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Old 05-09-2003, 08:12 PM
SanDiegoFishes
 
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Default FISH & AQUATIC PLANTS Auction, Southern CA, Spet 7

http://www.fishclub.freeservers.com/upcoming.html

COAST TROPICAL FISH MEETING AND AUCTION!!

Upcoming Meeting Information

Date and Time:
September 7th, Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Topic: Collecting Cichlids
Speaker: Eric Hanneman

Eric will be giving a presentation on his field trips to either Central America
or Lake Malawi. Eric is a nationally known speaker, popular at local clubs and
conventions. He is a frequent contributor to the Cichlidroom's library of
articles is currently the editor of the American Cichlid Association's journal,
the Buntbarsche Bulletin. In addition to finding his name associated with
cichlids, you will also find it with references to the native american fish
societies. Please welcome this Oregon resident to sunny California.

Meeting Location

Neighborhood Community Center of Costa Mesa
1845 Park Ave., Victoria Room
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Phone 714-754-5244

The center is 200 yards south of 19th Street on the right side of Park Avenue
(next to the Costa Mesa Library, across the street from condos).
The room we use is not on the street side of the building; the room's doors
face the library parking lot.

Take the 55 Fwy South toward Newport Beach.
The 55 merges into Newport Blvd.
From Newport Blvd, turn [west] RIGHT onto 19th St.
Turn LEFT onto Park Ave.

For those family members who don't want to attend the fish club meeting while
you do, the Costa Mesa Library is right next door, and there's a large shopping
center near the intersection of Newport Blvd. and 19th St.

SO!!!! What happens in fish clubs?

Once a month we get together and listen to a speaker talk about fish or other
aspects of the aquarium hobby, such as planted tanks, live food, or collecting
trips. There are usually slides involved; sometimes the speaker brings fish
from the group he is discussing and those go on our auction table. That's a
generic "he", by the way; both genders get caught by fish. We ask the guest
speaker questions and share — what else — fish tales with them and each
other. We host speakers from both local and national venues. Some are known
only to people involved with specific group of fishes; others are
internationally respected. How many speakers we can feature, and whether they
live nearby or come from other states or countries, is entirely dependent on
how much capital we can raise through the year.

Occassionally we go on a field trips. These are loosely organized (as little
as possible), non-restrictive group outings open to members of all ages and
interests. In the past we have headed out toward the Salton Sea and to the
homes of the endangered desert pupfishes to help in naturalists' efforts to
reestablish their habitats. We have gone to the Aquarium of the Pacific in
Long Beach. We have journeyed to Sacramento for a fish convention. We have
descended upon a couple of our members' large fish rooms (and buffett tables)
to see how they handle day to day operations involving hundreds and hundreds of
fish. No topic is safe from the possibility of a field trip.

Joining a fish club means participating in the fun, food, and good times in
much the same way people participate in social activity anywhere — only here
you will be amongst people who all have this one thing in common: something
about fish utterly fascinates them, and they believe this fascination is a
really good thing. Once a year, the club puts up a booth at the America's
Family Pet Expo, an event showing off pets and pet supplies that occurs in
several regions of the United States. .
The other good things that happen in COAST at each month's meeting is the
capital-generating events: a buffett table where you can get lunch and snacks
for two or three bucks (instead of cramming in a trip to McDonalds where the
french fries alone are two or three dollars); a raffle where hobby related
items donated by sponsors are won by ticket holders; a small supply sale of
food, charcol, and fish bags; and lastly, an auction where members sell their
fish, equipment and plants.

There is a Breeder's Award Program and a Horticultural Award Program to
acknowledge people's success in getting their fish and plants to reproduce, and
share information on how they succeeded. One important benefit to the club
and other members of participation in these programs is the donation of
resultant fry and baby plants to the club auction.

The club also puts out a monthly newsletter, called the Showfish, which can
contain articles and pictures about different species of fish, how to grow a
plant, disease prevention, or simply current events. The articles and
pictures come from COAST members, other fish clubs' newsletters, and speakers
we host. The Showfish trading post is also where members post items they have
for sale or want to buy, and where you will find announcements of
accomplishments or changes in their lives.

So, to answer the question of just what do you do in a fish club — we have
fun while expanding our capabilities as hobbyists and our knowledge of a
subject which fascinates us.