Evan Rifkind interview

As comprehensive as I try to be with the overall content here on the blog, I try to be equally comprehensive with the interviews. As such, I do make a concerted effort to cover all types of cichlids from shellies to Discus to Angels. Today’s interviewee, Evan Rifkind, is a hobbyist who focuses on cichlids endemic to Madagascar.

I met Evan at the combined fish convention (cichlids, livebearers, bettas) called the Bluegrass Bash earlier this summer. What makes Evan’s interview even more compelling is that it’s been four years since I interviewed a hobbyist with a special fondness for Madagascar species. I interviewed Judith Weinberg in 2022. 

Like most cichlid keepers, Evan’s entry into the hobby began by keeping various non-cichlid, freshwater fish. At present he maintains a basement fishroom with 22 tanks ranging from 650g to 20g. Formerly, he kept several South/Central American cichlids including Discus. At present, he keeps every Madagascar species currently available in the United States and has successfully bred four of them. In fact, he donated a pair of Ptychochromis mainty for the CARES raffle at this year’s Bash.

Onward to the interview!

NOTE: All photos courtesy of Evan Rifkind unless otherwise noted.

You have a modest size fishroom with 22 tanks, but they vary greatly in size. Can you describe it for the readers?

I’m fortunate enough to be able to have a whole basement fishroom. When my wife and I decided to build our next home, our agreement was that I could use the entire basement, but no tanks could go in the living area of the house. Because we built our home, I was able to customize the basement perfectly for a fish room. I left it unfinished to save money and mitigate damage during the inevitable water spills. I had it built with extra high ceilings for a basement (9′) to keep it spacious, even with big tanks and racks of tiered tanks. I also had plumbing built in, along with more electrical than a normal basement would have and a window so the fish could still experience natural day/night cycles.

My number of tanks may not be as high as some, but I keep mostly large tanks. I’d say it’s a rather large fish room. Two tanks over 600g, four tanks from 200-300g, and six 125g. I also have ten or so smaller tanks from 20 – 75g that I use for smaller fish, breeding & fry rearing, hospital tanks, etc.

Though you have kept many species of cichlids, you have a particular focus on those from Madagascar. What draws you toward them?

That’s true. I’ve kept many types of fish through my hobby and still have a good variety, but I’m focused on Madagascan fish at this stage. My first Madagascan was a type of Paratilapia (Starry Night cichlid). But my real gateway fish was the Pinstripe Damba (Paretroplus menarambo). My favorite fish store is Dave’s Rare Aquarium Fish, and I saw this on his site one day and it was beautiful. I began researching Madagascans. I had no idea there were options other than the Paratilapia. But they are VERY hard to come by. I think their rarity was an attraction for me. 

I like to keep unusual species, things that are different or set me apart from other hobbyists. I also enjoy the challenge of finding rare fish and keeping them healthy once I get them, since they’re so hard to replace. After that, I began to enjoy them for their personality and unique beauty, as well as the good feeling I get from helping conserve these highly endangered species.​

Talk a bit about the various Madagascar species currently available in the hobby?

Quick note: I refer to the fish as ‘Madagascan’ since it’s the most relatable for everyday hobbyists. But the technically correct term is ‘Malagasy.’ There aren’t many species available to the hobby, unfortunately. Madagascar implemented tight restrictions on fish exports a while ago, making it virtually impossible to get new species out, even for conservation. So, we only have what had been collected and successfully bred prior to that.

We owe a lot of this collection to a few experts back in the 90s – Paul Loiselle, Patrick de Rham, and some zoo conservation efforts. The fact that these species are available in the US is due largely to Laif Demaison. In the US, we have six species of the Paretroplus genus and four species of Ptychochromis. Europe has even fewer species available, but they do have one extra Ptychochromis we don’t (loiselleii), which I’d love to bring over someday. There are also a few species of Paratilapia here.

A big debate I see among everyday hobbyists is whether they have a Paratilapia bleekeri or polleni. The consensus I’ve gathered from the experts (people who actually collected, bred, and exported the earliest specimens) is that the US most likely has neither of those. The best practice is to refer to Paratilapia by their initial collection location. That way, whenever the ichthyologists get around to describing the locations based on DNA, we’ll eventually know what species we have. If someone can’t tell you the collection location of their Paratilapia, then they don’t know what kind of Paratilapia they have.

There are also tons of Paratilapia hybrids. For the Paretroplus, the most beautiful is probably the menarambo, followed by the nourissati. But the nourissati is death in the water. I’ve kept Malawians and big S/Central American cichlids, and I’ve never seen a fish as mean as the nourissati. The other Paretroplus are fairly calm, though. The best looking Ptychochromis is definitely grandidieri. It shines a beautiful gold color when breeding. The Ptychochromis are aggressive, but not unmanageable.

You’ve bred several of those mentioned above. If Madagascar species present different breeding challenges than other cichlids, say New World for example, what are they and what species have you found to be the most challenging and why?

Paretroplus are somewhat unique in breeding, in that they are AWFUL parents. Most cichlids I’ve bred, from mouthbrooders to egg layers, are excellent parents. They defend their babies like champs. But Paretroplus give up and abandon their eggs at the slightest inconvenience. It’s unfortunate.

The Ptychochromis on the other hand defend their fry with fervor; I’ve seen them keep hundreds of babies alive in a tank filled with many other big fish. My most challenging species so far has been Paretroplus nourissati, simply because I’ve never been able to keep them alive long enough to breed. I’m currently on my third (and quite expensive) attempt.​

What is your “Holy Grail” cichlid species and why?

My holy grail would be ANY new species exported out of Madagascar. We’re permanently losing species over there due to habitat destruction, mostly from human farming. Preservation in aquaria isn’t ideal, but it’s better than nothing. An example would be Paretroplus maromandia, which has beautiful red dot patterns. This fish is conserved by a couple dedicated hobbyists within Madagascar. I maintain hope that one day someone will find a way to legally export some of these specimens, so that we can expand the number of people preserving them.

Your YouTube channel, Riffwaters, covers a variety of topics relevant to cichlid keepers and other tropical fish. What’s next for the channel?

Riffwaters is on pause for the time being due to the time requirements of a growing family. I would love to put out a video occasionally, just to keep things active, then come back to it fully in a couple years. But even that has proven difficult to accomplish, as I prioritize time with my children. For now, the channel will stay up, but I may not put out anything new for a while.

You’re a big supporter of the CARES program. In fact, you donated some fish for the CARES raffle at this year’s Bluegrass Bash. What would you say to other hobbyists to encourage them to participate in the program?

Keeping CARES fish is an excellent way to accomplish something beneficial to the hobby. Keeping fish is fun on its own, but keeping and breeding species for conservation adds a whole new layer of enjoyment. With anything in life, it just plain FEELS better when you know it’s doing something good; when you’re contributing to something bigger than you. I would even say it doesn’t need to be tied directly to the CARES program. You can simply research what species need our help and then get to work preserving them and breeding future generations.​

If you could change two things about the cichlid hobby in the US, what would they be and how would you change them?

I would love to see interest in cichlids return to the higher levels from the past. So many hobbyists today are focused on community fish, and those are great, sure. But it also siphons attention away from cichlids of all types. I think the way to do this is via social media. It’s something I tried to do with my channel, before I had to hit pause for the more important things in life.​

Thanks so much for taking the time for the interview.