AquariumExpo 2013 is here!

would be awesome to see judging on betta's, discus etc by breeders and the local community. tasa tank of the month fish and pet yearly competition can be judged by the public at the event with an awesome prize. would see more entries also posted here on TASA to qualify. even some auctions would be nice

 

Took the wife and kids along this year. What a disapointment it was. Compairing to last years expo, this one was not up to standard. Yes, here and there were some nice things but I expected way more. Waist of time and money. The home expo had more to offer. Wanted to get some decent lights for my planted tank... some nice plants.... My LFS has more and better and cheaper stuff. On the other hand it was a nice outing all in all for the family including the scenic route my GPS took us on....hahaha!!! I doubt if I would attend next years expo though.

 

@Charles couldnt agree with you more found it a complete waist of time.... took the Mrs and thought i would show her how crazy and amazing the hobby can be and go there and was presented with the one question from her "is this it?" and i had to say i guess so ... very big let down

 

@Charles would have made my day to see your L46 at the expo

 

Guys...there was effort made...and the expo is still in its early stages, they will only learn from here and make it better, as they need our support. So lets not just see the bad, but the good and the effort that was put in by the guys that did make the effort to be there.

 

@Lanzo

Points noted. But then certain expectations should not be created in order to get the feet there and then there's failure to deliver on those expectations. Attending the expo ended up costing a lot of us a lot of money that could have been better spent at our lps / lfs with more on offer.

The add read that lifestock will be for sale. Also the latest and greatest in gadgets. That did not happen and resulted in the disappointment.

I expected to see things that I do not see in the stores everyday. I expected more, greater and better than what my lps has to offer. I expected to walk away with empty pockets and great new additions of hardware and lifestock for my tanks. I expected to walk around drooling over the latest gadgets etc. that I could not afford or have space for.

If indeed the show was about " showing the hobbyist new products and technology, getting new guys in the hobby" I think it failed dismally.

Nothing at the expo would've left me feeling that I just "HAVE" to get into this hobby - had I not been in it already. Your store would do just that (love it by the way) but the expo failed to do so. ADA and reverse osmosis is way above any "introduction" into the hobby. To get someone new into the hobby you have to show him a tank filled with beautiful plants and fish (like in your store) and then be able to sell him what he saw on display.

And I saw no new products / technology that left me feeling "WOW" I've got to get my hands on that.

Getting new people into the hobby takes about as much effort as a fishbowl with a betta in. Keeping people in the hobby and successfully so is the challenge.

I would however like to add that the effort that Dory Pets had put into their display showed. The guys on duty were also very attentive and helpful.

 

+1 for that suggestion.

 

+1 On HennieRoux 's suggestions.

Lol! Hooters may just be bigger and better next year! Think it's there to stay!

 

@Dinky

I agree with you totaly. @Lanzo your section was the best for me, personnel friendly and helpful. +1 For Dorry Pets!

@RobZombie

Yes it would be great to see Expensive Pleco's at a venue like this... but I will not be taking that chance with my Zebra's thank you. It's not impossible to do, but the logistics will be crazy. To many things might go wrong like trafic jams, road accidents, bad and cold weather etc etc etc. Nope, my Zebra's will stay safe and cosy right where they are now, in my living/fish room. Nice, warm and not stressed out. Just the way we like it...hahaha!

@Quue

Got the same response from my wife. Even the kids were disappointed as they were with me there last year as well. But for the guys that did show case their stuff, thanks for the effort and time and money invested.

 

@Charles haha totally understand, but if there were there i know i would have gone crazy and bought quite a few of them

 

Very good suggestion. If they could possibly have an "education" section where the true size of for instance Goldfish and Plecos are displayed and that they should not be kept in fishbowls, those kind of things along with the "setting up your first aquarium", would add great value to everyone new / existing. What the best fish for starting out are...

I keep getting a mini heart failure each time I'm in the lfs and they sell goldfish to a child. That's the start of great disappointment and tears and a premature end to a great hobby.

Bettas are a great way of introducing children to the hobby - one betta tank, set up correctly easily progresses into much more than that. Possibly have a "Betta" stand with Bettas on display and for sale along with the correct equipment and tanks and little tutorials about how to care for them (including heaters and filtration) etc.

My 4 year old loves taking care of his betta. It's an interactive and very much alive little fish when housed in the correct setup. Great way to start them out.

 

@Dinky i totally agree, if you want to grow the hobby in south africa no better way to start

 

Couldnt agree with you more. Also took the entire family along (at a cost of R250) just to see the TASA side of things. A very small scale of exhibitors and tanks on display. Drove from the Vaal yesterday and ended up at a local pet shop on Northrand road, after the expo, as i was unable to buy livestock and lighting at the expo.
Will definitely be giving next years expo a miss, if its on the same scale.

 

why not also get some of TASA members to help with he expo and also display photos of things like totm,potm and fotm from the past year up to the date of the expo!

south africa does have some great lps, to get more of the lps to display what they have and to offer!

 

can even have a DIY stand where members can help others and give ideas!

 

I’m really sorry there is so much disappointment in the expo. I was wondering why this might be seeing I thoroughly enjoyed both last year and this year.

Last year’s expo was held in June, just over a year ago. It was the first Aquarium Expo EVER in South Africa. I had been in the hobby for about 18 months and was very aware of the lack of ‘cool stuff’ for the hobby in SA. If you wanted something different you had to DIY it or bring it in yourself, risking the vagaries of the SAPO, from overseas. That’s why there is a WHOLE forum on TASA devoted to DIY.

It was only last year that ADA Aquasoil landed in SA. Plant tools – things like trimming scissors (never mind curved ones) and tweezers - long ones - were like gold. We all drooled over Sean’s and Angus’s ‘stuff’, which they had shipped in themselves. ‘Gee – is that what soil looks like close up – WOW!!’ There was a tense build-up to the expo. We were all SO looking forward to it. No matter what was there, it would have been fantastic because it was the FIRST!! It was a little small even last year, but I was grateful anyway because it meant the hobby was getting some exposure and there were enough people that were interested enough to start making a difference.

I am amazed that just 1 year later, we have the luxury of choice. We have a number of plant substrates to choose from, not just fluorite or DIY, which have all been brought into SA in the past year. We now discuss which is the best CO2 diffuser to buy, rather than how to DIY the best diffuser; which pet store has the cheapest, best, sexiest LED lights, rather than where can I find electronic ballasts. Remember those ugly things? T5 or T8 was the technical discussion. And it is all much cheaper now. What’s new this year? Previously you had to know people to get Rotala mac. Now you can select it off a hook, along with Micranthemum umbrosum with instructions and not in rock wool – that’s nice.

I don’t know, but maybe last year’s expo, which also had nothing much to buy, showed the importers, wholesalers and pet shops that there was a market for the ‘cool stuff’ we now take for granted in our LFS. When I started you could get an assortment of non-aquatic plants that soon die in your tank, which I know still happens. How much do you want to bet that next year this time we’ll be taking aquatic plants for granted?

So, how about looking at the bigger picture and not just that the specific thing you wanted wasn’t there? Give it time. With everybody’s constructive input we’ll soon be complaining that the expo was too packed and they need to split it into regions J

 

+2

 

Again...if we lose the support of our TASA members, there will not be a EXPO next year or ever again...I will be back to support next year, and I`m sure the orgenizers will listen to us and make it worth our while. Without our continious support it will die, and as @Jenn said, look how much we have progressed the hobby in SA the last year plus or so...lets give them another chance!

 

+1 hear hear!!