Field Trip to Southern Pahang, Malaysia

by Zhou Hang
from his website http://www.ikanpemburu.com/
Aquarticles

28th February 2004
On 28th February, Roland (core cameraman), Nicholas (driver), his wife Dawn, his unborn kid (?!) and myself went on a one day trip to Road No. 63 in Southern Pahang State.

We had quite a long drive - about 3 or 4 hours from Johorbaru. We met very early in the morning, and then Nicholas the driver began his tough day.

My target fish as usual were wild bettas - Betta tussyae and Betta waseri. The others didn’t have anything particular in mind, so I was the one to decide which way to go and where to stop.

This is basically the route we covered.... Really appreciate Nicholas' car - Haha!

As we went north towards Mersing I decided to take them (actually Nicholas took us) to a place where I had collected some chocolate gouramis before, since I knew that both of my friends keep or have kept these fish.

We turned left towards Ayer Hitam at Jemaluang. (Recently I found out that Cryptocoryne schulzei can be found very near here). The road was bad as they were still fixing it. After the rest of the team started to worry about my sense of direction, we reached the collection point.

This is the stream that flows out from the swamp. Some Puntius lateristriga (spanner barb), Puntius binotatus (spotted barb), Rasbora einthovenii (long-band rasbora), and Betta pulchra were observed.

This is the swamp itself...I am back...It still has sufficient water. The boundary of a palm plantation is only a few hundred metres away, so I do hope this beautiful place can remain as it is.

The first fish we caught here were Rasbora pauciperforata (red-striped rasbora). Roland and Nicholas were simply amazed by the bright red colour in my net. This is the moment of joy when it comes to field trips. Fish look so much better in their natural environment.

Roland was lucky here. He was the only one who caught chocolate gouramis - five of them. I had bad luck. But we did also catch some pikeheads (Luciocephalus pulcher) and leaf fish (Nandus nebulosus). The others were happy as it was very good start, but I wasn't yet! Someone left a “landmark” here before we left - I hope whoever else visits this place watches where they step!

Chocolate gouramis normally hide in thick vegetation like this.

We stopped for breakfast, then passed by the town of Mersing and reached our second collection point - the Cryptocoryne cordata point. I am not sure what time of year this Cryptocoryne flowers, but we were lucky enough to see the flower again. This must be a seductive scene for 'Cryptomaniacs'!

What happens in the dry season. What a waste!!

Cryptocoryne griffithii were found there too. Roland caught more chocolate gouramis - I didn’t catch any here last time! More hands and more nets means more fish. Somehow I caught a few too, and as a courtesy to show our appreciation, Roland and I reluctantly gave a few to our driver. It felt great to be in the water.

The others were desperate to catch their dream fish, Puntius hexezona, the six-banded barb, which is an endangered species back in Singapore and seldom found in the local markets here either.

Fish like to hide under branches like this. It is timeless deep inside the jungle.

A barb we collected - could be Osteochilus sp.

An aquatic plant, growing very well.

A Rasbora gracilis on my hand. Other than that, and the harlequin rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha) the fish population was rather small here.

After lunch somewhere near Kuala Rompin, we finally headed to Road No. 63. My day had started at last.

This was one of the first streams we tried - just a temporary canal. The water was a deep brown colour. I couldn’t see any fish, but there were a lot of shadows and it looked very promising. Eventually Nicholas and Roland found that this was their paradise!

With the very first scoop we caught some Rasbora einthovenii. Nothing special about the species, but they were the most beautiful R. einthovenii I have ever seen! Their colour was so brilliant.

Nicholas with his cool sunglasses. Look at the way he scoops for fish - can you see why he couldn’t catch any chocolate gouramis?.

They caught more than enough six-banded barbs here, which I would call 'coral red' six-banded barbs. A little bit exaggerated, but the fish in this stream were especially red.

I didn’t measure water parameters during this trip, but should have. Luckily the cameraman didn’t forget his role. I took this picture; the last one I took. Can you tell how many were mine earlier?
Any bettas? No…the only labyrinth fish caught here were croaking gouramis (Trichopsis vittata).

A solid red Boraras maculata in the net. (And thanks to someone for their finger making the focussing easier).

The second to last point we stopped at. We did cover some other places but none were really special, and I was getting worried because there was not much time left.

It was a small stream, flowing out from the forest behind. It was full of the others' dream fish, Puntius hexezona and Boraras maculata, and they could be caught very easily. Roland doesn't show up in the photos but this doesn't mean that he didn’t take part in catching fish.

It was an unshaded area, so the three of us turned red like the fish under the strong sunlight, while Nicholas’s family (?!) was waiting in the air-con car. Looks like the “Pahang” sunlight has a universal effect on fish and humans. (No way!).

I knew they wouldn’t stop until they caught all the fish in the stream, so I followed the stream up into the forest with my net and a few plastic bags.

This forest meant a lot to me at the end...

No pictures of the biotope - but the forest floor used to be a swamp. The water was already dried up and I could only see a few small pools around. I didn’t have much hope, but when I touched the water it was cold water from underground. Then I realised that this was a typical habitat of my target fish.

In a very small pool measuring just 60cm. in diameter and less than 25cm. deep, I caught two Nandus nebulosus, a Belontia hasselti, two juvenile Channa bankanensis, a Rasbora einthovenii, and a Boraras maculata. Then I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a tiny little reddish fish in my net - immediately I knew it was a Betta tussyae! Soon I caught a less colourful betta, and it was Betta waseri! So many fish were trapped inside that small pool.

But I had come at the wrong time. The bettas' fins were not perfect, and I could tell they had been bitten by the snakeheads. In such an environment only the strongest survive. Maybe the snakeheads had already eaten up some bettas. How I wished I had visited that place a couple of months earlier.

I read somewhere that bettas are not easy to find during the dry season. I shall definitely go back to this place, since after reaching home I read that Parosphromenus nagyi can be found together with Betta tussyae!

The male Betta tussyae, taken in my photo tank later. Both this fish and the juvenile Betta waseri were missing part of their tails.

Somehow, mission accomplished..... Phew!

We didn’t cover the entire Road No.63. The swampy area along the coast awaits my next trip. At least we know it requires a couple of days or more to cover this area. We will definitely go back again, since someone’s dream fish all died after a few days back in Singapore.

Go to the next article in this series:

Revenge on Southern Pahang, Malaysia