July 2004

GFSA Info

Take a look here for info on upcoming issues of the Goldfish Report and the publication schedule (if you have not been checking the Editor's page, you are missing one of the more entertaining elements of this Web site). We hope everyone is enjoying what is now our second year of publishing top quality content in a full color format!

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 editor 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. 

Seasonal Advice

One concern when hatching and rearing baby goldfish is a clear, scum free water surface, to allow them easy access to surface air and good oxygen transfer to the aquarium water. An airstone will usually accomplish this nicely, by keeping the water moving. But for very small fish, in small tanks, it can be hard to keep the air flow low enough to not create too much current.

If you are only rearing a few fry in a small tank (like a 5 gallon, for example), there is a classic way to keep the water surface clean. This has been used since at least the 1920's (it is documented in classic books, like Innes' "Aquarium Fish"). The method is to use strips of newsprint. You lay them flat on the surface, and then grasp one end and gently draw them off the aquarium's water surface. Any scumminess tends to adhere to the paper, so usually just a few pieces drawn over the surface once a day will make a big difference.