ACA 2003 info from Mike T.

[brewmaster15]

I have some info regarding the 2003 ACA. I wrote a letter to the chairman of the show, asking a few questions first timers like myself may want the to know the answers to(as these are not addressed on the website). Since it will be in my hometown, I'm pulling for a discus blowout. Here's what I wrote to him:

Phil,

I have a couple questions regarding discus at the ACA show next year. I'm assuming a submersible heater will be allowed? Also, when it comes to domestic discus "hybrid" is a term used loosely among many hobbyists, although all color forms (with the exception of Heckel crosses) are considered the same species. By definition, a Blue Diamond or Pigeon Blood discus would not be considered a hybrid. Am I correct in assuming this?

I'm sure most discus showers will request 20 gallon showtanks. Will this be standard issue for the Symphysodon class? I will relay this info to my friends on the discus forums.

Thanks for your help!

Mike Trimpe
Discus Enthusiast

His Reply:

Mike,

To address your questions.....

1) yes a heater will be allowed as we will electric service available for the discus tanks

2) the question of what is a hybrid and what is not in the discus world is far beyond the scope of our show. As such all discus species/color groups are shown as one class. I am not aware of any fish being disqualified as a hybrid. We have the same situation with angelfish.

3) The standard tank size is 10 gallons. We will have 20 gallon tanks available if requested on the registration form. And yes, most discus exhibitors request a 20, but you will still need to ask.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I wish you the best
in Cincinnati.

Regards,

Phil

...
The latest water reports show hardness at 133mg/liter, and ph at 8.8ml/liter. If you have any more questions about the water quality at the Best Western, here's the Cincinnati Water Works Quality number:

513-624-5600

Hope to see you all there, it should be a blast!
www.aca2003.com

Mike T

[Willie]

Anyone know how the hardness translates into microsiemens or German degrees? Looks pretty hard, though. May have to bring an RO unit.

Willie

[fishfarm]

Hi, I've shown discus in the last 3 ACA conventions, Luckly in Atlanta we had soft water. I would sugget getting large Carboys and bringing your own water. Most of the fish in the show are African and Central American species and the water will be hard as a rock. I drain all the water and repalce it with my own. Two years ago some of the purist in the ACA tried to get rules past to only allow wild caught "species" and no domestic discus or angles, Luckly Julie Mann and I were on the BOT and we stopped it from happining. Bring you own heaters and extension cords, You may be a distance from an outlet. I'll ask Phil to try and accomidate the discus folks with power strips for heaters. He's a good guy and usually covers everything very well. I would love to see 50 discus entered in the show. I know Joe Szelisi and I both will have fish there. Y'all give us some competition!!!! Ken

[fishfarm]

Hi, I spoke will Phil Benes, ACA 2003 convention Chairman, and they will be ready for discus, you will need to bring your own heaters and extension cords. And yes the water is very hard with extremely high pH. Bing Seto had to cancell as a speaker, but they are trying to get Dick Au as a replacement. I volunteered if needed ;D It'll be fun, Everyone come and drink up Joe's stash so he'll not have to drink it all himself

[TheDiscusKid]

I am a beginner in showing fish, but it has now become one of my newest hobbies in fish. I have done it for two years now, and this year I am going to go to 6 different shows. I showed discus for the first time in october 2002 at the oca extravaganza and I ended up taking 2nd place. When I showed my discus I got him conditioned for the future by putting him/her into a ten gallon tank. High tank is best. I took my male discus out 3 weeks before the show, so that he would be used to it. What was great about my discus, was that it never got stressed during the whole time. I threw him into the ten gallon and five minutes later he was eating. Whn transporting there are a couple ways. The safe way I do is leaving the discus in the tank with half water, and taking him to the show that way, but really sucks about that method is that it is heavy, and for aca, bringing your tank is a waste sine they already have it up. When bringing fish to show, i would not recommend using a net. A net can cause the fin dammage, like nittle nicks in the fin, or can cause cloudy eye for the discus. I use a big fish bag, the ones used for huge fish. Place it in the tank, and with your hands, follow the discus and allow the fish to swim into the bag intself. I have gained my knowledge of showing fish from the best show man himself Ron Georgeone. He will be at the ACA, so he's going to be some hard compeition . He has taken about 8 ACA best of shows already I believe. Good Luck to all

Bruce Duong

[Mike_T]

Thanks, good tip Bruce. Here's a link to a thread where Joe@Enchanted gives some great tips...

http://www.aquaforums.com/forums/ind...3cf8b31b59648b

-Mike T 8)
www.aca2003.com

[Mike_T]

Why does the above link take me to the Simply homepage?

-Mike T

[Mike_T]

The GCAS Website has recently been revamped. For those of you who want to catch up on the latest with the ACA show, here's the section link:

http://www.gcas.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7

-Mike T 8)

[Mike_T]

i suppose this sticky has outlived it's usefullness...