“Goals are like a map. They help us determine where we want to end up, and give us personal direction on which to focus our energy.” — Catherine Pulsifer
WHAT IS THE SAWGG BREEDERS & GROWERS AWARD PROGRAMS?
BAP and GAP are vital in the organized aquarium hobby for:
- Distributing species for hobbyists to work with
- Recognizing achievements in fish breeding and plant propagation
- Supporting conservation of endangered species
How the Program Works:
Fish you breed, and plants you propagate, are submitted at one of our monthly meeting auctions with the online submission form (above). Your submissions are tallied, and Rank Awards and Specialty Certifications are presented to you at a monthly meeting ceremony. Also, the club awards Breeder and Grower of the Year Trophies annually to the member with the most spawns / propagations. Participation in the BAP & GAP is completely optional but highly encouraged as it greatly enhances the club experience for all our member .
THE RANK AWARD PROGRAM
1 point is awarded per species variety one time only. SAWGG recognizes that many fish in the hobby are hybrids (platies, mollies, rainbows, tiger barbs, zebra cichlids, etc, etc) and awards points for BOTH wild species and “retail hybrid” cultivars.
This is different than most BAP Programs that only award points one time per species. SAWGG’s BAP is designed to encourage more fish varieties to circulate in the club. EXAMPLE: A wild P. scalare Angelfish spawn will receive 1 point, and a Bulgarian Angelfish spawn will also receive 1 point (2 points total).
Additional submissions of the same species variety are automatically credited to Specialist Certification.
Rank Awarded | 1st Submissions | Min Cumulative Classes (see below) |
| Fish Breeder / Aquatic Plant Grower | 10 | 2 |
| Advanced Breeder / Grower | 20 | 3 |
| Senior Breeder / Grower | 30 | 4 |
| Expert Breeder / Grower | 40 | 5 |
| Master Breeder / Grower | 50 | 6 |
| Grand Master Breeder / Grower | 60 | 7 |
THE SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Certification is earned after spawning at least 5 species or cultivars & 10 spawns in one of these Classes:
| BAP Specialist Certification Classes: |
| AB Labyrinth Fish RI Beloniformes (ricefish, etc) CO Mouth-Brooding Cichlids (2 genera min) CN Substrate-Brooding Cichlids (2 genera min) TR Tetras (characids) CT Catfish (2 genera min) LV Livebearers (2 family min) CY Cyprinids (2 family min) KS Substrate-Spawning Killifish KW Water-Spawning Killifish MF Marine Animals NA Native Fish BL Botias/Loaches/Eels IN Invertibrates (1 shrimp min) RB Rainbowfish & Blue Eyes (2 genera min) AM Amphibians LC Live Food Cultures |
| GAP Specialist Certifications Classes: |
| SP Stem Plants (3 stems min) EC Echinodorus (Amazon Swords) AC Aponogeton & Crinums CR Cryptocorynes FP Floating Plants RP Rosette Plants AL Anubias / Lagenandra / Bucephalandra FM Non-Floating Ferns & Mosses AW Waterlilies (tropical and hardy req’d) PW Pond Marginals (emersed) MP Marine Plants & Algaes |
Skylands Aquarium & Water Garden Group 