The important thing to remember about catfish nuts is that they all have an interest in other freshwater fishes. They have to, or you wouldn't see anything in their tanks!
Seriously though, the event is jam-packed with good stuff all the way through. Friday night features two speakers and then a giant "block party" on one floor of the hotel. On either end of the hallway will be suites with beer and other refreshments and in all the rooms in between will be people selling stuff out of their rooms. Saturday is full of speakers all day and then features the banquet and after-activities in the evening. Sunday is the all-day auction. The auction features plenty of catfishes, but will also have a ton of other fishes including and especially cichlids, not to mention the plants and donated dry goods. Indeed, many of the out-of-town faces that you'll see at the catfish convention are also familiar at ACA conventions. Everyone breeding fish should bring a few bags to sell at the auction because there will be plenty of buyers on hand. And you'll almost certainly find something interesting to take home.
I love the fish show; Saturday morning is the best time to see it since all the entries will be benched by then. We have a great slate of vendors who will be on hand and Friday before the party will probably be the best time to buy from the vendors.
If I had to select just a few things to see I would do Friday night and Saturday during the day because these will be the most unique to the catfish convention versus other fish events. Of course, if you've never seen an all-day auction... It's a sight to behold. Imagine the CCA meeting mini-auction going on for eight hours as fast as the auctioneer can go.