Heiko Bleher...

[Innesfan]

...has passed away. There's no question that he made a tremendous contribution to the hobby, though from what I've often heard, his philosophy of business and science owed much to the Axelrod method. Like Axelrod, his name lives on in the names of many species perhaps most notably the third rummynose tetra, Petitella bleheri.

https://moaph.org/article-archives/heiko-bleher-memorial/

 

[emeraldking]

I was already notified the day he passed. For his death was sudden according to his loved ones. Nobody expected it. He also was planning to seek for some other fish that week as he kept us updated. Heiko and I had already contact for years but we finally met up in person in 2012 during an event. I'm also known in the German aquatic scene. He was looking for my stand for he was notified that I would be there as well. And the contact remained... His funeral was this past Wednesday in Italy...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Another big loss for the world of fish keepers.

I do thought that the new name for this tetra had been updated. So I asked Google "Petitella bleheri or Hemigrammus bleheri"and this was the AI answer:

Hemigrammus bleheri and Petitella bleheri are the same fish, with Hemigrammus bleheri being the currently accepted scientific name for the Rummy-Nose Tetra or Firehead Tetra, a species formerly known as Petitella bleheri.

Why the change?

Phylogenetic Analysis:
Recent molecular and morphological analyses have shown that H. bleheri is more closely related to other Hemigrammus species than to Petitella georgiae.

Synonymy:
Due to these findings, Petitella bleheri is now considered a junior synonym for Hemigrammus bleheri.

Both quotes above are from the Google AI

I never met Heiko, However, many years ago on a new, but now defunct, Pleco Forum members could submit questions for Heiko. I asked if he thought that zebra plecos would eventually become extinct in the wild and he replied that he thought this would be the case due to the construction of the Belo Monte Dam on the Rio Xingu.

 

[Innesfan]

The reclassification of the three rummynose tetras to Petitella occured in 2020. I'm not aware of a revision since then. If that's the case, Petitella is the current name for the genus. If there's something more recent, please do share it with us.

I don't often inquire of AI but your post left me curious about it. I got a very different response that jives with the science that I'm aware of:

<<
Hemigrammus bleheri and Petitella bleheri are the same fish, with Petitella bleheri being the currently accepted scientific name for the fish commonly known as the Firehead Tetra or Brilliant Rummynose Tetra. Previously, it was classified under the genus Hemigrammus, but recent analysis moved it to Petitella. The name Hemigrammus bleheri is an outdated synonym, though the fish is still sometimes sold or referred to under this older name.


Key Distinctions:

• Petitella bleheri : This is the correct and current scientific name.
• Hemigrammus bleheri : This is an old, outdated synonym.>>

 

[GaryE]

Fishbase, a reliable source for nomenclature, shows three Petitella species - bleheri, rhodostoma and georgiae.

AI, an unreliable source, says what it will.

 

[FranciscoB]

A great loss indeed. Of course there is also Melanotaenia bleheri and a few others.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

...has passed away. There's no question that he made a tremendous contribution to the hobby, though from what I've often heard, his philosophy of business and science owed much to the Axelrod method. Like Axelrod, his name lives on in the names of many species perhaps most notably the third rummynose tetra, Petitella bleheri.

https://moaph.org/article-archives/heiko-bleher-memorial/

Haha my only interaction with Heiko was at a convention when he threw a hissy fit that Jack Wartley had a better table location than he did. Lmao. We peasents were graced with his presence.

 

[Back in the fold]

Our departed friend Byron had a long and ongoing correspondence with Heiko Bleher and frequently mentioned things he learned from him about characins . Byron loved his Tetras .

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I find it amusing the the same AI gave two virtually opposite responses.

But, I read Byron's post on rummynose. He and I almost never disagreed and I am not about to start now. Nor am I inclined to disagree with Innesfan. So, I have to agree that the AI lied to me. I have kept rummys off and on over the years and always preferred the Petitella bleheri when possible.

 

[simonas]

Haha my only interaction with Heiko was at a convention when he threw a hissy fit that Jack Wartley had a better table location than he did. Lmao. We peasents were graced with his presence.

David Sands wrote a nice piece about him on FB recalling his temper and hissy fits but also highlighting his passion for the hobby and crazy energy to discover and learn