Title of the Talk: Cultivation over Exploitation

Jebriel’s lecture topic is going to be on how to properly cultivate Bucephalandra in the aquarium alongside how to properly identify (or try to) the species you’re keeping. He will be sharing a few of the species he has dissected and how he went about identifying them. He will also share a ‘How To’ on growing Bucephalandra terrestrially and cultivating emersed plants. He will be going over the difference between ‘Epiphytic & Rheophytic’ plants and how we have been using the incorrect terms for years and the importance of cultivation. He will have a Q & A after the talk as well.

About the Speaker:

Jebriel Houdroj is a proud Lebanese American born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He works at The Wetspot Tropical Fish in Portland Oregon as a store manager and has been the plant specialist for 5 years now. He has been keeping aquariums on and off for over 12 years. Though his love for aquatic flora didn’t start until about 7 years ago. In his free time outside of work, he cultivates and documents his process of (amateurly) dissecting species of Bucephalandra and their inflorescences. His interest in Bucephalandra species started in 2018 due to finding out their endangered status and has only grown since then. His goal is to help stop the misinformation spread in the hobby about Bucephalandra and other Rheophytic plants and also inform people on the importance of cultivation over exploitation.

Location: 4909 Erie St, Annandale, VA 22003

Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025

Time: 1:00 PM

About twenty members and non-members attended the March GWAPA meeting. Alex, our presenter, discussed the how-to of taking pictures of aquariums and their inhabitants. First of all, you will need a tripod. Also, it is helpful to illuminate the tanks from behind, and you can do this by using a background that lights up. Using a hairdryer which is taped to the tank creates a ripple effect which makes more natural pictures. The photos should be taken when it is dark outside, so nighttime is ideal. Make sure though that the stem plants have not closed up for the day. RGB light panels can be helpful when playing with the colors. Finally, to block outside light, you can use aluminum to cover the sides of a tank or even part of the top. You’ll need to take hundreds of photos to find good ones. At a photoshoot, Alex takes 500-1,000 pictures over a period of 2-3 hours. A raffle of donated Oase products and an auction followed the talk.

About twenty people showed up to the February GWAPA meeting in Gaithersburg. Corey, the president, gave a talk on floating plants. She discussed the good things and also some drawbacks of keeping these plants and then detailed the various species. A raffle with Oase donations followed the presentation. Then we had our regular auction of plants and fish. Some of the fish were donated by Splashy Fish, an aquarium store in Springfield, Virginia.