All-Aquarium Catfish Convention Speakers

Hans-Georg Evers (Hamburg, Germany) has been an aquarist at heart since his first days, growing up specializing in African cichlids. Since the early 1980s, his main interest has been catfish, his favorites today being Corydoradinae and Loricariidae. So far, Hans bred and raised more than 450 different species of freshwater fish in his tanks. Hans is a busy traveller, giving talks on fish and collecting around the world. He has taken countless journeys to the Amazon where he collected fish in all the bigger affluents of the Amazon river. He also worked in Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and the countries of the Paraguai-Parana-drainage, and he has often visited also some Asian countries, mainly Indonesia, Thailand and India. He has published over 12 books and 1000+ articles in both hobbyist and scientific periodicals. He has also been the editor for both the German and American editions of Amazonas magazine for several years.
Hans-Georg will be presenting the banquet talk Wish I was there - Catfish-Spots in South America.

Ian A. M. Fuller (England) is renowned for his extensive work on Corydoradinae catfish, particularly the genus Corydoras, including successful spawnings of over 140 species—many of which represent the first recorded breedings in captivity—and the species Corydoras fulleri named in his honor. His interest in Corydoras ignited in 1973 during an accidental spawning event with C. pygmaeus in improvised conditions, leading him to specialize in their breeding and care; he later co-founded a tropical fish club in Rugeley, Staffordshire, that same year. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Fuller was actively involved in tropical fish exhibitions as an exhibitor and judge. In 1999, he was elected chairman of the Catfish Study Group, serving for 12 years and later managing its conventions. His contributions include authoring four self-published books on Corydoradinae. In 2002, he established the website Corydoras World, a key online resource for enthusiasts. In 2015, Fuller co-founded Go Wild Peru, an eco-tour and fish-collecting venture in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, with Michael Barber. He has delivered lectures on Corydoras identification, keeping, and breeding to aquarium societies across Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Ian will be doing two presentations, one on breeding Corydoradinae catfish, and the other on collecting in Peru.

Angela Haggard (Louisiana) is a graduate student studying integrative systematic ichthyology. Her PhD research at Louisiana State University is focused on systematics of Asian catfishes and peat swamp specialist fishes. She has also been a dedicated hobbyist and has attended other All-Aquarium Catfish Conventions.
This is Angela's first time speaking at the event, and she will be presenting on Asian catfish.

Sean Hensley (Alabama) is a dedicated hobbyist, breeder, collector and now student at Auburn University. He started breeding catfish and other species at home leading him to start the website The Catfish Den while still in High School. He’s traveled to Columbia for collecting trips and has an affinity for Wood Cats (Trachelyopterus, Tatia species) with successful breeding of several species in his home fish room. He is also a founding member of the North Alabama Society of Aquatics. He has been a past attendee of the All-Aquarium Catfish Convention and a first time speaker at the event.
Sean's presentation will be on wood catfish.

Rajanta S. Rahardja (Indonesia) is the co-founder of CV Bellenz, an ornamental fish farm, export and import business. Known primarily for their success in breeding large number of L-number loricariads (including the L046 Hypancistrus zebra), CV Bellenz breeds many different kinds of ornamental fish. Rajanta is also an international expert on fish breeding whose opinions are sought after by groups as varied as the United Nations and the expert panel on CITES.
Rajanta will speak on spawning Hypancistrus and how he set up his commercial breeding facilities.

Ingo Seidel (Germany) works as a scientific assistant at one of the largest ornamental fish wholesalers in Germany. Since early childhood Ingo was deeply interested in animals, in particular fish fauna of the South American continent. With a special love for catfish, he has been involved in the BSSW (now IG BSSW) as a division lead and BSSW-Report editor. The numerous experiences and impressions that Ingo gained on his trips to tropical South America, Africa and Asia, including his knowledge in breeding fishes, are reflected in words and pictures in the many articles in various aquarium magazines, and the numerous books that Ingo has published in cooperation with other experts. His hobby today is butterflies, which he also likes to chat about.
Ingo will be giving two presentations, one on otos and another on whiptails.

Dr. Melanie Stiassny (New York) is the Axelrod Research Curator and Curator-in-Charge of the Department of Ichthyology at the American Museum of Natural History. Her research interests are in the systematics and evolutionary biology of fishes, with a particular focus on freshwater conservation and the biodiversity of Old World tropical systems.
Melanie will be speaking on Congo fish and biotopes, with a focus on catfish .