The Goldfish Report editors will have a new page on this site to communicate important information about the GFSA's premier print publication. The first edition is out, with important news about upcoming articles, features, and publication dates. Go take a look here.
The GFSA is now offering a $10 per year "eMembership", which provides the Goldfish Report to subscribers as a PDF file via email. We hope to get PayPal back on the Website as an accepted payment option; this, combined with the eMembership, should make it easier for many people (particularly international hobbyists) to join the society. We will, of course, continue to offer the hardcopy Report by mail too. To ask about the $10 eMembership, send an email to the .
If you have let your membership lapse or have been thinking about joining the GFSA, now is a great time - here is a form you can print. To submit material for the Goldfish Report to Matt Lyon, please see the updated society contact info. Articles and photos in electronic form are particularly appreciated.
The current line-up of people filling the GFSA offices is on the society officers page. The events calendar covers 2003 events and activities.
Seasonal Advice
Saving on your electric bill: the total for filters, lights, heaters and other things can add up. If you pay 5¢ a kilowatt-hour for your electricity (the US average is usually closer to 8 to 10¢), each wasted watt costs you about 44¢ a year for continuously operated devices. This doesn't sound like a lot, but if you operate, for example, a 500-gallon per hour pump in a small pond, you will find you can buy pumps that vary from 25 watts to 100 watts. This is a difference in operating cost of more than $32 per year. Over a pump lifetime of 5 or more years, you can easily justify any additional cost for a more efficient pump. For lighting, effective, clean, properly shaped reflectors behind the bulbs can nearly double the light that ends up in the aquarium. When making decisions on selecting aquarium and pond equipment, it makes sense to consider "total cost of ownership", which is the sum of the purchase price, maintenance, and operating costs over the lifetime of the item.