Wow, where has July/summer/this year gone? Tempus fugit.
For general info on the GFSA publication, The Goldfish Report, and specific instructions for authors, take a look here. This page is updated as information is provided to the Webmaster.
If you have let your membership lapse or have been thinking about joining the GFSA, now is a great time - here is a form you can print. To submit material for the Goldfish Report to our editor, please see the updated society contact info. Articles and photos in electronic form are particularly appreciated.
The current line-up of people filling the GFSA offices is on the society officers page. The GFSA Board of Directors continues 2008 with a focus on ensuring that the society is undertaking activities and providing services that our members want. Tell us if there is something you really want (even better, volunteer to help us do it).
Interested in joining the GFSA but still not sure? We have two sample Goldfish Reports available to download, to demonstrate that every issue is packed with thought provoking information and pictures available nowhere else. We are also promoting an electronic membership option that significantly lowers the cost of membership! Only $10US gets you a year of informative, timely color issues of the GFSA's Goldfish Report, sent directly to your email inbox.
Lessons Learned "Quick Hits"
We are soliciting short lessons-learned from hobbyists: events that possibly left you sadder, but measurably wiser. Have a good one? Please send it to the .
A belated pond cleaning in June revealed that a pond, 90% covered with 1/4 inch mesh, had sustained the loss of 75% of the fish to herons. A Great Blue Heron had been seen in the yard, but prior to the cleaning it was assumed that the covering was sufficient. Another smaller pond, 2/3rds covered, had 4 of 5 fish eaten. That the bird(s) could take advantage of such minor security lapses was obviously a surprise. The point? Well, a lesson-learned is that if there is an opportunity for a predator to get at your fish, they will eventually take advantage of it. Another is that if you let your pond get packed with enough plants etc. it may prevent you from keeping track of your fish (and realizing that you are being raided), while not really giving your fish a lot of security through concealment.
Do people have experiences with ways to deter (not harm, obviously) predators, particularly herons, that are simple, affordable and aesthetically not too intrusive? I hate having wire over all my outside containers, really diminishes the appreciation of the water lilies and other plants.