Rusty maintains over 8,000 gallons of freshwater aquariums in a state-of-the-art fish house constructed specifically for aquatic life. The 90-plus aquariums predominantly contain cichlids and livebearers, which he successfully raises and breeds. Rusty’s specialty is Central American fishes.
He has taken his hobby to the next level, having collected fish from Africa, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, and Uruguay since 1983 — over 150 collecting trips to date. Considered by many to be the ultimate collector, he has introduced numerous new fish species to the aquarium hobby. If it lives in the water, chances are Rusty has either caught it, or been bitten or stung by it.
Dr. Robert Rush Miller, emeritus professor at the University of Michigan, named a beautiful and elusive cichlid discovered during one of Rusty’s expeditions to Honduras after him — Chortiheros wesseli — featured in the June 1996 edition of Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine.
Rusty is also a prolific author and photographer. His writings and photographs have appeared in a wide range of specialized publications, including Aquarium Fish Magazine, Amazonas, Aquarist and Pondkeeper, Buntbarsche Bulletin, Livebearer Journal, Cichlid News, Ad Konings’ Cichlids Yearbooks, Cichlid Bladet, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, and Tropical Fish Hobbyist.
In the organized hobby, Rusty currently serves as the Back Issue Salesperson for the American Cichlid Association (ACA) and is a participant in the ACA/Zoo Med Speaker’s Program. He is a past chair of the ACA Board of Trustees (1990) and past convention chair (1992, 2015, 2022, 2025). Additionally, he actively solicits support for the Guy Jordan Endowment Fund, established under the ACA to provide grants for cichlid research.
Rusty also chaired the American Livebearer Association Convention in 2018, achieving the highest profit on record for that event. Locally, he serves as treasurer for the Louisville Tropical Fish Fanciers. In recognition of his lifelong contributions, Rusty received the ACA Fellowship in 1997 — the highest honor the association bestows upon its members.
He has lectured and judged numerous fish shows throughout the United States, including the annual Florida Tropical Fish Farmers Show and several ACA conventions. Most recently, he chaired the Triple Crown Convention in Louisville, Kentucky — uniting four major national aquarium clubs — which became the largest regular convention in ACA history.
