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COAST TROPICAL FISH MEETING AND AUCTION!!

Upcoming Meeting Information

Date and Time:
September 7th, Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Topic: Collecting Cichlids
Speaker: Eric Hanneman

Eric will be giving a presentation on his field trips to either Central America or Lake Malawi. Eric is a nationally known speaker, popular at local clubs and conventions. He is a frequent contributor to the Cichlidroom's library of articles is currently the editor of the American Cichlid Association's journal, the Buntbarsche Bulletin. In addition to finding his name associated with cichlids, you will also find it with references to the native american fish societies. Please welcome this Oregon resident to sunny California.

Meeting Location

Neighborhood Community Center of Costa Mesa
1845 Park Ave., Victoria Room
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Phone 714-754-5244

The center is 200 yards south of 19th Street on the right side of Park Avenue (next to the Costa Mesa Library, across the street from condos).
The room we use is not on the street side of the building; the room's doors face the library parking lot.

Take the 55 Fwy South toward Newport Beach.
The 55 merges into Newport Blvd.
From Newport Blvd, turn [west] RIGHT onto 19th St.
Turn LEFT onto Park Ave.

For those family members who don't want to attend the fish club meeting while you do, the Costa Mesa Library is right next door, and there's a large shopping center near the intersection of Newport Blvd. and 19th St.

SO!!!! What happens in fish clubs?

Once a month we get together and listen to a speaker talk about fish or other aspects of the aquarium hobby, such as planted tanks, live food, or collecting trips. There are usually slides involved; sometimes the speaker brings fish from the group he is discussing and those go on our auction table. That's a generic "he", by the way; both genders get caught by fish. We ask the guest speaker questions and share ΓÇö what else ΓÇö fish tales with them and each other. We host speakers from both local and national venues. Some are known only to people involved with specific group of fishes; others are internationally respected. How many speakers we can feature, and whether they live nearby or come from other states or countries, is entirely dependent on how much capital we can raise through the year.

Occassionally we go on a field trips. These are loosely organized (as little as possible), non-restrictive group outings open to members of all ages and interests. In the past we have headed out toward the Salton Sea and to the homes of the endangered desert pupfishes to help in naturalists' efforts to reestablish their habitats. We have gone to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We have journeyed to Sacramento for a fish convention. We have descended upon a couple of our members' large fish rooms (and buffett tables) to see how they handle day to day operations involving hundreds and hundreds of fish. No topic is safe from the possibility of a field trip.

Joining a fish club means participating in the fun, food, and good times in much the same way people participate in social activity anywhere ΓÇö only here you will be amongst people who all have this one thing in common: something about fish utterly fascinates them, and they believe this fascination is a really good thing. Once a year, the club puts up a booth at the America's Family Pet Expo, an event showing off pets and pet supplies that occurs in several regions of the United States. .
The other good things that happen in COAST at each month's meeting is the capital-generating events: a buffett table where you can get lunch and snacks for two or three bucks (instead of cramming in a trip to McDonalds where the french fries alone are two or three dollars); a raffle where hobby related items donated by sponsors are won by ticket holders; a small supply sale of food, charcol, and fish bags; and lastly, an auction where members sell their fish, equipment and plants.

There is a Breeder's Award Program and a Horticultural Award Program to acknowledge people's success in getting their fish and plants to reproduce, and share information on how they succeeded. One important benefit to the club and other members of participation in these programs is the donation of resultant fry and baby plants to the club auction.

The club also puts out a monthly newsletter, called the Showfish, which can contain articles and pictures about different species of fish, how to grow a plant, disease prevention, or simply current events. The articles and pictures come from COAST members, other fish clubs' newsletters, and speakers we host. The Showfish trading post is also where members post items they have for sale or want to buy, and where you will find announcements of accomplishments or changes in their lives.

So, to answer the question of just what do you do in a fish club ΓÇö we have fun while expanding our capabilities as hobbyists and our knowledge of a subject which fascinates us.
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