The Northwest Koi & Goldfish Club is having their 21st annual show on July 28th and 29th at the World Forestry Center in Portland Oregon. This is a wonderful show, with Al Foster as judge. This show is followed by one in the Chicago IL area in August. These are all on the events calendar.
We will be trying to put the text and photos from the April special color issue of the Report here on the Web site. This material covers many of the unique breeding activities going on within the GFSA, so look for this material in the GFSA Activities section. More as this progresses.
There is a new society being formed: the Canadian Goldfish Society (CGFS). There has always been a lot of Canadian interest in goldfish, so this club will be a great addition to the hobby. Check the links page for a URL for more information.
The most recent May/June double Report had a page of photos of butterfly tailed Demekins. These photos were taken by Alvin Lim of fish he and his fellow hobbyists in Singapore keep. He was kind enough to furnish some additional photos that are offered here on the GFSA Web site.
The GFSA Board of Directors who will serve until 2003 is now posted. Two directors were asked to serve a special one-year term to give a full complement of 7 board members until next year's election. See the Chairman's letter in the May/June Report for a full explanation.
The Report will now be published with color pages to create a more enjoyable publication. One perennial challenge for the Goldfish Report editor is getting enough contributions to produce a full issue. Please provide any articles, news items, photos, comments and requests to the editor, , for inclusion in the Report. Vince has offered a set of topics for future issues, to try and get all of you to dig back in your trove of experiences and create a contribution for the Report. These are listed below, with the first on the list due this month:
With summer in full swing in the northern hemisphere, green water due to algae is a worry for pond keepers. While green water normally poses no health risk to the fish (and can offer significant protection from predators), many people consider it unsightly.
Good filtration and substantial plant growth can help a lot. These may be enough for lightly stocked ponds. Using water lilies to shade 30-50% of the pond surface will also help. But for many ponds a UV sterilization device may be the only sure-fire cure. A local pet shop or plant nursery that caters to pond keepers can help set this up.
A recent innovation in the US is a trick that has been known for many years in Britain. A bundle of barley straw is placed in the pond. The straw releases chemicals that inhibit algae growth. This is supposed to have no harmful effects on the fish. Hopefully someone with experience with this can offer an article for the Report.