I. Purpose

What the program is here to do

Our Breeder Awards Program is designed to:

• Encourage members of ECAAC to breed aquatic species and share knowledge concerning their spawning and rearing.
• Recognise the achievements of ECAAC members concerning the breeding of aquatic species.
• Promote an interest in, and make available, a wider variety of aquatic species.
• Encourage more members to be active participants in the society.
• Reduce the environmental strain of collecting endangered and wild-caught species.
• Share knowledge of breeding techniques.

For the purposes of this program, "aquatic species" includes fish as well as invertebrates (such as shrimp and snails) and aquatic amphibians (such as Axolotl) listed in the species classifications.

III. What Counts as a Qualified Spawn

Five conditions, all required

A spawning qualifies for points only when all of the following are met:

• A minimum of 10 fry (5 for Class D and E species, and for marine species) are raised by the member.
• The fry survive for at least 60 days past the free-swimming stage (30 days for marine species and Class E species, at the committee's discretion).
• The parents are owned by the member and identified to species level. If identification cannot be confirmed, the committee may assign a code number for recording purposes until identification is made.
• The spawn is logged with the committee within 30 days of reaching the free-swimming stage, with the survival period verified thereafter.
• Each species earns Lifetime Achievement points once only, regardless of how many times it is spawned or in how many varieties. (Repeat spawns may still count toward Breeder-of-the-Year — see Special Awards.)

VI. Special (Non-Point) Awards

Additional achievements and specialisations

These awards celebrate achievements beyond the core point system.

• No fish may be entered for a special award that has not also been entered in the Lifetime Achievement program. A species may be used in more than one Special BAP Program; each program must be submitted separately, although they may be submitted at the same meeting.
• Breeder-of-the-Year — awarded to the BAP participant with the highest BAP point total earned in a given calendar year (1 January to 31 December), announced at the first general meeting of the following year. Species previously used for Lifetime Achievement may be respawned and entered for Breeder-of-the-Year once each calendar year, though they earn Lifetime Achievement points only once. In the case of a tie, the award goes to the breeder whose qualifying spawns include the most recent first-time species for the club; if still tied, the committee decides by vote.
• Specialization Award Program (SAP) — an aquarist must spawn 6 different members of one family of fish (e.g. Cichlidae, Anabantidae, Callichthyidae), or 6 different and distinct trade-recognised colours and/or fin types (e.g. Angelfish — Koi, Gold, Black, Blushing, Silver, Clown), or 6 fish that spawn similarly (e.g. bubble-nesters, mouth-brooders, cave-spawners).
• A member pursuing a Specialization Award must declare the intended specialization to the ECAAC chair, or their appointee, for approval. The declaration may be made at any point before the sixth qualifying spawn is submitted; spawns already logged in the Lifetime Achievement program may count retrospectively toward the declared specialization.
• When obtaining a Specialization Award for a similar spawning method, at least two families must be represented.
• The participant is responsible for maintaining records to show the six species spawned for a Specialization Award.

Species Classifications & Point Values

Find your species' class

Point values scale with how challenging a species is generally considered to breed and raise. Species not listed will be assigned a class by the committee at the time of submission.