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Presidents Message September

President’s message for September 2014

Hi everybody! It seems like summer has just arrived and a look at the calendar says it is well into to August now. Fall is almost here and September is just around the corner.
I hope everybody has enjoyed their summer projects and their fish are flourishing . I know it has been an eventful summer for many of our members in the community’ and it will be good to catch up with everybody soon.
With Fall comes the time for the local clubs to get together for meetings again ..It’s time to start preparing for meetings with some good speakers , auctions workshops ect ect .

As a reminder , Hamilton’s club’s meetings are open to all.. So if you have never been to a meeting please come for an interesting evening and meet some fellow fishy keepers. We meet at the Church of the Resurrection at 4325 Mohawk Road West near the corner of Garth and Mohawk in Hamilton the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm .

And to all who know when and where our meetings are it will be great to see you all again in a few weeks . See you all on Thursday September 11th.
Karen

By | September 9th, 2014|Categories: President's Messages|

President’s Message June

Hi everybody! It’s June already and the sunshine and warm weather is finally here. Pond season is moving into full swing. I hope everybody enjoyed Lisa’s presentation on ponds and water features at our meeting last month. It was a long hard winter for our ponds and Lisa gave some great ideas and advice on how to get them beautiful; again. Moore’s Water Gardens was generous and donated some beautiful flowering plants to our monthly auction. I hope those who bought some are enjoying them.

The May long weekend was CAOAC’s annual convention; it was hosted by the Durham club. The theme of the convention this year was preservation and conservation of fish habitats and species around the world at risk of extinction. There was a lot of information about some of the various organizations that hobbyists are involved with to help in different  projects. It was a good way to learn about what is going on while enjoying getting together with some old and new friends. I enjoyed myself at the event and naturally couldn’t resist bringing home something new for my tanks.

What is our club doing in June?  Sadly it will be our last meeting before our summer break and everybody heads off to the cottage for the summer. We will be getting back together the second Thursday in September. Don’t forget that this month we are having our Jar Show as well as a speaker at our meeting (the second Thursday of the month). Our speaker for June will be Al Ridley presenting on West African Cichlids. I have kept several of them over the years and they can be really interesting fish to keep. Happy summer everybody!! See you at the meeting, Karen.

By | June 5th, 2014|Categories: President's Messages|

President’s Message May

Hi everybody, it’s hard to believe that it’s May already. It’s time to get our gardens and ponds beautiful again for summer; I know I have been thinking about what plants and fish will be going in my pond this summer.

Speaking of ponds… May is pond month!! Our speaker for Thursday May 8th  we will be Lisa Vanderwallers coming from Moore’s Water Gardens. Be sure to come out to the meeting and see and hear some great ideas for your pond. Or if you don’t have a pond or water feature learn how to do one.

What else is happening in May? Durham’s club is hosting the CAOAC Annual Convention this year over the Victoria Day long weekend, Friday May 16th to Sunday the 18th, at Humber College. It should be a fun filled weekend with lots of events happening. Be sure to order your tickets from the Durham club.

There are just two months left before our summer break . We are going to have our Jar Show at our meeting in June. I am sure you all have at least one fish you would like to show off. Bring that fish, plant, or invertebrate to the meeting and show it. We will be doing a “people’s choice” for voting on the favorite ..You will be casting your votes as to who you think should win in each of the three categories we will have.

Our speaker for June will be Al Ridley. He will be talking about West African Cichlids…..Yes, there are other cichlids in Africa that don’t come from the Rift lakes. There are some unique ones in that group.. Be sure to come out and hear about “the other African fish” See you all soon…Karen

By | June 5th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

Presidents Message April

Hi everybody ; It’s April already and Spring is finally here the crocuses are finally popping up and the birds are returning. It seems that March just flew by , and what a month we had .

HDAS had our Spring Auction and Show. It was a great success!!!! I hope everybody who attended had a good time. It was great to see many of our members there, as well as a lot of visitors from all over at the event. It was really nice to catch up with friends that maybe we hadn’t seen since last fall.
Our show was just fantastic!!!The fish were just awesome! I am proud to say that there were some of the nicest looking fish at the event. A big ongrats to all the people who entered their fish in the show.

I sure hope you managed to get the winning bid on the fish you wanted. There was an awesome selection to choose from up for sale.
I want to thank all the people who came out to help and support the club during the event. Your volunteering your time makes events such as the show and auction such a great success. A big thank you to all our valued sponsors who donated products. There were many great items available from them for people to bid on.
I certainly hope our next auction is just as good or even better.

March’s monthly meeting had Ron Bishop talking about Gizmos and gadgets. Thank you Ron for sharing all you tips about all the different things we can use with our fish and tanks.

April is time for our Home Show!! This months meeting we will be showing some member’s tanks who have graciously volunteered to be photographed and judged by our volunteer judges. All the tanks have been seen so come to the meeting and see some beautiful tanks! Thank you to the members who let us into their homes to show us their tank(s).
I will see you at the meeting … Happy spring!!
Karen.

By | April 8th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

Presidents Message March

Presidents message for March 2014

March is here and Spring is on it’s way. Winter is almost over and I am really looking forward to Spring and Spring babies.
It doesn’t look and feel like it right now but soon we will be taking of the layers and getting our gardens ready .

I want to thank Jessica Bullock for her very informative presentation last month .
A Planted Tank Primer…I know I picked up a few tips for my planted tanks.

March is going to be a busy month . Spring auction time is only a few weeks away.
Our Spring Show and Auction will be on Saturday March 22 at the Waterdown Legion Hall.
The doors will be open at 8am, and the auction starts at 10am. We are looking forward a good turn out and seeing all your fish in the show.
I know that I am looking at my fish and wondering which ones will be going to the show.

I am really looking forward to our March meeting and speaker.
Our speaker will be Ron Bishop and he will be talking about the “Gizmos and Gadgets” that we use in this wonderful hobby of ours.
See you there!!!
Karen.

By | March 12th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

HDAS -Show Rules

HDAS SHOW RULES (REVISED 2014)

1. $2.00 per entry for the first ten entries and $1.00 for each entry over ten. The first entry for every Junior registrant (16 years or younger) is free.
2. Provisions will be made for the well being of fish; however HAMILTON AND DISTRICT AQUARIUM SOCIETY accepts no responsibility for losses or damage sustained during the show.
3. All entries will be under the jurisdiction of the show chairman until tear down (approx. 5 pm.) and may not be removed from the show until conclusion of the auction, unless authorized by the show chairperson..
4. Entrants will provide their own tank and water. Entrants may provide their own pump, airline and air stone, if they wish.
5. Tanks must have a cover that can be removed for judging.
6. Anyone is eligible to enter. You need not be a member of a fish club.
7. No entry may be entered in more than one class.
8. Fish which display any disease or deformity may be disqualified.
9. The show will be judged by C.A.O.A.C. certified judges and/or apprentice judges. Their decisions will be final and not subject to appeal at the show. If in their opinion the entries in a class do not come up to show standards, a non-contest may be called. If there are only two entries that are satisfactory then any combination of 1st, 2nd and 3rd may be awarded.
10. In any case of dispute the show chairperson’s decision will be final and binding.
11. Family classes: each entry will consist of one spawning pair and at least 10 young from the pair, less than three months old. Tank dividers and pots may be used if necessary
12. No snails, ornaments, sand or stones etc. may be present in a tank (excepting invertebrate class and novelty class).
13. It is the responsibility of the entrants to make sure their fish are in the correct class. The show chairperson will help upon request.
14. No aerosol sprays or mist type cleaners will be permitted in the show area.
15. All accessories and equipment (i.e. pails, nets, etc.) must be kept out of sight.
16. All show fish to be auctioned after the show must be labelled as such by the owner and registered prior to the show. lt is also the responsibility of the owner to bag the fish for auction after the awards presentation has taken place.
17. No Coloured water will be allowed.
18. No moving other peoples show tanks without the approval of the show person first.
19. Junior class is any variety of fish owned and kept by someone 16 years of age or younger.
20. Photography prints must not be larger than 81/2”X11” and must have been taken by the entrant in the past 12 months.
21. People’s Choice will be decided by the votes of those attending the show. Each person entering the show room will be asked to sign in and will receive a ballot at that time.
22. Registration will open at 8:00 a.m. and all fish must be registered by 9:30 a.m. All entries must be benched by 10:30 a.m. NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 9:30 AND THE SHOW ROOM WILL BE CLOSED AT 10:30 FOR JUDGING
24. There will be cash prizes and certificates for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each of the 31 classes. There will also be gift card awards for Best of Show, People’s Choice, High Aggregate, Best Egglayer and Best Livebearer

For more info call Catherine Salmon 905-529-2076
There are 31 Classes
1. Anabantids (other than Betta splendens)
2. Betta splendens Half Moon male
3. Betta splendens, All other forms, male
4. Betta splendens female
5. Guppy male
6. Guppy female
7. killifish
8. Corydoras, Brochis, Aspidoras, Scleromastyx
9. Suckermouth Catfish
10. A.O.V. Catfish
11. Characins
12. Minnows and Rainbowfish
13. Barbs
14. Sharks and Loaches
15. Swordtails

By | March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

HDAS Show Categories

HDAS Show 2014

Are you getting your prize fish ready for the spring action?

1. Anabantids (other than Betta splendens)
2. Betta splendens Half Moon male
3. Betta splendens, All other forms, male
4. Betta splendens female
5. Guppy male
6. Guppy female
7. killifish
8. Corydoras, Brochis, Aspidoras, Scleromastyx
9. Suckermouth Catfish
10. A.O.V. Catfish
11. Characins
12. Minnows and Rainbowfish
13. Barbs
14. Sharks and Loaches
15. Swordtails 16. Platies and Variatus 17. A.O.V. Livebearer
18. Goldfish and Koi
19. Any Other Variety
20. Angels and Discus
21. Dwarf Cichlids (not rift lake)
22. Rift Lake Cichlids
23. A.O.V. Cichlids
24. Invertebrates/Aquatic Animals
25. Junior Class
26. Family Class Egglayer
27. Family Class Livebearer
28. Plants
29. Novelty
30. Arts and Crafts
31. Photography Prints

Major Awards
Best in Show
Best Livebearer
Best Egglayer
Best Aggregate
People’s Choice

By | January 28th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

Presidents Message-January 2014

Happy New Years Everyone!

Hope you had a great holiday season. Did you all get enough to eat? We had a great turn out for our Christmas meeting raising funds and groceries for Neighbour to Neighbour. Thanks everyone for your generous donations.
Our meeting in January is pretty exciting too. I will introduce the new executive for the 2014 season. I’ve enjoyed being the President for HDAS and getting to meet so many wonderful people who enjoy fish. Just so you know I’m still around and helping out. It takes lots of hands to make our club the success it is. Larry Johnson will be presenting at our meeting. Jessica is presenting in February helping us to prepare for the April Home Show.
Our spring auction and show is on Saturday March 22 at the Waterdown Legion. Mark that date on your calendar so your fish are ready. We could use your help at the auction as well.
Hope to see you at the meeting!

Carla

By | January 9th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|

Presidents Message – December

Hi Everyone!
It’s that time of year again. Christmas is a great time for visiting with friends and family. It’s also a great time for sharing and helping others less fortunate. Our meeting on Thurs Dec 12 is about helping the Neighbour to Neighbour food drive. Please bring in some non perishable food items for our food drive. We will be providing a pizza and wing snack. If you’d like to add anything to our snack (desert) that would be great. Sarah is doing up a fishy draw table with donations from you. (items do not need to be fish related) $10 for 20 tickets. All money is donated to N to N. Noel will be entertaining us with a fishy game. So please come and enjoy! On Thurs Dec 19 we will be going to the Red Maple in Burlington for dinner. There will be a sign up sheet at the meeting.

Thank you Mark Denaro for your excellent presentations at our Dinner speaker evening. It was a great night. Thanks to everyone that attended.
Thanks to Tom and Tom last month for their dulling presentation on shrimp, lobsters and crayfish.
I reminder that we have elections in January. We need to know if you would like to run for a position at the Dec meeting. All seats are open. The current executive are in the process of ensuring all seats will be filled for January. Please let Charlie D or myself know it your interested.
Did you know that we have a really nice library full of different fish plants aquarium books? Come and check it out. You can sign out a book for a month. Remember to return your books each month and then take out another.
Merry Christmas! Hope to see you at the meeting.

Carla

By | December 5th, 2013|Categories: Uncategorized|

Thanks Mark!

Thanks for coming and speaking for the HDAS group last night Mark Denaro. It was a great night spent with friends. It was a pleasure spending time with you and of course learning. Thanks for all the salt water info.

Carla

By | November 17th, 2013|Categories: Uncategorized|