Born in 1956, Anton Lamboj has been an aquarist since the age of ten. In 1980 he began to take a special interest in the cichlids of West and Central Africa. These interests led to his academic education at the University of Vienna, which began in 1988. Works for his Master degree and Ph.D. were focussed on the systematics of West African cichlids, which still embodies both his major work and his aquaristic interest. Anton’s scientific work combines morphological and anatomical methods, as well as ethological studies and molecular methods.

As an aquarist, Anton is also interested in many other groups of fish (as he says, “every fish is of interest and beautiful”), with a detailed focus on anabantids and killifish. Other hobbies pursued with passion are maintaining orchids in a small greenhouse and gardening.

Over the years, he has made more than 60 field/collecting trips to Africa as well as several trips to Asia, South America, North America and Australia, and at the present time maintains around 45 tanks to breed and study his fish. Having authored more than 500 papers (both academic and hobbyist) in twelve languages, including seven books, such as the celebrated The Cichlid Fishes of Western Africa, and many contributions to various other books, Anton has also given numerous presentations in 28 countries all over the world (including the U.S.A.). Till now, he has described 5 genera and 24 species.

Anton is a lecturer and associated scientist at the University of Vienna. He is also President in Honor of the Austrian Association of Aquarium and Terrarium Clubs, honorary member of the French Cichlid Association, of Nordiska Ciklidsällskapet (Scandinavian Cichlid Association), of Hill Country Cichlid Club (Texas), and Multicolor Ailingen (Germany). In 2011 he was honored for his international work for the hobby as a ‘Mastère fédéral d‘aquariophilie’ by the French Aquarium Federation FFA.

Passing along his enormous wealth of knowledge in an easy to comprehend manner that is filled with his characteristic enthusiasm, Anton is a rare treasure to the aquarium world. It is our great fortune to have Anton as a part of the CARES Team as our CARES Priority List Anabantid Group Coordinator, West Africa Regional Coordinator, Cichlid Group Coordinator, as a CARES Speaker and a CARES Team Specialist.

Contact: [email protected]

Programs:

• Our fish need more CARES – Conservation programs, why and how to run them.

• Limbochromis robertsi – a cichlid fish on the gate to extinction.

• Endangered cichlids from West and Central Africa.

• Small, beautiful and endangered: Betta and Parosphromenus species from Indonesia and Malaysia.

• Licorice Gouramis, endangered species from Southeast Asia.