April 2008 Photo Contest Winner:

2007 Photo of the Year Contest Winner:

Our January 2006 OKAA meeting for the Oklahoma City Chapter included a visit from Peter Unmack, native to Australia. Peter started us off with a little history on how he has ended up where he is today. Peter grew up in Australia and fished with his parents. Like many of us, he became more interested in the smaller fishes he found and used for bait than he did with the large fishes he was catching. Before long he had all but stopped fishing for the larger fishes and concentrated on the smaller ones to keep in aquariums. He decided he would best to further his research in the US and spent several years in the California and Arizona areas including attending Arizona State University. He has done much research on the Death Valley pupfishes in particular. He currently lives in Norman with his Fiance and has done some research around the state of Oklahoma. One of his larger projects was studying the affects of the golden algae that has plagued lake Texoma in recent years.

Peter is also an active boardmember of the North American Native Fishes Association (NANFA). He talked about us doing our own collecting around the area and many of the particular species we should search out including the red-river pupfish which has been introduced into the Canadian River and the many different minnows that can be found nearby. He highly recommended using a snorkel and facemask to observe fishes in their native habitit commenting on how the fish ignore your presence and go about their business as if you were not there. He also discussed with us the best times and methods of collecting the species we would encounter and how to maintain them. Once he had given us a brief story of how he ended up where he is today and what we could find around us, he showed us a video by Tom Webster that was taken several years ago when researching and observing the pupfishes of Ash Meadows as well as removing non-native species from the springs along with the wildlife department and the Bay Area Killifish Association. Much thanks goes out to Peter and we hope to see him again soon.

Our door prize drawings included: $20 gift certificate to Aquatic Resource Technologies won by Bill Mitchell, an issue of "The Aquarium Fish Handbook" by Dick Mills and Derek Lambert won by Sheryl Coley, and an issue of the "Dictionary of Aquarium Terms" by John H. Tullock won by Sue Katz.

Next was our monthly auction which included as follows:

Auction:

• AU 7 Checkerboard barbs sold to Dean for $2
• AU 4 Odessa barbs sold to Michael for $1
• AU Big bag of Duckweed sold to Betty for $.25
• AU Small bag of Duckweed sold to Betty for $.25
• AU Elodea sold to Kyle for $1
• AU Copadichromis azureus sold to Betty for $4
• AU Cichlasoma amazonarum sold to Michael for $1
• AU Limia vittata sold to Earl for $1
• AU Baensh Atlas sold to Earl for $5
• RAU 6 x 15 Bags sold to Kelly for $4
• RAU 3 x 10 Bags sold to Kyle for $2
• AU Aphy. Australe Chocolate pr sold to Kyle for $2
• AU Scriptaphy. Geryi pair sold to Gerald for $1
• AU Scriptaphy. Liberiense Calabaria group sold to Armand for $1
• DON Unknown 2 pr Scriptaphy ? sold to Kyle for $1
• AU Scriptaphy, Cauveti Kindia pr sold to Armand for $1
• RAU Black worms sold to Brian for $2
• RAU Black worms sold to Bill for $2
• RAU Black worms sold to Betty for $2
• RAU Black worms No Sale
• RAU Aquarium Fish Magazines sold to Kyle for $5
• RAU Tropical Fish Magazines sold to Kyle for $7
• AU Steatocranus casuarius sold to Gerald for $1
• AU Black/Red Bicolor Betta pr sold to April for $3
• Rudy's Donation - Thank You
  • Aquarium 100 watt Heater sold to Howard for $4
  • Tetra ColorBits Tropical Granules sold to Joe for $2
  • Tetra ColorBits Tropical Granules sold to Kyle for $2
• John Hansen's JJ's Tropaquatics Donation - Thank You
  • 4 Ancistrus Bushy Nose plecos sold to Kyle for $10
  • 12 Buenos Aires tetras sold to Cynthia for $5
• AU Sag Subulata sold to John for $2
• AU Sag Subulata sold to Armand for $1
• AU Water lettuce sold to Michael for $1
• AU Blue Gravel No Sale
• AU Black Gravel No Sale
• AU Multicolor Gravel No Sale
• RAU 3 Juvenile Gold Ocellatus sold to Bill for $8
• BAP Elassoma evergladei (Pygmy Everglades Sunfish) fry sold to Joe for $4
• BAP Aplocheilichthys normani (Lamp-eyed Killifish) fry sold to Earl for $3
• BAP Fundulopanchax oeseri ‘Bioko Island' fry sold to Armand for $3
• BAP Ameca splendens (Butterfly Goodeid) fry sold to Betty for $5
• BAP Zoogenicus tequila (Crescent Goodeid) fry sold to Kyle for $4
• AU Puntius conchonius (Rosy barb) breeding group (3F/1M) sold to Gerald for $3
• AU Elassoma evergladei (Pygmy Everglades Sunfish) fry sold Bill for $5
• RUA Ameca splendens (Butterfly Goodeid) Breeding pair sold to Michael for $6
• AU Sag chilensis (Broadleaf Chilean Sag) sold to Sheryl for $5
• AU Sag chilensis (Broadleaf Chilean Sag) sold to Monica for $4
• AU Apistogramma Cacatuoides sold to Bill for $7
• AU Rocks x 3 + plant sold to Howard for $5
• AU Locking Plastic Rocks sold to Nicky/Ben for $6

Special Thanks goes to Aquatic Resource Technologies at the corner of North MacArthur and Britton for their Donation to the Door Prize and special thanks to Rudy's Pet Supply at 6301 South Western and JJ's Tropaquatics from Pearcy, Arkansas for their donations to the monthly auction. Please show them your support by telling them or better yet buying products from them. Thanks to Everyone who attended the meeting and hope to see you next month!

Monica and Kyle Osterholt

Copyright © 2006 OKAA. All rights reserved.