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Re:Bagging fish

[Al, your messages are bouncing to me because you are posting from an 
address different to your subscribed one. While I'm at it, if you want to 
write a one pager on bagging and shipping fish, send it to me at 
bjc3 at cornell_edu as an attachment with pictures and I'llconvert it to web 
format, and put it on the AKA site (with you acknowledged as the author). - 
Barry Cooper]

I think it would be a great idea if someone would write a few pages on
bagging fish and maybe put up a series of shots on a web page with the steps
on bagging fish as suggested by Mr. ellerman.
I wish I knew how to set up a web page cause I have the shots for an artical
on this procedure.
Where can I get some of the Heat Packs?
Al Anderson
killiman at indy_net
Breed your fish today for mans' overpopulation will kill the wild supply.
----- Original Message -----
From: <RuevenM at aol_com>
To: <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2001 10:03 PM
Subject: One and one-half cents worth on Species Maintenance


 >
 >       Boy, species maintenance really seems to bring out the passion in
 > people. It is hard to imagine an AKA where the "old-timers" are pitted
 > against the "youngsters." It is also hard to understand why so few species
 > are available to the general membership, unless one is lucky enough to
live
 > in one of the areas of the country that has a large and active local
killie
 > group. I have been wondering about this the last few days.
 >      I agree with Ted and Ralph, the AKA has always felt like family to
me,
 > because of the people and because of the idealistic "nobility" of the
 > association itself. It was founded on a dream; it created the form for the
 > national hobby associations; it helped make the marriage of science and
hobby
 > and it made a little known, poorly understood and unavailable family of
fish
 > a viable part of our hobby. It did this because it had a level of
 > professionalism coupled with an enormous generosity that the other fish
clubs
 > lacked. The ACA had thieves in its trading post in the early years and
 > officers made off with the treasury. The IFGA 's members sold new people
poor
 > females with great males to be sure that they had no competition in the
next
 > guppy show. The IBC never grew very large. The ALA struggled along under
 > Joanne Norton and Jim Langhammer and, in many ways, is, today, still like
the
 > very early AKA -- a few people who all know each other so there is a close
 > feeling.
 >       We live in an ungraceful age and that reality even shows up here in
 > fishy talk. Its all a little too competitive, harsh and selfish. Maybe all
 > the old European guys who influenced the early AKA made a difference in
the
 > way things were done. Its an older, less instantly competitive culture, so
 > the Maiers, Werners, Latzels, Roloffs, Scheels, Clausens, Kaspars, Haases,
 > etc... helped to set a different tone. I don't know.
 >        I wrote to Rosario LaCorte in 1970 at age 12 to ask him for his
blue
 > discus and J. ornatus. Rosario wrote back and gently discouraged me from
such
 > tough fish and suggested I get more experience. We then started a
 > correspondence that is still going strong 30 years later. I had one of the
 > best to ask all the questions I might ever have. "Za" was my mentor. I
also
 > have a great love of the history of the hobby (soon to start a new career
as
 > a history teacher) and Rosario had lived some of the best moments of the
 > hobby's history, so I never could stop picking his brain.
 >      Like Ted, I also wrote to Roloff as "Roloffias" were one of my
 > favorites. I wanted to know everything about them. He answered me
 > immediately. When he found out I was studying German in school, his
letters
 > started coming in German and I used them as a class exercise in
translation.
 > I wanted "Roloffia" toddi, which was almost unavailable here at the time,
and
 > he connected me with a breeder in Germany who had the fish. Roloff never
 > stopped to ask if I was any good at breeding killies, he just responded. A
 > few years later, when I was looking for N. furzeri and it seemed that only
 > Dr. Walter Foersch in Munich had them, I wrote to the Doctor. I was
stunned
 > when his letter came with this opening sentence, "I hear you raise alot of
 > good fish." I was on cloud 9! The box also included 50 furzeri eggs --
gratis.
 >       I never had anyone ask me for breeding success "creditionals" in the
 > old days. I understand Dave's fear, but I don't understand how things have
 > changed so. Usually people who want to breed killies are fairly advanced
 > hobbyists and those that get to the point of knowing the more uncommon
 > species have a real interest and ability for the hobby. Yes, there are
 > species that are very hard to breed. I have failed to breed hoignei pass
one
 > generation. But I have seen dedicated "newbies" excel with hard fish.
Years
 > ago, my sister's boyfriend, who got interested in killies after seeing my
 > bedroom full of a 100 tanks, was able to raise more G. zonatus and
"Roloffia"
 > guineense than I ever was -- but at least I trained him!
 >       I have mailed fish back and forth for 30 years and I have only had 2
 > problems with the post office. Maybe others have had bad experiences, but
 > like the anti-government feeling in the country as a whole, I sometimes
think
 > we just assume the post office is bad. They have always served my needs
well.
 > I recently ordered a pair of montezumae swords and had the second of my 2
bad
 > mailing experiences happen. The shipper used those god-awlful new
breathable
 > bags (why improve what has worked just fine since WW II?) and they broke.
The
 > fish were swimming in the bottom of the box. The post office called me at
 > work and I was able to rush down and save the fish. This rare and
beautiful
 > sword just delivered their first brood -- only 5 fry -- this week, 2
months
 > after the ordeal. (Monties only have a few fry. The fish reminds me of G.
 > zonatus in looks and behavior.)
 >      If people are not listing fish because of post office fear, then we
have
 > a problem. I do not think that's it. I think its simply the trouble it
takes
 > to ship fish. I also think that the AKA does not help people in this area
 > enough. The ALA publishes an entire page in its trading post each month on
 > exactly how to ship fish. It is great. The AKA needs to do this for a
while
 > to help boost participation. Explain all the ends and outs of shipping.
The
 > AKA should also sell shipping containers to the members. List them, with
 > recommended sizes for numbers of fish. The AKA should also sell shipping
bags
 > and explain what size fish should go in what size bag. I think the problem
 > here is that the "old timers" don't ship much anymore and the new people
do
 > not know how. I am sort of surprised the AKA hasn't already jumped on
 > providing better means for shipping.
 >      I have to break off here, but I have a few more thoughts.
 >
 > Robert (Bobby) Ellermann
 >
 >
 >
 > ---------------
 > See http://www.aka.org/AKA/subkillietalk.html to unsubscribe
 >

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