OCA Extravaganza 2009 Photos
2009 hasn't been the best of years for me, but the one thing that cheers me up every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving is the OCA Extravaganza. It's the worlds largest cichlid and catfish convention taking place in Cleveland OH, and I am a board member of the fish club who pulls this event off every year at incredibly low costs, thanks to a bunch of volunteers working off their asses 
We have world class speakers coming from all over the globe, we raise money for the preservation of the natural habitats of our fish, we have a fantastic fish show, we auction about 1,000 bags of fish on the Sunday, we have people selling fish out of their hotel rooms that are virtually turned into fish stores, and we generally have a three day long party.
I am the club photographer, and try to capture as much of the event as possible. Today I published just shy of 200 photos, which is less than 10% of the ones I took. Thank the gods for digital photography! :thmbsp:
Here are some teasers:
Best of Show, Ron Gorgeone's Amphilophus citrinellus 'Orange & White'
Reserve Best of Show, Scott Meyer's Aulonocara stuartgranti 'Ngara Flametail'
Best Catfish of Show, Wayne Toven's Synodontis greshoffi
The OCA donates $1000 from it's Jim Smith Fund for the Stuart M Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund under the stewardship of Ad Konings. The money will support local people in Malawi in their efforts of protecting cichlid populations in Lake Malawi against irresponsible and illegal overfishing.
Ad Konings, one of the world's foremost expert on cichlids and author of countless books judging some of our show fish.
Scott Meyers (right) won the Reserve Best of Show Price.
Dr Jay Stauffer of Pennsylvania State University explains his latest cichlid research projects.
Having fun in the Hospitality Suite.
We have world class speakers coming from all over the globe, we raise money for the preservation of the natural habitats of our fish, we have a fantastic fish show, we auction about 1,000 bags of fish on the Sunday, we have people selling fish out of their hotel rooms that are virtually turned into fish stores, and we generally have a three day long party.
I am the club photographer, and try to capture as much of the event as possible. Today I published just shy of 200 photos, which is less than 10% of the ones I took. Thank the gods for digital photography! :thmbsp:
Here are some teasers:
Best of Show, Ron Gorgeone's Amphilophus citrinellus 'Orange & White'
Reserve Best of Show, Scott Meyer's Aulonocara stuartgranti 'Ngara Flametail'
Best Catfish of Show, Wayne Toven's Synodontis greshoffi
The OCA donates $1000 from it's Jim Smith Fund for the Stuart M Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund under the stewardship of Ad Konings. The money will support local people in Malawi in their efforts of protecting cichlid populations in Lake Malawi against irresponsible and illegal overfishing.
Ad Konings, one of the world's foremost expert on cichlids and author of countless books judging some of our show fish.
Scott Meyers (right) won the Reserve Best of Show Price.
Dr Jay Stauffer of Pennsylvania State University explains his latest cichlid research projects.
Having fun in the Hospitality Suite.
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Comments
While most catfish tend to be shy and hide behind a filter all weekend, that one was swimming about the tank all the time, and actually seemed to pose for the camera rather than hide away. It's a rare quality in a catfish :bigggrin:
Here's another nice cat though:
Also - you are overwhelming me with titles! Many thanks