September 2010 Meeting: "Livebearers in My Fishroom"

[mewickham]

Livebearers in My Fishroom
Speaker: Allen Wood
Chairman of the American Livebearer Association

Saturday, September 11, 2010, 7:00 PM
Come at 6:30 PM to meet with other hobbyists!

This should be a great talk! Allen is a recognized expert on livebearers and chairman of the American Livebearer Association. Come learn about livebearing fishes, especially species that you don't usually get to see in your home aquarium.

As always there will be refreshments, door prizes, and a mini auction.

Click HERE to download a printable poster that you can distribute. Help our club make this a great event!

Here is Allen's bio in his own words:

"I have been keeping small fish in glass boxes for over 55 years. Like many, I started with a pair of fancy guppies. Today, we would call fish of that type “feeder” guppies. Over the years, I have kept many species of fish and bred over 200 species. When I retired, I decided to specialize in some group of fish that would be a good fit in my fishroom and with our plans for retirement. Livebearer fish of the families Goodeidae and Poeciliidae seemed to be best suited. I had long kept some livebearers and was well acquainted with their needs. Currently, about 100 species reside in my tanks. My passion is maintaining fish threatened in their natural habitat or very rare in the hobby. As a result, I keep only wild-type fish."

"My fishroom has grown from that first gallon jar with a pair of guppies to about 150 tanks of various sized today with a total capacity of about 4500 gallons. I have automated many functions of the fishroom so that I do not spend my life sucking on a siphon hose or carrying buckets of water.
I view my fishkeeping as just a hobby and don’t sell fish. Besides, few people would want my Ugly Grey Fish. My goal in breeding these fish is primarily to maintain the breeding colonies with perhaps a few to distribute to other hobbyists."

"I have been part of the organized hobby for many years and a member of the American Livebearer Association for I don’t remember how long. Currently, I am in my second term as Chairman of the ALA. One of the greatest pleasures of being part of the ALA is being able to meet and talk fish with like-minded people."

[Jackielee]

Is he bringing anything cool for the mini auction? Might be a great opportunity.

[sskruzr]

If it makes you wanna come more, "Why yes he is, tons of stuff"

[etheonut]

In fact, he is bring multiples of all the cool stuff that you might want.

Kevin

[dennysfishroom]

Last email I had from him said he had to change his travel plans, and would be unable to bring any fish. He did say he could ship some if someone could receive them, or ship them for our auction in October. Either would still be a very generous offer. Maybe Michael could check into this to work out the details. Denny

[sskruzr]

Does this mean the elusive Mr. Mouser will be attending?

[etheonut]

Nope. I have a school event that Saturday. I will be at Stockton Lake with a pile of teenagers picking up trash.

Kevin

[joelhealy]

Could someone tell Allen that Joel from Kansas City had to work on Saturday night and thus could not make it to his talk. I will send fish in the mail on Monday. Thanks!

[mewickham]

Bonus!
Society Dinner Before Meeting
Saturday, Sept. 11th, 5:15 PM

Hibachi Grill Supreme Buffet
102 South 21st Street
Rogers, AR 72758-1120
(479) 636-8888

This is a bit last minute, but we are trying to arrange to take our speaker to dinner before the club meeting. He may or may not be able to make it to the dinner (but will be there for the meeing). The rest of us will be there, either way. Everyone is welcome to join us and we hope that you will! You will be responsible for your own meal check, which is around $10 per person for buffet and drink-- a bit more with tip. The restaurant is a new and very large Chinese buffet (largest in the area). They also have a Mongolian-style grill where you can pick your raw ingredients and they will cook them up into a fresh dish for you. There are also American food items-- roast beef, mashed potatoes, ham, etc.-- and the usual fruit and salad bar, desert bar, and so forth. They even have some good sushi for the weirdos like me!

The restaurant address is listed above, but for those familiar with the area, the restaurant is located right in front of Walmart #1 on Walnut St. (Rt. 12) in Rogers-- in the former Ryan's Steakhouse building. We hope to see you there!

If you think you will show, drop a note here so that we can reserve tables close together. Denny, Gail, Sharon, and I will be there for sure.