Markus Kaluza

Because his father bred Cichlids from the African Rift Lakes, Markus, who was born in 1990 in the beautiful city of Düsseldorf, had his first aquarium in his room at the age of five, at his own request. The first fish to reproduce there was an Ancistrus sp. and his passion for loricariids was born. In retrospect, there has not been a day since his birth when there was not at least one aquarium in his house.

When he was a teenager, he took over more and more of his father’s aquariums and since then has bred many fish, especially loricariid catfish of various genera. Two loricariid catfish have moved particularly into his focus. These are the genera Pseudacanthicus and Ancistrus.

Markus, a trained chemical laboratory assistant, studied “Quality, Environment, Safety and Hygiene” and now works as an EHS-Expert.

Meanwhile he has a cozy fish room with 13 aquariums in which he keeps and breeds various tetras and livebearers in addition to various loricariids and armored catfish. Markus is not only co-organizer of the L-Number Days, but since 2016 also coordinator of the catfish division of the IG BSSW. He draws his interdisciplinary knowledge from the active contact with scientists as well as symposia and trips to Brazil and Bolivia. Markus gives lectures in the regional groups of the IG BSSW and was already one of the speakers at the L-Number Days and other national and international events like the Catfish Study Group Convention.