BREEDER AWARD PROGRAM (BAP) RULES
Purpose:
NWAAS BAP (Northwest Arkansas Aquarium Society Breeder Award Program) is a program open to any member of NWAAS. The overall goal of the BAP is to:
- Promote the breeding and research of aquarium fish
- Contribute to the society’s library of information
- Increase the variety and availability of fish to society members
- Motivate society members to actively participate in NWAAS
- Post BAP point totals on the NWAAS web site so participants can track success of members
Overview:
Society members who successfully breed fish will be awarded by NWAAS. “Successful spawns” will be awarded a point value based on the assigned value in the NWAAS BAP Species Point List, which is located in a reply below this message. These points will be cumulative over the life of the member, as long as the member is in good standing with the society. For a spawn to be successful, fry must be raised and maintained by the member to 45 days old, from parent fish owned and maintained by the member.
The member will present 6 fry to the BAP committee at a regular NWAAS meeting, with a completed NWAAS BAP Spawning Report. Fry must be identifiable by a BAP committee member as the species listed on the NWAAS BAP Spawning Report. These fry will be auctioned at the meeting with all proceeds going to the society.
For fish that are difficult to breed, fish with a high monetary value, or fish with historically small broods, you can submit to the BAP committee a request for review on the number of fry required to be donated—or for the option of paying a $5.00 fee to the society instead of placing fish in an NWAAS auction.
Certificates and or plaques will be awarded at meetings when point values reach the following accumulated levels:
- Hobbyist Breeder: 25 points (certificate)
- Junior Breeder: 75 points (certificate)
- Senior Breeder: 150 points (certificate)
Requires minimum of 15 points from fish with 10 points or higher value - Advanced Breeder: 250 points (certificate and plaque)
Requires minimum of 30 points from fish with 10 points or higher value and successful spawns from at least 2 different classes - Expert Breeder: 400 points (plaque update)
Requires minimum of 50 points from fish with 10 points or higher value and successful spawns from at least 4 different classes - Master Breeder: 800 points (plaque update)
Requires minimum of 75 points from fish with 10 points or higher value and successful spawns from at least 6 different classes - Grand Master Breeder: 1500 points (plaque update)
Requires minimum of 150 points from fish with 10 points or higher value and successful spawns from at least 8 different classes - Senior Grand Master Breeder: 3000 points (plaque, standing trophy, and lifetime membership to society)
Requires minimum of 250 points from fish with 10 points or higher value and successful spawns from at least 10 different classes
To receive credit for a successful spawn a member must meet the following requirements:
- All fry must come from fish owned by and kept by the society member, in tanks owned and maintained by the same member.
- Points will be awarded to an individual membership, or a family membership, or a single member of a family membership—but only to one of the aforementioned.
- A minimum of 6 fry must survive in healthy condition to an age of 45 days and be identifiable by the BAP chairperson or an acting BAP committee member. Difficult-to-identify species may require comparison to a published photograph for verification. Variances on age and quantity of fry required for donation to the society may be requested for fish with historically small broods, or for fish that need longer growing periods for proper identification. The NWAAS BAP committee has final authority in determining the identity of submitted species.
- Fish that are still unidentified by the scientific community are acceptable, and will be given a description by the BAP committee. But fish that are simply unidentifiable to the breeder are not acceptable.
- Fry must be brought to a regular NWAAS monthly meeting with a completed BAP Spawning Report and given to the BAP Chairperson or acting BAP committee member. The fry must be between 45 and 90 days old and in healthy condition.
- The container holding submitted fry must be clearly marked with common and scientific names if possible.
- Points will be awarded to identifiable fish, with a completed BAP Spawning Report, and correct fry quantity turned in to the BAP chairperson or acting BAP committee member at a regular NWAAS monthly meeting.
- A point amount will be assigned to the submitted fish according to the included NWAAS Species Point List. (Unlisted fish, or requests for point reconsideration, will be submitted to BAP committee before spawning of such fish and at the discretion of the BAP committee)
- Newly assigned class point values, or reassignment of point values, shall use the following considerations: species, species availability, water chemistry and environmental requirements, feeding requirements, spawning difficulty, and fry-rearing difficulty. Any reassignment of point value to a fish species will not be retroactive.
- Points will be awarded for each species once and only once. Validity of separate species will be based on the most currently recorded species names. (Renamed species will still only count once). Color varieties and different common names will not constitute a separate species.
- Point credit for species with significant location-related differences in body shape and or color can be submitted to BAP committee for approval and point assignment at the BAP committee’s discretion.
- Submitted fry must be given to a BAP committee member for recording of points and donation to NWAAS for auction. Any member who submits fry must own fry outright with complete jurisdiction over the parent fish and the donated offspring. All proceeds must go to NWAAS treasury. For reasons of historically-small broods or high monetary value of fry, a member may request to lower the required quantity of fry, or pay a $5.00 fee to the NWAAS treasury, in order to retain fry for their own purposes instead of donating fry to NWAAS. All requests are at the discretion of the BAP committee.
- BONUS POINTS may be awarded to any successfully completed spawn with the submission of a 200- to 400-word original article to the NWAAS website. The article should cover all necessary requirements to reach successful spawn and any interesting facts of fish behavior or fry rearing. Articles submitted on 5-point-or-less fish will be awarded 5 additional points. Articles on a fish with a point value over 5 points will be awarded an additional 10 points. Articles will be submitted to a BAP committee member (bap@nwaas.com) via email for approval.
- All members are responsible to make sure all points are recorded by the BAP committee correctly.
- Hormone usage to induce spawns is prohibited.
- Hybrids of any type are not allowed, with the exception of established domestic livebearer strains (mollies, swordtails, variatus, and platies).
- COLOR VARIETY BONUS (1-4 Points) In the BAP, full points will be awarded only once (to each breeder) for any species or subspecies, regardless of variety. Subsequent spawns of the same species (but of different color or finnage varieties) will be awarded reduced points. i.e. Black Angelfish = 10 points; then later Silver Veil Angelfish = 2 points)
- C.A.R.E.S. BONUS (5-15 Points) The CARES preservation program (Conservation, Awareness, Recognition, Encouragement, Support) has been incorporated into the NWAAS BAP program to encourage members to focus efforts on the many endangered species that we are in danger of losing if hobbyists don’t get involved. To qualify, species must be listed on the CARES Priority List website. As new species are added to the CARES list, the CARES bonus will be added retroactively for five years prior. They didn’t become endangered overnight. The CARES bonus will be equal to the point value of the species. (A 10-point species adds 10 points; a 15-point species adds 15, etc.) In addition, to encourage long term maintenance of CARES species, additional spawns may be turned in annually for an additional CARES bonus, provided fry are donated to club auctions.
Lifetime BAP certificates will be applied toward the completion of the appropriate Class Award. For this purpose, all fauna are categorized into the following classes, with the required number and type of events necessary to complete the class as shown. The participant is responsible for maintaining records to show the required number of species.
Class 1: Livebearers – 6 species
Class 2: Anabantoids – 5 species
Class 3: Barbs – 5 species
Class 4: Rainbowfish – 5 species
Class 5: Rasboras and Minnows – species ( 3 each)
Class 6: Characins – 5 species
Class 7: Cichlids Old World – 6 species (3 mouthbrooding and 3 substrate spawning)
Class 8: Cichlids New World – 6 species
Class 9: Killifish Mop Spawners – 6 species
Class 10: Killifish Soil Spwaners – 3 species
Class 11: Catfish – 4 species
Class 12: Sharks, Eels, and Loaches – 1 species
Class 13: Marine Fish – 1 species
Class 14: All other fish – 2 species
Class 15: Native Fish – 3 species (1 livebearer and 2 egglayers)
Class 16: Ornamental Freshwater and Saltwater Invertebrates – 4 species
Diversification Award: An award will be given for diversity in breeding, once 12 of the 16 classes have been turned in. To receive the award, the participant must have turned in a BAP for Lifetime achievement of at least one fish from 12 of the classes. The participant is responsible for maintaining records to show the required number of species.
Specialist Award: Members who have gone well beyond the basic requirements in any of the BAP Classes will be awarded the title of Specialist Breeder in that Class. Members who have fulfilled the criteria below are responsible for notifying the BAP Chair. The Chair will verify the completion of the Title requirements, issue the appropriate certificates, and note the BAP records. The criteria for each title are as follows:
- Advanced Breeder in Class: The member must have bred a total of two times the number of species required for Class completion, and written an article for NWAAS publication or presented a program for NWAAS about breeding or keeping a species from the Class.
- Specialist Breeder in Class: The member must have previously attained Advanced Breeder in the Class and bred a total of three times the number of species required for Class completion, and written another article for NWAAS publication or presented a program for NWAAS about breeding or keeping a species from the Class.
