German explorer, author, photographer, filmmaker and editor
Born on October 18th, 1944, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Heiko Bleher is kown in the scientific community for his contribution to the exploration of fresh and brackish water biotopes worldwide. He discovered many new fresh and brackish water species, including aquatic plants. Many of them are carrying his name or location, or are named in honor of Bleher’s family:
Hemigrammus bleheri, Leporinus bleheri, Bleheratherina pierucciae, Steatocranus bleheri, Channa bleheri, Phenacogrammus bleheri, Moenkhausia heikoi, Chilatherina bleheri, Leporinus bleheri, Melanotaenia synergos, Echinodorus bleherae, Echinodorus heikobleheri, Vrisea bleheri, Neoregelia amandae, Vriesea michaeli, Cattleya violacea, Hyphessobrycon amandae, Hyphessobrycon khardinae, etc.
For the last 20 years, Heiko Bleher has been strongly promoting the new direction in the aquarium set-up, which is based on the principle of creating the authentic aquatic biotope in the aquaria. His intention is to give the fish the same environment as the natural one – including the décor material, water plants (or none) and correct aquarium mates. The aim is to protect the aquatic fauna and to conserve it for future generations through aquarium breeding.