Cichlid River: Orinoco cichlids in nature (Satanoperca, Hypselecara, Cichla, Heros, Crenicichla etc)

This clear water stream, draining the Colombian Llanos region is home to a wide variety of cichlids. Heros liberifer, Mesonauta insignis, Cichla orinocensis, Crenicichla sp. Orinoco (also known as Crenicichla sp. Venezuela), Aequidens superomaculatum, Satanoperca daemon and chocolate cichlids (Hypselecara coryphaenoides) all share this habitat with a wide variety of other species. Check out this video as a follow up to our “Orinoco Aquascape”, “Orinoco Delta” and “Predator Pool” videos. Thanks for watching!
Xingu Geophagus: • Xingu eartheaters: Geo...
Orinoco Aquascape: • Orinoco Aquascape in n...
Orinoco Delta: • Lower Orinoco Cichlids...
Predator Pool: • Predator Pool - Peacoc...
Heros in nature: • CRENICICHLA (new dwarf...
Rummynose in nature: • RUMMYNOSE tetras in na...
Index:
00:00 Introduction, overview of our other Orinoco videos
00:20 the Orinoco Llanos region and Orinoco river geography
00:45 the Orinoco Llanos in dry season
01:10 migration: the rivers of the Llanos in rainy season
02:02 check out our Predator Pool video!
02:12 the clear water river in the Colombian llanos
02:29 Mesonauta insignis, the yellow flag cichlid in nature
03:01 Hemiodus thayeria, the hockey stick tetra in nature
03:17 Bryconops giacopinni in nature
03:24 Crenicichla sp. Venezuela , pike cichlid in nature
04:06 Aequidens superomaculatum in nature
04:32 the flag tail , Semaprochilodus kneri in nature
05:42 chocolate cichlid habitat, Hypselecara coryphaenoides in nature
07:01 earth eater, Satanoperca daemon in nature
07:36 Cichla orinocensis, peacock bass in nature
08:03 Leporinus ortomaculatus and Leporinus altipinnis in nature
08:34 the mouthbrooding severum, Heros liberifer in nature
09:10 Satanoperca daemon feeding in the habitat
09:42 Platydoras costatus, raphael catfish in nature
10:21 the river mouth, Rio Orinoco tributary
10:46 spotted stingray in nature, Potamotrygon motoro in the habitat
Also check out our other videos of other famous fish in nature:
XINGU BOOK VIDEO: • Rio Xingu Book Release...
DISCUS IN NATURE • wild Discus breeding i...
GOLD NUGGET PLECO collecting - • GOLD NUGGET PLECO , Ba... ( Baryancistrus xanthellus )
CARDINALS in nature - • CARDINAL in NATURE / N... ( Paracheirodon axelrodi )
APISTOGRAMMA in nature - • BLACKWATER! APISTOGRAM... ( Apistogramma alacrina )
CORYDORAS in nature - • CORYDORAS in NATURE ( ... ( Corydoras habitat destruction )
STINGRAYS collecting in nature - • Catching STINGRAYS - P... ( Potamotrygon motoro )
BLUE RAMS in nature - • BLUE RAM - RAMIREZI CI... ( Mikrogeophagus ramirezi )
Guides:
GEOPHAGUS guide • Geophagus - Guide to A...
HEROS guide: • Severum Cichlids and o...
Pike CICHLID guide: • Pike cichlids, Crenici...
PIRANHA guide: • PIRANHA Guide I: PYGOC...

[@Jerry4baker]

I want some of those Orinoco dwarf pike cichlids

[@AndrBo66]

Danke für die interessanten Eindrücke, tolle Aufnahmen.

[@belowwater]

Danke!

[@MakoyUnggoy]

You already know it's going to be a good video if cichlids are the main feature!

[@belowwater]

Yes, cichlids always get lots of views on the channel.

[@Gilsfishroom]

Another great video. I had to rewind a couple of times to see the Chocolate Cichlids.

[@belowwater]

yes, it is a bit far away, I have some more close up footage somewhere, will show that eventually!

[@callenclarke371]

Excellent content. Informative, accurate, authentic. No cichlid-lover should miss this channel. Well done.

[@belowwater]

thank you.

[@creightonfreeman8059]

This reminds me of the old Herbert Axelrod publications only in video form. Bravo!

[@kaiturefalls]

What a beautiful video. I am very familiar with the Orinoco river for I was born in Guyana. Now I have three tanks with nothing but cichlids. Started out with just 10 convicts in a 40 gallon, then went up to a 55, and now a 90 gallon. Soon I will have to start looking for a bigger tank.

[@belowwater]

Thank you very much!

[@markthomas3730]

Finally ! a professional Channel covering this region/topic. thank you

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@ChbrNatureVideos]

Awsome video 👋👋👋 Loved the pikes and orinos the most

[@belowwater]

Make sure to check out the pike cichlid videos in the description.

[@ChbrNatureVideos]

@@belowwater That is my first comment but I seen some videos of you alredy. Love the temensis and black wolf fish aswell. It is funny how sometimes you mix fish in your aquarium and appears this is how they live in nature. I remeber I had sp. Venezuela and an Orinoco together plus a wolf fish and they were quite fine together.

[@belowwater]

@Chbr Nature Videos great to hear. Yes, as long as they are the same size it can work quite well. Especially if the cichlids are not in pairs. Those _Crenicichla_ get out of control when they are paired up....

[@theseaworldd]

Very informative 👏

[@WorldAquariumSingapore]

Wow super video there cheers

[@belowwater]

Thanks for the visit

[@michaela-be4le]

You have introduced me to more species than all of my other subscriptions combined....just amazing 😉

[@belowwater]

Thank you, that is great to hear!

[@arcilafish]

Amazing video! Lots of information!

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@Michael98721]

Good to see some rivers that haven't been wrecked with dams! Great video!

[@belowwater]

This one is too small, thankfully.

[@snerg64]

This is one fantastic and informative video. Thank you so much. Simply beautiful, seeing is believing, it gives so much more info about the natural habitat than stuff found on so many dedicated websites and forums. No bias, pure natural environment moving in front of one's eyes. Btw. I am still after your books here in the UK. Hope to see the website functional in this regard soon. All the best with the projects you are involved with. I'm always hungry for more, take care.

[@belowwater]

thank you!

[@jacekpalacki771]

Very good job !!!👍

[@belowwater]

Thank you! 👍

[@TheBobRick]

Please make more of these. I love the super HD up close shots of the fish in their natural environment. Amazing.

[@belowwater]

thank you. There will be a several RIo Xingu videos coming soon.

[@jimt5683]

Amazing. I wish you can travel the world's and do freshwater fish species in there natural habitat and show us here on KZbin!

[@vitaliyvyntu4566]

Very interesting

[@longschlong5341]

Great vid son!

[@klausoxen6597]

Many thank's for sharing ,Oliver 👍

[@belowwater]

Many thanks!

[@kevincollis2172]

Amazing video and description of these fish in their environments. Makes me want to keep Severus again!

[@belowwater]

IT would be interesting to try Hoplarchus, Mesonauta, Heros, Aequidens, Hypselecara and Satanoperca in the same tank. It would have to be at least 3m/10ft

[@uncleknife9887]

Fascinating! God Bless You for sharing it w/the world.

[@ghyeoh76]

Great underwater adventure

[@oscardean6351]

This Is lovely, seeing many of the fish I keep in their natural environment and seeing how community fish really do live in communities much like they do in our tanks 👍☹️

[@belowwater]

thank you!

[@theseaworldd]

Beautiful 😍

[@jdssurf]

amazing, would do anything to go dive there

[@konliner9286]

Thanks for making these videos.

[@belowwater]

Glad you like them!

[@thomascallaghan5988]

Once again an other masterpiece ,great work sir. Thank you for your precious time.kindest regards tam 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@faiq_000]

Absolutely love every video you share.

[@belowwater]

thank you so much, as the channel continues to grow it is nice to have positive feedback!

[@jorg8564]

Hallo Oliver, ich bin per Zufall auf Deinen Kanal gestoßen und begeistert :-) tolle Videos und detaillierte Informationen! Viele Grüße nach Kanada aus Düsseldorf, Jörg

[@belowwater]

Danke!

[@andrewsager7928]

Another great video Oliver. 👍👍 Seeing these fish in their natural habitat really can take fish keeping to a whole new level. Looking forward to the new website.

[@belowwater]

yes, soon. Likely with the new book.

[@dutchaquariumzone9492]

Wow, great one. One of the best in the wild i seen.

[@belowwater]

Wow, thanks!

[@eligebrown8998]

Way cool. Love the clear video. I want to take up scuba diving.

[@belowwater]

thank you!

[@rpliegos]

I loved your new video, it is awesome to see our favorite cichlids in their natural habitat and how they co-exist with each other!

[@belowwater]

Thank you very much!

[@roten2902]

ich sehe es immer wieder gerne...😉👍👍👍

[@belowwater]

danke!

[@Snakesheds]

Great video Oliver! I'll be going through all of the videos

[@belowwater]

thank you. I can use the views - the robot that runs things will love that.

[@toddratson7526]

I really love to see these fish in their native environment as I think it is an important part of conservation for both the fish and their environment. As I keep many of these species myself I would love to see the addition of temperature, pH and TDS of each location. Thank you for documenting and sharing this information. Cheers from Canada.

[@belowwater]

I don't bring test kits anymore, to be honest i think measurements taken in peak dry season have not much relevance. The water is always really soft, the pH in these clear water rivers is around 6.0 (6.2 in this case, we did measure), temperature 26C. In the rainy season those values will be very different. They are often lower (because more organics and leaf litter is in the river, flooded out of the forest).

[@guy8646]

Awesome video. I love these. It’s amazing to see the natural habitat.

[@belowwater]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@svenwiberg2563]

loved and shared

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@mhammers100]

Great video with great information. Thank you for that!

[@belowwater]

Thank you, nice to get a lot of feedback on this one.

[@MiZaquaNature]

love it. informative to fish lover who is love natural habitat style.

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@zemunusrcu3805]

Thx for this great video.

[@toddwelch1616]

great video as usual Oliver! thanks for all the scape inspiration! You really have made me a much better aquarist!

[@belowwater]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@australianbiotopes4563]

Very Nice! Thanks for sharing 🙂

[@belowwater]

Thanks for watching!

[@mikeyb5612]

amazing video and narration thank you. It was so cool seeing some of the fish I keep and know in that setting.

[@belowwater]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chisaquaticvibe6524]

Fish are amazing!

[@belowwater]

Thank you.

[@formercityboy9772]

so much info in one video. need to watch for a second time later. thank you for putting up this.

[@belowwater]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fredrikhultgren4136]

Fantastic work👍

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@markoilic8628]

Fantastic content!!! Thank you!

[@belowwater]

thank you

[@SirTenoch]

I honestly can't get enough of these videos!!!! They are so inspirational!!!

[@belowwater]

thank you!

[@TMKAquarist]

Such a great video!

[@belowwater]

Thank you!!

[@dariuszkarczynski7142]

Great video. Thank you. Good work.

[@belowwater]

Thanks for watching!

[@dariuszkarczynski7142]

@@belowwater My pleasure, but I prefer to swim underwater in the rivers, streams and cannels.

[@raskitampati3558]

Wow ❤❤

[@adammoran1057]

Very cool channel love the videos

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@drockingfish]

Awesome! Loved these!! Keep them coming!

[@belowwater]

thank you.

[@llorakbretz]

yay just comment guys, natural channel and i love it

[@belowwater]

thank you!

[@Nansen1981]

Great video thankyou.

[@belowwater]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Tucompamark]

Thank you bro

[@belowwater]

thank you!

[@briancole1950]

excellant!

[@belowwater]

Many thanks!

[@stevenbisset8717]

love this

[@belowwater]

thank you

[@miagardiner7025]

Asolutly love these nataural abitate vidios. So informative. Thank you for sharing.

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@Gabriel-qh5yv]

Really nice video ... always you guys you surprise me with beautiful videos to watch 🙂

[@belowwater]

Thank you very much!

[@13souldigger]

Great chanel 👍

[@belowwater]

Thank you 👍

[@user-hm2fb9iu9q]

exciting😱

[@azaquarium123]

Amazing, I love seeing the Festivums in their natural habitat.

[@belowwater]

yes, really underrated fish.

[@azaquarium123]

@@belowwater I found some at my local shop and I bought all six of them. in quarantine for the past 4 weeks, moving them to a 40 gallon next as they grow just need to set it up.

[@zekethefishgeek8690]

I like this alot... still looking for juvenile Black Arowana in their natural habitat as well as the Gulper Catfish...

[@belowwater]

thank you.

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

fascinatin

[@freezaLMAP]

very interesting to see the natural habitats of fish, i'd love to see more corydoras :D

[@belowwater]

there should be at least 10 Corydoras videos on the channel, but there will be a second "10 nice Corydoras" - Part 2 coming soon.

[@freezaLMAP]

@@belowwater 10 videos are not nearly enough :) looking forward to part 2!

[@shayandevi9870]

Your videos are fascinating ! This is exactly the kind of content I'm looking for to create my community thank of apistogrammas ! I still have a lot of research ahead of me to create something realistic that my future fish will thrive in ! Thank you so much ! Can we find your book in French ?

[@belowwater]

Non désolé

[@hoefnerfishing]

Really nice video again! What is the second Satanoperca species there?

[@belowwater]

It is an undescribed species i would think, it is similar to _S.mapritensis_ , i think there is a few seconds in our "3 dwarf cichlids video" kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKCzop9qeKyIY8k , the Orinoco Delta video (mentioned in the description) shows the real _S.mapiritensis_ .

[@hus4781]

Looking forward to the new website as I have been trying to find the Amazon below water book for quite a while

[@belowwater]

yes, soon. the new book will be available then also. I have around 300 Rio Xingu videos i have been holding back to launch with the new book...

[@cmn8352]

❤️❤️🔥🔥

[@imrichdo]

Very nice and valuable underwater shots. What underwater camera did you use?

[@belowwater]

All different ones, this older stuff shot in high resolution is filmed with a Canon 1Dx II or Canon 1Dx

[@imrichdo]

@@belowwater superb

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

Great video! 🙂👍 This is the type of footage I was hoping to see on pay TV, my main reason for getting it. Got sick of Whales, Dolphins, Seals and Penguins, cancelled the subscription!

[@belowwater]

Thank you!

[@pmaldonado100]

❤👏👏👏👏

[@aquarius9224]

Hallo, sehr wertvolles Video für Biotop Aquaristen. Hätten Sie vielleicht einen Tipp für mich? Mich würde sehr das Biotop des Serrasalmus rhombeus (Schwarzer Piranha) der im Orinoco, Amazonas und Surinam vorkommt. Wie sieht es da mit den Wasserwerten aus, bezüglich der Leitfähigkeit und dem pH Wert? Evtl. Gesamt - und Karbonathärte? Wo bekomme ich diesbezüglich solchen genauen Informationen? Vielen Dank im voraus!

[@belowwater]

Wir machen bald den Teil 2 von unserem Piranha Video, aber im Teil 1. ist das Biotop von Pygocentrus cariba, da sind auch S.rhombeus dazwischen, aber natürlich als Einzelgänger. Die Biotope in unserem Baryancistrus xanthellus Video, am Rio Xingu sind genauso ein Vorkommensgebiet der rhombeus. Die Art ist weit verbreitet, und dementsprechend sind die Wasserwerte sehr unterschiedlich je nachdem wo die Tiere herkommen. Generell, mit pH 6.5 und weichem Wasser ist man gut beraten. Wir messen alle immer nur in der Trockenzeit, die Wasserwerte in den Tropen sind aber genauso dynamisch wie bei uns auf der Nordhalbkugel, ich würde daher nicht so sehr darauf achten genau welche Werte jetzt einmal in einem Biotop gemessen wurden. Mein Teich ist momentan 4C und pH5. Wenn ich den dann nach der Schneeschmelze im April/Mai messe wird der wärmer sein und weicheres Wasser, aber einen höheren pH Wert aufweisen. Im JG Shedd Aquarium in Chicago haben sie S.rhombeus nachgezüchtet, im ganz normalen weichen, leicht sauren Wasser, ich denke eher, daß großvolumige Wasserwechsel da den Unterschied gemacht haben.

[@abubbleoff1742]

I just hope they protect these water ways

[@belowwater]

There is not much there, the place is too dynamic (floods in rainy season) to plant anything, and there is not much top soil. As you can see in the beginning of the video, there is not a lot of trees to cut either, so I think most of this region is quite safe. The western Llanos region now has some palm oil creeping in, but it is not like the ecological disasters elsewhere.

[@alkgugl8925]

Спасибо за интереснейшее видео из дикой природы. Держу около 3 лет группу рыб Satanoperca daemon из 4 особей,пойманых молодыми в дикой природе. Стараюсь максимально приблизится в содержании к их биотопу. Нехватвет информации по их рациону, если вы можете поделится особенностями их питания был бы очень этому рад. Ещё раз большое вам спасибо за эту работу.

[@belowwater]

A question regarding their diet in the wild: i think most of the cichlids that dig in the substrate you would get a diet of detritus/sediment, insect larvae/crustaceans, algae. Those percentages will vary a lot depending on the habitat and season. I don't think it is that essential in feeding our fish, but remember that when fish feed in nature like this they pick up a lot of fine sand and also the bacterial mass that holds together the surface layer. in an aquarium that is not the case. - sorry i hope this helps, i did not trust the translation program on this....

[@alkgugl8925]

​@@belowwater спасибо я все понял

[@mgrootjans7051]

Are there also corydoras in that area?

[@belowwater]

no, I did not see any.

[@nielsottens8046]

What would the temperature be in these rivers troughout the year? Is it colder in the rainy season, and by how much?

[@belowwater]

I have not been to this place in the rainy season, the temperature in the river will be lower, but a lot of those fish migrate out into the flooded Llanos plains at that time. During filming this was at 26C/76F, but you can find the same fish in a huge spread of different temperatures from the low 20s to the low 30s Celsius.

[@nielsottens8046]

@@belowwater do you think species like satanoperca, hoplarchus, hypselecara in the aquarium should be fine with temps as low as 23-24 degrees celsius in the winter? As long as it gets hotter in the summer?

[@belowwater]

@@nielsottens8046 it is ok, but i find they do not do well longterm in those temperatures, in nature it is very different, the pathenogenic load is a lot lower. So if you keep the fish outside the "normal" range make sure to keep up water changes and maybe add UV.

[@nielsottens8046]

@@belowwater ah yes, understandable. They would probably be more prone to sickness at lower temps. 24-25 for the winter might be better in tanks then. And higher in summer ofcourse.

[@ironhorse4206]

What is the ph in the river before the rains?

[@belowwater]

6.2 when i measured this time. I think that is a good average for these clear water streams.

[@parceroo]

thanks for sharing, I also have some videos from some rivers of Colombia, please take a look

[@belowwater]

I will check it out

[@coolwater411]

Can you do a natural habitat on ( Sundadanio rubellus "Neon Red Rasbora")?

[@belowwater]

no, i have never been there

[@coolwater411]

@@belowwater can you go their with your crew?

[@belowwater]

@@coolwater411 that would cost way too much money. It is just a bllackwater swamp with riparian plants, you would find Boraras maculatus, Betta coccina, Chanda filamentosa etc. Typical black water fish.

[@coolwater411]

@@belowwater u do have a crew right?

[@belowwater]

@@coolwater411 no, for what?

[@icanseeyouallfromuphere]

Your videos are excellent, i am always going on about aquarium trade tanks are extremely undersized, for some size tanks, any fish, anything less than a 4' tank for a pair of Apistogramma alone is not right in factual relation to natural habitat !

[@belowwater]

yes, a lot of fish behave much more natural when they have enough space.

[@kenzangeobio3054]

Dude you have butchered lots of scientific terms. It seems like you don't really know Latin?

[@chuckarooful]

That commentary is intolerable, sorry

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

You seem insufferable, this is top notch content with an expert commenting