Media Luna, Mexico, which he introduced
to the cichlid hobby.) He became a member
of the American Cichlid Association in 1980
after seeing an advertisement in TFH, and
attended the first ACA ICC (International
Cichlid Conference) in Orlando, Florida in
1989 (where I met him for the first time).
The Cichlid Room
Companion Website
As a civil engineer by training and
vocation, Juan’s long-term interest in
computers blossomed with the advent of
the first text-based Internet in 1994. He
quickly became a frequent visitor to what
indubitably was the first online aquarium
fish forum run by Kevin Carpenter of
St. Louis. When HTML and graphic
browsers became available, John Benn
(former editor of “ACA Trading Post,”
and original ACA Webmaster) offered free
space and support for the development of
Juan’s first Webpage, The Cichlid Room
Companion (CRC), which was born May
6, 1996, as a part of PetsForum. In a
few years, the PetsForum servers, which
were based on Macintosh computers,
became limiting for Juan’s vision for his
site (database scheme and php platform),
so he left PetsForum. He stresses that
the original Website was made possible
mostly because of the initial help and
support he received from John Benn.
Juan’s vision for the site was to archive
cichlid information in a well-organized,
easily-accessible, and high-quality format.
He writes:
Rusty Wessel
Juan Miguel Artigas Azas, cichlid hobby
luminary, writer, photographer, and creator
of The Cichlid Room Companion Website,
cichlidae.com.
believer that information is worth little if it is
not easily accessible and well organized.
He articulates his specific vision: “To
offer the world the best cichlid information
there is in an organized and easy-to-use
manner; [to allow] people to get to know
and love cichlids and so care about them
and their habitats, and hence they can
be visited, protected, and preserved; we
need to love and care about cichlids to
help protect them.” It is now billed The
Cichlid Room Companion, The Internet
Cichlidae Information Center (CRC). With
regard to the Website, he states that he is
most pleased that others contribute their
knowledge to the site. Most “top cichlid
authorities in the world” have “kindly
daily
contributed to the page, many with an
incredible amount of information.” The
Webpage itself has 12 “Fellows,” special
recognition of individuals who have made
special contributions to the site.
The CRC forum facilitates
discussion about cichlid topics, topics
for beginners as well as those for cichlid
researchers. There are sections for cichlid
aquarium maintenance, science and
conservation, and organizations (the Ohio
Cichlid Association has its own official
discussion forum). Just opened is a new
section for users to post their personal
blogs about cichlids. Documents archived
in The Cichlid Room Companion include
many classic articles from outside sources
reprinted by permission, as well as many
articles written specifically by aquarists for
the CRC Website.
There is a strong catalog section where all
cichlid species are listed with information
and photos of both the fish and their
habitats. In my May 1998 TFH column,
I reported that, as of that time, the site’s
coverage included 15 articles on Central
American cichlids, 17 on South American
cichlids, 22 on Rift Lake cichlids, and
a few additional ones on West African
and Malagasy cichlids. There is also a
growing roster of articles on maintenance,
exploration, do-it-yourself, cichlid science,
and reviews of major cichlid conventions.
As of November, 2007 there were 986
cichlid species illustrated or profiled, with
2226 photos—numbers which increase
Back in the 70s when I started keeping
fish, I became very eager for aquarium
and fish information. I subscribed to most
of the magazines that were available and
searched for as many books devoted to
fish as possible. I read magazines cover-to-cover in those days. Finding information,
however, wasn’t the walk in the park it is
nowadays, in many cases. It was difficult
to find good information. I fondly remember
yours (Thanks!—W.L.) and Paul Loiselle’s
wonderful cichlid articles, which I must have
read 10 times each! Finding old issues of
aquarium magazines wasn’t easy those days.
Searching for scientific information wasn’t
easy either. Once read, an article can easily
be lost in the pile of old magazines, and
almost impossible to find again if needed.
When the Internet came, I had the vision
of having all that good cichlid information
together in a quality format, because I am a
Juan Miguel Artigas Azas
Juan Miguel collected and introduced the yellow labridens Herichthys labridens, from Media Luna,
Mexico, to the cichlid hobby. Here, a brooding female shepherds her fry.
