It's time for the JRAS holiday party. This year it will be held from 5:30 to 9:00 on Saturday, December 2 at Roma Ristorante Italiano, 8330 Staples Mill Rd, Henrico, VA 23228 starting at 5:30. (Note: this is not the same restaurant as we have used in the past.) There will be a cost of $10 per person (member price) or $20 per person (nonmember). There will be a 'White Elephant' gift exchange, so if you want to participate (and you probably do. It's so much fun), bring a wrapped, aquarium-related gift worth about $15. Each person who brings a gift will be able to join the fun. We are so looking forward to seeing you there. We request an RSVP by November 29 from anyone wishing to attend so we have an accurate count for the restaurant. Please RSVP to Dennis Bragg at 804-690-2152 or roovle@gmail.com.(mailto:roovle@gmail.com) Let us know how many will be joining you so we can work with the restaurant to accommodate the number of people we will have.

The September JRAS meeting will be held September 27, 2023 at 7:00 pm at Logo Advantage, 8007A Mechanicsville Tpke. Mechanicsville, VA 23111. The subject is BETTAS   -   Betta Fish Varieties Over Time,  from Veiltails to Avatars presented by Barbara Day.  Barbara is a passionate hobbyist who has been surrounded by fish and nature throughout her life. Her uncle started the addiction with a few fish tanks in Mexico City that still stand today 30+ years later. Growing up in Cancun provided great opportunities to be close to nature, thus becoming an avid scuba diver and working at an ecological park with several exotic animals. The obsession continued once in the US by working at pet stores for several years and keeping several fresh and saltwater tanks. She currently keeps several planted tanks with nano fish and enjoys experimenting with different methods and techniques. As usual, you may meet with the speaker and members to have dinner at Mexico Restaurant, 7162 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Mechanicsville, VA. 23111 at 5:30.

The July JRAS meeting will be held on July 22 at 5:00 pm at Lee and Christi Shadbolt's home.  Food will be provided and we will have a chance to see how Lee's lovely fish pond is maturing. We had a wonderful time at the last picnic held there and I'm sure this year will be no exception. There will be a mini auction so be sure to bring something to sell. Please RSVP by July 20 by sending to jrasaquariumsociety@gmail.com telling the number of family members you will bring. At that time you will be given the address.   If you cannot send email for some reason, you may call Linda at 804 288-7111 (do not text). At that time you will be given the address.

The JRAS April monthly meeting will be held Wednesday, April 26, at 7 pm at Logo Advantage, 8007A Mechanicsville Turnpike, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. Dr. Riva Riley will be our guest speaker and her topic will be The Evolution of Behavior in Fish. Dr. Riley is a President’s Doctoral 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 forest. 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 social complex behaviors (including our own human behavior). She received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and her B.A. from Harvard University. In addition to the outstanding talk by Riva Riley, there will be a flash talk about the Breeders Award Program (BAP) by Marty Verdery. She will explain how the BAP works and how you can showcase your fish breeding skills. Don't forget that you can grab a bite with others at 5:30 at Mexico Restaurant, 7162 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Mechanicsville, VA 23111.

The monthly JRAS meeting will be held Wednesday, January 25 at 7:00 pm at Logo Advantage, 8007A Mechanicsville Turnpike, Mechanicsville, VA 23111. The speaker is Mark Kaprow. His topic is Tanganyikan Secretive Cave Spawning Cichlids in the Home Aquarium. Mark, a long-time Potomac Valley Aquarium Society member, will present his experiences keeping and breeding Tanganyikan secretive cave spawning cichlids to the club. He has successfully bred 10 different species of Tanganyikan cave spawners/rock dwellers. Don't forget to bring any items you may want to enter in the mini-auction being held after the program. You are welcome to meet for dinner at 5:30 before the meeting at the Mexico Restaurant at 7162 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Mechanicsville, VA 23111.

Due to scheduling conflicts, there will be no James River Aquarium Society meeting in September. However, there's plenty of fun ahead. In October, there will be either an auction or a tailgate tag sale. See you then.

I'm planning on bringing some grindal worms. They will be in approximately a 2 in. container and they will be $5. My nano fish are loving these things.