Schedule

Sat, Jan 8 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 4 pm

Monthly meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm Lightning Talk: Gerry Hoffman "The 30-year-old, well-planted and established tank... and, it leaks!!!"

1:45 pm Feature Presentation: Dr. Riva Riley "Corydoras Social Patterns"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

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*** Fairfax City mask requirement still in place, no exceptions.

Sat, Feb 5 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 4 pm

Monthly meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm Lightning Talk: Andrew Blumhagen "All-Aquarium Catfish

Convention History and Plans for 2022"

1:45 pm Feature Presentation: Dr. Kate Bemis "Three-Tooth Puffer (Triodon macropterus)"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Sat, Mar 5 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 4 pm

Monthly meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm Lightning Talk: Randall Blancard "From Glofish to Shrimp"

1:45 pm Feature Presentation: Dr. Ted Coletti "Take It Outside:

Summer tubbing for fish breeding and water gardening"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

*** Sunday ***, Apr 3 | Green Acres Center | 10 am - 5 pm

Spring All-Day Auction

8:30 am Set-up

10:00 am Registration opens

10:30 am Tag sale opens

10:45 am Auction opens

1:00 pm First raffle

3:00 pm Second raffle

4:00 pm Bidding winds down

5:00 pm Take-down

Monthly meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm Lightning Talk: Shadi Alhusary "Fish?!"

1:45 pm Feature Presentation: Andrew Blumhagen "Overlooked and Underrated: Some of my favorite freshwater fish"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Sat, May 7 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 4 pm

Sat, Jun 4 | Green Acres Center | 12 - 5 pm

Half-day shrimp event

11:00 am Set-up

12:00 pm Socializing

12:15 pm Announcements

12:30 pm Feature Presentation: Erik Lucas "Keeping and Breeding Shrimp"

1:45 pm Workshop: Erik Lucas "Grading and Culling Shrimp"

3:00 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Bowl Show & Indoor Picnic

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Register fish and set out hospitality buffet

1:30 pm Eat

2:00 pm Judging and admiring fish, voting for People's Choice

3:00 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Awards

4:30 pm More mini-auction and take-down

Sat, Jul 9 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 5 pm

Monthly meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm In Memoriam: Gerry Hoffman "Remembering Ron Leftwich"

1:45 pm Feature Presentation: Dave McGrew "A Beginning Freshwater Breeder's Guide: Techniques, tools, trigger and tips"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Sat, Aug 6 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 4 pm

Monthly meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm Lightning Talk: Andrew Blumhagen "Bagging Fish"

1:45 pm Workshop: Dean Tweeddale "Dean's Fry System"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Sat, Sep 3 | Green Acres Center | 1 - 4 pm

Sat, Sep 17 | National Zoo | 10:30 am

Tour of Amazonia life support systems

Nick Little will provide a private tour of the life support systems at the Smithsonian National Zoo Amazonia Exhibit (and perhaps the sea lions too). This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes peek at one of the largest water filtration systems you'll ever see. The tour can only accommodate 6 people. We will have a sign-up sheet.

All-Aquarium Catfish Convention

Fri & Sat, Oct 7-8 | Hyatt Herndon | All-Day

*** SUNDAY ***, Oct 9 | Hyatt Herndon | 10 am - 6 pm

Fall All-Day Auction

8:30 am Set-up

10:00 am Registration opens

10:30 am Tag sale opens

10:45 am Auction opens

1:00 pm First raffle

3:00 pm Second raffle

4:00 pm Bidding winds down

5:00 pm Take-down

Annual Meeting

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Socializing

1:15 pm Announcements

1:25pm Elections

1:35 pm Lightning Talk: Manuel Moro "Collecting Fish In the Peruvian Desert"

1:45 pm Feature Presentation: Lucas Bretz "Keeping Aquariums Natural and Simple"

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Sat, Nov 5 | Green Acres Center | 1 pm - 4 pm

Holiday Party & Potluck Dinner

12:30 pm Set-up

1:00 pm Lay out buffet

1:15 pm Announcements

1:30 pm Potluck dinner

2:45 pm Mini-auction

4:00 pm Take-down

Sat, Dec 3 | Green Acres Center | 1 pm - 4 pm

Speakers

Dr. Riva Riley

Dr. Riva Riley is a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland. Her research is focused on social behavior and its consequences for individuals in social groups; she is especially interested in how individuals can use their own social influence to change their social environment and improve their prospects. She studies a delightful little fish, Corydoras catfish, which live in the Amazon rainforest. After observing wild fish in the field and conducting laboratory studies, she described a novel communication style, a tactile nudge, that individual fish use to communicate with their fellow group members. She uses this nudging behavior to help understand how social influences and group dynamics can modify social evolution and lead to complex social behaviors (including our own human behavior). She received her PhD from the University of Cambridge and her B.A. from Harvard University.

Dr. Katherine (Kate) Bemis

Dr. Katherine (Kate) Bemis is a Research Zoologist at NOAA National Systematics Lab and Curator of Fishes at National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. She studies the biology, anatomy, and distribution of marine fishes, particularly pufferfishes, ocean sunfishes, and their relatives (Tetraodontiformes). She received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 2015 and her PhD from Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary in 2019. Her favorite part of her job is spending time at sea conducting fisheries research and collecting fish specimens.

Dr. Ted Coletti

Dr. Ted Coletti is a hobbyist, writer and speaker from New Jersey’s Skylands Region. An aquarist for nearly 40 years, he presents programs around the United States and Canada and has written over 200 articles and two books for the hobby. A former Editor of the ALA Journal, Ted was the livebearer columnist for FAMA and TFH magazines from 2000-2010. Ted’s book, Aquarium Care of Livebearing Fish, is published by TFH-Animal Planet. For the past 4 decades, Ted has been the hobby’s evangelizer for the “summer tubbing” movement. His acclaimed second book, The Tub Pond Handbook, is now in its third edition (www.amazon.com/dp/B091W9WLDP).  A hobby historian, Ted is the Founder & Moderator of the Aquarium Hobby Historical Society. He presents club programs on all these topics.

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Born and raised in New York City’s Bronx County, Ted is a psychologist by training and works in the pharmaceuticals industry as Forecaster. He is a Master Breeder and Senior Grower at the North Jersey Aquarium Society, and in 2019, founded the Skylands Aquarium & Water Garden Group. At home, Ted maintains a small fishroom, many guitars, over two dozen tub ponds, and one very patient wife.

Andrew Blumhagen

Andrew has been fascinated with aquatic life from his childhood when his father kept an aquarium with incompatible fishes (African butterflyfish with neon tetras) and blue gravel.  His own first aquarium was ironically kept while overseas in Pakistan, where the fish store stocked New World staples like guppies, mollies and tetras, despite the incredible local diversity of fishes.  Later in college he kept a goldfish in a plastic Tupperware bowl, until finally his roommate gave him an old 20-gallon tank which he stocked with his own incompatible fishes (neon tetras and baby oscars) and blue gravel. 

In 1996 Andrew had his first fish spawn, the dwarf honey gourami.  He attended his first PVAS auction in 1998, joined the club and was immediately drafted into service.  He served as Delta Tale editor, at-large board member, Vice President and finally President of the club.  At the same time he began work for a custom aquarium installation and service company.  As President of PVAS he envisioned an event to set the club apart and attract aquarists from all over the world - the All-Aquarium Catfish Convention.  Andrew opened and closed an aquarium store and was determined to walk away from the aquarium hobby until he met Jeanette, who fatefully asked him how many aquaria would fit into "that space under the stairs."  Now they maintain 6-7 aquaria and are eager to resume sharing their hobby with their fish friends post-pandemic.

Erik Lucas

Erik Lucas has been breeding shrimp for over 10 years.  In 2014 he opened buypetshrimp.com an online source for healthy high-quality shrimp and shrimp products. He has judged many shrimp contests in the USA and in Europe. Last year he was awarded 3 first place awards, as well as the overall winner (Best of the Best Award) at the USA shrimp competition in Chicago.

Dave McGrew

Dave McGrew and his young sons took a plunge into the deep end of the aquarium hobby just about four years ago. Always an eclecticist, he moved from a study in organic chemistry to music composition, taught fine arts in college for over a decade, and has worked as a Pastor for another ten years. Hailing from mountainous western Maryland, with soft tap water from reservoirs just over the Pennsylvania state line, the McGrews have been participating in PVAS BAP, selling to local fish stores, and shipping home-bred fish and plants to aquarists all over the country for the last few years.

Dean Tweedale

Dean Tweeddale is a master breeder who started keeping fish over 50 years ago. He started with guppies, moved on to discus, and has since bred countless species of freshwater fish. Always an innovator, Dean has, throughout his fishkeeping career, built three in-house fish rooms and developed an incredible fry system. Some of his proudest moments in the hobby are developing a system to raise discus artificially, breeding many rare dwarf cichlids, continuous spawning of German blue rams, and spawning several L-number plecos. He has collected and bred wild fish from Peru and has appeared on a number of YouTube channels including Aquarium Co-Op, Swishkey, L.R.Bretz’s Aquatics, Bentley Pasco, and Dustin's Fish Tanks.

Lucas Bretz

Lucas Bretz is the owner/operator of LRB Aquatics. He currently maintains 300+ planted freshwater aquariums out of his home, including outdoor breeding tubs and ponds that operate year-round.  He is known for his natural and unique approach to keeping freshwater aquariums. He hosts Live Q&A sessions every Friday on his YouTube channel, L.R.Bretz’s Aquatics. Lucas also sells a wide variety of home bred fish, shrimp, and plants on his website, lrbaquatics.com. He holds five International Shrimp Contest Awards for a variety of his Neocaridina lines. Lucas suffers from collector-itis and Multiple Tank Snydrome; he is always experimenting and testing tradition. Check out his channel to see what he’s up to next!