Hi all,
It's a sad weekend as we come to terms with the loss of the talented aquascaper Felipe Oliveira. I never got the chance to meet him, but have admired his work and I know that many of you were close to him, so I am sorry for your loss, and the terrible loss his family is feeling.
I thought that at such a low moment, it is important to look for the beauty in the world, and I think many of you will agree, that aquatic plants are pretty good at providing such beauty. Therefore, I thought I would share few more images from my adventures in Brazil, where there are many habitats rich in colourful fishes and plants.
These photos are from the Pantanal wetlands in the west of the country, along the Serra do Amolar, a border region between Bolivia and Brazil which, unlike most of the Pantanal, is flooded year-round. I was exploring this area in May 2021 with members of the Environmental Agency of Mato Grosso do Sul (IMASUL) collecting plants and information for the newly built public aquarium, the Bioparque in Campo Grande, MS.
All these photos are my own and were taken with an Olympus TG5 Tough Camera, with a Backscatter M52 wet lens.
Plants we found here include:
Cabomba furcata
Echinodorus spp. including E. aff. macrophyllus
Eleocharis spp.
Pontederia spp. including P.a azurea and P. diversifolia
Ludwigia inclinata ‘red’
Nymphaea spp. including N. belophylla Tricket
Polygonum spp.
Typha spp.
Victoria amazonica
Fishes we saw here included:
Aphyocharax rathbuni
Bryconops melanurus
Crenicichla vittata
Farlowella sp.
Hyphessobrycon elachys
Hemigrammus tridens
Hemigrammus ulreyi
Hyphessobrycon eques
Mesonauta festivum
Moenkhausa bonita
Moenkhausia dichroura
Potamorrhaphis eigenmanni
Potamotrygon motoro
Serrasalmus marginatus
Ludwigia inclinata and Pontederia sp.
Ludwigia inclinata, Eleocharis sp. and Echinodorus aff. macrophyllus
Ludwigia inclinata, Eleocharis and Pontederia sp.
Ludwigia inclinata
Aphyocharax rathbuni among stems of Pontederia sp.
Pontederia sp. (possibly P. diversifolia) and Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata and Eleocharis sp.
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata and Pontederia sp. (possibly P. diversifolia)
Ludwigia inclinata
Moenkhausia bonita with Ludwigia inclinata in flower
View attachment 1679745707463.jpeg
Ludwigia inclinata in flower
View attachment 1679745720486.jpeg
Exploring the habitat
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata flowering and Echinodrus aff. macrophyllus
That ain't an Echinodorus, this is an Echinodorus!
A healthy specimen of Echinodorus aff. macrophyllus
Victoria amazonica
Victoria amazonica flower
Victoria amazonica
Victoria amazonica
View attachment 1679745556224.jpeg
Pontederia azurea
Pontederia azurea and Nymphaea belophylla Trickett
Collecting Nymphaea belophylla Trickett
Looking down into a clearwater river flowing through the wetlands
Reeds
Aphyocharax rathbuni among stems of Pontederia sp.
Hemigrammus ulreyi
View attachment 1679745657003.jpeg
Aphyocharax rathbuni and Hemigrammus ulreyi
View attachment 1679745687858.jpeg
Farlowella sp.
View attachment 1679745674714.jpeg
I hope you enjoyed the photos! I am currently working very hard on my Aquatic Habitats Book with George Farmer (which is why I'm not posting much to youtube/UKAPS etc). Once the book is done I hope to make a lot more material available.
It's a sad weekend as we come to terms with the loss of the talented aquascaper Felipe Oliveira. I never got the chance to meet him, but have admired his work and I know that many of you were close to him, so I am sorry for your loss, and the terrible loss his family is feeling.
I thought that at such a low moment, it is important to look for the beauty in the world, and I think many of you will agree, that aquatic plants are pretty good at providing such beauty. Therefore, I thought I would share few more images from my adventures in Brazil, where there are many habitats rich in colourful fishes and plants.
These photos are from the Pantanal wetlands in the west of the country, along the Serra do Amolar, a border region between Bolivia and Brazil which, unlike most of the Pantanal, is flooded year-round. I was exploring this area in May 2021 with members of the Environmental Agency of Mato Grosso do Sul (IMASUL) collecting plants and information for the newly built public aquarium, the Bioparque in Campo Grande, MS.
All these photos are my own and were taken with an Olympus TG5 Tough Camera, with a Backscatter M52 wet lens.
Plants we found here include:
Cabomba furcata
Echinodorus spp. including E. aff. macrophyllus
Eleocharis spp.
Pontederia spp. including P.a azurea and P. diversifolia
Ludwigia inclinata ‘red’
Nymphaea spp. including N. belophylla Tricket
Polygonum spp.
Typha spp.
Victoria amazonica
Fishes we saw here included:
Aphyocharax rathbuni
Bryconops melanurus
Crenicichla vittata
Farlowella sp.
Hyphessobrycon elachys
Hemigrammus tridens
Hemigrammus ulreyi
Hyphessobrycon eques
Mesonauta festivum
Moenkhausa bonita
Moenkhausia dichroura
Potamorrhaphis eigenmanni
Potamotrygon motoro
Serrasalmus marginatus
Ludwigia inclinata and Pontederia sp.
Ludwigia inclinata, Eleocharis sp. and Echinodorus aff. macrophyllus
Ludwigia inclinata, Eleocharis and Pontederia sp.
Ludwigia inclinata
Aphyocharax rathbuni among stems of Pontederia sp.
Pontederia sp. (possibly P. diversifolia) and Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata and Eleocharis sp.
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata and Pontederia sp. (possibly P. diversifolia)
Ludwigia inclinata
Moenkhausia bonita with Ludwigia inclinata in flower
View attachment 1679745707463.jpeg
Ludwigia inclinata in flower
View attachment 1679745720486.jpeg
Exploring the habitat
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia inclinata flowering and Echinodrus aff. macrophyllus
That ain't an Echinodorus, this is an Echinodorus!
A healthy specimen of Echinodorus aff. macrophyllus
Victoria amazonica
Victoria amazonica flower
Victoria amazonica
Victoria amazonica
View attachment 1679745556224.jpeg
Pontederia azurea
Pontederia azurea and Nymphaea belophylla Trickett
Collecting Nymphaea belophylla Trickett
Looking down into a clearwater river flowing through the wetlands
Reeds
Aphyocharax rathbuni among stems of Pontederia sp.
Hemigrammus ulreyi
View attachment 1679745657003.jpeg
Aphyocharax rathbuni and Hemigrammus ulreyi
View attachment 1679745687858.jpeg
Farlowella sp.
View attachment 1679745674714.jpeg
I hope you enjoyed the photos! I am currently working very hard on my Aquatic Habitats Book with George Farmer (which is why I'm not posting much to youtube/UKAPS etc). Once the book is done I hope to make a lot more material available.
