Crenicichla | WILD NATURE AQUARIUM

The natural habitat of the pike cichlid

The most beautiful and yet most trusting fish in the wild were the Crenicichla species, or pike cichlids. But their name also says it all: They eat anything that is about half their body length. In their natural habitats, they can only be seen living peacefully with other large fish such as banded cichlids and large Leporinus tetras. The habitats themselves look very different. Sometimes you can see over 20 Crenicichla living in harmony, with no major disputes, at a depth of just 50 cm under a tree trunk lying in the water. Sometimes you’ll see some at a depth of eight metres between stones or wood. But they are never found in open water, and very rarely over sandy areas. This means that these predators are always seeking cover from even larger predators, presumably the much larger predatory catfish. Very occasionally we saw single catfish, resting at greater depths on sandy areas. It was very noticeable during our Crenicichla observations that the animals were hardly ever alone or in pairs. Had they been characins, I would have called them schooling fish. However, as there is a hierarchy within the Crenicichla, these were not shoals, but groups of animals. It’s like a pack, in which there is a social hierarchy.

JBL Expedition - Research & Adventure

Since 2001, the JBL research team has been organising expeditions to the home of aquarium and terrarium animals in order to learn more about their habitats and to be able to breed more species by optimising the aquariums and terrariums. This reduces the number of species taken from the wild, even though it has been proven that capturing the animals does not pose any threat to the populations. Biotope analyses include light measurements (lux, UV-A & UV-B and PAR value), water analyses (pH; KH, GH, O2, conductance, temperature, Fe, K, salinity & Ca & Mg in seawater), feeding trials, behavioural observations, nocturnal observations and documentation of the habitats in photos and videos. One to two years before the start of the expedition, JBL releases a call for applications to nature enthusiasts on its website. All initial applicants are selected by lot. In the event of cancellations, repeaters then move up. The JBL expeditions offer great opportunities to observe fish and invertebrates undisturbed in their biotopes while snorkelling. Of course, this is only possible in clearwater and blackwater. Whitewater, i.e. rivers often coming from the mountains, are usually unsuitable due to their low visibility. The itinerary is organised in such a way that each participant has as much time as possible to observe animals within their own area of interest. Indigenous people usually help us find the right locations for the fish, e.g. altums or freshwater rays. Some expeditions are relatively inexpensive to organise, others are significantly more expensive due to complicated travel routes or a lack of infrastructure. JBL passes on the price of the trip from the co-operating travel agency to the participants without any surcharge. Almost everyone who has been on a trip before signs up for further expeditions. Everyone seems to really enjoy them …

The WILD NATURE AQUARIUM format

WILD NATURE AQUARIUM is a new format from JBL, in which we illustrate the natural habitats of ornamental fish in short documentaries. We have been flooded with enquiries as to whether it would be possible to prepare and publish our JBL expedition recordings in a more comprehensive format. The result is now the new documentary series WILD NATURE AQUARIUM. From now on, at regular intervals, we will be presenting the biotopes and home areas of a variety of fish species. Immerse yourself in this underwater world and learn some exciting facts about ornamental fish!

© 26.12.2024

More about this topic for you

Altum Angelfish | WILD NATURE AQUARIUM

The habitats of the altum angelfish were quite different. They were always found in Colombian blackwater rivers such as the Caño Sabanitas near Puerto Inirida or the Rio Atabapo on the border with Venezuela.
Read more

Cardinal tetra | WILD NATURE AQUARIUM

Today we are accustomed to the sight of bright cardinal tetras in the aquarium. But imagine what it was like in 1930 when the first cardinal tetras arrived in Germany. It was a real sensation!
Read more

Flag cichlid | WILD NATURE AQUARIUM

The habitats of flag cichlids are very diverse. These beautiful cichlids live between wooden roots and branches, as well as between large stones and huge boulders.
Read more
Moritz Schrobenhauser
Moritz Schrobenhauser

Online Marketing, E-Commerce

About me: Tauchen, Aquaristik, Handball

Comments

Hinweise und Einwilligung zu Cookies & Drittinhalten

Wir verwenden technisch notwendige Cookies/Tools um diesen Dienst anzubieten, zu betreiben und abzusichern. Des Weiteren verwenden wir mit Deiner ausdrücklichen Einwilligung Cookies/Tools zum Marketing, Tracking, Erstellen personalisierter Inhalte auf Drittseiten sowie zur Darstellung von Drittinhalten auf unserer Webseite. Eine von Dir erteilte Einwilligung, kannst Du jederzeit mit Wirkung für die Zukunft über den Menüpunkt „Cookie-Einstellungen“ widerrufen.
Mit dem Klick auf „Alle erlauben“ erteilst Du uns die ausdrückliche Einwilligung zur Verwendung von Cookies/Tools um die Qualität und Performance unseres Dienstes zu verbessern, zur funktionalen und personalisierten Leistungsoptimierung, die Effektivität unserer Anzeigen oder Kampagnen zu messen, für personalisierte Inhalte zu Marketingzwecken, auch außerhalb unserer Webseite. Dies ermöglicht uns personalisierte Online-Anzeigen und erweiterte Analysemöglichkeiten über Dein Nutzerverhalten. Dies beinhaltet auch den Zugriff und die Speicherung von Daten auf Deinem Gerät. Deine Einwilligung kannst Du jederzeit mit Wirkung für die Zukunft über den Menüpunkt „Cookie-Einstellungen“ widerrufen.
Über die Schaltfläche „Einstellungen ändern“ kannst Du individuelle Einwilligungen zu den Cookies/Tools erteilen, widerrufen und erhältst weitergehende Informationen zu den von uns eingesetzten Cookies/Tools, deren Zwecke und Laufzeiten.
Mit dem Klick auf „Nur unbedingt erforderlich“ werden nur technisch notwendige Cookies/Tools eingesetzt.

Our data protection declaration tells you how we process personal data and what purposes we use the data processing for.

PUSH messages from JBL

What are PUSH messages? As part of the W3C standard, web notifications define an API for end-user notifications that are sent to the user's desktop and/or mobile devices via the browser. Notifications appear on the end devices as they are familiar to the end user from apps installed on the device (e.g. emails). Notifications appear on the end user’s device, just like an app (e.g. for emails) installed on the device.

These notifications enable a website operator to contact its users whenever they have a browser open - it doesn’t matter whether the user is currently visiting the website or not.

To be able to send web push notifications, all you need is a website with a web push code installed. This allows brands without apps to take advantage of many of the benefits of push notifications (personalised real-time communications at just the right moment).

Web notifications are part of the W3C standard and define an API for end user notifications. A notification makes it possible to inform the user about an event, such as a new blog post, outside the context of a website.

JBL GmbH & Co. KG provides this service free of charge, and it is easy to activate or deactivate.