Rules

General Rules

A (fish, snail, or shrimp) species may be turned-in only once for points by any one participant. Both species and subspecies that are recognized as naturally occurring are accepted and each may receive full points.

Eggs must be obtained from your own spawning and not purchased from an outside source, such as the A.K.A. (American Killifish Association).

Any Paid-up member of MAS (Minnesota Aquarium Society) is eligible to participate in the program.

The name of a fish, scientifically, is recognized as Genus-species-subspecies. A subspecies, as accepted by the BAP Committee, is a naturally occurring population that is putatively recongized as different from another subspecies. Distinctions by location are not enough to distinguish populations as a different subspecies.

Subspecies will be recognized by the BAP program if they are those found in publications acceptable to the BAP Committee. If the 'scientific community' later recognizes a fish (subspecies) to be a truly different species, or the taxonomic name(s) are changed, the BAP Committee will reclassify each subspecies appropriately.

All fish MUST be registered by scientific name. If you know that the scientific name has changed recently, please add the previous synonyms (previous scientific name) to the description or label when as you submit the bag. This will be helpful when pointing your fish.

If a species undergoes a change of name or point value assigned to it, the breeder will never receive less points than origianlly awarded and will receive the additional points if the point value increases. While BAP will try to identify such scenarios, ultimately the burden of proof falls onto the participant.

If a participant feels a species should receive more points, or if a submission is really of a different species than what BAP assumes, that participant should make a case to the BAP Chair. We may request written proof or testimony, requiring more than word-of-mouth .

Disputes:

In all BAP issues (points, species identification, etc.), the BAP Committee has final authority to settle any disputes and their decision is final.

Verification:

BAP chair and committee reserves the right to request verification for any submission of 10 or more points. Verification may include a visit to the breeder's fishroom by an MAS members in good standing to witness the fry and breeding operation. For any spawn submitted, the breeder is responsible for being able to report the month of spawn, conditions of spawn and rearing, and an estimated of the number of fry.

To maintain the integrity of the BAP program, two conditions are likely to require closer verification before points are given: [1] A BAP submission of fish that are obviously beyond the fry stage, and [2] a submission of a species for which there is a known distribution of similar fry circulating in the area. In these cases, the breeder should be able to provide the following information to help BAP verify the submission:

- in what month were the specimens spawned
- roughly how many fry were obtained from the spawn
- What happened to the other fry? BAP may want to verify the evidence of the other fry from those who obtained or witnessed them.
- If the submitted fish were obviously more than 4 months old, why did the submitter wait until this age to submit them?

While verification is not always required, we ask BAP participants to welcome verification requests as a way to maintain the program's integrity as well as a way to share one's breeding successes.

Point Classification

The BAP Committee will be responsible for the point classification of each fish registered.

Should the points for a submitted species change (for one reason or another), the breeder will retain all points initially awarded even if the point value drops, and the breeder will receive any additional points should the point value increase.

Awarding of Points:

At least four (4) fry must be submitted to a sanctioned BAP auction in order to receive BAP points. All such submissions are considered donations so that all proceeds go to the BAP program.

Participants spawning freshwater fish with BAP point values of 20 and 25 my be asked to have the spawns verified by a BAP Committee member. A BAP Committee member should verify the spawning of any marine fish.

Submitting a bag into the BAP program is the breeder's implicit statement that he/she bred and raised these fish and that they meet the requirements (such as a minimum of 60 days of age).

Articles (text or video) detailing the raising and care of fry or spawning experiences are not required, but are encouraged. These will be posted on the BAP website. Should the AquaNews (publication of MAS) be active, it will be made available to that publication's editor.

BAP Auctions:

To be awarded BAP points and recognition, at least four (4) fry must survive to 60 days post hatch, or post-birth for livebearers; and at least four (4) young fish must be auctioned at a sanctioned BAP auction.

A BAP-sanctioned event are typcially held at an in-person BAP meeting or through an online MAS auction.

The proceeds of the auction of all fish submitted for BAP points shall go to the aquarium society. The proceeds are to be used for awards to participants, other BAP-related perks, and expenses of running this program.

To encourage breeders of rare and/or valuable fish to participate in the BAP program, a limit for the Society's 'cut' of an auctioned item is set at $30.00. All bids above that amount will go to the breeder (if the breeder requests the club do so). The breeder may bid on his/her own item, and will never have to pay more than the frist $30/