Welcome to the American Cichlid Association members

After three years of talks a major agreement has been made to benefit all persons interested in cichlids in North America. The American Cichlid Association (ACA), the largest and most respected national cichlid association in America, and the Cichlid Room Companion (CRC), now in its 19th year providing daily online updates about cichlids, have joined forces. Beginning December 26th, 2015, all ACA members can obtain access to the CRC website for information and services as part of their ACA membership.

We of the CRC have always wanted this to happen, as we have been working on maintaining a delicate balance between a very extensive website requiring round-the-clock updates, additions, and revisions by numerous editors (in six languages) and a very limited budget, to keep this now extensive site online and growing, and at the same time get to the largest number of people around the world. With this agreement, we have achieved one more important step, a major one, in maintaining the balance.

I want to welcome all ACA members to the CRC; I’m happy that you are now part of it, as you will give us renewed energy to our daily goal to provide you with first-hand information with a standard of excellence so that you can best enjoy your hobby or support your research. Together we can continue awakening interest and concern for the well-being of our beloved cichlids.

It is not a secret that cichlids are suffering and are threatened by human development all around their natural range in America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. We of the CRC want to inform people about them, and let them know how unique and important they are for the balance of the ecosystems, and what role they play in understanding evolution, species adaptation, and behavioral development. Our main goal is to promote care and interest in cichlids.

We are also honoring the work of many bright people that through the last centuries have devoted their lives or careers to the understanding of cichlids, a process still underway, a field where many discoveries and future contributions to this knowledge come day after day, perhaps some by you. As part of the American Cichlid Association, you are now part of it, and we welcome you aboard.

The CRC is an international site and is open to opinions and work of cichlidophiles from all around the world. We pride ourselves in hosting contributions by many of the most acknowledged cichlid authors, and photo- and videographers. No opinion is shunned and you will find many thought-provoking ideas about cichlid classification, their biology, and ecology on the many pages of the site. We welcome your ideas and work to add to the site’s contents as well.

The CRC is a place of opinion, detailed scrutiny, and rigorous application of ever-developing publication policies and standards, designed with the ultimate goal of providing trustworthy information.

So, ACA members, we welcome you, we are looking forward to your involvement in the site as well as making it a place you trust and which helps you to obtain more joy from your cichlids.