saving our livebearer fry and it works in the pond<br />
too. Hornwort will overwinter and come back each year to<br />
provide shelter and oxygen. You may even need to pull out<br />
excess plant material a few times a season as it will get a bit too<br />
thick. It will often grow heavier in a pond and sit near the<br />
bottom rather than all floating as we are used to. This is both a<br />
very inexpensive and handy plant.<br />
Vallisneria species<br />
There are many varieties of vals that can be grown in a pond.<br />
Giant (gigantean), Italian (spiralis) and corkscrew (americana)<br />
all are good choices. These will grow and propagate just as they<br />
9
would in an aquarium and can overwinter if they are kept deep<br />
enough. Smaller plants will be chewed on by goldfish and koi<br />
which may rip them out of pots or they may eat them down to<br />
the crown so giant val is the best plant for fish like these.<br />
Hygrophila species<br />
Hygrophila polysperma is a plant that I was rather surprised to<br />
find wintered and came up very different than I was used to. In<br />
the pond it sprung up from some pieces left at the bottom the<br />
year before, to form a thick burgundy mass with crinkled leaves<br />
floating on top of the pond covering about 10 square feet. It was<br />
quite attractive and was a favourite spot for spawning<br />
shubunkin.<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
more textured look through the winter months. It also offers<br />
more places for non-fish residents to find homes until spring.<br />
All of these plants are perennial unless otherwise noted.<br />
Iris pseudacorus (yellow water iris)<br />
One of the more common marginal plants the water iris is an<br />
easy to maintain plant looking like its dry cousin. The roots<br />
need to be kept wet or they will start to rot or decay. The blades<br />
will grow up to 3 feet tall and a simple yellow flower is<br />
produced that will form a seed pod. Seeds will winter and find<br />
anchors in the spring and shoot up where-ever they can find<br />
hold. Over time these plants will form large tight clumps and<br />
need to be broken apart as they can be quite dense and woody<br />
(I wore down a serrated steak knife last season). Roots will<br />
grow a foot long in open water and provide some hiding areas<br />
and food for fish.<br />
Elodea species<br />
10<br />
Natural sunlight turns hygro into a different plant<br />
This is a native plant which can be found under various names<br />
– elodea, anacharis or even egeria. It used to be one of the more<br />
common aquarium plants but is not seen nearly as often today.<br />
This will grow in nice tight bunches and gives good cover for<br />
small fish.<br />
Marginal and Edging Plants<br />
Marginal is a term used for plants that do not grow completely<br />
in water but not completely out of it either – they are marginal.<br />
They can live in either set of conditions. A bog plant is a<br />
marginal plant although bogs don’t usually go dry and most of<br />
these plants will suffer if kept too dry. In a pond setting most of<br />
these specimens will be kept around the edge of the pond to<br />
soften the look and provide some transition between the pond<br />
and the rest of the landscaping. In general keep their roots wet<br />
and in 0-4 inches of water. Use a heavy soil – commercial pond<br />
soils are available but I have used rose soil or clay. Plants can be<br />
divided in the spring before they shoot up or in the fall when<br />
they are dying down. Don’t remove canes from the reeds or<br />
rushes in the fall and leave the grasses as they are. This will aid<br />
in oxygen being pulling into the pond water and will leave a<br />
Iris versicolor (blue water iris)<br />
Looking quite similar to the yellow water iris this specimen is<br />
slightly less hardy and not as vigorous a grower. It will give<br />
blue flowers in late spring and early summer.<br />
Iris sibrica (Siberian iris)<br />
The Siberian iris will survive in dry gardens quite well but is a<br />
bog plant by nature. It does better with its feet wet and looks<br />
quite different than other iris. The leaves are much narrower<br />
and form soft arching plants over the growing season. They<br />
produce tall spikes that are topped off with flowers that can be<br />
found in blues, yellows and whites. Their rhizome is much<br />
smaller than other iris and is not as pushy and invasive to other<br />
plants.<br />
Typha augustifolia (graceful cattail)<br />
This is a more delicate cousin to the familiar cattail or bulrush<br />
which are seen in marshes and even roadside gutters. The<br />
leaves and stems are narrower and more “graceful” and do not<br />
grow as tall. They can handle being in up to 12 inches of water
on a constant basis and will grow to 6 feet being topped with<br />
their brown fluffy seed pod late in the season.<br />
Sagittaria lorata (Arrowhead)<br />
Most aquarists are familiar with sag but not to the size this<br />
plant will grow. Plants will root in water 2-6 inches deep and<br />
the plant will grow to 24 inches. Arrow shaped leaves are<br />
formed and small clusters of white flowers form in late summer.<br />
The plant will spread by runners or seed and is not invasive.<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
a seasonal plant. It will root in shallow areas along the pond’s<br />
edge and will form long feather-like stems that will float along<br />
the surface and provide lots of soft cover. This is an interesting<br />
specimen plant to use in a still area of the pond.<br />
Nasturtium officinale (watercress)<br />
This is one of the more interesting plants to get your hands on.<br />
Not because it is all that special to look at or has a spectacular<br />
bloom but more its bio properties. It is a fantastic natural bio<br />
filter and will naturally filter ten times the amount that water<br />
hyacinth will. It is so efficient in taking out impurities including<br />
some metals that some communities have planted it in their<br />
water purification systems instead of using heavier doses of<br />
chemicals. I have seen a koi and goldfish system with<br />
watercress growing in the sumps and holding tanks to help<br />
filter the water to great effect. It has naturalized in the Great<br />
Lakes region so if you can find it at a plant store it will winter. It<br />
will root in shallow water and spread slowly along the top of<br />
the water. It can also be used to make salads and fancy little<br />
sandwiches.<br />
Juncus species (Rushes)<br />
Top to bottom: Water Iris, Arrowhead, Blue Rush<br />
These are reed plants that will grow 18-36 inches in height. I<br />
have glaucus (blue rush) and effusus ‘spiralis’ (corkscrew rush)<br />
growing and they make the edge of the pond look like a true<br />
wild aquatic environment. They grow narrow, hollow<br />
segmented spikes that are topped with clusters of non-descript<br />
flowers late in the summer. The corkscrew variety will form a<br />
very gnarled and twisted formation and is an interesting<br />
specimen. What I find interesting about these plants is that they<br />
seem to be favourites of dragonflies who are seen buzzing just<br />
above them or resting on the tips of their stems. There are<br />
several other varieties of rushes that will bring a different look.<br />
Scirupus tabernaemontani with it striped segments brings it the<br />
name of zebra rush and the interesting tufted flower of<br />
Equisetum hyemale gives horsetail rush its name.<br />
Lysimachia nummulularia (creeping Jenny)<br />
Well….. the sun is setting on another chat over plants that I<br />
continue to enjoy and it’s time to set back on the deck and think<br />
about what I will write for next month. Thanks for reading and<br />
see you next time. - Ed<br />
Welcome to our Newest Members:<br />
This is a small low growing marsh plant that flowers<br />
throughout the season. It will grow out onto the water and float<br />
along the surface if given the opportunity only reaching 2 or 3<br />
inches in height. It makes for an easy fill in for tight spots that<br />
need a bit of growth.<br />
Myriophyllum prosperpinacoides (parrot feather)<br />
This is a tropical plant that may survive protected and sheltered<br />
ponds in our area. It can survive to zone 6 but is best considered<br />
Tim Everett<br />
Brian White<br />
George Driscoll<br />
Also, welcome to all of our guests. We hope you<br />
find good friends and a fun time here.<br />
11
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
From Beginner to Planted Tank Specialist<br />
An interview with Cam Turner and Family<br />
Submitted by Phil Maznyk, KWAS (pmaznyk@rogers.com). Photos by the author.<br />
I first met Cam on February 7, 2007 through our club forum.<br />
Cam was what you would call a complete newbie to the hobby<br />
(albeit one who had done considerable research ahead of time).<br />
His very first post that night was his introducing himself and<br />
his desire to setup his very first aquarium, a 56 gallon bow front<br />
tank that would fill a small void in his home. He had loads of<br />
good questions and was not ‘afraid’ to ask. I believe this is<br />
important for any person just getting started. Do not be afraid<br />
to ask. As the days went by it was clear Cam was really doing<br />
his homework. Not only was he asking questions about<br />
different types of hardware but also different types of fish even<br />
going as far as talking about a planted tank! I guess the forum<br />
members did a good job because after 5 days of asking<br />
questions Cam announced that he was going to join our club<br />
the very first chance he got.<br />
computers. Fast forward to Christmas 2007, my brother got a 30<br />
gallon tank and I said to myself “you know what I‘ve always<br />
wanted a fish tank too” so I went and bought a 56 gallon corner<br />
tank and started planning that. Things have just happened<br />
from there. I’ve only been in this hobby for just over 2 years.<br />
Q. Your 3 year old son Owen seems keenly interested in tropical<br />
fish and even some of your recent projects. Does he have a<br />
favourite fish or type of fish and what else does he like about<br />
the aquarium hobby<br />
Specialist Cleaner Caridina japonica<br />
This brings me to this interview and the article. In a brief period<br />
of just over 2 years, Cam has gone from someone who knew<br />
very little about the fish keeping hobby to someone who now<br />
grows difficult and somewhat hard to get plants, has multiple<br />
tanks and is breeding several species at the time of this writing.<br />
He is even doing guest lectures on his DIY projects. His very<br />
latest project is an attempt to breed his own Cardinal Tetras.<br />
Cam, thank you for taking the time to be interviewed today.<br />
Q. What got you interested in the <strong>Aquarium</strong> Hobby and when<br />
exactly did this happen<br />
A. Well, before I went to high school I was considering a career<br />
in either marine biology or computers. For a long time I was<br />
interested in fish and that sort of thing but I chose to pursue<br />
Owen and Cam at KWAS Oktoberfish 2008<br />
[Phil: At this point in the interview Owen took me to show me his<br />
current favourite fish, Blue German Rams. He also showed me how he<br />
helped his dad paint the tanks.]<br />
A. Owen first took a liking to brown bristlenose plecos. He<br />
affectionately named one of them ‘Monkey’. Owen is constantly<br />
interested in helping me clean tanks, change the water, etc. One<br />
of his favourite pass times is asking to catch fish. He’s always<br />
asking me if he can help move fish. Owen currently goes to a<br />
pre-school early education centre and just the other week the<br />
teacher was asking the class if anyone kept fish and what were<br />
their names After the other kids had answered with some basic<br />
replies like we have goldfish, Owen piped up and said we have<br />
Plecos and Cardinals and Labs and basically named off several<br />
species. The teacher asked if they had any names and Owen<br />
replied, nope only George the guppy. I am constantly<br />
encouraging Owen, showing him things and telling him the<br />
proper names of the fish when he asks.<br />
12
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Filter Schmutz by yours truly) to help seed your newly planted<br />
tank. I could clearly see you had the bug.<br />
Owen’s current favourite: Blue German Rams (4 month old juveniles)<br />
Q. How did you hear about KWAS, and how do you feel about<br />
this type of organization and the benefits it provides to the<br />
hobbyist both beginner and experienced<br />
A. Google. Being from the internet industry I went to Google<br />
and did some reading. I then did a search for “aquariums<br />
<strong>Kitchener</strong> - <strong>Waterloo</strong>” and KWAS came up at the top. From<br />
there I discovered the forums, started asking lots of questions,<br />
did a lot of searches on the forum and read a lot of older posts.<br />
After that we just dove in, eventually purchasing a membership<br />
for the whole family.<br />
Q. What has been your favourite fish to keep and why<br />
A. Cardinal tetras because they are peaceful, have nice colours<br />
and nicely offset the live plants. We’ve certainly had our<br />
challenges with them, losing a few batches here and there. A<br />
word of caution, it is a bad idea to get Cardinal tetras flown<br />
through many different airports during the winter months. All<br />
of my current cardinals came from a breeder in Barrie, Ontario<br />
and I’m just about ready to gear up and start trying to breed my<br />
own.<br />
Cam’s first tank 56 gallon planted corner tank<br />
A. For the record, I didn’t actually decide to go for a planted<br />
tank. My wife Tanya suggested we get some real plants instead<br />
of the less aesthetically pleasing artificial plants. We looked over<br />
the costs to setup my new corner tank with live plants and<br />
found it wasn’t too cost prohibitive. That tank started out with<br />
DIY CO2, average lighting etc., but then it just got more and<br />
more high tech to the point where it was a lot more expensive.<br />
We learned to have a lot of patience with that first tank,<br />
suffering through a lot of algae outbreaks. Thankfully we had<br />
the KWAS forums so we didn’t panic too much.<br />
Q. How much of your success with your first setup can you<br />
attribute to what you have learned on the club’s forum and<br />
from other hobbyists<br />
A. Basically we would have given up a bunch of times if we<br />
hadn’t been able to post to the forum and ask what’s going on.<br />
The answers were always quick and concise telling us to stick<br />
with it, giving lots of encouragement and it if hadn’t been for<br />
that help we would have probably gotten out of this hobby.<br />
Instead we have setup another eleven tanks since then.<br />
Q. At what point did you decide you wanted to expand beyond<br />
your first tank and begin experimenting with breeding different<br />
types of fish<br />
Cam’s big tank with about 130 Cardinal Tetras<br />
Q. In December of 2007 you wrote an article for this newsletter<br />
entitled ‘Beginner Planted Tank Success’. For anyone who<br />
hasn’t read that article yet, you and your wife basically decided<br />
pretty much right out of the gate to go for a fully planted<br />
aquarium and you were successful! I remember meeting you for<br />
the very first time in the early spring of that year. You came to<br />
my house to pick up some old filter floss (affectionately named<br />
Two of Cam’s early experimental tanks<br />
13
A. Well, the expansion from the first tank to the second was<br />
simple. We needed a quarantine tank. [Phil: Cam’s wife reminds<br />
me it was a 30 gallon quarantine tank]. Then I thought it would be<br />
cool to have a place to quarantine plants too so we set one up<br />
with eco [complete], fluorite & powerful lights. We then<br />
thought we had better keep some fish in that tank to keep the<br />
filter going while we wait for any possible quarantine fish.<br />
Shortly after putting fish in that tank we decided we liked how<br />
it looked as a show tank so I went and bought two more 10<br />
gallon tanks for a real quarantine. [Phil: At this point Cam’s wife<br />
mentions that at one time you couldn’t use their downstairs bathroom<br />
unless you were willing to sit sideways on the toilet because of all<br />
these tanks and buckets and hoses etc. ]<br />
Q. If someone wants to breed fish and raise they fry, what tips<br />
do you have for the beginner<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
this tank is setup, I can leave it alone for 4 to 8 weeks, other<br />
than the occasional glass cleaning and some plant trimming.<br />
This tank has pressurized injected CO2, lots of filtration, power<br />
heads and very powerful lighting (over 350 watts of T5 High<br />
Output), over 10 bags of Flourite and EcoComplete, special pH<br />
monitoring equipment and UV sterilizing, multiple timers etc.<br />
So it’s definitely not cheap. The benefit is that this tank basically<br />
runs itself other than having to feed the fish and some trace<br />
element fertilizers.<br />
Q. Recently you did a presentation for the club on building a<br />
custom 6 tank compact fish wall. It’s obvious you and your wife<br />
are very keen on this hobby. What sort of tips can you offer<br />
someone wanting to follow a similar course<br />
Yellow lab from Cam’s breeding colony<br />
A. Pick easy fish first. Pick fish that are okay with the type of<br />
water your house has, rather than changing the water to match<br />
the type of fish. The first fish we bred were Kribs, but the fry<br />
didn’t survive. Then we were successful with bristlenose plecos,<br />
then yellow labs.<br />
Q. Over the past year or so you have put together a large 540<br />
litre (135 gallon) high-tech planted show tank. What sort of<br />
challenges have you faced in creating this beautiful show piece<br />
and what tips can you offer the reader should they want to<br />
create a similar tank<br />
A. Cash! It’s very expensive to go big. It’s probably not as<br />
expensive as salt, but it is costly. I don’t like doing a lot of<br />
maintenance and having to constantly check on things. The way<br />
180 gallon custom fish wall<br />
A. Well, we worked with the space we had, and we tried to find<br />
tanks that would maximize the volume of water for the space<br />
we had. We had custom built tanks that allowed us to do this.<br />
I’ve over engineered the actual wall stand with a lot of extra<br />
2x4’s but I wanted it to be built strong. This is called being<br />
14
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
‘Turner’d’ in my family. Some consider it a genetic defect, I<br />
think it’s just being safe than sorry.<br />
Q. Do you have any additional thoughts for people considering<br />
setting up their first aquarium<br />
I’ve got it bad. There is no known cure as far as I can tell, with<br />
the exception of the amount of living space available in your<br />
home, so I guess there are some theoretical limits at least.<br />
Some of Cam’s Mixed Malawi Cichlids<br />
Lethrinops letrinus<br />
On that note, I would like to conclude this interview and wish<br />
you all the best in your future endeavors. Once again, thank<br />
you Cam, Tanya and Owen for your time today for this<br />
interview and photo shoot. - Phil<br />
A. Perseverance is the difference between success and failure.<br />
Also, I don’t think I would still be in this hobby if it weren’t for<br />
KWAS. This is why we like to give back, but at the same time<br />
we did a lot of early learning from books and from talking to<br />
staff at fish stores. We received a lot of contradictory advice, but<br />
learned that it’s up to the hobbyist to ultimately decide what<br />
they want to believe and go forward with. Also, more<br />
information is definitely better than less. We took about 6 weeks<br />
from the time we decided we wanted our first tank to the time it<br />
was actually running, so impulse purchases are probably a bad<br />
idea, if not for your pocket book then a least for your long term<br />
enjoyment of the hobby.<br />
Q. Who invented the phrase ‘MTS’ which in our hobby is short<br />
for Multiple Tank Syndrome Do you feel you suffer from it,<br />
and is there a known cure<br />
A. I actually learned the term on the KWAS forum, so I have no<br />
idea who actually invented it. After the purchase of our fourth<br />
tank within 8 weeks, I decided that MTS needed a mathematical<br />
definition for clarity and severity. So I started a poll on the<br />
forum that defined MTS as the number of gallons in your tanks<br />
divided by the time in months you’ve been in the hobby. The higher<br />
the number, the worse you’ve got it. So as time goes on,<br />
dedicated hobbyists are going to need more and more tanks. If<br />
it’s slow and steady I wouldn’t call this MTS, but if there is a<br />
rapid escalation in gallons then this I would classify as MTS and<br />
15
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
More Than a Hole in the Ground...<br />
Submitted by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca). Photos by the author.<br />
Well, it is spring and a young man’s fancy turns to….. pleasing<br />
mom and dad so that he can get the car and go out chasing his<br />
true fancy. But until then he is there taking care of the grunt<br />
work for this year’s project that has been put off 4 times already<br />
because it seemed too daunting a job. I’m here to help things<br />
along and give an outline of what you need to look for and<br />
bring home to make sure that it’s more than just a hole in the<br />
ground.<br />
There are a number of questions to ask before undertaking a<br />
new pond. Where should it go How big should it be What<br />
purpose will it serve Will it house livestock How much will it<br />
all cost Let’s start with the where and see if it makes sense to<br />
even continue with the other questions. Look for a location that<br />
gets a fair bit of sun, especially mid day and evening sun, as<br />
this is best for any plants growing in the pond. Also avoid areas<br />
too close to mature trees as this will cause several problems –<br />
roots and leaves. A pond has to be dug into the ground usually<br />
(there are some options, but I’ll touch on that later) so you have<br />
to have a spot to dig up. Roots will make digging harder and<br />
can eventually grow into or through a liner. The easiest<br />
situation to work in is a sand base under your lawn as it is<br />
simple to dig and shape your pond where as clay is very dense<br />
and hard. Clay though gives a very solid backing when shaping<br />
the pond structure and won’t erode over time but you may find<br />
you end up with drainage problems in the spring or during<br />
very heavy rains because water cannot drain away like it can<br />
with a sand or gravel base under the liner. You also want to<br />
avoid too many leaves falling into your pond in the fall as this<br />
will lead to excess decomposition occurring on the bottom of<br />
your pond through the winter and make it harder for livestock<br />
to survive for the next spring. Take into account how you and<br />
the family use the yard space you are going to put a pond into<br />
as well. You may not want to put it in the middle of a natural<br />
path to the shed or back door or you might want to be able to<br />
have a vantage point from your favourite leisure spot on the<br />
deck.<br />
Now that you have a better idea of where you want it you have<br />
to decide how big you will want it. This is critical to decide<br />
before you start. We know that when we brought home that first<br />
aquarium it was fine for a while, but how many of us needed<br />
something bigger after we got the hang of it Well, it is much<br />
harder to do with a pond once you have one dug and set up.<br />
Believe me when I say that you should go bigger than you first<br />
planned because a pond will seem much smaller after you have<br />
landscaped and aquascaped it and things grow in after a year or<br />
two. It isn’t that much more expensive to purchase a little<br />
longer piece of liner and materials now either. This is when you<br />
get yourself a simple cheap can of marker paint and start<br />
making a mess where you plan on building. Outline the shape<br />
of your pond and mark any features that you would like such<br />
as waterfall or bog and some landscaping thoughts and stand<br />
back and see how it strikes your sight lines. Also consider at<br />
this time that you will be unearthing a fair amount of soil and<br />
you will want to do something with it, so you can incorporate<br />
some landscaping features around the pond. Another thing to<br />
consider is your aquascaping at this time. Before you dig you<br />
need to know where you will have shelves and ledges dug for<br />
plants as it is very hard to backfill a ledge after you have cut<br />
and dug away the hard packed soil. It will usually erode on you<br />
and give you grief later.<br />
By this time you will be developing an idea of what you want to<br />
do with your pond project and what purpose it will serve. Some<br />
want a pond that will be a simple landscape feature. Others<br />
want to extend their hobby outdoors. Some may want a<br />
backyard oasis instead of travelling in the summer. Or maybe<br />
just an investment in their home’s net value. All of these are<br />
options that can be combined in the final result. It can be a very<br />
good investment to a home’s resale value and can add 5-10<br />
times the initial material outlay to a sale price. The cost will<br />
depend on the size of the project obviously, but the main things<br />
that you are going to spend money on is the liner and underlay,<br />
pump, possible filter, and lumber, stone and landscaping<br />
materials. A fairly simple 5’x10’ pond can be done for under<br />
$500.<br />
Digging In<br />
You are ready to start. Decide on your shape and shelves. I find<br />
that if you build your pond a little above ground level you can<br />
eliminate some drainage issues later when water tries flowing<br />
under your liner. You also have to make sure the top edges of<br />
your pond will be level. If not, when you add water you will<br />
find that one end of your pond will seem full while the other<br />
will show more liner. You don’t want to have any liner exposed<br />
for several reasons. It doesn’t look attractive or natural, and<br />
sunlight and UV rays can damage and reduce the life of the<br />
liner. I use landscape ties along the top edge of my ponds now<br />
as this gives a solid structure to form the pond and acts as a<br />
16
etaining wall. It also gives something solid to attach the liner to<br />
and stonework can be laid on the edge without fear of erosion<br />
dropping them into the pond or making them unsafe. Use your<br />
painted outline to guide your work and dig and dig deeper and<br />
keep digging – don’t worry, you aren’t going to end up in China<br />
although it may seem like it. Cut your shelves to the depth you<br />
will want them to be and if you cut outcroppings or islands into<br />
your design (I personally like these as they can create little bog<br />
areas that plants and critters can utilize) cut a shallow<br />
depression in them to hold soil later. If you are working in an<br />
area that has a slope you can also use wood ties to create walls<br />
for your pond that you can backfill later when you landscape<br />
around it.<br />
You will have to decide how deep to dig your pond as well.<br />
This may be determined by whether you are going to keep<br />
livestock in the pond and whether they will stay outside for the<br />
winter. Also, you should check your local by-laws to see if there<br />
are any rules for ponds in your area. Some municipalities have<br />
decided that a pond deeper than 18 inches requires a fenced<br />
yard, much like for a pool. If you have children or pets this may<br />
also be a factor. The frost line in this part of the country is<br />
between 2-2.5 feet so any over wintering fish need to be deeper<br />
than this to keep them from becoming fishcicles. Having at least<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
a small well area that is 3 feet deep makes a good spot for fish to<br />
settle into and a spot to place a water pump for water features<br />
and basic movement. You may wish to consider whether you<br />
will get wild visitors to your pond over time and this can make<br />
a difference on your edge design. Shallow sloped edges can be<br />
quite attractive but provide easy access to your pond for<br />
racoons and herons who can go fishing. Steep cut edges will<br />
help deter them from getting close to any fish you have.<br />
The Liner<br />
This is the essential part of any pond and should not be<br />
skimped on. I would say that 40 ml rubber is the one that<br />
should be used. It is thick enough to not to puncture easily and<br />
most have a 20 year warranty. Do not try saving $5 by<br />
measuring too little either. If you have to cut some excess liner<br />
when you are finished it will be a lot easier than being six<br />
inches short on one corner. When determining your needs here<br />
is the basic rule of thumb for say that 5x10 pond I mentioned<br />
earlier. Take the width of the pond, and add twice the deepest<br />
part of the pond (say 3 feet here) and then allow 6-12 inches on<br />
each edge for overlapping the sides so that stones will hold it in<br />
place and water can’t get underneath. That would make our<br />
pond liner 5+6+2 or 13 feet x 10+6+2 or 18 feet for a total of 234<br />
square feet. Now most liners are sold in set widths of 10, 15 or<br />
20 feet so you could purchase a piece 15x18 (270 SF) or 13x20<br />
(260 SF). Also purchase underlay. This is a simple cloth or felt<br />
material to lay down under the liner and help prevent sharp<br />
stones or roots from poking any holes in the liner. Also, before<br />
laying the liner smooth out any edges on the earth and remove<br />
any stones you can feel. Adding some sand to the bottom will<br />
help protect the liner and give some drainage as well. Add your<br />
liner and make sure it is over the pond edge. You can use<br />
staples or roofing nails to secure the liner over the landscape<br />
ties. I recommend adding water to the pond before totally<br />
securing your liner to help tighten and stretch the liner as much<br />
as possible and form your corners. Hint – install your liner on a<br />
very sunny warm day. Lay it out on the driveway several hours<br />
first. This will heat it and make it softer and more pliable to<br />
make working with it much easier.<br />
Water Features<br />
These perform an important purpose for the life of a pond as<br />
well as adding aesthetics. Water flow helps cool the pond when<br />
it heats up in warm weather. As water ripples down through a<br />
waterfall it becomes oxygenated and purified. This is a natural<br />
filter for a closed water system like a pond. Another very useful<br />
water feature is a bog pond. This is a shallow side pond that has<br />
some water circulated through it. Heavy bog plants are grown<br />
in here and they help filter impurities from the water and add<br />
some vegetation to soften the look of the pond edge. These bog<br />
areas also become home to frogs and toads and other beneficial<br />
water creatures. Then there is a spray fountain effect that will<br />
shoot a shower up into the air and will again help oxygenate<br />
the water and provide physical beauty. All these features<br />
17
equire a water pump to be implemented. When choosing a<br />
pump remember that you can always add a valve to reduce<br />
your flow, but you can’t increase it if the pump isn’t large<br />
enough. Check the flow rates at the height you will need to be<br />
pushing your water to, including the depth the pump will be<br />
sitting at. A flow rate of 1000 gallons per hour is rated at 0 feet<br />
of flow height – if you have a waterfall at 4 feet, you may be<br />
lucky to get 200 GPH and at 6 feet it will be nothing. When you<br />
build a waterfall or bog pond you will need to use liner for<br />
these so you may wish to add that to your initial purchase and<br />
use pieces that you will be cutting from your pond trimming.<br />
Landscaping<br />
Usually people will line their ponds with rock of some sort.<br />
There are many varieties that can be found in landscape yards<br />
like slate and waterfall rock. Stone can add up very quickly. One<br />
of the ponds pictured here used several tons of stone. When<br />
placing stone around the edge of the pond make sure that it is<br />
secure and safe. It should be level or lean away from the pond<br />
edge instead of into it. If you over hang stone over the edge of<br />
the pond you will soften the look and keep it more natural.<br />
When backfilling soil, keep in mind that rain can wash loose<br />
soil that is higher than the edge, down into the pond. It will also<br />
compact over time and the height of any new landscaping will<br />
lessen as this happens. Any waterfall or rock work will be<br />
affected by this as well if the soil is not well packed. Plants can<br />
be chosen for the pond itself and around the wet edges (more<br />
on these in another article) and for any landscaping to tie the<br />
pond into the rest of the yard. Remember that you will have<br />
heaps of soil to put somewhere.<br />
Livestock<br />
You have set up your pond with thoughts to having fish in it or<br />
not. If not, you can skip this because it doesn’t matter, but if you<br />
want to keep fish there are some things to take note of. You<br />
need to decide if they will stay in the pond all year or if you<br />
wish to pull them out. It can be stressful to pull fish out of a<br />
pond late in the fall when they are almost hibernating to put<br />
them into a much smaller and restrictive tank hidden away in<br />
18<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
the basement. But if you keep them outside you have to make<br />
sure the depth is well below the frost level or cover and insulate<br />
the pond to keep it from freezing completely. If you have made<br />
the pond at least 2.5 feet deep, the fish should be okay but you<br />
should be keeping an open hole in the ice to allow for a gas<br />
exchange. During the winter there will be decomposition taking<br />
place and a build up of lethal gases that must be released. More<br />
fish in ponds will die because of this than from freezing. There<br />
are many makes and styles of heaters that can be found to place<br />
in the pond or running the pump or a small bubbler will keep a<br />
small hole in the ice surface as well.<br />
There are many kinds of fish that can be kept in ponds. There<br />
are several types of goldfish that will do well, such as comets<br />
and shubunkins and then there are koi. Koi are more<br />
demanding of water quality and oxygen, but are glory fish of<br />
the pond world. There are a variety of tank fish that can be kept<br />
in ponds as well. Livebearers can be kept from late spring to<br />
early fall, as well as many South American and African cichlids.<br />
These need to be brought in of course and should be<br />
quarantined to prevent parasites and any unwanted guests<br />
from coming into your aquariums. Frogs and toads are also<br />
frequent inhabitants of ponds and will often stay once they<br />
have found a home. Snails are welcome inhabitants in a pond<br />
and there are several that will winter very naturally, such as the<br />
trapdoor snail. They help eat and control algae in the pond and<br />
add another level of life and health with their presence. A<br />
backyard pond will also fill up with natural water insects, from<br />
beetles to dragonfly larvae to mosquitoes (which will be taken<br />
care of by any fish); a living science project all season long.<br />
Two levels of pond. Top is 5’ x 10’, lower is 10’ x 18’<br />
So, this is just an outline on some basics to building a pond.<br />
There are other details and there are certainly many ways to do<br />
things, but it isn’t as scary a project as some people may think it<br />
is. If some of you have questions there is an area on the forum<br />
that you can put them forward. If one of those questions is<br />
whether I do any consulting or pond design, the answer is yes. I<br />
hope at least one of you takes a step towards grabbing that<br />
shovel and digging into this very rewarding experience. - Ed
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
50 th CAOAC Convention Details…<br />
May 15, 16 & 17, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Fanshawe College in London Ontario<br />
SCHEDULE:<br />
Friday Night<br />
4:00 – 7:30 pm: Registration and Show Set-up<br />
7:30 - 9:00 pm: Speaker – Heiko Bleher, Heiko's Amazing<br />
Adventures in India<br />
9:00 - Bed Time: Mix & Mingle – Have a social meeting<br />
<br />
with all our speakers in the Whatsits bar.<br />
Saturday<br />
8:00 am – 4:00 pm: Registration and Show Set up<br />
9:00 – 10:15 am: Speaker - Anthony Calfo, Conservation of<br />
Species<br />
10:30 – 11:45 am: Speaker - Heiko Bleher, Newly<br />
<br />
Discovered South American Cichlid<br />
Species<br />
12:00 - 1:00 pm: Lunch<br />
1 - 2:1 5pm: Speaker - Gary Lange, Collecting in New<br />
Guinea<br />
2:30 – 3:45 pm: Speaker - Bob Fenner, Algae Can be Your<br />
Friend<br />
4 – 5:15 pm: Speaker - Heiko Bleher, Geophagus and<br />
Dwarf Cichlids<br />
6:30 - 9:30 pm: Dinner/ Speaker - Rein Breitmaier, Our<br />
<br />
Great Mediterranean Expedition<br />
9:30 pm: Judging of the show begins<br />
9:30 - Bed Time: Light & Lively - Calfo & Fenner in the<br />
Hospitality Suite<br />
Sunday<br />
8 – 9:30 am: AGM and elections<br />
9:30 am: Brunch and Awards<br />
12:00 pm: Giant Auction starts! Be There!<br />
AUCTION:<br />
ALL DONATIONS HAPPILY ACCEPTED & WELCOMED!!<br />
Contact Tony Bernard (tbernard@krway.com) or Carl<br />
McCleary (boxturtlesrule@sympatico.ca) for questions, forms<br />
and details.<br />
TICKET PRICES:<br />
Full Weekend: $75<br />
Saturday Speakers (5) ONLY: $50<br />
Children (Under 16YRS): $30<br />
SUNDAY EVENING WRAP-UP PARTY:<br />
Social evening following the auction for those who are<br />
staying the evening. Cost per person is $10 and is NOT<br />
included in the weekend ticket price!<br />
ROOM RATES<br />
The two bedroom suites are $59.95 per night.<br />
The four bedroom suites are $119.90 per night.<br />
Each two bedroom suite can be supplied as a kitchenette or<br />
living room suite. Each four bedroom suite comes with both a<br />
kitchenette and living room.<br />
To book a suite please contact Terry Little, 519-752-8642 or<br />
tlittle28@rogers.com. Payment will be made directly to the<br />
college upon check-in to the Convention.<br />
SPEAKERS:<br />
Heiko Bleher: World-famous Ichthyological Explorer<br />
Anthony Calfo: World-famous Reef and Invertebrate<br />
Specialist<br />
Bob Fenner: World-famous Marine Hobbyist<br />
Gary Lange: World-famous Rainbowfish Guy<br />
Rein Breitmaier: World-famous Traveller and Minimalist<br />
Aquarist.<br />
19
On Saturday February 21st at 9:00 am, a small but dedicated<br />
group of 7 fish “finatics” in 3 vehicles embarked on an<br />
international trek for tropical fish. The weather was generally<br />
overcast but no snow or rain in the forecast for most of the day.<br />
Our KWAS vice-president Geoff fell to a flu a couple of days<br />
earlier and could not make it. Along the way, I detoured a bit to<br />
Hamilton to pick up Catherine and soon we were on our way to<br />
the Niagara frontier of Western New York. We chose to cross<br />
the Niagara River at Lewiston where the US border crossing<br />
was very quick and easy with a Canadian passport. The border<br />
guard gave us the once over when I said we were going to<br />
North Tonawanda to buy some tropical fish. When he spotted<br />
the box with the large angel fish on it, he waved us on.<br />
Less than 20 minutes later, we passed Niagara Falls and had<br />
arrived at North Tonawanda, near Buffalo. This is the home of<br />
“The Fish Place” at 141 Robinson Street North. The red brick<br />
building has aquarium murals painted on it, so it is easy to find.<br />
This independent store has hundreds of aquariums with fish<br />
and plants for sale. Everything from common tetras, angels,<br />
guppies to unusual fish like gars, large cichlids and apistos can<br />
be found here, even turtles. There is a wide variety of marine<br />
fish, corals and other creatures. Several tanks are set up for<br />
display only to showcase the fish and plants. There is a 2,000<br />
gallon tank with large specimens of Peacock Bass, Knife fish,<br />
Gars and Red Tail and Shovel Nose catfish. There is a large<br />
selection of aquariums and kits along with all the décor, lighting<br />
and other dry goods you could ever need. I purchased some<br />
Orange Nose Rasboras and Dwarf Neon Rainbows. Griffin<br />
bought most of the female bettas just as Catherine arrived<br />
looking for some too. Griffin also bought some Emperor tetras<br />
on sale and a few bags of other fish. Brad was going to stop on<br />
the way back for some plecos and other fish later in the day.<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Shop Hop <strong>2009</strong><br />
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net). All photos by the author.<br />
Good selection of Discus:<br />
Lots of Cichlids here:<br />
After lunch at Tim Horton’s, the next stop on our journey was 5<br />
minutes away at “Salt Water Paradise”, located at 54 Main<br />
Street in Tonawanda. This shop had many colourful fish, corals,<br />
frags, and other marine creatures in two showrooms. I had fun<br />
watching the shrimp and gobies even though I do not keep a<br />
marine tank.<br />
Three types of Bubble Eye Goldfish:<br />
The Horseshoe crabs looked awesome:<br />
20
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Clownfish in an Anemone:<br />
Pink Tail Trigger:<br />
With his KWAS shirt on, Griffin was mistaken for an employee:<br />
Plants were sold potted, rooted in the gravel or weighed down:<br />
Next on our tour less than 10 minutes away was “The Niagara<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> Company” located at 1345 Military Road in the<br />
Kenmore area of Buffalo. About 1/4 of the shop was for lizards,<br />
snakes, birds, and small mammals. The rest of the shop was<br />
mostly for fresh water and some marine fish. They had lots of<br />
dry goods, complete aquarium kits, cabinets and stands.<br />
A wide variety of Angels were available:<br />
Since the weather forecast was calling for snow, we headed back<br />
home. The border crossing was fairly quick. The Canadian<br />
customs agent asked where we had been and what we bought.<br />
I mentioned that we only bought some tropical fish and let him<br />
look at the receipts. After he mentioned his 90 gallon reptile<br />
tank, we were on our way.<br />
If you would like to see the rest of the photos, visit the KWAS<br />
forum photo gallery and look for ”KWAS trip to New York State<br />
fish shops 21 Feb <strong>2009</strong>”. You can also send me an email, and I<br />
will return a link to view them.<br />
These Shop Hop tours are a fun way of seeing different places,<br />
set ups and fish.<br />
If you have any suggestions for next year’s KWAS tour, send<br />
them to any member of the executive. - Zenin<br />
21
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
<strong>April</strong> Exchange Editor’s Report<br />
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).<br />
The newsletters featured in this column and others are available to<br />
you. Please let me know by email, or at the monthly meeting, which<br />
ones you would like to read.<br />
Are your plants giving you grief by turning yellow or melting<br />
away Your lighting and temperature may be fine, but how is<br />
your substrate Alesia Benedict writes about “Substrates and<br />
Plants” in the January <strong>2009</strong> issue of Hi Fin from the Peel<br />
Region <strong>Aquarium</strong> Club. Types of gravel, soil and special<br />
formulated substrates are compared.<br />
The Banggai Cardinal is a small marine fish that was<br />
introduced to the hobby in 1996. It is a mouth brooder that is<br />
easy to keep and have spawn in your tank. Read all the<br />
details of Dave Unruh’s experience with these marine fish in<br />
the February <strong>2009</strong> issue of The Scat from the St. Catharines<br />
and Area <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>.<br />
February/March <strong>2009</strong> issue of Tank Topics from the Greater<br />
Akron <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. Also in this issue, Wayne Toven wrote<br />
about “Sex Amidst the Ferns – Java Ferns That Is”. These plants<br />
propagate in three different ways. Bob Miller wrote about<br />
Archocentrus myrnae, a 10 cm ( 4 inch ) cichlid from Costa Rica.<br />
They are docile, and not picky eaters or on water conditions, so<br />
they make a great beginner fish.<br />
Surf’s up ! This month’s web site to explore:<br />
Lots of information on invertebrates (like shrimp, crabs, snails,<br />
crayfish, lobsters etc) for the aquarium here:<br />
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/inv/<br />
Crayfish Anatomy from The Missouri Dept of Conservation:<br />
http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/arthopo/crayfish/distrib.htm<br />
Norman Petrie wrote about the South American dwarf<br />
cichlids known as Rams in “The King of Rams” in the<br />
February <strong>2009</strong> issue of Fins and Friends from the Regina<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. He details the conditions that make these<br />
fish happy enough to reproduce.<br />
Have you ever had an infestation of Blue Green Algae in your<br />
tank Rick Glencross has written an article after he had a<br />
nasty bout of this “lime slime”. Read about the causes and<br />
how to clean up the mess in the February <strong>2009</strong> issue of Tank<br />
Talk from the Durham Region <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. His photos<br />
document the improvement in his tank. Also in this issue,<br />
Derek Tustin writes about some Azoo products and “The 7<br />
Balls”.<br />
An interesting long nose cory catfish is Corydoras simulatus.<br />
They are similar to Corydoras metae. Charlie Drew wrote about<br />
his experiences spawning them in the February <strong>2009</strong> issue of<br />
The Monthly Bulletin from the Hamilton and District<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. Also in this issue, Larry Johnson wrote<br />
about Cyphotilapia frontosa. These large ( 30 cm, 12 inches ) but<br />
generally peaceful cichlids come from various places in Lake<br />
Tanganyika.<br />
The February <strong>2009</strong> issue of Pisces Press from the Nassau<br />
County <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong> contains 4 articles that I want to<br />
highlight. “Care of the Cherry Barb”, “Breeding Corydoras<br />
gossei”, “Invasive Fish Species” and “Nutrition Tips for Your<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> and Avoiding Stressing Your Fish” are all good<br />
reading on a variety of topics.<br />
Some tropical fish hobbyists also keep invertebrates. One<br />
such creature is Macrobrachium sp. “Red Claw” Shrimp. Joe<br />
Reich wrote about his experience keeping them in the<br />
The Fish Sempai<br />
www.fishsempai.com<br />
info@fishsempai.com<br />
(519) 648-9992<br />
• Show quality goldfish: Ryukin, Ranchu, Oranda,<br />
Butterfly Moors, Jikins, Pearlscales, Tosakin<br />
• Japanese & Malaysian Koi<br />
• Arrange to visit the fish farm to see one-of-a-kind,<br />
rare and marvelous specimens<br />
• Hobbyist Club members receive 10% off purchases<br />
• Wholesaler inquiries are welcome<br />
• Visits by appointment ONLY<br />
1268 Kramp Road RR 2, Breslau, Ontario N0B 1M0<br />
22
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
March Name That Fish<br />
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net). All photos by the author.<br />
Dwarf Flag Cichlids ( Laetacara curviceps ) Family of Brevis ( Neolamprologus brevis )<br />
This month’s first “Name That Fish” was a group of four<br />
Dwarf Flag Cichlids guessed by Jamie McDougall.<br />
They originally come from slow moving tributaries in the<br />
Amazon basin. Most of these fish seen in the hobby are captive<br />
bred on commercial farms or by hobbyists. They are<br />
omnivores, so part of their diet should contain meaty high<br />
protein foods like pellets, flakes and occasionally live and<br />
frozen foods. Vegetable flake, spirulina and shelled frozen peas<br />
should also be given. Sexing is difficult, but you may notice the<br />
typical longer dorsal, ventral and anal fins in males. Adult<br />
males can grow to 7.5 cm (3 inches), females will grow to 6.5 cm<br />
(2.5 inches). Females may be stockier when carrying eggs.<br />
They form monogamous pairs and are substrate spawners,<br />
usually depositing eggs on a flat rock. They are diligent parents<br />
and will chase away much larger fish when protecting eggs and<br />
fry.<br />
A minimum of 20 gallons should be provided with driftwood,<br />
floating plants and a dark substrate. The water should have<br />
minimal movement and be in the acidic range of pH from 5.5 to<br />
7.0. Temperature range is 24 to 29C ( 75 to 84F ). Companions<br />
can be tetras, and<br />
pencil fish. In larger<br />
tanks, they can be<br />
with other relatively<br />
peaceful cichlids such<br />
as angels, discus and<br />
rams. Corys and<br />
dwarf plecos may eat<br />
the eggs.<br />
This month’s second “Name That Fish” was a pair of<br />
Neolamprologus brevis guessed by Ryan Barton. The fish along<br />
with the conch shell were donated by Geoff Money.<br />
These shell dwelling dwarf cichlids originally come from the<br />
Rift Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. Most of these fish<br />
available in the hobby come from local breeders. These fish are<br />
easy to breed. Provide a shell and a devoted pair will take up<br />
residence and you will have fry very soon. Males grow to<br />
about 6 cm (2.25 inches), females are smaller at 4 cm (1.5<br />
inches). They have a brown body and slightly yellow belly<br />
with 9 tan vertical bars on their sides. There is usually a<br />
florescent blue line under the eye. A dark fringe on the tail is<br />
preceded by a lighter colour band. They are not picky eaters.<br />
Give them flake, micro pellets, frozen bloodworms and brine<br />
shrimp.<br />
They rarely go more than a few inches from their shell. If you<br />
provide small shells, make sure there is a sand substrate so they<br />
can rearrange the sand and the shell to their liking. Water<br />
parameters should be hard with a high pH, <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong><br />
tap water is ideal. Temperature should be 25-27C ( 77-80F ). A<br />
10 gallon tank is<br />
plenty for a pair. If<br />
kept in a larger tank,<br />
try them with White<br />
Cloud Mountain<br />
Minnows, or other<br />
small fish that will not<br />
compete for territory<br />
along the bottom of<br />
the tank.<br />
23
Meeting Minutes<br />
Submitted by Lezley Smith, KWAS<br />
General Meeting on March 3rd, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Welcome guests. There were 55 people<br />
present along with 1 new guest.<br />
Announcements:<br />
• Welcome guests<br />
• Brant <strong>Aquarium</strong> club show and<br />
Auction Mar 29 th , Paris Fairgrounds<br />
• 50 th annual CAOAC convention May<br />
15-17 th Fanshawe College in London<br />
• Newsletter see Cam and Mary Lynne<br />
• Miecia is sick. Please keep her in your<br />
prayers.<br />
• Constitution changes will be voted on<br />
in <strong>April</strong>.<br />
• Beanie boxes $3.00 each. See Zenin.<br />
BAP:<br />
• None to report looking for a new<br />
chairperson<br />
HAP:<br />
• None to report<br />
Name That Fish:<br />
• This month’s first “Name That Fish”<br />
was a group of four Dwarf Flag<br />
Cichlids ( Laetacara curviceps ) guessed<br />
by Jamie McDougall.<br />
• This month’s second “Name That Fish”<br />
was a pair of Brevis ( Neolamprologus<br />
brevis ) guessed by Ryan Barton. The<br />
fish along with the conch shell were<br />
donated by Geoff Money.<br />
Program:<br />
• Catherine Salmon speaking on Bettas<br />
Show Jar:<br />
• 5 people showing with 15 entries,<br />
details will be in the newsletter and on<br />
the web.<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Library Draw:<br />
• Proceeds of $15.00 will go to CDAS for<br />
purchasing books. Marianne Boulton<br />
won $15.00<br />
Raffle:<br />
• Victor Dinh won a 100 power filter,<br />
Mary Lynne Lucier won a Hi Tech<br />
Pump of 30 to 80 gallons and Cindy<br />
Butler won a Pond Food Kit.<br />
Business Meeting on March 10th <strong>2009</strong><br />
Held at the home of Mary Lynne Lucier<br />
Executive in Attendance:<br />
• Geoff Money (Vice President)<br />
• Lezley Smith (Secretary)<br />
• Brad McClanahan (Treasurer)<br />
• Al Ridley (Past President)<br />
• Zenin Skomorowski (Exchange Editor)<br />
• Phil Maznyk (Webmaster, CAOAC rep)<br />
• Katie McClanahan (lunch Committee)<br />
• Anthony Mc Aslin (Jar Show)<br />
Regrets:<br />
• Cam Turner (Newsletter)<br />
• Charity Gilmore (Raffle)<br />
• Filipe Martins (HAP)<br />
• David Bradley (Library)<br />
Motion to approve February’s business<br />
meeting minutes as published.<br />
Motion: Al Ridley<br />
Seconded: Ed Koerner<br />
Voted on and Carried<br />
Motion to approve March’s general<br />
minutes as delivered (e-mail).<br />
Motion: Phil Maznyk<br />
Seconded: Brad McClanahan<br />
Voted on and Carried<br />
Future Business Meeting Locations:<br />
<strong>April</strong>: Cam’s House<br />
May: Undertermined<br />
June: Zenin’s House<br />
Treasurer’s Report (Brad McClanahan):<br />
• Going well<br />
Motioned: Phil Maznyk<br />
Seconded: Zenin Skomorowski<br />
Voted on and Carried<br />
Correspondence:<br />
• None to report<br />
Committee Reports:<br />
NL Editor/Publisher (Cam): Absent<br />
Webmaster (Phil):<br />
• Going well<br />
• Al Ridley and Phil Maznyk are working<br />
on the KWAS buy/sell section<br />
Program (Al):<br />
• New Meeting Format: We will keep<br />
going as stated.<br />
• <strong>April</strong>: Setup a pond<br />
• May: Katherine talking about Shrimp<br />
• June: Pizza party and a tank draw<br />
Oktoberfish (Al):<br />
• Planned Date: November 1, <strong>2009</strong><br />
• Auction chair: Ed Koerner<br />
• Show chair: Geoff & Sue Money<br />
• There will be a meeting scheduled in<br />
June on the third Tuesday<br />
Exchanges (Zenin):<br />
• Going Well<br />
• Take over responsibility of sending out<br />
exchanges<br />
CAOAC (Phil):<br />
• Nothing to report<br />
Membership (MaryLynne):<br />
• Will send out email copies of<br />
newsletters<br />
• Has the laminator<br />
24
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
• One new family membership along with<br />
one new adult membership for March.<br />
Auction (Ed):<br />
• Going well<br />
Library (David): Absent<br />
• $15.00 goes to the Cambridge and District<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> Club towards books for their<br />
library. We are still looking for doubles of<br />
books for them.<br />
Raffle (Charity): Absent<br />
HAP (Filipe): Absent<br />
BAP:<br />
• Need a chairperson<br />
NTF (Zenin):<br />
• Going well<br />
Show Jar (Anthony):<br />
• Going well.<br />
Lunch (Katie):<br />
• Going well.<br />
Pet Store Liaisons (Zenin & Al):<br />
• Going well.<br />
• Zenin will give Al more flyers.<br />
Old Business:<br />
March Jar Show Standings<br />
Judged by Anthony Mc Aslin<br />
Characins Species Points<br />
Geoff Money<br />
Bleeding Heart Tetra4<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Black Skirt Tetra3<br />
Geoff Money<br />
Columbian Tetra2<br />
Ryan Barton<br />
Bleeding heart Tetra1<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Columbian Tetra1<br />
Juniors<br />
Johnathan Samson Congo Tetra4<br />
Griffen Quigley Emperor Tetra3<br />
Johnathan Samson Diamond Tetra2<br />
Griffen Quigley Black Skirt Tetra1<br />
AOV<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Dwarf Clown Pleco4<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Whiptail Cat3<br />
Juniors AOV<br />
Johnathan Samson Sunset Platy4<br />
Griffen Quigley Crowntail Betta3<br />
Johnathan Samson Sunset Platy2<br />
Griffen Quigley Dalmation Betta1<br />
Peoples Choice<br />
Johnathan Samson Congo Tetra2<br />
• Al Ridley motioned and Ed Koerner<br />
seconded that KWAS proposes that the<br />
club to purchase calendars at an estimated<br />
cost of $1500 which will be launched at<br />
Oktoberfish. Will take to the general<br />
meeting in <strong>April</strong>.<br />
New Business:<br />
• We discussed an email from Dick<br />
Mattinson regarding Special Long Service<br />
Award<br />
• Mary Lynne will look after nominations<br />
for Executive positions. Please contact her<br />
if you wish to nominate anyone.<br />
Totals<br />
Zenin Skomorowski<br />
Geoff Money<br />
Al Ridley<br />
Alan Smiley<br />
Tony Gibbons<br />
Ryan Barton<br />
Junior Totals<br />
Griffen Quigley<br />
Johnathan Samson<br />
31<br />
22<br />
7<br />
5<br />
3<br />
1<br />
34<br />
25<br />
• Al Ridley and Phil will look into a<br />
portable PA system.<br />
<strong>April</strong>’s class is Catfish which include all plecos, cories, synodontis, etc.<br />
For future classes visit: http://www.kwas.ca/jar_show.htm<br />
25
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Remembering Miecia<br />
by the KWAS executive and BOD. Photos by Zenin Skomorowski.<br />
It is with very heavy hearts that we must inform our<br />
membership that one of our longest standing members has<br />
passed away. Miecia Burden passed peacefully in her sleep in<br />
the early morning of Wednesday, March 25th, <strong>2009</strong>. She will be<br />
missed very deeply. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathies go<br />
out to her family, her husband Brian, and every other person<br />
she touched and enriched with her kind, caring and helpful<br />
outlook on life. Rest easy Miecia. This club, and it’s members<br />
won’t ever forget you.<br />
Here we present a short bio on Miecia’s involvement with our<br />
hobby, our club and our lives. Her full bio would easily fill a<br />
book. She touched many people.<br />
Miecia started with the aquarium hobby in 1975 with a single 5<br />
gallon tank in the bathroom as a decorating idea. As is<br />
inevitable with those deeply involved with the hobby, her next<br />
purchase was a 65 gallon for the living room in 1976. Her<br />
passion expanded from there to a fish room in 1978 with a total<br />
of about 20 tanks in various sizes from 5 gallon up to a couple<br />
of 65's.<br />
Miecia discovered Bob and Dorothy Daniells’ aquarium<br />
business in 1976 and through them learned about KWAS. She<br />
promptly joined and volunteered to be the CAOAC<br />
representative for the club. In 1978 she was elected as the<br />
executive recording secretary and has been either an executive<br />
member or held a board of directors position ever since -- well<br />
over 31 years of unfailing service to our club and hobby. In<br />
those years she held almost all of the available positions. From<br />
president to newsletter editor, recording secretary to (most<br />
recently) membership chair.<br />
Her involvement in the hobby was not limited to KWAS. She<br />
also held many positions -- including president and editor -- in<br />
CAOAC.<br />
She treated her fish with the same caring and compassion as<br />
everyone else in life, growing all kinds of 'live foods' and<br />
creating her signature Beef Heart Frozen Mix. She shared these<br />
experiences, as well as all of her lessons in newsletter articles,<br />
seminars and presentations for our club and others.<br />
Through the years Miecia earned dozens of awards. A few of<br />
the most notable were:<br />
• Breeder of the Year (KWAS) 1979<br />
• Service Award (KWAS) 1980<br />
• Bob Daniells Service Award (KWAS) 1981<br />
• CAOAC Service Award 1985 and 2003<br />
• Junior BAP Merit Award (CAOAC) 1981<br />
• CAOAC Past Presidents Award 1989<br />
• Hobbyist of the Year (KWAS) 2001<br />
• Honorary Member (KWAS) 2001<br />
• President's Award (KWAS) 2003<br />
• CAOAC 25 Year Service Award 2002<br />
• CAOAC Newsletter Award 2003<br />
• Miecia Burden Exemplary Service Award <strong>2009</strong><br />
Miecia scaled back in 1987 to just five tanks as she became<br />
involved with computers and took on various other more time<br />
consuming positions in her two fish clubs.<br />
At the time of her passing she had five tanks ranging from a 20<br />
gallon up to a 65 gallon that house a "mixed bag of fish" ranging<br />
from an oranda goldfish to a community tank of sharks and<br />
loaches which also houses a large ghost knife fish. Her<br />
remaining three tanks are devoted to classic KWAS African<br />
Cichlids like Lamprologus brichardi, Neolamprologus multifasciatus,<br />
Pseudotropheus saulosi, Labidochromis caeruleus and three large<br />
synodontis catfish. Her interests always centered around<br />
catfish, sharks and loaches although she also raised and bred a<br />
variety of livebearers and egglayers. She even ventured into the<br />
marine environment at one time.<br />
We’ll miss you Miecia, Thank you!<br />
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Through private emails a number of people expressed an interest in<br />
publishing short thank-yous to Miecia. Those are printed here. Also,<br />
being from the Internet industry I know how fleeting web pages can<br />
be. Even ones that seem permanent at the time vanish eventually.<br />
Therefore I have also taken some of the words printed on our forum<br />
and reprinted them here so they may enter the permanent record (at<br />
least for our club). If you want to read more, or post something of your<br />
own, please join us on the KWAS forum at<br />
http://www.kwas.ca/forum/showthread.phpt=12538<br />
..and remember the quotes printed here are but a TINY sample. - Cam<br />
There was always a fun side to everything Miecia involved<br />
herself with ... from skinny dipping at midnight in the cold<br />
waters off the Bruce Peninsula, to sloshing through frozen mud<br />
and mire in pursuit of fresh caught glass worms, to discovering<br />
that a hotel light fixture held more liquor than their glassware,<br />
to steadfastly refusing to believe that anyone made a better<br />
computer than the good folks at Atari. Miecia I will miss your<br />
smiles, your ever-present notebooks, your enthusiasm and most<br />
of all your unwavering friendship. - Rein<br />
My friend Miecia was a special soul. Her glass was always half<br />
full but she sure did have her opinions. She led KWAS in every<br />
way possible. Her friendly smile and contagious laugh could<br />
lighten the room. My friend... I will miss you. - Al<br />
I feel privileged to have known this very special person and<br />
worked with her since I joined KWAS. Her spirit will live on<br />
through her many friends and our club. - Phil<br />
She was a very classy lady with the million dollar smile. She left<br />
a mark in my heart and will be missed. - Brad<br />
This is very sad news, she will be greatly missed. The meetings<br />
will not be the same without her. Heck, the hobby will not be<br />
the same without her. As I googled Miecia today, I am amazed<br />
at how far reaching her influence was! The footprint she leaves<br />
behind is truly large. We can all only aspire to have touched so<br />
many people in our lifetimes. - Amanda<br />
Million dollar smile indeed, she will be missed. - Terry<br />
In any club there is always a core group of individuals<br />
(generally a very small group) that work the hardest, have the<br />
vision and make it all happen. The hard work and passion that<br />
Mecia has contributed to this hobby will live on and inspire all<br />
of us in the future. She was quick to make new members feel<br />
welcome and always had a blast with our junior members -- the<br />
future of our club. Her passing leaves a big hole to fill in our<br />
organization. - Jude<br />
Miecia and I were good friends and it seems it was just<br />
yesterday that I was out speaking at the KWAS club and gave<br />
her a big kiss on the cheek as I had not seen her in a while. I will<br />
miss her dearly. - Larry<br />
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
I doubt that there is a funeral parlour large enough to<br />
accommodate all her friends that would be in attendance… well<br />
maybe the Aud. I didn’t know Miecia very well, having only<br />
met her in March 2008, but she made me feel welcome. She<br />
always made sure to say hello, flash a great smile, and always<br />
made me laugh. I am glad to have met her and will miss not<br />
having the opportunity to get to know her better. - Dave<br />
Let me tell you that there is a large amount of people and<br />
organizations right now that are mourning the loss of this lady.<br />
Anybody who considers how much she accomplished with our<br />
club will know [… how involved she was in all of her other<br />
organizations]. Remarkable is the easiest way to describe her for<br />
sure. Our family will always have wonderful memories of<br />
Miecia but the two that stand out are the famous picture of her<br />
drinking from a light cover at one of the conventions and the<br />
second was of a bill she submitted back when I first started<br />
treasurer. Her and I haggled over costs constantly. One time she<br />
had to meet my wife to hand over the disc to take to printing<br />
for Fins and Tales. They met at a Timmies and Miecia added the<br />
cost of coffee to her next bill to see if I would catch it. Of course<br />
I caught it and started to squawk and she laughed herself silly.<br />
When I did the math of course the coffee was not included in<br />
the total just put there to get a jab in at the poor treasurer. I will<br />
say it again, she was a remarkable woman. One that our family<br />
will never forget. - The McClanahan Family<br />
When Miecia was the newsletter editor, she always encouraged<br />
me to write articles, and she especially loved to get photos to<br />
publish. She always made sure kids in attendance at the<br />
December meeting received some kind of gift. She was a very<br />
special person, I will miss her a lot. - Zenin<br />
Miecia was not only a club member, but a very good friend of<br />
ours outside of the club. She was very gracious to have talked to<br />
my wife Sue, when she lost her mother and helped her<br />
emotionally through a sad period in her life. When we had to<br />
leave for England in an emergency, she was there to look after<br />
our fish and cat (Charlie). Whenever we went on vacation she<br />
would look after the pets and house, in fact she felt so sorry for<br />
Charlie, she fed him Tuna every day, so Miecia got the<br />
nickname of “The Tuna Lady”. Miecia you are missed by so<br />
many people and we will not forget you. - Geoff and Sue<br />
27
A P R I L 2 0 0 9<br />
Join our forums @ www.kwas.ca/forum<br />
With over 4,000 unique visitors every month our forums are amongst the most active of any ‘local’ hobby club. With members<br />
from all over the world, but especially all over Canada, the wealth of knowledge and advice is astounding. The moderators and<br />
administrators take great pride in maintaining top quality discussion, debate and information and it shows. Thanks to everyone<br />
who participates already. For everyone who hasn’t (yet), come join us and see what all the fuss is about!<br />
Come to our meetings. We love to have guests.<br />
KWAS meets on the first Tuesday of each month from September until June at the Adult Recreation Centre at 185 King Street<br />
South in <strong>Waterloo</strong> (at the corner of King and Allen). We meet on the second floor in the large multi-purpose room. Parking is at<br />
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<br />
at any time and learn more about your hobby, KWAS and the many benefits of belonging to our club.<br />
Guests are welcome any time.<br />
Bring your friends and show<br />
them what our club is all<br />
about!<br />
Meeting<br />
Parking<br />
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