Today, November 1st is the official kick-off of the MASM Breeding Initiative. We gave you some basic information regarding the Initiative not to long ago via emails and on many of the popular forums with a note that there would be more to come. As promised I come to you with all the details now.
Purpose
1. To encourage spawning of marine ornamental fish and invertebrates.
2. To share knowledge of captive breeding techniques.
3. To enable more people to participate in captive breeding.
4. To recognize outstanding achievement in the captive breeding of marine ornamental fish and invertebrates.
5. To create a pool of information for hobbyists and professionals to use in breeding of established and untried species.
6. To encourage the reduction in reliance on wild caught animals for the marine aquarium hobby by substituting tank raised specimens for wild caught specimens wherever possible.
Time
The first Initiative will run from November 1st 2009 till December 31th 2010
Eligibility
The MASM Breeding Initiative is open to anyone interested in captive breeding. MASM membership is not a requirement although creating a breeding log on the MASM forum is a requirement. This Initiative applies only to propagation via sexual reproduction. Specimens propagated via asexual means such as fragging or splitting are not included in the MBI.
General
Species will be divided into classes based on difficulty. Classes are grouped generally as follows: Class A-Easiest species to breed in captivity Class B-More difficult Species but still regularly bred in captivity Class C-Species considered very difficult to breed in captivity Class D-Species never or hardly ever successfully bred in captivity
You can find a complete list of all currently classified species at: http://www.masm.org/mforums/tm.aspx?m=31776
Points will be awarded as follows:
Points will be awarded at 4 stages during the breeding process; spawning event, hatching event, metamorphosis, and 60 days post-metamorphosis (or 60 days after birth if live bearing species).
Class A: 60pts Class B: 120pts Class C: 300pts Class D: 700pts
Points will only be awarded once per species. In other words, you don't have to start from scratch every time a pair spawns, but you only get points for that species spawning, hatching, etc. once.
You can see more information on the points system at: http://www.masm.org/mforums/tm.aspx?m=31775
Breeder Levels
The following is a list of the breeder levels and awards:
Apprentice
Fledgling Breeder
Novice Breeder
Journeyman Breeder
Established Breeder
Progressive Breeder
Advanced Breeder
Expert Breeder
Master Breeder
Grand Master
All participants must start a Breeder's Log on the MASM Breeding Journals forum and post updates and pictures during the program for each species that they are working with. The Breeder's Journal Forum can be found at: http://www.masm.org/mForums/tt.aspx?forumid=86
Participants will receive awards for reaching specific milestones during the MBI. These may include certificates, plaques, and/or trophies.
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Marinelife Aquarium Society of Michigan http://www.masm.org
The MBI Dashboard is now Online!
If you are new to breeding or are trying a new species you can find valuable information by using MASM's MBI Dashboard at: http://www.masm.org/mbi_DashBoard.aspx.
The DashBoard will let you view statistics on the MASM Breeding Initiative and search Spawn, Hatch, Settlement, and Post Settlement reports that have been submitted by others. It's a great tool to give you a head start and find out how others are succeeding with different species.
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Marinelife Aquarium Society of Michigan http://www.masm.org
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