Riva fell in love with fishes at a young age and her heart particularly beats for Corydoras catfish. Cories, as they are often referred to by their fans and enthusiasts, were at the core of Riva’s PhD at the University of Cambridge where she showed how these almost blind fish ‘nudge’ each other to keep in touch. Quite literally. She currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, setting up her own Cory lab to continue studying the behavior of these highly social fish. After dark, when Riva is not bothering fish, she turns into a stand-up comedian with a perspective-widening twist to her humorous performances.

Growing up in a household filled with books about cichlids, Arne had no way to escape the inevitable fascination for this diverse group of fishes. His PhD at the University of Bern and his subsequent postdoctoral work at the University of Cambridge all revolved around these ‘colourful perches’ (the English translation of their German name ‘Buntbarsche’), particularly their family relations. Now at the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology in Vienna, Arne continues to try and learn as much as he can about cichlids and how they go about their lives. When not staring at fish, Arne strives to not sour his own family relations to his wife and daughter too much by constantly yapping on about the finned friends.