Bucks County Aquarium Society Breeders Award Program

What is BAP?

BAP stands for Breeders Award Program and is BCAS’s way of showing our appreciation for members’ hard work in breeding and sharing knowledge about their fish. It also serves as a basis for collecting that knowledge and making sure it is available to other members who want to breed specific species.

2016 Changes to the Program

Our program was down for some time prior to 2016. Records were largely hardcopy at that time and we had an unfortunate loss of old entry forms. We have a new BAP Chairman with the start of 2016, we are switching record-keeping to digital form, and the decision has been made to start the program off from scratch. As of January 2016, everyone has been reset to 0 breeder points. It is our hope that refurbishing the program and putting everyone on equal standing will encourage the growth and participation in this program.


Breeders Award Program Rules and Requirements

Quick List of What You Submit for Points:

  1. Six fish fry of at least 60 days old, to be donated (or split) to BCAS for auction at the meeting. Labelled, both on the fish bag and on the auction form “BAP.”
  2. Completed BCAS BAP form.
  3. Extra points: A typed article of at least 250 words on the breeding/rearing of this fish, with at least one photo of adult fish and at least one photo of the set-up for breeding or rearing of fry. To be published in The Buckette, our newsletter.

Forms can be handed to the BAP Chairman at meetings or through email. Articles/photos should be emailed to the BAP Chairman, so that it is easier to send and get into The Buckette. The BAP chair will be prepared to work with you if you would like to make a substitution for the article for extra points.


Full Program Rules

Purpose:

This program is in place to promote the keeping and breeding of aquarium fish, to recognize and motivate achievement in the hobby, encourage research into the spawning of more difficult species, and to share knowledge about breeding and rearing techniques. This also ensures a steady stream of new topics for our presentations or newsletter, as well as new species to go through our auction. Above all, this program should be both fun and helpful to our members.

Participation Eligibility:

Person submitting fish for recognition must have a current membership in the Bucks County Aquarium Society. Points will be posted for 12 months after membership expires; however, point totals will remain on record with the BAP Chairman. Participation can resume when the member rejoins, and points will then be posted.

Fish Eligibility/Requirements:

  • Fish bred and offspring raised must be owned by and in the possession of the person submitting a request for BAP for recognition. You may not obtain eggs from another source to hatch and raise for this program, as you must complete both breeding and rearing aspects yourself.
  • The fry presented for donation must be at least 6 in number, of at least 60 days of age beyond the date they become free-swimming, and must be healthy. All fish submitted will be subject to visual inspection, any fish found to be unhealthy or defective will not be accepted.
  • It is up to the member to make sure that the specie is properly identified by its scientific name. It is at the BAP Chairman’s discretion to reject the identity of fish that do not look like the species they are labeled as. Forms can be edited/readmitted if rejection occurs, but not if the fish is found to be a hybrid.
  • Each species may be submitted for points once. Different locations or color/fin morphs of the same specie may be submitted through the BAP program, in order to have them listed in the BAP master list of breeders (so other members can find you/that fish if needed), but will not receive points for a second time. If the specie is later split into two species, points will be adjusted, but it is your responsibility to inform the BAP chairman if that occurs.
  • Fish for donation/split must be labeled “BAP” and likewise be put down as a BAP fish donation/split on the auction forms. Auction forms are used as a receipt for the fry requirement.

BAP Form Requirements:

It is important to fill out the form to the very best of your ability. It may be that you do not know the age of your parent fish, but you should know how long you have had them and that can give you a ballpark. Some fish only breed when they reach a certain age or size, so the more information you can provide, the easier it will be for other hobbyists to replicate your success. If you run out of room in one of the form fields, please feel free to use the back of the paper. This form should be in the hand of the BAP Chairman within 30 days of submitting fish for recognition, preferably on the same day you bring them. You should begin to fill it out when you have a spawn, so that you do not forget the spawn details.

The associated BAP Form can be download and printed out here. Bring the filled out document with you to the club meeting.

Optional Article Requirements:

  • This is meant to be a brief spawning/rearing account of the species you are seeking recognition for, of at least 250 words. You may certainly go over 250 words and your fellow hobbyists would really appreciate longer articles on the harder to breed species.
  • Articles must describe the maintenance and husbandry of the respective fish. In addition, breeding and fry rearing information is also required.
  • Must be typed, must be legible and ready for The Buckette.
  • Must include at least one publishable photo of the adult fish you are breeding and at least on publishable photo of the fry rearing set-up. This requirement is both a way of verification and a way of getting others interested in your fish. The photo helps others care, the article helps them succeed.
  • Article must be emailed to the BAP Chairman within 60 days of fish submitted (and before year end cut off to count for prizes), for points.
  • SUBSTITUTIONS: Every individual has their own strengths and if writing is not one of them, there is the option to do a verbal substitution for this article in order to get the article points.
    • A PowerPoint presentation of at least 15 minutes in length, containing the above information and pictures, at BAP Chairman’s discretion. (I.E. you can get points for doing a presentation at BCAS including your BAP specie.)
    • A recorded interview with the BAP chairman, to be published to the club website. This will be a quick, around 10 minute, conversation with you and the BAP chair about the spawning and raising of your fish. Preferably worked so that we can see your BAP fry in the bag or at your location so we can see parent examples.
    • Substitutions must be scheduled within the 60 article timeframe, because getting them actually accomplished will require cooperation with member and BAP chairman’s schedule. You may lose out on those points if the actual date is rescheduled by the member past the 60 day period, but not if the presentation is rescheduled by the club.

System of Points:

Within each class, fish are divided into point categories based upon the relative difficulty of spawning and/or difficulty in raising the fry. Fish are assigned values of 5, 10, 15, or 20 points. Upon successful completion of a spawning and the completion of program requirements, the breeder is given the appropriate number of points. The amount of points for each specie can be found in the Species Point Table. It is up to the BAP Chairman to maintain the table and to assign values to species that are not already on the table. There will be a listing of accumulated points on the BCAS website as well as awards given at BCAS meetings for certain points reached and classes completed. You will be awarded extra points for writing an article (or for a substitution) on your BAP species, at a rate of half the point number allotted to that species.

Points Awards:

The top three point-holders of each year will be awarded a gift card prize. This particular prize will count only the points accumulated for that specific year, so that new breeders are encouraged each year. After this program is running for a while after the 2016 re-vamp, we may introduce long-term prizes such as class plaques. Please feel free to let the BAP chairperson know if you have an example of long term prizes that have been received well at other clubs or that you think work very well.

BAP Standings:

A list of the current BAP standings for members, along with their point totals and associated fish species has been posted here.

Ruling Body of the Program:

The BAP Chairman is responsible for the review of the ongoing program, awarding proper credit, and maintaining records of all participants including all species spawned, copies of program requirements, classes credited and points awarded. Disputes must be brought to the attention of the BAP Chairman. If a resolution cannot be reached, the BAP Chairman shall bring the matter to the attention of the BCAS Board. Decisions of the BCAS Board are final.

Warning:

Any member abusing the rules and regulations of the BAP will be automatically stripped of all points and become ineligible for participation in the program for no less than 1 year. This program relies on the integrity of its members to continue to thrive.