Featured Aquaspot Member - Hedson Hinojosa

	Introduction Hello, my name is Hedson Hinojosa and I live in Mexico. I have always been enthusiastic about aquatic plants but you could say that my first hobby in life is spending time on things that makes people happy: listening to music, going to the beach, playing soccer, having fun with family and friends, making new friends, and traveling.
I live in a small city by the ocean, which allows me to find time to dive and explore marine life too. I'm currently working in a hospital as a Rx assistant as well as a laparoscopic surgery technician. I'm happily married and my wife will be due in two months. My son is going to be called Janosch and I hope he will become a fine aquascaper when he grows up!

About Your Hobbies Mexico has a great variety of vegetation, and it has always invoke my love for nature. Since I was a boy, I have been keeping all sorts of plants - flowers, ferns, catuses and orchids. I have also kept different kinds of pets, including snakes, scorpions, birds, and frogs. Nature photography is also another one of my love. It is no surprise that I would be fascinated by aquascaping and Amano's display tanks were the trigger! I am always learning about new plants in the hobby. I always face a dilemma whenever I try to do an aquascape. When plants grow and it is time to trim, I find it difficult to dispose of the trimmings so I try to place them back into the tank, thereby ruining my original idea. Gradually I learnt to let go and improve my aquascapes.
Challenges Faced Doing an aquascape is not something you can master in a weekend and we need to start from the basics! Before we can achive making people go WOW!, we must learn to be patient and be humble enough to appreciate our progress. So I always consider myself to be always learning and practising.
Planted Tank Showcase


Setting up an aquascape is not always easy, especially when you try to rush it for a competition: http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2008.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=0&id=78. I don't recommend it, but anyway I got lots of fun and I learned a lot in the process. So if you plan on setting up an aquarium for a contest, I would recommend you do it at least 5 to 6 months earlier.

Words of Wisdom When you set up an aquarium, it somehow becomes like part of your family! You need time and effort to mantain it if you want it to look good. Keep trying even if you experience trouble along the way. Never give up until you find out what is wrong and how you can make it healthy again. The satisfaction achieved is beyond what words can describe!

Hedson is a contributor of some aquatic plant photos on this website. He has also contributed other photos and written various related articles for other parties and they are frequently published.