James River Aquarium Society Breeder Awards Program (7-18)
The James River Aquarium Society (JRAS) has established a Breeder Awards Program (BAP) to encourage the responsible breeding of a wide variety of fish by members in good standing. Points will be summarized continuously as well as summarized annually, January 1- December 31, and breeders with the most points in a calendar year will be recognized at each January meeting. There will also be recognition annually for the breeder with the most cumulative points over multiple years. Points will be awarded for the successful raising of fry for at least 30 days. A point scale is established to encourage breeding of rare species or more difficult species.
PURPOSES OF THE BREEDER AWARD PROGRAM:
1. To promote the breeding of fish, particularly rare, endangered and difficult to breed species
2. To encourage research, particularly into spawning methods for more difficult species
3. To preserve genetic quality of a species while increasing its availability
4. To share knowledge among club members through presentations and written submittal
5. To recognize outstanding achievement
THE BREEDER AWARDS COMMITTEE
The Breeder Awards committee shall consist of a Chairman appointed by the President and two additional members appointed by the Chairman. The committee is responsible for:
1. Enforcing the rules of the committee
2. Verifying spawns when requested to do so
3. Keeping track of submitted spawning reports
4. Awarding points for successful spawns
5. Keeping track of points awarded
VERIFYING A SPAWN FOR POINTS
1. A Breeder Award Form must be completed and submitted to the BAP committee chairman by a member in good standing.
2. The spawn must be verified between spawning and 10 days of free swimming and again after 30 days.
3. Verification may be made by any other JRAS member in good standing or by submitting photo or video evidence of the spawn to the BAP committee members. There will be no self-verification.
4. A spawn or live fry drop must come from fish that have been in the breeder’s own tank long enough for fertilization and egg development to have occurred in the breeder’s own tank. An example of this is if a breeder buys a female Guppy the Guppy’s first drop of fry must be ignored and time allowed for her to breed with the breeder’s own male. A spawn eligible for points is defined as the raising of fry to the age of 30 days.
5. Points may be awarded to each participant only once for each species. Hybrids of two species are not eligible for points. Man-made color variations or body shapes do not count as separate species. Species not listed that an aquarist is planning to spawn should be brought to the attention of the BAP Chairman.
6. It is hoped that in addition to the Breeder Award Form, a written article (paragraph form) covering set up, spawning, and raising of the fry will be submitted to the BAP chairman. The purpose of this report is the education of club members and, with the member's permission, it may be placed on the club's website. An oral presentation may also be given to club members at a monthly meeting but is not required for the awarding of points. For an oral presentation, the BAP Chairman will notify the Club President so that the oral report may be added to the agenda of the monthly meeting.
NOTIFICATION OF A CHANGE OR MODIFICATION IN RULES
On occasion, the BAP committee may decide that modifications in the rules or procedures are advisable. These changes may result from petitions by BAP participants or by new information gained about particular species. The BAP committee shall review the rules and procedures after one year to evaluate this program and make changes as necessary. Changes will be published and will become effective, for all subsequent spawnings, immediately.
Reassignment of fish species to new point categories will be a continuous process for the BAP committee. Any member breeding a particular fish may petition the committee to consider a reassignment of point value on that specie. This must be done before or at the time of submission of the BAP report form, prior to the awarding of points.
Reassignment of a species to a higher value will be retroactive for all previous participants but reassignment to a lower category will not invalidate previously awarded points.
AWARDS
1. Beginning Breeder--has attained 50 breeder points from any category
2. Intermediate Breeder--has attained Beginning Breeder status and a total of 150 breeder points from any category
3. Advanced Breeder--has attained Intermediate Breeder status and a total of 300 breeder points, including 100 points from 15 - 50 point categories
4. Master Breeder-- has attained Advanced Breeder status and a total of 500 breeder points, having spawned at least 3 species from the 30 - 50 point categories
5. Grand Master Breeder--has attained Master Breeder status and has spawned at least one additional species from the 50 point category, over and beyond those spawned for Master Breeder status