Heiko Bleher and Alec McFarlane at the UKDA's event at Hayling Island in Hampshire.

It’s not every day you get chance to talk to a truly legendary explorer. Still less to one who collects fishes. So, as two ardent angelfish keepers, when we got the chance to hold an extended discussion with Heiko Bleher we didn’t so much jump at it as grab it with both hands and both feet too!

Perhaps no-one has ever collected wild tropical fish as widely as Heiko, and very few can have taken such great pains to record carefully and objectively what they have seen and where, and the circumstances of it.

We sent some written questions ahead of the discussion, just to give the interview a little structure, and these are the core of answers Heiko gave in the interview.

ABOUT HEIKO AND HIS FIELD TRIPS

Heiko goes on between 12 to 16 field trips a year, usually at periods of low-water levels. A typical trip takes from one to three weeks. How long depends of course on where it is to, and the manner of transport that is available. If a helicopter, hydroplane or speedboat is available, or if the famous ‘Heikomobile’ can be deployed, then it is likely to be a shorter trip. Otherwise it is likely to be a much more prolonged affair.

In recent years he has typically had one trip to Australasia, in an area such as New Guinea, two or three to Central Asia, around Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan or Xangjiang in China, then one or two to Africa and the rest to South America – but not limited to those areas. So far in his career, Heiko has done upwards of 300 field or collecting trips to the Amazon area alone.

Heiko remarked that in Central Asia there are about 500 freshwater fish species recorded, many of them loaches and cyprinids, and none of them have been kept in Western aquaria or even photographed before. Some of these fish he has found in high altitude areas, up to 3,600 meters. Some are even reported to come from as high as 5,800 meters and he wants to collect and catalogue those as well.

THE EQUIPMENT HE TAKES ON HIS EXPEDITIONS

The equipment he takes depends largely on where he goes. One key piece of kit is a square folding net of about 80 cm x 80 cm. Also there are usually cast-nets, sink-nets and traps. Then of course there is all the photographic gear and measuring equipment for the water parameters, temperature GPS, etc. He even takes equipment for measuring the discharges of electric fishes.

For 90% Heiko likes to travel on his own. Sometimes his partner Natasha goes along and she is one of few people who really seem to cope with the arduous nature of Heiko’s trips. In fact Heiko remarked that the women he has taken along have in most of his trips been able to cope with such hardships – men hardly ever! He mentioned as an example a recent trip to Australia where his male companion found it altogether too hard going. (It should perhaps be mentioned though that the trip was after all a mere 8,000 km on off-road-tracks and in desert-like areas, throughout Australia’s Outback collecting in 25 locations in 10 days… ), Natasha had no problem at all…

Perhaps his admiration of the stoical capabilities of women travelers comes also in part from his memories of his own mother, who was a remarkable explorer in her own right. She took him to live with the Amazonian Indians for 6 months when he was only 8 years old. In fact Heiko has a field book written by his mother and published already in German, called Iténez, Fluss der Hoffnung‘ (‘Iténez, river of Hope’), that he hopes to publish in due course also in English. Even before his mother took up that interest, his grandfather was a well known aquarist in Germany specializing in exotic aquarium plants, and that’s probably where it all started in the 1880s (the modern aquarium hobby, as we know it today – before then there were only goldfishes and coldwater fishes).

Heiko does not mind traveling along with a party at times, but then perhaps on a large boat from which he can take off by himself on a smaller boat and disappear...

DANGERS IN THE AREAS HEIKO VISITS

The great danger that he recognizes facing the areas he visits is human beings. Not so much the natives, more the white ‘colonists’ who bring so much exploitation and destruction to those habitats (and lately also native people have begun to exploit their primary forests, such as in New Guinea, many parts of Africa and Asia, simply because they realize the money they can get from it…). In the Amazon basin for instance, a vast area the size of Europe, over 30% is now treeless and the process continues non-stop day and night. Even in Australia, from the many nature reserves and parks he visited none was intact; there were sheep, cattle and goats everywhere. Heiko quoted numerous other examples, all in the same theme and clearly a cause of great sadness to him.

A particular personal danger he has encountered in various areas can be summed up in one word – corruption. In some places bribery is essential if things are to be got in and out. He mentioned one incident in Africa where he had been for a swim in a river that ran along the border of one country. On leaving the water he was promptly arrested by the local ‘Official’, who charged that he had crossed the centre part of the river while swimming, and therefore had left the country and re-entered illegally (in fact he swam only at the edge of the river…). The official confiscated all his gear, put him in jail and imposed a fine of 6,000 dollars. In the end (after 3 days) he managed to get out with a payment of 300 dollars.

In Indonesia he was arrested and escorted out by the military police. When he showed the head local official all his valid permits from government offices in Jakarta, the response was “I’m not interested in those, Jakarta is 5,000 km away and I am the chief here.” And out went Heiko!

We got the distinct impression from Heiko that his field trips tend to be fun in many different ways…

PERSONAL FAVORITES AMONG AQARIUM FISH

That question certainly made him think. Discus? No, he had spent so much time looking for the different varieties of discus, taking water parameters, stomach research, behavior, etc., but he did not single them out.

Instead he mentioned smaller fishes for instance various characoids like Hyphessobrycon amandae (the fire tetra – named after his mother Amanda), Hemigrammus bleheri, named after himself of course, that he noted were very much group fish, as well as the tiny Tyttocharx species: also various small catfishes that he had found in India and Assam such as Hara jerdoni or Conta conta (which latter looks like a South American loricariid) dwarf Corydoras such as C. gracilis; or the dwarf snake-heads he had discovered, such as the colourful Channa bleheri; the tiny Carinotetraodon travancorcus or C. imitator; from Kerala, India, or the super tiny Pandaka goby he found on Waigeo island, an adult with 9 mm SL accompanied by three young, to give just a few samples. Heiko is also extremely interested in the behavior of strange freshwater fishes and was able to discover some sensational spawning behavior, like for example that of Xenopoecilus sarasinorum from a highland lake in Sulawesi that exhibits a remarkable physical change when breeding: the female inverts her stomach – almost creating what looks like a hole in her stomach – and the pelvic fin becomes twice as long as normal while it performs ‘pelvic’ brooding of 20-30 eggs for about 14 days before releasing them as young and reverting to her normal shape. No one had known this form of breeding before.

AMAZING FISH

Heiko also mentioned an amazing fish he calls the ‘ice fish’ Dallia admirabilis that spends 11 months of the year under ice; a small blind gobiid Brachyamblyopus urolepis he found buried out of half a meter deep mud in Sulawesi (what a job he had to dig a few of those out!); a characin of the erythrinid family that spends 6-8 months a year out of water, as well as many other aquarium fish species he found around the globe living for months on end without a drop of water (so unusual that he is thinking of writing an article entitled ‘Do fish need water to live?’). As far as respiratory systems go, Heiko noted there are about 30 different ones found in freshwater fish, compared to just a few in marines. That he sees as a reflection of the wider adaptation of freshwater fish to different habitats and water conditions and makes him believe that freshwater fishes are much more interesting than the much better studied marine species.

LOOKING FOR EXTREMES

Heiko also likes to look for the extremes, such as most southerly of fish or those that live in the deepest water etc. In general it appeared that he personally finds the behavior of freshwater fishes far more appealing and interesting than their appearance.

We asked him if had come across many fish fossils in his travels. He had, but not so many. One case for instance was of some fossils of Osteoglossum (arowana) he found in Brazil, dating back 60 million years. Belonging to a remarkable family of fish in his view, with two (possibly three, as he thinks he found a third one) species in South America, one in Africa, one in Asia and two in Australia. He also found some fossils from the redtail catfish Phractocehalus hemiliopterus, dating back some 15 million years.

ANGELFISH: Pt. Scalare and Pt. Leopoldi variants

Heiko has often found scalare and leopoldi in medium-deep (1 to 2 m) water in association with Geophagus and Mesonauta species, and sometime in the same areas as Uaru and discus as well as Leoporinus. He has also found smaller, ie younger angels in shallower water (30-50 cm) along with different characoids and dwarf cihlids like Apistogramma spp, and some Mesonauta spp, though he noted he had never found discus in such shallow water.

He drew a clear distinction here between the situation during high water and low-water periods.

At high water time, about 5-6 months of the year, the volume of water in the basins can increase to tenfold that of the low-water levels, with water depth up to 29 meters (100 feet). At that time many trees are under water and there is a vast amount of space and food for the fish – and for their young, because angelfish spawn only at that time of year. All that extra space also significantly reduces the risk of predation.

At low water, the adult angels tend to look for the deeper water at areas of very little or no current such as the so-called ‘lagos’. They are never found in running water. In these areas there is a great deal of predation, with many piranhas (found in every body of water east of the Andes), Hoplias and others. The angelfish tend to spend most of the day hiding around fallen trees and driftwood, their main preference being around such cover on the edge of a drop-off, and always preferring to be in shade. They nibble on all manner of fruit and flowers and probe around, blowing into and picking at the detritus. They also encounter vast numbers of ants and termites, ephemerals (midges etc) and many other insects that also provide an abundant source of food, as well as rotifers in the water.

Leopoldi is a species that have such small mouths compared to the other angelfish variants. He considered that they were probably mostly detritus pickers / eaters, that they take algae, and soft flesh from fruits fallen into the water.

The forthcoming discus book includes a great deal of information about the food taken by discus in those areas (on more than 80 pages), and is very factual because the findings are based on fish dissected straight from the net immediately after capture – that being the only reliable method of obtaining good data on the subject. He also said that he had done stomach analyzing for angels, and wants to publish that at some time in the future, but it is quite similar to that of the discus in his book.

NUMBER OF SPECIES

Heiko’s view was that in general, a further re-classification of angelfish species would only be worthwhile if the precise authentic locality of the collections was recorded, with live on-the-spot photos, and if the study was also backed up by DNA analysis to show how long the variants had been apart. When some scientists such as Kullander have considered re-classifying, they have found they had completely insufficient evidence on which to base any good judgments.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT ANGELS

The true P. altum is only found in two upper Orinico left-hand afluents. And there are two varieties.

The angelfish (P. scalare)varieties found in the Amazon basin below Santarém all look very similar, the typical scalare-type, growing to a typical body size in the wild of around 10-12-13 cm. We asked whether he considered eimeki to be a separate species. He did not, for they had been well studied and most experts agree they are indeed scalare.

In the upper Amazon areas they tend to look different. Further along in the areas around the upper and middle Rio Negro they also look different, for instance the Rio Negro ‘altum’ types, that tend to grow larger than the other scalare variants.

The leopoldi is only found in the Rio Solimões-area (the Amazon above Manaus). They tend to be a little smaller than scalare. The type specimens were only 5 cm SL and Heiko said that the largest leopoldi he found in nature were hardly more than 7-8 cm body size (Alec remarked here that his wild male leopoldi, circa 2.5 years old, has a body length of around 10 cm, but Heiko considered that to be typical: most fishes in aquaria grow larger than in nature).

The probable new species, mentioned in his new book, sounded very interesting. He had brought only two back and those had unfortunately been lost. He is keen to make another collection of that variant. However, Heiko did not want to elaborate further on those fish just yet.

ALTUMS

Regarding the real altums Peterophyllum altum, Heiko has only found them in the upper Orinoco basin where there are no other angelfish species and only that is the type locality (and no other).

They appear in the Rio Irinida (Colombia) drainage and in the Atabapo in Venzuela (he mentioned here in passing that Irinida altums are exported only from Colombia). They have no viable connection with the other Amazon areas as they are separated by white water areas of the Orinoco, that no angel would enter and if they did, they would be eaten by the many predators. That is the likely cause of their distinct (geographical) separate speciation.

The water conditions where he has found altums in the Atabapo vary typically from pH5.8 to 6.5, though in the dry season it can drop to around 5.5. The conductivity is very low, around 18-19 at it’s lowest, and 24-26 at it’s highest. Hardness is below 1 DH.

They tend to be found in deep areas that go down to 4-5-6 meters. In daytime the altums are usually hidden away around 2 meters down around trees and suchlike cover. They are always very scared for predators.

The altums are much bigger fish than the other angels. Heiko has seen very large ones with a fin-span estimated at 40-45cm (16-18”), though the largest actually collected is in the region of 30-32cm (12-13”).

They can swim and maneuver around multiple obstacles at great speed, faster than any other fish in those areas. They achieve the speed by ‘extreme folding’ of their fins while they power off, a feat that hardly any other angelfish can do.

Consequently, they are very difficult to collect during the day, except perhaps for the juvenile fish. Heiko therefore collects them with torch and net at night, when they are to be found near the surface. That is a slow and tedious process that might result in only one, two or three fish in a whole night.

In captivity these true altums have proven extremely difficult to breed. Heiko tried to do that for 30 years in partnership with Dr Eduard Schmidt-Focke of Bad Homburg, without success, and believes that these true altums have not yet been successfully bred in captivity until today. He considers that to be able to breed them, water of 1.5 to 2 m depth may be necessary to provide the required water pressure.

The water where the altums are found is described as “clear but colored”. Even a 5 cm sample of water shows up a brown color.

Heiko noted there is extensive information in his new book about the nature and cause of this water-type.

Adult scalare angels also live typically in deeper water during the day. Such areas will have a depth of 2 to 2.5 m and again the adults tend to stay near the drop-off around tree roots and caves, always where it is shady, never where it is sunny.

The Rio Negro ‘altums’ are also large fish being found in the wild with a body size of up to around 15 cm. The scalares from Peru (upper Amazon basin) tend to fall somewhere in between the Rio Negro’s and the regular ‘scalares’.

BREEDING WILD ANGELFISH

Breeding wild angelfish in general, is something only a small number of people have done. When adult discus are taken into captivity it generally takes 1.5 to 2 years to get them to settle down and breed. The larger scalare variants tend to need deeper water. For instance Horst Linke uses water about 1 meter deep for his wild scalare.

Typically wild angels are best kept at around 28 °C, increasing by around 2 °C or so for spawning. Heiko noted that in the wild the dark water of the Rio Negro area is typically 1-2 °C warmer than adjacent clear water areas.

In conclusion, we can both say that having the opportunity to talk to Heiko about his views and experiences was a real privilege and absolutely fascinating. He takes a rigorously objective and unsentimental view of what he sees and finds, so any discussion with him about such remarkable natural areas of the world as the Amazon is going to have its sad and chilling side when it comes to how those areas are being treated by mankind. No ‘rose-tinted’ views can be expected from Heiko.

So if you ever get even half a chance to go and listen to one of his remarkable presentations – which he gives many times each year all around the world, don’t miss it, for it will certainly be one investment of your effort and time you will never regret - or forget!

His next presentation in the US (so far) will be at the Houston Aquarium Society, on October 21st, 2006. In the UK there are 2 scheduled in 2006: one at the UKDA-Show on October 7th and 8th; and at the OATA-Conference in Birmingham November 13th and 14th. Heiko will also give presentations in Germany, Spain, Russia, Malaysia and elsewhere in 2006, but all angel lovers will want to note: In Prague (Czech Republic) there will be the FIRST INTERNATIONAL ANGEL FISH Exhibition and Competition with lectures and prizes at the 3rd AQUAFESTIVAL 2006 – beginning of November 2006.

ABOUT HEIKO'S UPCOMING BOOK

		Bleher's Discus - The Monograph (.pdf 3.25mb) An unsurpassed and comprehensive study of the genus Symphysodon

The first volume of Heiko's new book is planned to be published early next year, called “Bleher’s Discus” Part I. In that book, which is a compilation of about 50 years of research on the genus Symphysodon with new taxonomy and information about the entire Amazon basin as probably never given before, he has also included very extensive maps showing the range of discus he has found, and much information about their water conditions. He has not done the same mapping of angel fish though he thinks it a good idea and he would like to do so at some point in the future. There are maybe 5 mentions of angels in the book, including one of a beautiful new variety that he considers may well be a new species.

The book itself is a very major work in two volumes, with more than 5,000 photos and over 1,200 pages.

The first volume covers subjects ranging from the first discoveries and experiences with the fish in captivity, taxonomy, distribution, the different varieties of discus, their habitats, feeding in the wild, and the culture of the Indians in those areas where discus are found.

The second volume, that he hopes to publish around May 2006 in time for the Interzoo, covers the first breeding of discus in captivity, initially in the US; the hobby before and after WW2, including accounts of well known breeders such as Dr Schmidt-Focke and others in Europe, the USA, South America and Asia; discus around the world, varieties etc; the classification of discus, including varieties from around the world, like Malaysia, Hong Kong, Germany and the USA; practical advice on keeping and feeding both wild and tank-bred varieties and his own experiences with them; finally a section on the future of discus in the aquarium and in nature.