# What happened to Canadian Aquatics?



## stratos (Apr 21, 2010)

So have Charles and Pat left the site as sponsors? Given that they have been sponsors of this site for almost 10 years I am surprised there has not been any more comment on their absence.


----------



## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Hmm I just saw their logo and name a few days ago I thought. Charles and Pat have always been great sponsors on BCA, but things change and I wish them both all the best in whatever they have decided to do in the future.


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Same here. I just visited their website a while back. There was no notification from Charles, Pat or the site admin about this change. Sorry to see them go. Good luck Charles & Pat.

Anthony


----------



## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

Unfortunately this site ain't wait it used to be. I still love it and try my best to contribute but it is what it is I guess


----------



## stratos (Apr 21, 2010)

I think that their almost 10 years of sponsorship deserve some kind of "lifetime membership" for their sub-forum, perhaps a new sub-section called "archived sponsors" or something like that. I believe there is some good knowledge buried in many of their old threads, knowledge that could easily lead new users here via Google search, etc.

To just delete it all because they don't pay a due seems silly and short sighted to me. The new reality of the internet is crowdsourcing. If the owners of this site know what is good for them they will even consider PAYING people to put up quality content.


----------



## aprilsaquarium (Aug 22, 2016)

I agree but it’d all
About the 500 or
More a year payment. I’ve
Also been a sponsor from the beginning of bcaquaria. 
Times are a changing I’m
Afraid . 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

That's seems very suspect to me. I know Pat and Charles have extremely good insight and input around aquatic challenges. I am not a big fan of seeing them just "disappear". Very sad to see.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## _noob (Oct 30, 2016)

Pat and Charles have always always been great to deal with, if they are gone from here that's unfortunate. I'll continue to support them, as well as other sponsers on here.


----------



## Kolewolf (Apr 21, 2010)

To echo Stratos....this site is better for having Canadian Aquatics on board. The site does not have the traffic that it used to 7 years ago and taking an important part of it away is incredibly short sited. The site needs to grow again before sponsorships should be charged. The site is lucky to have people like Pat and Charles from Canadian aquatics, April, Kim from Petland, and Eric from Fish Addicts.


----------



## barvinok (Nov 20, 2011)

I found this site 6 years ago when I was looking for local sours of daphnia and it was from Canadian Aquatics. 
Sad to see them go.


----------



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Kolewolf said:


> ......The site is lucky to have people like Pat and Charles from Canadian aquatics, April, Kim from Petland, and Eric from Fish Addicts.


And let's not forget Rick from Canadian Aqua Farms....

Respectfully,

Stuart

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## stratos (Apr 21, 2010)

CRS Fan said:


> And let's not forget Rick from Canadian Aqua Farms....
> Respectfully,
> Stuart
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


And then don't forget that Rick got his start in the business side of the hobby working for Winston at Pet Boutique, back in the day. And so we come full circle to Pet Boutique closing down, and now apparently Canadian Aquatics too.

The take away from this is that we all learn from each other, we are all one big circle; with our hobby and this website shrinking, the owners of this site should not delete years worth of Canadian Aquatics searchable postings. It is an anti-BCAquaria thing to do.

As noted earlier, I think the admin should make a designated sub-forum for past sponsors. Here is an example of one on a forum I have long sponsored: past sponsors

Assuming the mods have a private sub-forum, how about discussing the idea with the Youngster?


----------



## kivyee (Oct 15, 2016)

He might not be a sponsor on the site but as far as I know Pat and Canadian aquatics is still in operation - I just bought some stuff from him a week or so ago. Its a vicious cycle - traffic drops and you lose sponsors - you lose content, then you lose more traffic...ad nauseum...


----------



## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

Had several very satisfactory, pleasant dealings with Pat over the years - a really good guy - hope he maintains the business.

Also had the same great relationship with April & Rick over the years - good to see they're still actively with us.
Never did get to meet Charles, regrettably.
Other good BCA sponsor sources are well out of my residence area, unfortunately.


----------



## VElderton (Jun 3, 2015)

A few bubbles from me as well. 

Having dabbled in site / forum board admin a bit, keeping sponsors is tough and most hobby forums are run by volunteers. So that means how to attract sponsors ... there is no direct marketting staff. Traffic and exposure = more reason for Sponsors to jump on board. It's a business decision where a business can get the most value for dollar. Many hobbyists have moved off into the chatter-sphere of FaceBook, Instagram and Twitter, that means that focus forums like these attract less traffic and therefore sponsors with limited cash move elsewhere ... 

Personally the chatter-sphere is way too much information and I like the community feel of this and other forums so that's where I spend my on-line time but that is not the trend. I think the same is true of clubs ... the VAHS is a great club, great people, a couple social events and popular auctions that are well attended ... how many of us are members? 

Also as LFS become less and less available ... where are new hobbyists going to come from, where are we going to get solid advice and information that relates from this region as opposed to a site we discovered on the internet with water parameters and a context far different than our's? 

I can make a clear argument for the resurgence of forums and clubs, but if we want to keep them around, we have to support them and the sponsors that make make them possible.


----------



## Mykiss (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks for your kind words everyone! We still have CanadianAquatics in operation as our website is still up, but have decided to no longer become sponsors on BCA.

That being said, if anyone still has any questions or may need help with aquarium related stuff, feel free to PM, email, or text me. I'll still post on BCA, but not as a sponsor/store, but as a fellow aquarium hobbyist. I'm still into keeping and breeding fish and shrimps so that will never die. Thanks again for your kind words!

Pat


----------



## nigerian prince (Mar 8, 2013)

CRS Fan said:


> That's seems very suspect to me. I know Pat and Charles have extremely good insight and input around aquatic challenges. I am not a big fan of seeing them just "disappear". Very sad to see.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


To me this a gross failure by forum management/owners, the market has been down for years and showing no signs of reversing, the sponsorship fees should reflect that, especially for a decade long sponsor who has such a positive impact on the forum/community. Get in contact with C.A. and work something out.


----------



## Mick2016 (Jun 16, 2016)

Re: " . . . the sponsorship fees should reflect that."


---------------

Nigerian Prince and Aprilsaquarium:

If I understand your comments correctly, you have presumed that a "costly" Annual Fee is the reason for CA's departure. However, I cannot determine - from what has been posted in this thread - if the issue was simply of matter of "expense." To be fair all around, there could be other factors of which we have not been made aware and, of course, CA is under no obligation to explain.


----------



## Mick2016 (Jun 16, 2016)

Deleted DUPLICATE posting.


----------



## Mick2016 (Jun 16, 2016)

Sorry, Folks, for the duplicate post.The Site seems to be acting up a bit. It reformatted my message, so I tried to edit the post the way in which I intended. However, the same message was sent in same format as the first entry. The EDIT wheel just keeps spinning and I am unable to delete the second (#19) post. Problem occurs on iPad, laptop and desktop.

Site issue?


----------



## Lutefisk (Jun 29, 2014)

Thanks, Pat, for chiming in. I'm not the most active member, but I'll admit I had a mini heart attack when I logged in and didn't see the Canadian Aquatics aub-forum. Glad to hear you're still around, and I'd like to add my voice to those who'd like past content to remain searchable.


----------



## Kenta (Apr 28, 2010)

I logged in today to do some research and get back in the "fish scene" and was surprised how dead it is here. I went looking for the usual reliable sources of information and I also noticed Canadian aquatic was gone. Sad to see it going this way.


----------



## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

Kenta said:


> I logged in today to do some research and get back in the "fish scene" and was surprised how dead it is here. I went looking for the usual reliable sources of information and I also noticed Canadian aquatic was gone. Sad to see it going this way.


A forum is kind of like a fish tank. If you don't look after it, it will slowly die off. With all the other internet competition it takes some effort and imagination to keep up interest. Even then it would be a struggle. In the old days they had monthly draws open to regular posters. This seemed to help encourage participation. But in order to work, it must be regular and consistent. BCAquaria is a business, and giving away prizes isn't economical to do.


----------



## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Oh looky - Canadian Aquatics sub-forum is back in its place!


----------



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Shazam!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

TomC said:


> A forum is kind of like a fish tank. If you don't look after it, it will slowly die off. With all the other internet competition it takes some effort and imagination to keep up interest. Even then it would be a struggle. In the old days they had monthly draws open to regular posters. This seemed to help encourage participation. But in order to work, it must be regular and consistent. BCAquaria is a business, and giving away prizes isn't economical to do.


I am sending a PM to the admin to see if it would be possible to reactivate some sort of participation prize/contest. Unfortunately, with 2 little kids, 7 tanks at home, 7 school tanks, work & other commitments, I may not have the time to organize such a draw on my own. If I can get the owners to agree then I'll have to find someone or a couple of people to help run it.

Anthony


----------



## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I might be able to help with a draw, depending on what is required.


----------



## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

I am talking to the admin to see what I am and I am not supposed to do in the sub-forum. Stay tune.


----------

