September 7, 2009: Field Trip - Salton Sea Exploration - Yes, the trip is on. We will meet at the Murray Drive Park and Ride for car pooling, which is on Murray Drive right next to the Red Lobster parking lot just off Hwy 8 at Grossmont Center. It is right next to the freeway and across Murray Drive from the Walmart. Meet there before 10:00 a.m. and we will leave there at 10:00 a.m. 

You will not need a fishing license as this is one of the two free fishing days California offers each year.

Bring nets, buckets, plastic bags etc if you are going to fish. Bring a pair of shoes to wear in the car or van and one or two more pair of old tennis shoes to wear into the water. Bring them in plastic bags so you can put them back into the bags to avoid messing up the floor of your car. Either wear or bring bathing suits or shorts you don't mind getting wet. Bring a towel, water and /or drinks. You will probably need a jacket by evening. We will stop for lunch in El Centro, probably at Pop Eyes Chicken on Imperial Avenue, then go up the far side of the Salton Sea stopping at three or more places along the way. We will probably come back though Julian and may stop at the Rong Branch Saloon or another restaurant for dinner. For more information phone Charles Pratt (619) 267-2236.

October 11, 2009 - Chuck Rambo will show slides and speak. Chuck is a well known very active aquarist, specializing in cichlids. He works with the "Buntbarsche Bulletin", magazine of the American Cichlid Association(ACA) and is very active in the ACA. The program will be "Lake Malawi for Rookies."

October 31, Nov 1, 2009 - Annual November Show, Setup will be Thursday night Friday Afternoon and evening. Show opens Saturday morning.

November 8, 2009 - Our enormous Annual Auction of fish, plants and other aquarium related items. Sellers be sure to fill out your auction form before arriving. An Auction Form may be downloaded here.

December 13, 2009 - Potluck begins at 6:00 pm. If you come alone bring one hot dish. If there are two of you bring one hot dish and one side item. There will be an optional Gift Exchange (limit $10) afterwards. This will be followed by the Annual Awards meeting with Election of Officers. Bring catfish, loaches and fish art for the bowl show.

January 2010 - Chris Turk of H2O Foods

A Note from Karen Kees

With the crack of dawn this morning, the first round of Camallanus worm treatment concluded. Massive water changes ensued. This treatment will be followed by another in three weeks.

I'd put off treating my 12 gallon tanks. All five are filled with precious little critters: old Cardinal tetras, baby bushy nose plecos, two new types of Endlers, and, of course, my invertebrates--nerite snails, cherry shrimp and red aquatic earthworms. I feared losing them--especially the invertebrates.

The Good News: most survived!  All the animals drastically slowed down, but, they made it. Even thought they refused food during the 60 hour treatment.

So, Levamisole (the chemical used to kill resistant strains of Camallanus nematodes) is fairly safe for aquatic life.

My aquatic fauna now swim in fresh clean water. They are perking up--even eating a little. During the treatment of my big tanks, (their treatment is finished :-) ) I found it takes a few days for the aquatic animals to get back to normal. Some individuals take longer to recover than others.

Fish that were badly infested require the longest recovery. And they are the most likely to perish during treatment. This time four fish died immediately after dosing. But, only four out of hundreds is pretty good odds.

My thanks to Charles Harrison http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ for his research: He wrote the paper on curing Camallanus worms: http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamallanusTreatment/index.html . And, my gratitude for his dedication and generosity: He personally provides access to hard to find chemicals, and makes them available to others in the hobby.

My best regards,

Karen