ECAAC Programs
Specialist Breeder Program
Recognising aquarists who pursue excellence. The Specialist Breeder Program (SBP) recognises members who demonstrate exceptional commitment to breeding specific classes of fish. By developing deep knowledge, maintaining detailed records, and contributing to species diversity, these breeders play a vital role in promoting responsible aquatics within the ECAAC community.
I. Purpose
What the program is here to do
The Specialist Breeder Program is designed to:
- To encourage members of ECAAC to breed fish and share knowledge concerning the spawning and rearing of fish.
- To recognize the achievements of ECAAC members concerning the breeding of fish.
- To promote an interest in and make available a wider variety of fish.
- To encourage more members to be active participants in society.
II. Lifetime Achievement Award
Four levels, built on category expertise
The program contains four levels of achievement, awarded to members who have demonstrated dedication to breeding specific classes of fish. Certificates or plaques will be awarded to breeders in each category — the number of species required to reach each level depends on the fish category, and is set out in the Species Requirements table below.
Specialist
Entry-level recognition — see the species count required for your category below.
Senior Specialist
Deeper coverage of a category, building on your Specialist total.
Master
Broad, sustained expertise across most species available in the category.
Grand Master
The category's top tier — comprehensive coverage of the group's species.
You don't submit to SBP separately
In addition to the standard Breeding Awards Program (BAP), every member who submits a qualifying spawn is automatically included in the Specialist Breeder Program. Your verified BAP spawns are tallied by category behind the scenes — there's no extra form. If you're not already logging spawns, start with the BAP submission form.
III. SBP Rules and Class Requirements
How spawns count toward a category
The rules for participation are the same as for the standard BAP, with the following exceptions:
Specialization Award
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, and Clown), or 6 fish that spawn similarly (e.g. bubble-nesters, mouth-brooders, cave-spawners, etc.).
- Before an attempt at a specialization award, the ECAAC chair, or their appointee, must approve it.
- 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.
How points are counted
- Each qualifying spawn submitted generates 1 point towards that category, regardless of the species' BAP difficulty class.
- A species may only be counted once per category — colour or fin-type variants of the same species count as a single spawning (e.g. White Calvus and Black Calvus count as one; Tiger Barbs and Green Tiger Barbs count as one).
IV. Species Requirements by Category
Find your category's thresholds
To progress through the Specialist levels, members must spawn the following number of species within each category. Each column shows the number of different species required to reach that level.
| Category | Specialist | Senior Specialist | Master | Grand Master |
|---|
Already breeding within a category?
If you've been logging spawns through the Breeding Awards Program, you may already be closer to a Specialist tier than you think — check your category above, or ask the committee for your current tally.
Submit a spawning