Iran – Shiraz, 23-24 February 2010

Saeed Asadi, owner of a very well known wholesale and retail Aquarium Picasso company in Shiraz, Iran, had invited Heiko Bleher together with the Fars Fisheries of the Fars region in Iran, to hold the 1st International Seminar of Ornamental Fishes. It was the very first event of such a kind in Iran and its coordination extreme well done – to perfection (see next pages). Ornamental fish wholesalers, pet shop owners and fisheries people as well as aquarists from all over Iran came and where eager to learn more about the most beautiful hobby in the world during Heiko’s 10 seminars. In Iran there are more then 4000 aquarium shops which do not have any other pet, probably one of the largest aquarium–loving countries on earth…

India, 10 January, 2010

After the Indaquaria 2010 Heiko Bleher and Natasha Khardina went to the lower reaches of the Seethalam Falls in Andra Pradesh to do research on the threatened aquatic fauna there as they are building a dam now. Fortunately Heiko was still able to catalogue 16 different fish species in this small creek (see begin of the film) and Natasha made a short film of a beautiful Etroplus maculatus pair with its fry in a tiny rest water whole in a freshwater spring which soon will be history... 

Venezuela, Rio Atabapo, 27 November 2009

The Brilliant or Bleher’s Rummy Nose Tetra is also found in the Rio Atabapo, Venezuela. The Atabapo is a black water river like the waters in the Rio Negro basin – where Heiko Bleher discovered this species in 1965, which was finally described by Jacques Géry and Volker Mahnert in 1987. And note: Hemigrammus bleheri is not be confused with the common Rummy Nose Tetra, Hemigrammus rhodostomus, which is only found in the lower Amazon basin and much less colourful. Also the latter is rarely seen in the hobby today.
Hemigrammus bleheri is one of the best, if not the best, group fish for a biotope correct aquarium and here one can see how they love its discoverer, cleaning his legs and arms from parasites and Aufwuchs…

List of past – present – future expeditions

Heiko Bleher did research for the first time with the native fisherman Pedro from Inirida and Senhor Ernesto in a very remote small creek called Caño Sardiña, a right-had tributary of the upper Caño Bocón, which is an affluent of the Rio Inirida in Colombia. This tiny Caño was very difficult to enter with a small dugout but had an incredible wealth of fishes including some new species. Here hear one can see a few of the nearly 50 different species he found and a nice video from Natasha of this underwater habitat and its fishes including Cardinal tetras.

List of past – present – future expeditions

This amazing beautiful creek, in an remote and untouched area of the Colombian Amazon in the region of the Apaporis, never visited by white man before and with a very difficult access (only by foot) was discovered recently by Heiko Bleher with the help of a Macuna Indian. Here some photos of this unique habitat and a underwater film in the same by Natasha Khardina.

List of past – present – future expeditions

For years, latest since the first official announcement of breeding Pterophyllum altum appeared in popular publications worldwide and in the internet, have aquarists miss-identified this majestic species living only in the upper Rio Orinoco tributaries and nowhere else. Heiko Bleher, who was the first to collect and introduced the 1904 described species in the late 1960s into the hobby. He is a video taken by Natasha Khardina in November 2009 of its habitat and detailed photography how to identify P. altum correctly. Here is a very short preview of the 8-minute video.

To see the full video with all details of the species go here...

Italy – Lecce, 16-18 April, 2010

The great group of aquarists from Italy’s beautiful Puglia region will host their new edition of SALENTO ACQUARI – MEDITERRANEA DISCUS 2010 in Lecce at the Circolo Cittadino (Centro Storico – historic center), in via Francesco Rubichi 25 only 50 m from the central square Piazza Sant’Oronzo on 16-18 April, 2010. For sure it will be another fantastic event, such as the last one where over 30,000 visited the exhibition and championships in this beautiful old Italian town… See also their website

By Rudie H. Kuiter and Helmut Debelius

With more than 4.200 photographs it provides the greatest possible coverage of selected groups of the enormous variety of marine invertebrates in a single book...

Pages: 720

Photos: more than 4200

ISBN: 978-3-939767-25-1

by Amanda Flora Hilda Bleher

Edited by Heiko Bleher 

Finally the English version of  the “Itenéz – River of Hope” – the unique biography of Amanda Bleher, edited by Heiko Bleher, has arrived. In this book Amanda Bleher tells us the true story of her incredible life of discoveries, and primarily that of her two South American expeditions in the 1950s carrying her 4 children into the “Green Hell”...

Available also in German language

ORDER NOW 

2nd Volume of Heiko Bleher's new yearly publication. It shows again the real aquatic world in nature, the expeditions to collect life aquatic creatures and plants, to bring them back alive and introduce them into the most beautiful hobby in the world. Heiko wants for readers to see how fishes live naturally and how they should be kept in aquaria, for people to have the healthiest, nature-like environment in their home, office or school. To stimulate every nature and animal lover to have (or create) a biotope-correct-aquarium. In order to appreciate the aquarium even more, and to have their fishes feel like “at home” in such a natural environment.

This is the second volume with new biotopes from 4 Continents, is now available again only in English and only on-line to download...

Bleher’s Discus – The Monograph

An unsurpassed and comprehensive study of the genus Symphysodon.