This article was first posted in July 2004 on the Singapore website
and forum
of which Benny is a moderator: www.aquaticquotient.com
Sarawak Adventure
by Benny Ng
of Singapore
Aquarticles
Photos © Benny Ng - Please advise Benny and Aquarticles before use.
Was in Sarawak earlier and thought I'd share the trip with you guys...
Kuching was our point of entry. The weather was fine for most of the trip, but we were
peppered with occasional showers.
CLICK ON PHOTOGRAPHS FOR ENLARGEMENTS, THEN GO
"BACK."
Our first stop was to collect Betta brownorum, so off we went into the forested
areas around Kuching. As the trails were not marked, sometimes we had to be careful not to
lose our way. Most of the time the collection area looks exactly like that all around you,
with no defined trails at all.
This is a close up of a typical area where bettas would be found. A good start to
the trip as we found a couple of bettas shortly after we started.
Next, we went looking for aquatic plants, namely Cryptocoryne species...
This was one of the small streams that we chanced upon.
 
Exploring further, Mr. Tree found something! But we couldn't see what it was from where we
were. So the moral of this story is that those who are not willing to get wet are not
going to see/get anything.
The rewards of wet toes...Cryptocoryne longicauda! Actually, there was a lot of
it. We collected a few stalks as specimens and moved on.
Running around like that can make you really hungry and we went to the local market for
food. Couldn't pass up the chance to get some pictures at the fish store:
A lot of the fish seen in the rivers end up as food for the locals, be they snakeheads,
rasboras or anabantoids.
Of all the fishes there, only the snakeheads were still alive, a testimonial as to how
hardy this species can be. The rest were packed in ice to keep them fresh.
This is one of the stops that we made, hoping to see some Betta taeniata.
Instead, we found many barbs, rasboras and halfbeaks.
From above their colour is not obvious, to protect them from predators overhead.
We were not getting what we wanted as the water was becoming shallow, so we moved on to
another part of the stream. Besides, the mosquitoes were really attacking us. As can be
seen, this was an "S" shape bend, so there was a corner with some slower
currents. Also, there was some litter in the water giving plenty of hiding places for
fish, and more importantly, an overhanging canopy over the water where the betta would
feel comfortable.
We were pretty confident in finding something here and we were not disappointed!
Finally! The object of our desire! - Betta taeniata! We found quite a few -
if I recall correctly, a total of 8 specimens. After selecting some for photography, we
put the rest back into the stream.
Besides Betta taeniata, here are some of the other species that we came
across...
Hemirhamphodon pogonognathus - Rasbora sarawakensis - Rasbora
borapatensis
Puntius kuchingensis - Noemacheilus sp. - Puntius
sealei
And here's another picture of the Betta taeniata
Betta taeniata biotope
We went back to the river after getting some pictures, but it started to rain. So we
journeyed on.
A rare shot of the "expedition" team.
One of our next stops was a clear water cave which can only be reached by following a
river upstream.
Plenty of fishes as usual, including loaches, flying foxes etc., amongst barbs and
rasboras..
The fish swim all the way in to the cave. According to our host, there should be some
blind cave fish deep inside too. As dusk was approaching, we decided to save this
exploration for another trip.
The scenery outside the cave was beautiful in my opinion. And there were plenty of good
rocks that were suitable for aquarium aquascaping, all rounded by water erosion. True
Malayan driftwood was available there too. But their weight was enough for us to just
enjoy it there.
One more picture for keepsake, with our host Mike, before we call it another wonderful day
in Sarawak.
The second day...
Somehow, the weather was sunny, as if reflecting our enthusiasm. The drive was very
pleasant, with friendly villagers waving us along as they returned from church. (Yup! It
was a sunny Sunday). Children were also curious as to what we were doing in the river.
Here is one of the collection points beside a bridge where we stopped. We found Cryptocoryne
keei. This area is actually some kind of makeshift "swimming pool", where
there was a platform as well as wooden seats just above the water line. On other days, we
can just imagine children swimming and having fun here. As usual, there were fishes and
freshwater shrimps. But our discovery of the Cryptcoryne species overshadowed
everything else.
Rasbora caudimaculata - Rasbora sp.
As we moved on, we were considering exploring black water streams for licorice gouramis
and more bettas. However, the next stream we came across was still a clear water stream.
Here, we managed to find fresh water puffer fish! (Carinotetradon salivator).
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture.
We also got some freshwater shrimps and crabs.
For those interested in a true biotope of barbs and rasboras, here it is! Not much
to look at; no plants, fairly fast flowing and well oxygenated water. So if you want to
create a biotope tank, I don't think it'll be too difficult. The fish are circled in red.
Betta pugnax, the only thing that followed me home from Sarawak. It's a fairly
greedy fella and I need a lid to keep it from jumping out.
Besides catching fish, we also did a bit of sightseeing. We detoured to Gunung Gading
National Park, hoping to see Rafflesia, the world's largest flower.
Actually, there were loads of fish there too. The second two pictures are close-ups from
the first area, showing the biotope of some of the barbs. You can actually see a
freshwater crab too if you look carefully.
It was indeed our lucky day! Mike, our host, had not been successful in the past few
visits, but we were spot on!...
Here it is! - Rafflesia, the world's largest flower. Amidst the rain drizzling
down on us and the slippery wooden walkway, we found it just at the side. Could have be
easily overlooked if we had not looked out for it. You can see that the flower is actually
bigger than a football.
Basically, the weather changes quickly and it usually rains in the afternoon. Here, our
car was parked at the side while we explored the surroundings nearby. Often we came back
caked in mud and dripping wet. Despite this, our gracious host didn't insist that we rode
on the top of his car!
The roads there were basically two lanes and not lit at night. This restricted our
activities to daylight hours only, which was just as well, otherwise we might have died of
exhaustion.
Lundu was another place where we found a lot of fishes, including Betta anabantoides.
As can be seen, it was raining when we were collecting. So raingear is a must if you are
planning a similar trip.
For those taking pictures, this is how I protect my gear from getting wet - simple and
effective.
Betta anabantoides!
Here are the rest of the fishes that we collected at Lundu...
Chocolate gourami! - Three spot gourami - Rasbora einthovenii
Systomus hexazona - Rasbora kalachroma - Rasbora
pauciperforata
Channa bankanensis, and close-up
Two of the freshwater shrimp species collected.
Here's a picture of my favorite betta again. Real close.... Taken in my hotel room.
The third day, we decided to travel all the way to Batang Ai, and further on to the
Kalimantan border. No easy feat for a day trip, but our host Mike was game enough to take
us there.
En route, we found more cryptocoryne! Cryptocoyne ferruginea.
This is Sri Aman. Crocodiles are supposed to be pretty common here.
We wanted to stop at Sugarbun (Sarawak fast food chain) for lunch, but an earlier
expedition report advised otherwise, so we gave it a miss.
En route, we saw many local drainage areas with plants...here's one.
When we finally got there, we found that some of the rivers on the map were simply too
large for exploration. As you can see, the water is pretty fast-flowing. Fish caught
there do not survive long out of the river.
But we were not entirely disappointed... as we found black water streams!!
And from this stream, we found a new fish! Or rather, something we could not identify! We
were pretty excited about this rasbora and there's a better picture later.
We also saw more aquatic plants, but I'm no expert at ID so if anyone knows what this
might be, please drop me a note. ( ngminchai@gmail.com
)
As the roads were very bad, our exploration time was greatly reduced. But with the fishes
in hand, we were pretty satisfied with how the day had turned out.
So we went to do more sightseeing!
After Batang Lupar we decided to visit the famed Batang Ai Dam. Incidentally, there's a
longhouse run by the Hilton Hotel chain there. So for those of you used to urban luxury -
fear not.
Here are more pictures from Batang Ai.
And this is Batang Ai itself. I believe Batang means river. Look at all the blyxa,
and the famed Fish Hunter in action!
Here is the unidentified rasbora that we caught at Lubuk Antu.
Puntius binotatus - Rasbora sp.
On our last day, we decided to do a quick dash and splash, hoping to find Betta
ibanorum.
So it was off to another black water stream in Matang! We did catch some spiny eels and
very small Betta ibanorum, but we threw them back as they were not the size we
were looking for.
We were not so lucky at the first spot and got nothing except leech bites. OK, I admit
it's a gross picture. But for those wanting to go on these trips, insect bites are part
and parcel of it and there's just no two ways about it. So next time, when you pay S$10
for the Betta pugnax, think about the collecting folks and what they have to go
through.
Here's a picture of the man who made it all possible! Thanks Mike!
As we flew off and had an aerial view of Sarawak, we could almost make out some of the
places we had visited. Then looking to the left, we saw Kalimantan!
It won't be long!!! (p.s. Mr. Tree was there shortly after this trip but that's a
separate report).
End of field report. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
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