Expedition Peru

Among the poison dart frogs and bristlemouth catfish in the jungle near Tarapoto

Aqua-Terra facts

Fish found

Cichlids

Crenicichla, Bujurquina moriorum, aequidens, (Oreochromis)

Catfish

Ancistrus, Chaetostoma, Pimelodus, whale catfish

Characins

Bottom dwelling tetras, Astyanax bimaculata, Leporinus, Chilodus

Water values

Rio Hualaga

°C: 26-29.9 / pH: 7.0 / GH: 5 / KH: 4 / conductance in µS/cm: 348 / O2: 10 mg/l

Tioyacu

°C: 19.3 / pH: 7,4 / GH: 5 / KH: 5 / conductance in µS/cm: 250 / O2: 10 mg/l

Waterfall Ahuashiyacu

pH: 6.0 / GH: 0 / KH: 0 / conductance in µS/cm: 15 / O2: 10 mg/l / Fe: 0.2 mg/l

Waterfall Catarata de Sabaloyacu

pH: 7.6 / GH: 3 / KH: 4 / conductance in µS/cm: 140 / O2: 9 mg/l / Fe: 0 mg/l

Air values

Air temperature

24-27 °C

Humidity

80-84 %

UV-A

2.4

UV-B

0.94

Tarapoto: Never heard of it? Don’t worry – only poison dart frog experts from around the world know this place. Tarapoto is about an hour’s flight south-west of Iquitos. Most domestic flights in Peru radiate out from Lima, but there are direct flights from Iquitos to Tarapoto, which lies on the edge of the Andes at an altitude of 350 metres. That may not sound like a great height, but the flora and fauna differ greatly from the lowland rainforest of the Amazon (Iquitos lies 100 metres above sea level).

Although Villa Lu Amazon Lodge has absolutely nothing to do with the Amazon, it is beautifully situated in the forest just outside Tarapoto. There is also a small river flowing past the lodge, which naturally piqued the team’s interest. With a water temperature of just 22 °C, a GH of 9 °dGH, a KH of 6 °dKH and a pH of 7.75, a surprising number of fish species were found. Unfortunately, dusk was already falling, so underwater photography was only possible with the aid of torches.

Upon arrival, a visit to the URKU Centre was immediately on the agenda; it was located just a few hundred metres further along the same road. The manager, Carlos Vecco, had planned the programme in Iquitos and Tarapoto in advance with expedition leader Heiko Blessin and helped to organise it. JBL has been supporting the URKU Centre for some time, both financially and by providing JBL products for the aquarium exhibition, which aims to familiarise locals with the underwater fauna of the surrounding rivers. The URKU Centre is committed to nature conservation, takes in confiscated animals and informs the public about nature conservation issues in the region.