Heiko Bleher was invited to go on a field-trip to unique and remote Romanian aquatic habitats and to the Danube-delta, together with the famous Romanian ichthyologist Teodor T. Nalbant and friends.

_{Teodor and Heiko looking over the Danube-delta map for the field-trip destinations during the three following days and nights of collecting. See below}

^{_{Along the road to the Danube-delta: “Stay cool”, or “Get onto the nutline” or “laid” – were some of the choices at this Romanian adverts…}}

^{_{The first collecting spot was this (totally) destroyed and contaminated (polluted) habitat at Costanza, in this outflow of water from freshwater lake Tabacarie into the Black Sea were everyone bathed…}}

^{_{In search for the second collecting spot in the “jungle” of the Danube-delta}}

^{_{The lake Sinoe habitat was full of grasses and aquatic vegetation such as Myriophyllum and Potamogeton species. We collected many specimens and 10 different species here like:}}

^{_{The Golden grey mullet Liza aurata…}}

^{_{…and the Tubernose goby – Proterorhius marmoratus}}

^{_{The biotope was green with algae and waste-water of the surrounding buildings. Still there were some fishes and also Potamogeton species still growing}}

^{_{A second one, the Racer goby – Babka gymnotrachelus…}}

^{_{…and a adult specimen of a third one the Marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus}}

^{_{The survivor found throughout Romania, Carassius gibelio, but the toxic water has caused it severe damages, there is hardly any chance for fishes to survive in this contaminated habitat}}

^{_{The Three-spine-stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus – a male in breeding colour}}

^{_{And exactly here, where all the waste-water ends up in the Black Sea everyone take a bath…}}

To see more photos of the collecting in Romania, next page… 

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