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October 12 CCA Meeting - Special Town Hall Session, a talk about Mbunas, and AMAZING raffle prizes!

Join us October 12 for a special meeting where we will hear a talk by Scott Seronello about keeping mbunas. Following Scott's talk, we will hold a special "Town Hall" session where we would like to gather feedback from our community and club members on topics such as: branding of CCA and potential name change, future direction of the club and activities/talks you'd like to see, and whatever else you'd like to discuss! This is your chance to have your voice heard!

Also, we will have TWO really exciting raffle items:

• 55 gallon tank set up with matten filter, substrate, and heater!
• A breeding group of M. Zebra Masinje!!!

• Meeting from 1:00-4:30 pm
• Socializing 1:00-1:30 pm
• Speaker at 1:30-2:15 pm
• Special Town Hall at 2:15-2:45 pm
• Break at 2:45-3:00 pm
• Auction at 3:00
• Early dinner for those interested afterwards

Speaker Bio: Scott Seronello

Dr. Scott Seronello has kept and bred African cichlids for 22 years starting with Lake Malawi mbuna and haps after graduating from college, quickly branching out to other Rift Lakes. He learned about setting up tanks and properly keeping cichlids from Kenneth Armke (sold his business to Dave Schumacher in 2006) before he retired.

Scott also got involved with conservation efforts and learning about cichlids in the wild, occasionally collaborating with Ad Konings until graduate school got in the way.

Scott got his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Virology working on Hepatitis C Virus models. After graduate school, he continued to keep a few tanks of cichlids even during his service in the US Army as a clinical microbiologist for 10 years. After medically retiring as a Major in 2021, Scott became more heavily involved in fishkeeping again, breeding and selling cichlids and plecos, as well as helping people set up African cichlid tanks.

November 9 CCA Meeting - Blake and SJ visiting from Richmond!

Join us November 9 for a talk about DIY skills to have for your dream fish room and how Blake and SJ built their 100+ tank fish room! It will be a very informative talk for both beginners and advanced aquarists alike!

****PLEASE NOTE WE ARE BACK AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR THIS NOVEMBER ONLY****
November 9 @ GLENALLAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: 12520 Heurich Road, Silver Spring MD 20902

• Meeting from 1:00-4:30 pm
• Socializing 1:00-1:30 pm
• Speaker at 1:30-2:30 pm
• Break at 2:30-2:45 pm
• Auction at 2:45
• Early dinner for those interested afterwards

Speakers Bios: Blake and SJ

Blake and Sonia (SJ) Jimenez-Calhoun are a married couple from Barboursville, VA with a dual love of freshwater fish keeping. SJ has kept fish off and on for more than 20 years, most recently re-entering the hobby in 2018. Blake had one goldfish as a child unsuccessfully. After moving in together in 2019 Blake grew fond of aquascaping, breeding fish, and what she calls “fish room engineering”. If SJ thinks it, Blake builds it! The couple expanded from one tank to more than 100 tanks over the last 6 years. By day Blake and SJ spend their time advising students at the University of Virginia. By night they pick spawning mops, feed off brine shrimp, and talk fish.

Coming Up: Holiday Party just around the corner! Be on the lookout for more details on our forum page!