Just reviewing the nearly 400 items entered into MGA so far. It's starting to look like an auction. This is a reminder that items going into the auction should have no price listed (none do so far). We only use the minimum bid field for Tag Sale items. Make sure you HAVE listed a price for the Tag Sale. Lots of very exciting fish and shrimp and plants.

Hi Everyone, Hope you're all getting excited about tomorrow's auction. Please remember to review the Auction Rules. I'm getting a number of questions through various channels that are answered in the Rules. If you are a first-time seller, please be aware: 1. Your payment will be sent to the mailing address in MyGroupAuctions. If your address is not accurate or not current, your payment will go into the ether and you will not receive a new check until the old one has expired unless you pay a Stop Payment fee. Save yourself aggravation by confirming your address this evening. 2. All auction and tag sale items must be properly labelled. Do not hand write your labels for an all-day auction. Printing labels at the auction is time-consuming and frustrating. Save yourself some gray hairs by printing them out at home tonight. Again, see the Auction Rules. Don't just guess. 3. Livestock and plants must be properly bagged. No zip lock bags for plants. They get crushed and don't have enough air. The rules exist for a reason. There will be a rebagging station with limited supplies of clean, dechlorinated water and bags. The rebagging station is for emergencies only (punctured bags, self-poisoning corys, etc.), and is not a substitute for proper bagging at home. 4. Items entered into MGA with complete descriptions and pictures get higher prices. If you haven't noticed that, pay attention to the crowd at this auction, and you'll see. See y'all tomorrow!

Please be sure to read the Auction Rules. There are some restrictions on tag sale items which must be adhered to such as types of items and number of identical items. See you tomorrow.

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary. May there be many, many more!

Chris, thank you for the fantastic talk. Really enjoyed it.

I'm so sorry this is happening. If your water parameters are fine, then it must be an introduced disease. From the information provided, I can't tell what it might be. Do you have separate hospital tanks set up? It might be helpful to get all fish out of the main tank for 14 days so any parasites will die and treat different species individually in the hospital tanks where you can closely observe them. It's small comfort now, but quarantine, quarantine, quarantine whenever you have new fish. So sorry. :(

The answer is always both :)

Tossed salad with homemade Champagne Vinaigrette and a Pumpkin creme caramel. And yes, I intend to sample ALL of the desserts :)

Did you notice that the meeting tomorrow begins promptly at noon? Don't be late!

We've all read about them in magazines such as Amazonas, but how many have actually seen them? We're talking 6 Red Cherry Tetras from the Mato Grosso in Guapore Brazil donated by Londontowne Tropicals for the Auction tomorrow. Hope everyone has jacked up their cash flow for these little beauties.

Going over to pick up donations from Londontowne Tropicals for the auction. Can't wait to see what Dale is donating to the club.

You bet!

Did you really say all the tanks will be raffled??? !!! Woo Hoo !!! Here is the link to the event page for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Beautiful shrimp, Jacob. So glad to see your tanks back up and producing beautiful shrimp again after your horrific moving experience.

Wow Jae, that looks really cool. Looks like you're having fun with it.

Love seeing these lovely photos. Thank you for sharing and brightening a fish keeper's day.

Hi Tim, One of the reasons we prefer sellers to stay until the end of the mini-auction is that, if for some reason one or more of their lots of fish don't sell, then it will fall to one of the officers to take the fish home and euthanize them which is never something any of us enjoy doing. That being said, we understand that sometimes people can't stay. Please arrange with a friend at the meeting to take any unsold fish. Cheers, Patchin

Hi Laura, If you're looking for fish, please create a separate post under the Fish Mongers discussion thread. It won't be seen here. Thanks, Patchin

Hi All, these suggestions are very useful. Keep them coming. 2023 is nearly finalized and will be announced in another week or two. Some of the below were able to be incorporated into the 2023 program. Some have longer lead times and are being explored for 2024.

Hi Fellow Club Members, I'm very sorry not to be with you today. Most of you will have heard by now that I broke my right foot and ankle and shattered my left kneecap. Surgeries were performed on both legs 5 weeks ago. I was hospitalized for the better part of a week and was just released from Rehab this week. It will be a couple more weeks before I can assume a standing position on my own, a couple more months before I can walk unassisted, and a few months before I can start walking up and down stairs. The official story is that I obtained these injuries heli-skiing in Argentina, or perhaps running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Haven't made up my mind between the two. All of this means that I missed the Catfish Convention and then handed off the reins as club President to our trusty VP Raychel (Red) Upright for the remainder of my term. It's been an honor and privilege to serve as President, and I thank the club for giving me that opportunity. As you see from the Slate of Candidates, I am not in a position to serve the club as an officer or director. Hopefully I can return to meetings in June. Until then, I will very much miss the club and the comradery. All of my fish tanks have been drained and shut down 😓. Dale Edwards, owner of Londontowne Tropicals in Edgewater, MD and his partner Adam came to my house on a day when the store was closed and emptied all of my tanks of fish, plants and water. That was something north of 20 tanks including a 180g, 125g, and 120g. It was a big job that took two men > 6 hours. I wept on and off all day in Rehab knowing that my fish were leaving but consoled that they were being well cared for. Afterwards, when I asked Dale what form of payment he preferred, he insisted that he and Adam had done this as a service to a fellow fishkeeper. I wept some more. How can I possibly repay them for their kindness? I'm at a loss. If you haven't been to Londontowne Tropicals yet, it's definitely worth a field trip. They have a great selection of fish from the widely available to truly unique (think anableps, etc.). The store is about 5 minutes south of Annapolis, and easy to find off of Route 50. This is exactly the sort of local business fishkeepers like to support. You can watch the shop tour video PVAS made at the beginning of the pandemic here. OK, enough with the maudlin. I will heal, I will walk again, and I will have fish and attend PVAS meetings again. Here's looking forward to that. See you all next year. Sincerely, Patchin