Leibel, Ph.D., Wayne (August 5, 1951 – May 16, 2021)

Denying him a dog, we now know his parents are to blame for the fanatical fish keeping life of Dr.. Wayne Leibel.  Owning hs first tank at age 6, Wayne proceeded to dive into the hobby and dedicate his entire life to researching, collecting, writing about, speaking about, and just plain enjoying tropical fish, specifically cichlids.  Belonging to a club, entering bowl shows, and reading whatever was available on the topic of tropical fish, also led Wayne to his Ph.D. and his position as Head of Biology at Lafayette College. Wayne has been active in the American Cichlid Association as former editor of their journal, Buntebarsche Bulletin, four-time Board of Trustees member and Chairman, and is a frequent well-traveled speaker for the ACA Speaker’s Program. Wayne was made a Fellow of the ACA in 1993, an honor he cherishes.  He is a prolific author with over 150 articles to his credit in magazines such as Freshwater and Marine Aquarium and Tropical Fish Hobbyist.  He is a regular columnist, having written the columns Cichlidophile and Wayne’s New World in TFH, and starting the column for kids along with David Lass, Fish-Kidz, in AFM. To quote Wayne from an on-line interview he did with Juan Miguel for the Cichlid Room Companion page, “The hobby has been very good to me over the years.  It has provided a wonderful vehicle to meet interesting people and participating in local and national clubs has kept me sane…”  In 2002, the NEC presented Wayne our highest honor, the Betty Mueller Lifetime Achievement award for dedication to the NEC and to the hobby.  Everyone who knows Dr. Leibel respects this gentleman  for his unassuming personality, true knowledge of what he speaks about, and his dedication to the understanding and preservation of cichlids and the fish keeping hobby in general. Programs: Waters of the Amazon In Search of the Flowerhorn Cichlid Acaras, the Forgotten Cichlids of South America In Search of the Flowerhorn Cichlid …a humorous look at the origin of these controversial cichlids Rest in Peace, Wayne.