u/ThenAcanthocephala57

All found are native species.

Betta pulchra, Rasbora einthovenii, Boraras maculatus, Channa lucius, Silurichthys indragiriensis, Trichopodus trichopterus, Eugnathogobius siamensis, Channa striata, Parosphromenus tweediei, Desmopuntius hexazona, Trichopsis vittata

Bonus:
Nymphaea nouchali (flower), Neurothemis fluctuans (dragonfly)

Two species are endemic; B. pulchra and P. tweediei. They are only found in Johor, Malaysia. Previously also in Melaka.

The P. tweediei is also endangered.

However due to the long haze and fire, the water is quite low and more polluted. The fish diversity is reduced compared to previous years.

All found are native species.

Betta pulchra, Rasbora einthovenii, Boraras maculatus, Channa lucius, Silurichthys indragiriensis, Trichopodus trichopterus, Eugnathogobius siamensis, Channa striata, Parosphromenus tweediei, Desmopuntius hexazona, Trichopsis vittata

Bonus:

Nymphaea nouchali (flower), Neurothemis fluctuans (dragonfly)

Betta pulchra, Rasbora einthovenii, Boraras maculatus, Channa lucius, Silurichthys indragiriensis, Trichopodus trichopterus, Eugnathogobius siamensis, Channa striata, Parosphromenus tweediei, Trichopsis vittata

Bonus:

Nymphaea nouchali (flower), Neurothemis fluctuans (dragonfly), Anthracoceros albirostris (hornbill)

Ciak rumah, burung yg sangat common di Malaysia sekitar bandar

Ceratogarra cambodgiensis, the Cambodian logsucker or ikan susur batu.

Grows to 20 cm and lives in clear, fast-flowing headwaters and rocky streams with high oxygen saturation in the northern Malay Peninsula.
Down until Perak and Terengganu.

They scrape algae and biofilm off of rocks using a specialised sucking disc. They live in shoals but fight for hierarchy.
Males develop red mouths and sharp tubercles around the snout during the breeding season.

In the aquarium they can live in communities, but they may chase similar bottom-dwelling fish. Their shoals usually number 4-10 individuals.

B. ibanorum

Rhinogobius similis, the Amur goby.

An invasive species from East Asia. It is now found on the west coast, notably Klang Valley, Penang and Perak.

Males grow to 10 cm and females 6 cm. They have been recorded in ex-mining pools, lakes and urban rivers/streams.

They are highly adaptable, displacing our native species and outcompeting them. They also feed on fish fry and eggs at the bottom.

Based on my sampling of areas in K. Valley at least, they seem to be the most common small freshwater goby there now.

Desmopuntius johorensis, ikan jalur ara or the six-banded barb.

A small (6 cm) fish native to the peninsula and southern Sarawak. It generally inhabits swamps with acidic water.

However I found a few in this drain / longkang along with rasboras, gourami and other native fishes. This is quite common during the northeast monsoon season in Kelantan and Terengganu.

They can be distinguished from tiger barbs (an Indonesian fish) by their slimmer body and having 6 stripes instead of 4. They also tend to have a darker reddish body colour.

Six-banded barbs are peaceful fish which can coexist with other species in a community tank. They are a schooling fish and should be kept in groups.

Heliocypha perforata, the common blue jewel or permata biru.

A species of damselfly native to Malaysia. Inhabits clean, fast-flowing rocky streams, forest streams, and waterfalls, sometimes up in lower montane forest.

Males are colourful, displaying their brilliant black and blue colours to females. They also defend their territory and fight for the best spots by the stream.

The nymphs grow underwater under rocks. But they are highly sensitive to pollution, and thus the presence of this species is a good indicator of water quality!

Rhinecanthus aculeatus, the Picasso triggerfish or jebung coreng hitam.

Grows to 30 cm and is found on subtidal flats, shallow protected lagoons, and sandy-rubble margins in both sides of Malaysia.

They blow jets of water into the sand to uncover mollusc and crustacean prey. When facing sea urchins, they turn the animal upside down and bite the underparts.

They are active during the day and solitary, chasing away intruders. During breeding they will even bite humans.

They are not under threat, but they are commonly collected for the aquarium trade due to their beautiful patterns. I’ll include a photo in the comments to show.

T. trichopterus

T. trichopterus

T. trichopterus

🇲🇾

Probably about 3-4 years old

H. parclitella

H. parclitella

Homaloptera parclitella, ikan puting beliung or red saddleback loach.

Found in oxygen-rich fast-flowing rocky streams of the East Coast and the Bernam, Perak and Muar rivers. To 10 cm long.

It grazes on rich biofilm covering the rocks while also catching any worms and insects.
However it is highly sensitive to mud and pollution and its presence in any stream is a bio-indicator of high water quality.

On Borneo it is replaced by its twin, H. orthogoniata. Both fish are identical in habits and ecology, being sister species. They only differ physically by the pattern on their backs.

Some people call them red lizard loaches due to the way they seem to crawl on the rocks and hop between boulders. They tend to avoid directly swimming in the strong flow of their habitats.

Homaloptera parclitella, ikan puting beliung or red saddleback loach.

Found in oxygen-rich fast-flowing rocky streams of the East Coast and the Bernam, Perak and Muar rivers. To 10 cm long.

It grazes on rich biofilm covering the rocks while also catching any worms and insects.
However it is highly sensitive to mud and pollution and its presence in any stream is a bio-indicator of high water quality.

On Borneo it is replaced by its twin, H. orthogoniata. Both fish are identical in habits and ecology, being sister species. They only differ physically by the pattern on their backs.

Some people call them red lizard loaches due to the way they seem to crawl on the rocks and hop between boulders. They tend to avoid directly swimming in the strong flow of their habitats.

Sadly the ditch had a slight algae bloom (the green film at the surface).
But it didn’t seem to have an effect on the pearls as I caught at least 30-40 of them here!