MASNA BOD Meeting
The next meeting will be held in the IRC Chat Room, #masna on irc.dal.net. Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 9:00 PM ET. BOD Meetings are held the Second Thursday of each month. All members are welcome to attend.
You can either use our client located here. Or load your own IRC client, instructions can be found here.
MASNA Scholarship
Are you interested in seeking a degree in the Marine Science field? Let the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America help wih the MASNA Scholorship.
Visit the Scholarship Page on the MASNA website to download the application. Please note the deadline is July 1, 2010, so don't delay!
Volunteers Needed
These local organizations are gathering volunteers' information as they prepare for the environmental damage the oil spill can cause:
Deep Water Horizon
Call 1-866-448-5816
The Alabama Coastal Foundation
Call 251-990-6002
The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Call 251-431-6409.
The Mobile Baykeeper
Call 251-433-4229.
Save Our Seabirds
Call 941-388-3010.
Update your profile
We are asking that all members take a moment to check or update their profile on the MASNA website. MASNA delegates or Member Societies should always maintain complete contact information in their profiles. This will assist us in gettting information and materials to you or your organization when an email or contact is invalid.
View our Privacy Policy.
To update or check your profile, login to MASNA, select Update Profile, then click on Manage Profile
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Greetings from the behind the glass
During a MASNA Live episode about the Marine Breeding Initiative, I met a young man who has captive bred Premnas biaculeatus, Gold-Stripe Maroon Clownfish. Kevin Kramer is a 14 year old from Michigan that has definitely caught the bug. He has maintained a reef tank since 12/07 and shows no signs or stopping any time soon.
"Ever since a young age I have been obsessed by fish, in fact my first word was "ish".", says Kevin. He got his first tank when he was 11 years old and like many of us he started out with freshwater. For Christmas in 2008 he got a 29 gallon bio-cube and the journey into saltwater started. Kevin says, "My goal was to just be able to keep fish, it is hard to believe that 2.5 years ago I didn't know what live-rock was." Suffering from the usual setbacks that most beginners do he decided that if he was going to stay in this hobby that he would have to learn everything he could.
After convincing his dad that he needed a larger tank they upgraded to a 135 gallon. In May 2009 he moved a mated pair of Gold-Stripe Maroon Clownfish, and a bubble-tip anemone that he had acquired from another hobbyist off of Craigslist. The next month the clowns laid the first batch of eggs. In September they laid eggs in a terra-cotta pot. That same month he met with Tal Sweet and started to learn what it was going to take to raise the fry.
As Kevin tells it, "I was able to raise my larvae to 3 days which is really bad. Finally on my second try I got one clown to make it through metamorphosis. My third I got 20 to live. My fourth I got 13 to live. I am happy to say that I have several seven month old juveniles who are starting to get their gold stripes. The clowns restarted spawning last month and I currently have 300+ larvae that are four days old."
Recently MASNA was invited to attend a local frag swap and there was another young boy there with his mother. This is not necessarily an uncommon thing. I am sure that many of you have seen teenagers and young kids at these types of events in your local area. This was different because at a booth selling Vortech pumps a young man was telling his mother about them in great detail. I listened as he told her how they would improve the flow in their aquarium and that this was a good thing. He explained that the improved flow would be healthier for their fish and corals. What stood out with this young man was his obvious passion and knowledge of the hobby. Even more so, given his age.
I'm sure there are other young men and women out there that have been inspired by owning and nurturing a saltwater tank. These two young men are great examples about the future of this hobby and should serve as role models for us all. To all the other youth out there that are also taking the initiative to understand more about captive oceans, we would like to hear your story to be featured in future newsletters.
It's one MASNA's goals to ensure a sustainable future for marine environments and the marine aquarium hobby. We should all look to our youth and think about what that really means. It's our responsibility to preserve and lead by example so that the following generations can continue to enjoy this hobby like we do.
Steve Allen
MASNA President
Marine Breeding Initiative
There are many pressures on todays tropical reef environments and the practice of captive breeding to reduce the need for wild caught specimens is one way we as hobbyists can reduce those pressures. The Marine Breeding Initiative (MBI) creates a standardized model that uses a central database to share information between all MBI sites while rewarding and encouraging new hobbyists to begin breeding and existing breeders to tackle more difficult species and try new techniques.
Would your club like to allow your members to search and even submit MBI reports right from your own website? The MBI system is designed as a portable solution that can be installed on nearly any website while still allowing users to search and share data with all other MBI enabled websites. Users remain local to your organization's website during the entire process so no need to send members off to another website to submit or review information.
If you are interested in setting up the MBI system on your site please Contact MBI today!
Are you an individual breeder that would like to share your breeding experiences with the world and be recognized for your accomplishments? Join the MBI program today! Register and get started earning points in just a few minutes.
Aquarist of the Year nominations
For 15 years MASNA has awarded and individual who is considered to have made an outstanding contribution to the marine aquarium hobby. This person is selected by MASNA members from around the world. It is a MASNA/MACNA tradition and it is that time of year again. The nominations are open. Please take a moment to cast your nomination on the ballot form.
Consider this form a "write in vote", each entry will be tallied and the person with the most entries will be selected as the next Aquarist of the Year. The nomination process will be open until July 15, 2010.
MACNA XXII and MASNA Membership
What do these two things have to do with one another? As part of your MASNA membership you get into the exhibit area one hour early. This means first picks of choice livestock and equipment. As a MASNA member you also get preferred seating to the speaker presentations? So if your membership is expiring on or before August 31, 2010, we encourage you to renew your membership early. This will allow for the ORCA team to mark your MACNA pass accordingly.
Did you know that on average Orlando is one of the cheapest cites in the country to fly into? Here are some samples for the weekend of MACNA. Boston: $236 Dallas: $179 Las Vegas: $231 Milwaukee: $197 New York: $210 Philadelphia: $172 San Francisco: $171 Combine this with the incredibly low event hotel rate of only $99/night and a trip to MACNA is more affordable than you think.
What are you waiting for? September 3 - 5 Orlando Florida. Visit http://www.MACNA2010.com for more details.
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