Dear Aquarist,

We started off the new year with a presentation that was truly revolutionary; our very first streaming video presentation by Dr. Tim Hovanec. His topic for the evening was “Modern Day Approach to Chemistry.” Dr. Hovanec was in California and the PowerPoint presentation went perfectly. Dr. Hovanec saw us and was able to answer questions as if he was in the room with us. We are thinking about doing this with speakers who live great distances from us.

Next month we have one of our own, Joe Graffagnino, former president of BAS, will give a talk about the creation of his koi/goldfish pond. His topic is called A Pond Grew In Brooklyn. The presentation will be about the trials and tribulations of building above ground and below ground pond in concrete-filled Brooklyn.

Also, on Saint Valentines Day our great society will be 108 years young. We are the oldest general aquarium club in the United States and that is because of you – our members, our Board and Officers and the love we all have for aquatic creatures. So come on down on February 8 for a fun night filled with great people, an interesting topic and aquatic auction and sales tables that can’t be beaten. As always there will be FREE parking and FREE refreshments, doors open at 7:30 pm.

New BAS shirts arrived and they were selling like hotcakes! Many of you noticed that the BAS officers and Board members wore the regular BAS shirt with the word TEAM on the back. We did this to identify our members that work and help organize our events. We also have new BAS hats in a light blue color.

Due to confusion at a previous meeting, we need to reinforce policy issues: BAS will no longer permit reserve prices on aquatic donations in our auction and no individuals, member or guests, are allowed to sell or buy anything on New York Aquarium grounds.

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer had to leave due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking to rent a garage, street level, to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which is held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

Our Holiday Party was absolutely wonderful. We had 70 members come to the Flaming Grill Buffet on Nostrand Avenue. The food was delicious and plentiful and the staff was top notch. We had a private room for our members and guests, which also made it easier to present our awards and certificates to our outstanding members, sponsors and donators. All of which have kept us going now for almost 108 years.

As a reminder November was our semi-annual 50/50 on livestock. We will be giving out the member results at our January meeting on the 11th. So make sure you are there. Our January event will have Dr. Tim Hovanec of Tim’s Aquatics. His topic for the evening will be Modern Day Approach to Aquarium Chemistry. See you again on January 11, 2019, doors open at 7:30 pm so come on down.

All this would not be possible without our sponsors, such as local stores and manufactures. When you go to the local pet shops let them know you are a BAS member. They need to know we are giving back to them. We also have many members donate to our club every meeting. If you have old tank, equipment (that still functions), or healthy livestock that you wish to donate you can bring them to any meeting.

New BAS shirts arrived and they were selling like hotcakes! Many of you noticed that the BAS officers and Board members wore the regular BAS shirt with the word TEAM on the back. We did this to identify our members that work and help organize our events. We also have new BAS hats in a light blue color.

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer had to leave due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking to rent a garage, street level, to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

Happy Holidays and a healthy, safe and prosperous 2019!!!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which is held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

November brought in cold wind and lots of rain but we were warm and dry with our guest speaker Greg Sage. Greg came in from Colorado (yes, his arms were tired from flying that far), and he gave us a very interesting topic for the evening – “Selective Breeding.” Greg runs an interesting wholesale/retail fish business called Select Aquatics. You can check out and buy fish from him on his website, www.SelectAquatics.com. Greg also has a plethora of YouTube videos on “how to” with various aquatic topics. You can reach Greg via email at selectaquatics.com. Greg concentrated on cullying fish and separating the most colorful or those with traits, such as higher fins or longer/colorful tails and retain those specimens to breed and have better stock of fish. It was a great presentation and an educational experience.

 
November was our semi-annual 50/50 on livestock. We had many bags of high quality freshwater fish, marine fish, both fresh and marine plants and invertebrates, along with hard to get live corals. Many attendees went away with great bargains. We had aquariums, lighting, pumps, filters and aquatic supplies and food. Everything you need to keep and maintain your aquatic creatures with the best of everything to keep them happy and healthy.

 
All this would not be possible without our sponsors, such as local stores and manufactures. When you go to the local pet shops let them know you are a BAS member. They need to know we are giving back to them. We also have many members donate to our club every meeting. If you have old tank, equipment (that still functions), or healthy livestock that you wish to donate you can bring them to any meeting.

 
Our next meeting is our Holiday Party on December 14, from 7:00 -10:00 pm at the Flaming Grill on Nostrand Ave., between Avenue Y & Z. Please see our notice in this Bulletin. There is no regular meeting and no fish, just good friends and family gathering for holiday festivities. Hope to see you there.
New BAS shirts arrived and they were selling like hotcakes! Many of you noticed that the BAS officers and Board members wore the regular BAS shirt with the word TEAM on the back. We did this to identify our members that work and help organize our events. We also have new BAS hats in a light blue color.

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer had to leave due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking to rent a garage, street level, to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which is held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

Our October giant auction turned out to be just that – GIANT! With over 200 items that included livestock, tanks and equipment, it was a huge success. A cool October night as expected, turned out a packed house. With a lot of familiar faces and some new attendees, the night went without a hitch, thanks to our dedicated staff.

Few members probably realize what is entailed in getting one of our shows together. I can tell you first hand, from doing it for about 15 years now, it is exhausting. We have about 20 board members, all with a job or two to do. We start preparing weeks before the events, and stay hours after to clean up. So at the next event you’re at, don’t be afraid to lend a hand.

All this would not be possible without our sponsors, such as local stores and manufactures. When you go to the local pet shops let them know you are a BAS member. They need to know we are giving back to them. We also have many members donate to our club every meeting. If you have old tank, equipment (that still functions), or healthy livestock that you wish to donate you can bring them to any meeting.

Our next meeting is November 9th at the New York Aquarium Education Hall. We will have Greg Sage speaking on “Selective Breeding.” As always FREE parking and FREE refreshments for our members. Hope to see you there.

New BAS shirts arrived and they were selling like hotcakes! Many of you noticed that the BAS officers and Board members wore the regular BAS shirt with the word TEAM on the back. We did this to identify our members that work and help organize our events. We also have new BAS hats in a light blue color.

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer Al Turrisi must leave his position due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking to rent a garage, street level, to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which is held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

September starts our new year and as usual we do it right. We started with a great plant program headed by Justin Spall. This was Justins first speaker presentation in front ofd a live audience. You would nevere know it because he was a pro. Justin is the owner/operator of www.H2Oplants.com, he is also a huge YouTube celebrity. Justin discussed the various lighting devices, light spectrums to bring the best out of your plants, fertilizers for different types of plants, and the use of CO2 and how it helps with plant growth. Justin answered everyone’s questions in basic language without a lot of technical gibberish. He did a fantastic job. We all appreciate his wonderful presentation.

Our next event will be our Giant Fall Auction on October 12. No speaker, just freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, plants and coral. We will have several hundred items available for your pleasure, including rare and hard to find aquatic treasures. So come on over for a fantastic evening. As always there will be FREE parking and FREE refreshments.

Please mark on your calendar that on November 9 we will have Greg Sage as our guest speaker. We will be bringing Greg in from Colorado. His topic for the evening will be, “Selective Breeding.” So plan on giving him a warm BAS welcome.

I know that we had promised a trip or two over the summer but we just could not work out the lagistics of it. Sorry about that, but we hope to have more trips in the near future. One will be to Pacific Aquariu on Delancey Street. Ralph Chi has been a BAS supporter and sponsor for many years. He wants to offer us a two day, BAS members only, huge discounts at his shop. Stay tuned for more info on this and other ideas we have for you. We plan on sending out an email to all active members about this trip in the near future.

New BAS shirts arrived and they were selling like hotcakes! Many of you noticed that the BAS officers and Board members wore the regular BAS shirt with the word TEAM on the back. We did this to identify our members that work and help organize our events. We also have new BAS hats in a light blue color. Everyone enjoyed the supplies and clothing tables and auction items.

Anyone wishing to donate any healthy livestock (fish, plants or live corals) or dry goods can bring them to any general meeting. Donations are always welcome and appreciated – it’s what keeps our club healthy!

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer Al Turrisi must leave his position due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking to rent a garage, street level, to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! So please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455, or visit our modern website at WWW.BROOKLYNAQUARIUMSOCIETY.ORG.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which is held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

June brings warm weather and sunny skies, but it is also the final event before our summer hiatus. We ended our fiscal year with a fantastic speaker – James Perrenod, President of Discus R Us, he is also the President of the Jersey Shore Aquarium Society. James topic for the evening was “Discus Keeping Q & A Session.” The entire event was asking and answering questions. All of us learned a lot. It was educational as well as entertaining. James invited us to his fish warehouse in Ocean Gate, New Jersey and we plan on carpooling there in mid-August. James will give a 25% discount to all that attend this trip. James has many other types of freshwater fish such as cory’s, angelfish, cichlids, tetras, etc., as well as marine fish and corals.
We plan on sending out an email to all active members about this trip in the near future.

New BAS shirts arrived and they were selling like hotcakes! Many of you noticed that the BAS officers and Board members wore the regular BAS shirt with the word TEAM on the back. We did this to identify our members that work and help organize our events. We also have new BAS hats in a light blue color. Everyone enjoyed the supplies and clothing tables and auction items.

Our next event will be on September 14 and our guest speaker will be Justin Spall of www.H2Oplants.com. Justin is a big hit on YouTube! His topic for the evening will be “Setting Up A Plant Room”.

Anyone wishing to donate any healthy livestock (fish, plants or live corals) or dry goods can bring them to any general meeting. Donations are always welcome and appreciated – it’s what keeps our club healthy!

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer Al Turrisi must leave his position due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking to rent a garage, street level, to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! So please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which is held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

From all of us at BAS please have a happy and healthy summer! Like the song said, “See You In September”, unless your going with us for the August carpool trip.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

May felt more like April with the cool and wet weather, but we always have sunny skies at our Giant Spring auction. We got new style hats in a light blue color with our logo in gold. We ordered more of our BAS shirts and they should arrive by our next meeting. Our discounted shirts, hats and patches kept the crowds looking for more. The aquatic supplies, books and equipment tables held our hobbyists’ interest. The auction had over 200+ bags of livestock, not counting aquariums, lights and aquatic stands. It was a late night, but our members enjoyed it.

In June, we will have James Perrenod, President of Discus R Us; his topic for the evening will be “Discus Keeping Q & A Session.” As always, there will be free parking and refreshments. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Entry is free to all active members. Non-members are asked to donate $5.00 at the door to help offset expenses; however, their $5.00 that night is good towards the cost of annual membership. Members receive discounts in most of our sponsoring stores and free entry to all our giant auctions.

Anyone wishing to donate any healthy livestock (fish, plants or live corals) or dry goods can bring them to any general meeting. Donations are always welcome and appreciated – it’s what keeps our club healthy!

I must ask for our members’ help – our Treasurer Al Turrisi must leave his position due to personal reasons. Please, if you have experience in accounting, we need your help.

Also, we are looking for a garage to hold our BAS equipment and supplies. If you have something reasonable, please let us know.

June is our annual election night – if anyone is looking to be on the Board or run for an officer’s position, please let me know. We need for you to step up and have your voice heard. Please try to help us to help you make and build a better BAS.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! So please let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which are held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

April has brought in Joe Ferdenzi as our guest speaker. Joe’s topic for the evening was “Basic Marine Aquariums.” Joe discussed the basics on setting up and running a small marine aquarium for fish or corals. His information was on low cost and easy to run aquariums. This is what beginners need to determine if they want to get more deeply involved in the marine ecosystem. It was a great talk and newbie’s learned a lot.

Our next event is our giant May Auction. There will not be a speaker just livestock, lighting, equipment, filters, aquariums and all types of marine items, freshwater products and plant supplements and fertilizers. We expect to have several hundred items available for our members to choose from. Our members and sponsors donate heavily to show the best quality items they have. Get there early to view the items of livestock and dry goods. You will not be disappointed! Make no mistake, be there or lose out on unbelievable and rare species that you may never see again.
As always free parking and refreshments. Hope to see you there.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, and that would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speak on, or any specific speaker, please tell us. We shall do our best to bring in those guest lecturers that you have been looking for.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

March has played games with us weather wise. At times it’s a pussy cat and other times it hits us with Nor’easters and snowstorms. However, we were lucky for our event because the weather was beautiful for Nathaniel Curtis of ZooMed came in from California as our guest speaker. Nathaniel’s topic for the evening was “The Science Behind The Spectrum.” He discussed the various lighting fixtures and styles and what works best with corals, plants and fish. He explained where and how halogen, florescent, LED and even incandescent lights worked best for plants, corals and/or fish. It was a very informative meeting.

April showers will also bring in a ray of sunshine in the form of Joe Ferdenzi. Joe was the President of our sister club Greater City Aquarium Society for 23 years. Joe is our April guest speaker and his topic for the evening will be “Basic Marine Aquariums.” This is for all of you that want to try a marine aquarium, be it for corals, marine fish, plants or all of the above. Joe makes it easy and inexpensive. If you ever thought about a salt water aquarium this is the meeting you want to be at. It’s great for all of those that are new to marine tanks. Come on down, you will learn a lot.

As always free parking and refreshments. Doors open at 7:30 with the speaker going on at 8:30. We will have an auction after, with fish, coral, plants, even dry goods. So get there early to view all the items. Hope to see you there.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, and that would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

Steven Matassa
President

BAS President, Steve Matassa with our speaker John Coppolino

Dear Aquarist,

Our February 2018 event marked another milestone for BAS – our 107th Birthday! Happy Birthday to all of us! We are strong and prosperous thanks to you. We all know that February is a cold and bleak month, but we had a really big ray of sunshine come through for us. Our guest speaker for the evening was John Coppolino, whose topic for the evening was “Building My Dream System – 1,300 gallon SPS Display.” John had talked about this topic prior to his move to his new home in Virginia. He had planned to build his house around his aquarium. Well, he did it and he returned to let us know the entire story. Wow, what an understanding wife! John told us about how he planned every detail and what ideas had to be expanded upon to make his marine system work: a very interesting and rewarding story.

March is next and we have Nathanial Curtis from ZooMed [ZooMed is also one of our sponsors]. Nathanial’s topic for the evening will be “The Science Behind the Spectrum.” He will discuss various lighting fixtures and styles and what works best with corals, plants and fish. This is a discussion that you will not want to miss.
We had to make a change of speakers for our April event. Sanjay Joshi was to speak on “Reef Lighting,” but he must attend a business forum outside of the United States. Joe Ferdenzi, former President of Greater City Aquarium Society, will be our speaker instead. Joe’s topic for the evening will be “Basic Marine Aquariums.” This is for all of you that want to get into salt water aquariums but are unsure about taking the plunge. Joe makes it easy to understand and explains that it is not expensive at all. It’s great for all of those that are new to marine tanks. Come on down; you will learn a lot.

As always, free parking and refreshments. Doors open at 7:30 with the speaker going on at 8:30. We will have an auction after, with fish, coral, plants, even dry goods. So get there early to view all the items. Hope to see you there.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment — and that would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants — we always welcome the donation.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

We hope that everyone will have a safe, happy and healthy 2018! Our January meeting was a cold and rainy night, but never the less a packed house. We had Joey Mullen from Canada as our speaker, a.k.a. King of D.I.Y. Joey’s plane was delayed in Boston, and we had a large crowd anxiously waiting his arrival. Joey finally got to talk after 10:00pm, but the crowd waited in anticipation. He also did a Q&A for over an hour after his talk. He walked us through his fish room building which is as big as some house’s in Brooklyn.

 
As some of you are not aware these meeting take a lot of man power and team work, before and during the meetings. This is why we urge our members to volunteer to help out. The board members and all volunteers do not get paid; they do it for the love of our 106 year old (next month we will be 107 years old) club. Without their help it would not happen. If you are interested in helping please let us know.

 
For our February event we will have John Coppolino return as our speaker and his topic will be “Building My Dream System – 1300 gallon SPS Display”. Yes that’s right 1,300 gal. John provides a great presentation so get there early to enjoy all of the festivities..

 
As always free parking and refreshments. Doors open at 7:30 with the speak going on about 8:30. We will have an auction after, with fish, coral, plants, even dry goods. So get there early to view all the items. Hope to see you there.

 
We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, and that would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

Our December Holiday Party at Mama Rao’s Restaurant on 11th Avenue in Brooklyn was fantastic. The food was great and the waiter service was spectacular. They made a beautiful holiday cake for our dessert (see pictures of the event). We handed out awards for the past year’s recipients and certificates for Officers and Board members; also we handed certificates of appreciation to those sponsors and stores that donated to our monthly events. We shall mail them out to those sponsors, donator stores and manufacturers that were not able to attend. John Todaro submitted his best of articles for the Aquatica awards. It was a great night and what made it perfect was that all of us were able to sit, eat and enjoy good fishy conversation with fellow members and family.

Our January event will be truly special! We will be bringing in from the cold, Arctic areas of Canada a really warm person – Joey Mullen, aka UaruJoey – King of DIY. Joe’s topic for the evening will be “My Aquarium Gallery…The Untold Story.” Did you know that Joe has nearly 650,000 subscribers on YouTube (Click here for his Channel),  80,000 followers on Facebook and another 50,000 on Instagram? That is amazing!!

After Joe’s talk, we will have our auction of livestock and dry goods. As always, there is Free Parking and Free Refreshments. Doors open at 7:30 pm and our guest speaker will go on at 8:30 pm. We have a new BAS shirt for you, along with our BAS baseball hat and BAS patch. Come visit our tables to check on our new and used aquatic supplies and equipment for you to peruse at your leisure.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Let us know what you want and why, because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455, or visit our modern website at www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org.

On a more personal note – we are looking for a videographer; someone who can edit our speaker videos and upload them to our account on Vimeo. This will be the site that our members can watch and learn from our guest speakers as they give their expert advice on that night’s topic. We have videos of most of our speakers from as far back as 1995.

Any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which are held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

Our November event was on a cold night, as low as 23 degrees F., but it was red hot at our BAS meeting with the great Joe Yaiullo as our guest speaker. Joe spoke about his 20,000-gallon Bonsai Reef aquarium. He always provides a great talk and stays after his presentation to answer questions. We spoke with him about taking a bus trip this summer to his Long Island Aquarium and Exposition Center in Riverhead, Long Island where he is the curator. We were able to take a bus trip there a few years ago and everyone had a great time. Not only did Joe give a personal behind-the-scenes tour, but we were able to see his breeding facilities. It was fantastic!

Our auction was a huge hit with over 225 items of tropical plants, marine and freshwater fish species, corals and an extensive array of aquariums, stands, lighting, aquarium products and supplies. Members and friends had a great time. Now that we have a Treasurer, we reinstated our 50/50 deal for livestock for members for 10 lots each. For the months of April and November, we will have a 50/50 for live plants, corals, and fish. Members who participated in the 50/50 will be able to obtain their fair share at the January event.

The next event will be our Holiday Party. No auction or speaker, just good food, good friends and a great time. This year the party will be held at Mama Rao’s Italian Restaurant located on 11th Ave. between 65 & 64 Streets in Brooklyn. Party starts at 8:00 pm. The cost to members is $41 per person; see last month’s Bulletin for details.

If you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! So let us know what you want and why because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455, or visit our modern website at www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which are held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

October is our Giant Auction. As always we had close to 300 items for your aquatic pleasure. We had tropical plants, and because of Victoria, we had house plants. We also had marine and freshwater fish species, corals and an extensive array of aquarium products and supplies. The place was rocking and everyone left with their arms full of aquatic treasures!

On to our November event! Our good friend Joe Yaiullo will be our guest speaker. Joe has been the curator for the Long Island Aquarium and Exposition Center in Riverhead, Long Island. Joe always has an exciting marine talk and he will tell us about upcoming events at his facility. As always, besides our auction, we will have plenty of refreshments and free parking.

Thanks to Al Turrisi stepping up to take the position of Treasurer we can now reinstall our 50/50 for livestock at our November event. This means that any live plant fish or coral can be donated and the person who donates it, if they desire, can obtain ½ of what it goes for. Pick up for their donations will be at the next regular meeting, which is in January. We must limit the number of bags per person to not more than 10.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Entry is free to all active members, non-members are asked to donate $5.00 at the door to help offset expenses; however, that donation is good towards annual membership that night. Members with active membership cards receive discounts at most of our sponsoring stores and free entry to all our events.

Anyone wishing to donate any healthy livestock (fish, plants or live corals) or dry goods can bring them to any general meeting. Donations are always welcome and appreciated – it’s what keeps your club healthy!

Also, if you want to see different speakers and learn about different aquatic systems, fish, plants and marine life, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! So let us know what you want and why because it would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455, or visit our modern website at www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org.

On a more personal note – any member who wants to attend a Board meeting, which are held at Education Hall of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (347) 277-4793 by the Tuesday before the meeting.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

The start of our new fiscal year was a great success. Our guest speaker was Joshua Wiegert of Batfish Aquatics. Joshua’s topic for the evening was “Brackish Water Species.” It was a terrific power point presentation on the various types of species, how to care for them and what would be possible tank mates. It was very well received.

We continue to try and conclude our events in a timely manner so that all of us are not there all night. As part of the changes, we have multiple auctioneers to introduce our livestock and dry goods to our attendees. Bill Amely and Dennis Alestra kept the auction items moving at a rapid pace. We had many interesting fish, plants, marine fish and corals and dry goods. We also had many aquariums and stands donated by our members. We had runners to bring the items to our members and prevent a clog at the auction table. It’s your donations that keep us successful, so please keep them coming.

October will bring our Giant Fall Auction! That is correct – No Speaker just items for auction. In past events we had 300 – 400 items so come on down and check things out. I am sure we will have something of interest for everyone. As always, we will have free parking and free refreshments.

In response to your requests, we have changed our routine. Doors open at 7:30 pm, for viewing of auction items. The speaker will go on at 8:00 pm (so be on time) and last for one hour. Our auction will commence within 15 minutes after the speaker concludes, with the goal of having the meeting end earlier than it has in the past. Our new auction routine is that you raise your hand when the auctioneer calls an item that you want to bid on. Please keep your hand up until it goes past the amount you wanted to spend.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, which would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speak about, or any specific speaker, please tell us.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

Our final event for our fiscal year ended with great success. We had Ruben Lugo as our guest speaker. I think Ruben is the “pied Piper” of breeding pleco, cory and other types of catfish. His presentation was on “My Adventures Keeping & Breeding L-Number & Other Fish That Suck.” It was a great talk that broke down the complex barriers so that novices could understand the various techniques he used to get them to spawn. It was fascinating and I for one really learned a lot. Ruben was generous and brought several bags of livestock as well as Repashy fish foods to our auction.

For the second time, we had multiple auctioneers to introduce our livestock and dry goods to our attendees to help all of us get home at an earlier hour. Our Bill Amely started it off but had to leave early and Dan Puleo, Mike Roman and even yours truly jumped in to help out. I think everyone enjoyed it and it certainly helped to move the auction at a faster pace. This event we had runners to bring the items to our members and prevent a clog at the auction table. This worked out well to eliminate the auctioned items confusion at the tables. It’s your donations that keep us successful, so please keep them coming.

June is also election night. This is where we vote on members to fill the much needed officer and Board member slots. I am grateful for the volunteering of our members who stepped forward and are willing to help us out. We finally have several positions filled and the open vacancies on our Board list have mostly been filled. Our new Treasurer is Al Turrisi; our new 1st Vice President is Gene Kogan; we may have a new Exchange Editor, but I am waiting for a firm commitment first. We also have several new Board members that I would like to welcome – Leon Perry, Wayne Sinckler, Larry Whitfield and Ronald Wiesenfield. All new positions take effect at our July 7, 2017 Board meeting. Thank you and welcome to all!

As always, we will have free parking and free refreshments. Our regular monthly event auctions have great items available, but they do go quickly. In response to your requests, we have changed our routine. Doors open at 7:30 pm for viewing of auction items. The speaker will go on at 8:00 pm, so be on time, and last for one hour. Our auction will commence within 15 minutes after the speaker concludes, with the goal of having the meeting end earlier than it has in the past. Our new auction routine is that you raise your hand when the auctioneer calls an item that you want to bid on. Please keep your hand up until it goes past the amount you want to spend for it.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, which would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.  If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speak about, or any specific speaker, please tell us.

We wish everyone a fun, happy and safe summer! We will see you again at the September 8, 2017 event where we shall have Joshua Wiegert as our guest speaker and his topic will be “Brackish Water Species.” See you then!

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

May’s flowers also brought in our Giant Spring Auction. We had hundreds of items on our tables, from fish to plants to corals to equipment and supplies, including aquariums, stands and nano systems. If you could not find something that you could have brought home, then you are not a tropical fish hobbyist. We had three auctioneers with each going in rapid fire succession. That was the only way we could finish by midnight. Much thanks and appreciation to Bill Amely, Dan Puleo and the great Dennis Alestra! A special thanks to you, our members, for making it all possible. It’s your donations that keep us successful, so please keep them coming.

Prior to our June event, we will have completed our trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. We will also have made stops at Discus Hans and House of Tropics aquarium. We joined with a host of other clubs to make this a true sharing of aquatic joy. We have almost 60 people attending from our club, Danbury, CT, North Jersey A.S., Greater City A.S. and the Potomac Valley A.S. of Maryland/Virginia area. We will post pictures of this multiple club event in our next publication.

June will be our last event before our summer break. Our season will end on a fantastic note by having Ruben Lugo as our guest speaker. Ruben is the “Pied Piper” of catfish. If he can’t get them to breed, then they are dead, and even then he could probably nudge a fertilized egg or two. Ruben’s topic for the evening will be My Adventures Keeping & Breeding L-number & Other Fish That Suck.

We will also have our yearly elections in June.  If you are a BAS member for 6 months or more, you can run for an officer or Board member position. We have had several positions open as well as Board member slots available. This is your club, please volunteer to help us, help you. Please come to vote for the running of your society.

As always, we will have free parking and free refreshments. Our regular monthly event auctions have great items available, but they do go quick.  In response to your requests, we have changed our routine.  Doors open at 7:30 pm, for viewing of auction items. The speaker will go on at 8:00 pm, so be on time, and last for one hour. Our auction will commence within 15 minutes after the speaker concludes, with the goal of having the meeting end earlier than it has in the past. Our new auction routine is that you raise your hand when the auctioneer calls an item that you want to bid on. Please keep your hand up until it goes past the amount you wanted to spend for it.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going.  Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, which would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speak about, or any specific speaker, please tell us.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

The April event brought back a great friend, Todd Gardner. Todd has been a mainstay speaker for our club for almost two decades. He also donated marine fish babies that his school and business venture breed in-house. Truly unbelievable! Todd spoke on very rare and very expensive imported fish that his group is trying to breed locally. He has had some success in this area. We wish him the best in all of his ventures!

Next month not only brings May flowers but also our giant auction. We plan on having an unbelievable array of freshwater, marine and brackish water species, along with plants, corals and marine plants and invertebrates. Make no mistake: be there or lose out on unbelievable and rare species that you may never see again.

As always, we will have free parking and free refreshments. There are sure to be great items available, but they do go quickly. In response to your requests, we have changed our routine. Doors open at 7:30 pm for viewing of auction items. THERE WILL NOT BE A GUEST LECTURER AT OUR MAY EVENT, ONLY A FEW HUNDRED ITEMS FOR YOUR AQUATIC PLEASURE!

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, and that would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speak on, or any specific speaker, please tell us.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

If you missed our March event, then you missed a fantastic birthday cake. Thanks to Marie and Victoria we had a fishy and aquarium looking 106th birthday cake! Also the author of The Dragon Behind The Glass, Emily Voigt, provided a very informative presentation of her expeditions to find the ultra rare Asian red arowana, in the wild. She had assistance along her journey from such notable aquarists as Tyson Roberts and Heiko Bleher, among others. It was a great presentation and well received by our members.

Next month, we welcome back Todd Gardner, whose topic for the evening shall be Long Island, NY: An unlikely hotspot for marine ornamental. Todd’s discussion will be about catching saltwater fish right off of our local beaches. Todd has spoken at our club many times in the past and always gives a great talk.

As always, we will have free parking and refreshments. There are sure to be great items available, but they do go quick.

In response to your requests, we have changed our routine. Doors open at 7:30 pm, for viewing of auction items. The speaker will go on at 8:00 pm and last for one hour, so be on time. Our auction will commence within 15 minutes after the speaker concludes, with the goal of having the meeting conclude earlier than it has in the past.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, which would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speak on, or any specific speaker, please tell us.

Steven Matassa
President

Dear Aquarist,

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Anniversary to the BAS! The cold and snow of February got a heat wave in the form of our speaker, Patrick Donston, whose topic for the evening was “Biodiversity Practices for Reef & Planted Exhibits.” Patrick has spoken here many times and always comes up big to a packed house. He graced our club again this month and, as always, gave a great talk. He is definitely one of my favorite speakers. For those who don’t know, he owns Absolutely Fish in Clifton, New Jersey, which is one of the best coral, fish and plant stores you’ll ever see. He continuously has a great assortment of livestock and a knowledgeable staff; it’s definitely worth the trip. Patrick is also a very generous sponsor to our club, and we thank him for his loyal support and donations. He has once again invited the BAS members to come on out to the store in a group this Spring/early Summer, promised to open early to accommodate us, and a larger discount than usual on our purchases.

For March, our guest speaker will be Emily Voigt, the esteemed author of the novel, The Dragon Behind the Glass, a true story of power, obsession and the world’s most coveted fish, who will highlight her search for the Asian red arowana in the wild. An Asian tycoon paid $150,000 for a single arowana. People have been robbed and even murdered in their quest to possess this fish. The date of her talk will be Friday, March 10th at 7:30 pm.
Due to February’s inclement weather, we thought that March would be better for our 106th anniversary celebration. We shall then have a birthday cake for your enjoyment.

In response to your requests, we will be changing our methods starting in March. The speaker will start at 8:00 pm and last for one hour. Our auction will commence within 15 – 20 minutes after the speaker concludes, with the goal of having the meeting conclude earlier than it has in the past.

We would like to thank our members and our sponsors for their constant generous donations that keep us going. Anyone who has any aquatic items, supplies or equipment, and that would include healthy livestock of fish, corals or plants, we always welcome the donation.

If anyone has any topics they want to hear an expert speaker on, or any specific speaker, please tell us.

Steven Matassa
President