Greater Akron Aquarium Society

Friday, November 9th at 8 pm

Speaker: Elsie Swanson 

Program Title: Fish Tales

Summary: The program will be a photo/video tour of the fish that Mike and Elsie keep, show, and spawn (past and present). Elsie will be sharing stories of success and defeat. Old and new techniques.

November’s Bowl show:
All Other Livebearers
All Other Egglayers
All Other Catfish

Bio for Elsie Swanson

My interest in fish began around 1975, when I remember hanging off of my brother’s top bunk watching him tend to his fish. Little did he know that I was the reason he had so many problems because every chance I had, I would sneak into his room and feed them.

Later on, during the 5th grade science fair, I of course was going to do a fish tank. Boy was that dumb! There I was carrying a 10-gallon tank, substrate, 10 gallons of water, acclimating fish… I should have done those Styrofoam planets hanging on a coat hanger!

The first aquarium club that I joined was ASHCO (Ashtabula County Aquarium Club) around 1988. (Also, that is where I met Mike). As we met people through speakers, auctions, and shows we joined several others clubs including Cleveland Aquarium Society, Great Lakes Cichlid Society, and Ohio Cichlid Association.

We keep a variety of fish, but when I say keep, I should say foster because I don’t keep anything very long. We usually buy juvenile fish at auctions or order them to our door. I usually only keep them long enough to spawn and then I like to move on to the next. I would say that Dwarf Cichlids are my favorite. Narrowing that down more, my favorites are regular old Pelvicachromis pulcher “Kribs”, followed closely by Neolamprologus brichardi. Not sure if goldfish or catfish are my least favorite. Never had much success with keeping aquarium plants either—because of all of the cichlids, but I do have a couple of livebearer tanks that plants do great in. I just recently started spawning Killies. I also like photography, so I like the challenge of photographing my fish.

Good-bye for now! 

Many of you know that my husband Will and I, have been the face of the website and social media presence of GAAS – Greater Akron Aquarium Society for the past year, and anyone who has been to the last few meetings will know that we have not been there….

With Will’s promotion earlier in the year, his increasing work demands and schedule began to make it impossible for us to attend the meetings, while  my declining Health behind the scenes continued to affect my work on the website and social media.We both began to realize that while we love our Aquarium Club as well as our fish, that we simply didn’t have the time and ability to contribute the effort, energy, and physical presence needed to give them the attention they deserve.

Friday, October 12th at 8 pm

Frank Orteca has been involved with the Guppy Associates of Greater Cleveland and IFGA (International Fancy Guppy Association) for decades. He will be discussing the care and breeding of fancy guppies (Fancy Guppies 101) with a question and answer session to follow. Stan Jachna, who is also a guppy expert, will be joining Frank in answering your questions about guppy basics. Please bring you guppy-specific questions to get the most out of Frank’s visit.

October’s Bowl show:
Gouramis & Anabantoids
All Other Old World Cichlids
Arts & Crafts

Bio for Frank Orteca:

My first interest, like a lot of us, came as a kid and progressed from Goldfish to Tropicals. Somewhere in the late 1950s I was given a booklet about Guppies and their Genetics. I have been fascinated with Guppies ever since.

In 1974 I married my wife, Christine, and we moved into a 2 bedroom apartment. One of the first things I did was convert the second bedroom into my first real Guppy room. In January 1975 I joined Guppy Associates of Greater Cleveland and the IFGA (International Fancy Guppy Association). I shipped my first Guppy in August 1976—a Red Delta to the Pan Pacific Guppy show. It took 1st place in the Novice class, and I was hooked on showing Guppies. From 1976 to 1996 I have won over 300 individual first place awards in IFGA competition and 14 Class Championships.

My best year was 1991 where I won the Snakeskin Solid, Red BiColor, and the Varigated Snakeskin classes. I also finished second in Grand Overall Male that year. In 1981, I became an assistant IFGA judge. In 1983, I became a Senior Judge, and, in 1985, I was voted to be on the judging Board.

In addition to showing and judging Guppies, I was elected President of our local Guppy club, GAGC, more than 15 times, and in years I was not President, I was either Vice President, Secretary, or Treasurer. I was also Vice President of the IFGA for 6 years and served on many committees.

I quit the Guppy hobby in 2013, and in 2015 I joined the Northeast Ohio Fish Club. I have been interested in multiple species over the last 4 years—until this past June where I got bit by the Guppy bug again.

Friday, September 14th at 8 pm

Adam Leff, DVM, MS, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Kent State University will present his recent research on aquarium additive products that claim to aid in the nitrogen cycling of a tank. In his presentation, titled “Bacteria and the Nitrogen Cycle in Aquarium Systems: A Look at the Efficacy of Aquarium Supplements,” Dr. Leff will focus on the microbiology of biofiltration, with emphasis on the bacteria involved in nitrogen cycling. The talk will attempt to answer the following questions:

• What bacteria are involved in the nitrogen cycle of an aquarium system?
• What are the characteristics of these bacteria?
• What happens to these bacteria when the system is perturbed (in other words, when things go bad, why do they go bad quickly?)
• How can you optimize your aquarium system to achieve maximal “biofiltration”
• Do aquarium additive products that claim to increase the biological filtration and aid in the nitrogen cycling of a tank really work?
  

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  September’s Bowl Show:
  Goodeids
  AO New World Cichlids
  Pairs (male/female)
  

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Bio for Dr. Leff  

Adam Leff, DVM, MS

Dr. Leff received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and his Masters of Science degree in Medical Microbiology from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. His research focus at Georgia involved the immune response of Channel Catfish to the protozoan parasite, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. He has been an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences for the past 23 years at Kent State University. While at Kent, his research focus has been in the field of aquatic microbiology including research studies on the microbiological cause of black shell disease in crayfish, the interaction of environmental bacteria with aquatic macroinvertebrates, and the bacterial composition of leachate from shredded tire landfills. Dr. Leff teaches a variety of courses at Kent State including Microbiology, Ichthyology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Medical Histology. He has been an aquarium hobbyist since he was eight years old.

August is our

Friday, August 10th, is our Annual Member Appreciation, Fish Swap and Picnic.

August Bowl Show:
Platies
Rainbowfish
Amphibians

We would like to remind everyone to please bring a Dish for the Picnic and a Donation for the Fish Swap Table.

Donations can be Nicer Bags of Fish & other Aquatic Animals, Plants, Supplies, or other hobby related items, merchandise, Etc…

For more information see….

Fish Swap and Picnic

Friday, July 13th at 8pm. 

This month’s Program will be a very interesting and new topic for us featuring… 

Dr. Lauren Kinsman-Costello

who is an ecosystem ecologist with Kent State
University. In her talk, Mud Matters, Lauren will be sharing her research on the
important role that sediments play in freshwater ecosystem function, including nitrogen
cycling and phosphorous release. By attending Laura’s presentation, you will gain fresh
appreciation for the complexity of shallow freshwater ecosystems (and mud).

July’s Bowl Show:
Native Fish
Angelfish and Discus
Aquatic Plants  

As always there will be a full Raffle table available as well as Free Drinks and Refreshments! 

We hope to see you there! 

The GAAS/YATFS Severum Showdown

will finalize at the Ultra Aqua 2018 Show & Auction Event. (June 9-10)

*Members of GAAS and YATFS who participated in the growth contest, please bring your largest Gold Severum to the Severum ShowDown Section of the show, (no entry fee),

*MUST be your original Severum given to you back in April 2017 as part of the GAAS or YATFS Growth Competition.