PlanetCatfish.com

The old salts around here tell me that Michigan used to be a hotbed of fishkeeping activity in the 70's, and I know of a good number of companies that started here. Even the first all-glass aquariums (O'Dell) were made right here in Saginaw!

OK so living in Saginaw has never been particularly good to me, and finding other aquarists with similar interests has been much the same situation (everybody around here is still enthralled with rift lake sicklids). Sure, my interests may not be terribly restricted and even include a few assorted Malawians & Victorians, but the general vibe here is "every man for himself" with very little in the way of general comradery (this seems to be universal for all aspects of Saginaw in particular). Alot of this might have something to do with the scads of petshops we have here, almost none of which could be remotely considered ethical or upstanding.

If you're assuming there's no aquarium organizations in my area, you would be absolutely right!

The Detroit area has a few clubs I've been meaning to check out, but the word is even their membership is quite low. At least they have a few well-stocked shops that are worth visiting though (Tropical Treasures, Oceans & Seas, Aquatic Discoveries, etc), but I have to make a full day trip or a weekend out of visiting any of them. I don't mind that so much, but I would like to try keeping more of my dealings close to home for obvious reasons.

Anyways, sorry to make this so long.. But if you're from the Flint area or anywhere north of it (Saginaw, Bay City, Midland & surrounding towns), please post here to help keep me from thinking there's nothing but chain store shoppers, sicklid nuts, and guys that feed nothing but goldfish to their predators around here...thanks!


Tyler
Partner in HerpHelpers Reptile Rescue & Rehab..
..and veteran of employment in way too many shabby local petshops.

P.S. I mean no disrespect to sicklidophiles as I have many myself, but I'm certainly not the first to say there's more to life than Sicklidae.. ;)

Well as much as I still like some sicklids, and as organized as the Michigan Cichlid Association may be, I've just about lost all interest in "talking shop" about the subject if it drifts to Malawians or Tanganyikans. Now if a rare someone mentions Crenicichla, Paratilapia, Ptychochromis, or even just eartheaters & acaras, that's another story!

I do intend on making an appearance at any & all meetings held here in the state when I have time (there are 2 general aquarium societies, those are what I was referring to), just living in a town full of jerkoffs and being well over an hour from anything in & around Detroit doesn't give me the best viewpoint on the status of the hobby here.

Any Michiganders out there want to give me at least a shred of hope? hehe

The Texas c*****d Association just paid to have me come down to give a presentation on Spawning Loricariidae.

I've just come back from the BCA convention in Ammersham. Where Coryman and myself was representing the CSG
Although Cichlids are down my list of fav's. This years lecture was on central American cichlids and the invited speaker was Juan Miguel Artigas-Azas
http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Collaborat ... cfm?ID=772
His talk was not only informative and well presented, it also contained references to catfishes, I for one,quite enjoyed the talk, and if you listen between the lines! you can get information about habitats, that one day may prove useful if some of these catfishes come your way

I went to my first show this past weekend. I didn't know a soul. I got brave and introduced myself to a lot of people. I learned a ton and even met some familiar names from this website(and the people are really cool). I hope to join a local club in the near future(if work doesn't swallow me whole!). I'm not a social butterfly nor a "rah-rah" type by any means. I tend to keep to myself. But, it was nice meeting other people who didn't freak out at the mention of bloodworms or the T-position over dinner.
Amanda

DeepFriedIctalurus wrote:Any Michiganders out there want to give me at least a shred of hope? hehe

Hi, I am a little ways below Flint, enjoy a few synos alongside my cichlids, and really don't follow your agenda. Are you looking for shop recommendations? Or are you just complaining about their not being many people involved in fish, then recognizing that there are quiet a number involved in cichlids, but discrediting them? OR ... are you just jealous that there isn't a NLP fish club? I know of the Southwestern MI club, the MCA, the Motor City Club, a club existing at Grand Valley, the Aqurium Society of Ann Arbor, ect ....

Please explain!

I can't speak to the Flint area, but I'm very satisfied with the Ypsi/Ann Arbor's fish availability. Fantastic Fins in Livonia has dozens of pleco varieties and Fish Doctors (Ypsi, Trenton, Canton) does fantastic saltwater and can get almost any freshwater fish. I just bought a 6" Synodontis Eupterus for $15 yesterday.

I haven't been to any clubs, but have heard that the Detroit area clubs are worth joining. Hopefully there are a few in your area. Good luck!

Andy