Remember to vote on the September photos of the month in the Photo of the Month thread by Sept. 30.

September 13, 2025 Meeting - Josh Cunningham of Cunningham Tropicals

Title of Talk: "Introduction to Breeding Rift Lake Cichlids"

Join us Saturday, September 13, 2025 to learn how to breed Rift Lake Cichlids with Josh Cunningham! In addition to being a knowledgeable expert in the field and talented speaker, Josh runs Cunningham Tropicals and is offering our club a 15% discount off fish food and fish from his store! Review the following list for available stock and send an email to Josh at josh@cunninghamtropicals.com and mention Capital Cichlid Association Meeting Presale by Wednesday, September 10, 2025, midnight!

NOTE: Alternate location across the street at:

Glenallan Elementary School - All Purpose Room

12520 Heurich Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20902

Schedule:

• 1:00 PM Meeting starts
• 1:30 PM Speaker
• 2:30 PM Break
• 2:45 PM Mini-Auction and Raffle
• 4:00 Wrap up
• Early dinner / snack afterwards with Josh at a local restaurant

Speaker: Josh Cunningham

Josh has been keeping and breeding African Cichlids for over 20 years. He started with African Cichlids from Lake Malawi and a couple for Lake Victoria in a 400 sq ft basement. During this time, he was mainly breeding four to five different kinds of cichlids and trading the fry back to the pet store for food and filter media. At some point a decision was made to move to a different area and a bigger house. Once the move was completed he was without cichlids for a couple of years and then acquired a 55 gallon tank. Once the tank was setup and stocked, multiple tank syndrome kicked in again. He then expanded on some different species and kept a few tanks on the main floor of his house. At this point, he decided he wanted a fishroom in the basement, designs were made, tanks, and fish were purchased and a 'Fish Alcoholic" was born. His fishroom today has 87 tanks ranging from 15 to 180 gallons and in total is over 5,000 gallons.

To date he has spawned over 200+ kinds of African Cichlids from all three rift lakes and has achieved master breeder status in the Michigan Cichlid Association and Ohio Cichlid Association. He was also named Grand Champion breeder of the American Cichlid Association in 2015 for most spawns in a year. He spends his time in the fishroom doing water changes, tank maintenance, and working with different species. In addition, he also run a business called Cunningham Cichlids, LLC https://www.cunninghamcichlids.com. Josh served fours years on the Michigan Cichlid Association Board of Directors while holding President for three years and was Co-Chairmen of the 2017 American Cichlid Association Convention that took place on July 13-16 in Novi, Michigan. Before that Josh also served on the Board of Directors for the Ohio Cichlid Association for two years and just completed serving two years on the Board of Directors for the American Cichlid Association.

For our October 11 Meeting we return to our regular location at

JOHN F KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL:

1901 Randolph Rd, Wheaton-Glenmont, MD 20902

October 11, 2025 Double Speaker Feature and Mega Auction:

Mati Garcia of Uruguay Fish Tours and Zenzo Tazawa of Aquarium Co-Op!

For October's meeting, we will first hear from Mati Garcia who is visiting all the way from Uruguay to share his experiences and adventures with Uruguay Fish Tours, which gives individuals from around the world unique and unforgettable opportunities to go on fish collecting expeditions in Uruguay.

Mati Garcia

Then, we will enjoy a Mega Auction/Raffle extravaganza! Many generous organizations and businesses across the country have donated amazing auction/raffle items. Club members will also have an opportunity to auction fish and equipment. You won't want to miss out on this great chance to grab some amazing fish and equipment at unbeatable prices! (Anyone present can purchase items, only club members can sell).

Finally, we will end our time together with the one and only Zenzo Tazawa of Aquarium Co-Op!!! Zenzo is joining us from California to share his knowledge in his talk titled “My Aquarium Journey and Where it Has Led Me.” Zenzo is widely recognized as an expert in the hobby and gives talks sharing his passion at large and smaller events across the country.

Zenzo Tazawa

October Schedule:

• 12:30 PM Meeting starts/Socializing
• 1:00 PM Mati Garcia
• 2:00 PM Break
• 2:15 PM Auction and Raffle
• 4:30 Break
• 4:45 Zenzo Tazawa
• 5:45 Wrap up
• Join us for dinner with the speakers at a local restaurant afterwards