Congratulations on a fantastic video! It is very well done—very well filmed and written.
It was especially nice to see the diamond tetra footage; it serves as a wonderful supplement to your TFH article on them (“First-Ever Photos of Diamond Tetras in Their Natural Habitat,” TFH January 2010). I loved seeing the leaf fish that drifts past the tetras. At first I thought it actually was a leaf!
All in all, a great job!
David E. Boruchowitz, Editor-in-Chief, Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine
www.tfhmagazine.com
I can really recommend "The FRESHWATER NATURAL AQUARIUM DOCUMENTARY". This documentary shows us many fantatistic underwater views from Venezuela which include both common aquarium fishes as well as really rare ones that we never have seen before. In May we had a large aquarium meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden and Ivan visited us and then also showed this documentary and it was a great success and afterwards it was tremendous applause.
Kjell Fohrman
Gothenburg, Sweden
Hi Ivan,
FANTASTICO!!!!!, well made movie and very good narration. The underwater photography was more than adequate, rated more excellent. You made an excellent movie Ivan and I'm going to encourage anyone that I get in contact with to order the movie. Congratuations, you done well :)
Frank Magallanes
www.opefe.com
672 SE Parrott Street
Roseburg, OR 97470 USA
Dear Mr. Mikolji,
On behalf of Gold Coast Aquarium Society of South Florida, I would like to thank you very much for the showing of your outstanding video production, “Freshwater Natural Aquarium.”
The consensus amongst our organization is that this video is a superb combination of information and artistry. The photography of fish, plants, animal life, plus the environmental analysis of their habitats makes this one of the premier videos in the aquatic field. Beautifully enhanced by the superb cinematography and the haunting background music, we found the entire presentation to be riveting.
I personally have reviewed the DVD several times and have discovered more and more fascinating information to be gleaned from each showing. It is a true masterpiece of Nature Cinematography. I look forward to viewing your other works.
Thank you again,
Lloyd H. Colvin
President, Emeritus
Gold Coast Aquarium Society
Hi Ivan,
I am back from my vacation and it was a pleasant relaxing time, just a perfect one to watch your documentary. And I did it three times! (So far...)
If I had to express myself in one word, I would say: MAGIC! While watching the documentary, I felt very much like being in Venezuela and swimming with the fish. This is what I was hoping for and I got a plenty of it. The quality of the footage has exceeded my expectations by far, it is really brilliant and the selection of scenes, commentary, music... it all matches to a perfect product.
People who like nature documentary would love this one, and people who like fish (especially South American) would just go crazy!
So, maybe the best one-word expression would be: THANKS! I really enjoyed watching it. I like very much the part with the coral snake. It gives me a feeling that I am in the place (and I should step back to get into a safer distance). The visual demonstration of drying water body with dying fish is also quite impressive, something that one has to see. The freshwater rays... and the Dicrossus female taking care of the fry... marvelous.
Since I found your work few years ago, I have regarded you as someone who is capable of taking great underwater photos and videos. And for sure you know the habitats very well. Now I know that you can actually make films and you are good in it. Please keep up this work!
My feeling is that apart from just “watching”, this documentary “Freshwater Natural Aquarium” brings some general information about waters and fish in Venezuela. But more than an education, I would say that it is an adventure which will bring a lot of emotion and inspiration to any aquarist. Great introduction.
And I would like to see more of these documentaries, going into details for particular biotopes, fish groups of other phenomena of this environment.
I will write a review of this documentary for our magazine klub.akva.sk/akvarium.php. It will be fully positive – the only drawback is the price which is too high for many people, but I cannot say that it is inappropriate. And I will definitely buy some of your other DVDs in the future.
Thank you once again for making this inspiring documentary!!!Best regards,
Marketa
klub.akva.sk/akvarium.php
"Ivan Mikolji's Freshwater Natural Aquarium documentary is a 'must-have' for every true aquarium enthusiast.
The footage of the natural below water habitat is unbelievably beautiful and to see well known aquarium fish as tetra's, cichlids and several catfish in their natural surrounding is fascinating and instructive at the same time. It also makes you realize how very vulnerable this habitat is and therefore the importance of nature preservation to make sure these animals do not extinct in the near future. Let this DVD inspire you to create a natural aquarium for your fish and enjoy them even more. For the real 'fish lovers', this DVD is worth every penny!"
René Claus
The Netherlands
Splendid all around dvd captures the true beauty of the Venezuelan waterways.
Ivan and all at Mikofish did a great job planning this expedition and showing all of us nature upfront.
This is a first hand eyewitness view of these unexplored realms so to speak. Seeing the fishes that grace our fishtanks in nature is really remarkable.
I recommend this dvd and the other three previous dvd’s by Ivan as they are the only ones that show us the true grace of the Venezuelan waterways”
Gerry Wood - Salomon,
Canada
Hi Ivan, I received your DVD yesterday and only just finished watching it. Fantastic mate!
What a lovely and well put together documentary. The cinematography was beautiful as it show cased the diverse array of fish species found in Venezuela. An eye opener to all aquarist enthusiasts wishing to understand and replicate their fishes natural habitat.Thank you Ivan for bringing that little piece of Venezuela into my home. Keep up the great conservation work, all living things need our protection including fish and their habitat.
Thank you and congrats on the conservation work.
Jim Rabba- Melbourne,
Australia.
The video was fantastic. I found the footage to be crisp and clear. The information was accurate. I used it in my fish biology class to demonstrate adaptations for different environments. My only regret that I did not want it to end. I wish it was 4 hours long!!! :-)<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>
Anthony I. Mazeroll, Ph.D.
Director, Environmental Studies
Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies
Soka University of America
www.soka.edu/mazeroll
Ivan, I’ve just finished viewing your DVD. In one word, AMAZING! It shows tropical fish in a way seldom seen, by the hobbyist who has yet to take a collecting trip or a collector who has yet to take the time to stick his/her head under the water before the cast net is thrown. Bravo to you and your team!
As a hobbyist, I focus on South American cichlids, it would be nice to have river locations and water parameters given with the fish named. This would go a long way in helping us to associate imported fish (many importers give locations now) with required water conditions. As hobbyist we must do a better good of maintaining the wild fish we receive.
Also, I think a DVD on the Cichlids of Venezuela would be well received.
Al Knowles
Tampa, FL
United States
Dear Ivan,
I would definitely recommend this DVD to people who are interested in setting up a Biotope aquarium. It certainly was a good eye opener. I thought the music use fitted the 'feel' of the DVD as well. I thoroughly enjoy the purchase.
Thanks for the great documentary. Hope to see more in the future.
Cheers,
James
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Ivan,
I 've watched your dvd and I must say: fantastic, marvelous ! ! ! I'm very impressed. We, aquarists, are always searching and looking forward for films like this (your expedition movies):
I only can say : please go on and don't stop. Great work ! ! !
Kind regards,
Ludovic
Belgium
Dear Ivan,
I would definitely recommend this DVD to people who are interested in setting up a Biotope aquarium. It certainly was a good eye opener. I thought the music use fitted the 'feel' of the DVD as well. I thoroughly enjoy the purchase.
Thanks for the great documentary. Hope to see more in the future.
Cheers,
James
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Ivan,
The DVD is awesome.
It was a bit short, but I understand the difficulty of making such a movie/documentary. The part with the Satanoperca daemon, I really love that one. I am so jealous at you. Hahaha
I think this DVD is a must have, specially for people with the interest in south American fish, in my case cichlids.
Keep up the good work Ivan and I hope you make another good documentary soon.
Greetings from the Netherlands!
Erik van Manen
Hi Ivan,
I liked it a lot, a "must have & see" for every keen aquarist of South American fish. I currently keep S. daemon,and D. filamentosus, amongst others,and I kept Mesonauta and Biotodoma in the past. Lovely to see them in their natural habitat! I hope you can make more of this stuff!
I also keep Uaru fernandezyepezi from the Rio Atabapo area,a tributary of the Orinoco,would love to see those in one of your films in the future!
Keep up the good work!
Best regards, Patrick Verstraeten.
Belgium
Dear Ivan,
I`ve watched your freshwater natural aquarium film many times since I got it. It is a fantastic work that I would recommend to every serious aquarist with a request to create as natural aquarium as possible.
Quality of film shooting, pleasant music, and comment with written scientific names of the fish make it a very educational documentary. I have to express all my compliments to you and to your work. With you we finally got a person who is able to show as how the natural habitat of many common aquarium fish really look like.
We know many "famous" ichthyological explorers and "experts", who care mainly for self-promotion instead of giving as useful information from the field. You fill up the gap. Thank you very much for doing this for us and for our hobby.
Best regards
Marko Zupancic from Slovenia
Hey Ivan,
I just finished watching the dvd. Simply outstanding. The best documentary that I have seen. The video was crystal clear with a great description of the animals on it.
Thanks,
Marcus
Canada
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