Asia travel, fish expeditions, collecting fish and plant articles.

This series of articles is a photographic account of a tour of China in December/January 2004/5, which included visits to four public aquariums, three aquarium fish markets, and lots of other sights.

new NAGOYA PUBLIC AQUARIUM by Madan Subramanian
Summary: Madan shares his impressions and amazing photographs of the Nagoya Aquarium in Japan - truly a phenonmenal photo essay (112 photos)!

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 1a:
INTRODUCTION, AND THE TOURIST SIGHTS OF BEIJING by Howard Norfolk
Summary: A winter tour of the tourist sights of Beijing, including the Great Wall, Tianenmen Square, and the Forbidden City. Lots of photographs. No fish in this part!

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 1b:
A VISIT TO THE BEIJING AQUARIUM by Howard Norfolk
Summary: The Beijing Aquarium was recently built. It incorporates all the latest ideas. Photographs.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 1c:
AN ARCADE OF AQUARIUM SHOPS IN BEIJING by Howard Norfolk
Summary: A photographic visit to an indoor aquarium mall in Beijing, together with some comments about the aquarium hobby in China.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 1d
THE BEIJING MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY by Howard Norfolk
Summary: The Natural History Museum displays lots of skeletons, and has a small aquarium. Photos.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 2a
XI'AN AND THE ARMY OF TERRACOTTA WARRIORS by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Xi'an was once the capital of China. As well as the famous Terracotta Warriors there are lots of other historic sights. Photos. This article is not about fish!

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 2b
AN AQUARIUM MARKET IN XI'AN by Howard Norfolk
Summary: The aquarium store district in Xi'an is old-fashioned and primitive. Fish are sold outdoors in winter even in sub-zero weather. Lots of photos of goldfish and nice display tanks.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 3a
THE SPECTACULAR SCENERY OF GUILIN by Howard Norfolk
Summary: A cruise down the Li River has been called "perhaps the transcendant tourist experience of all China." Reed Flute Cave. Fishermen at Elephant Hill. Photos.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 3b
A VISIT TO THE GUILIN OCEAN AQUARIUM by Howard Norfolk
Summary: The Guilin Ocean Aquarium was opened in 2003. It has a fine collection of fresh and salt water fish, presented in a straightforward manner. Photos.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 4a
THE SPACE-AGE CITY OF SHANGHAI by Howard Norfolk
Summary: A photographic tour of China's major port city, from the old to the spectacular 21st Century skyline.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 4b
A VISIT TO THE SHANGHAI OCEAN AQUARIUM by Howard Norfolk
Summary: The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is situated at the base of the Oriental Pearl Tower. It must rank as one of the best in the World. A photographic tour.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 4c
JIANGYIN ROAD, A STREET OF AQUARIUM SHOPS IN SHANGHAI
by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Jiangyin Road has a mixture of old time open-air market stands and large modern shops with lots of fish. Photos.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 5
FISH SEEN IN CHINESE RESTAURANTS by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Fish, particularly freshwater ones, are popular food items in China. Large restaurants have tanks full of live fish. Some strange creatures are eaten in China too! Photos.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 6a
A PHOTOGRAPHIC VISIT TO OCEAN PARK, HONG KONG by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Ocean Park is a large aquarium and entertainment complex. It was great fun to visit at Christmas time.

A Tour of China in Winter, Part 6b
THE GOLDFISH PAGODA AT OCEAN PARK, HONG KONG by Howard Norfolk
Summary: The Goldfish Pagoda has a large collection of goldfish varieties displayed in a sophisticated manner. A photographic tour.

TUNG CHOI. THE AMAZING STREET OF AQUARIUM STORES IN HONG
KONG by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Tung Choi Street in Hong Kong is packed with over one hundred aquarium stores. A photographic essay.

new INDIAN COLLECTING EXPEDITION - ICHAMATI RIVER NEAR CALCUTTA by Ravi Chandran
Summary: Snakeheads, eels, knife fish, barbs, pufferfish, shrimp, exotic catfish - this collection expedition caught an interesting catch! And some really GOOD photos too!!

new COLLECTING FISH IN INDIA (UBBALAMADUGU KONA) by Hayath
Summary: Three friends set out on a collecting adventure that yields O. dancena, Puntius conchonius, some shrimp, and a great piece of driftwood. ! Lots of photos.

SOME PHOTOGRAPHIC IMPRESSIONS OF AQUARIUM STORES IN SOUTH INDIA by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Do you visit your home town stores just a little too often?...Then for a change take a tour of these ones in South India! Lots of photos.

MY FISH SOUVENIRS. PART ONE; INDIA AND SRI LANKA by Howard Norfolk
Summary: Wherever I go in the World I can't resist a pretty fish! These are some I met up with in India and Sri Lanka. Photos. See also Part Two: Rest of the World.

COLLECTING TROPICAL FISH IN INDIA by Vinny Kutty
Summary: During a holiday visiting relatives in Kerala, Southwest India, Vinny investigated some streams. He found a variety of fish which are described, but did not come across Etroplus canarensis, a Chromide cichlid which he had hoped to collect.

new ETROPLUS CANARENSIS - THE SEARCH FOR THE RAREST INDIAN CICHLID by Ravi Chandran
Summary: A rather light-hearted photo essay recounting a field collecting trip in India in search of the elusive Etroplus canarensis.

THE HUNT FOR CHANNA by Beta Mahatvaraj
Summary: Beta went to Bangalore, a city in the centre of South India, for a friend's wedding. He took the opportunity to spend a day collecting native fish with members of the local aquarium society. See what they can collect in tropical India! Lots of great photos.

CAUVERYPATTNAM. A fish collection, habitat study and general fun time trip
by R.R. Sriram
Summary: Another nicely illustrated account of a local aquarium group's fish collecting trip in tropical South India.

TADA. Another fun trip by R.R. Sriram
Summary: A group of aquarists from Chennai trekked up a clear hill stream and came across a variety of fish and plants. Many photographs.

PHOTO FEATURE: BHADRA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
by R.R. Sriram and Beta Mahatvaraj
Summary: A group of Indian aquarium hobbyists spent a long weekend in the Western Ghats observing the ecosystems with particular reference to aquatic plants. Photos.

COLLECTION TRIPS: Puntius denisonii by Madan Subramanian
Summary: Madan and his friends went on an exhausting weekend trip to find the elusive Puntius denisonii. A detailed description and lots of photos of its natural habitat.

THE FISH SCENE IN VIETNAM by Ron Ruth
Summary: In the space of six months spent in Vietnam, Ron saw some familiar fish being sold as food. He observed fish, shrimps, shellfish and oysters being collected and farmed, and eventually came across some ornamental aquariums at a Tet Festival display.

THE AQUARIUM HOBBY IN THAILAND by Vinny Kutty
Summary: Vinny found that arowanas are often kept because they are believed sacred. He makes other observations about fish and fishkeeping in Thailand.

THE SEARCH FOR NEW AQUARIUM PLANTS by Holger Windeløv and Claus Christensen
Summary: Holger and Claus, of the Tropica Aquatic Plants company in Denmark, went to Thailand to collect plants. They also enjoyed the local scenery, cuisine, and people. Illustrated.

WE ARE NOT ALONE! A RUMINATION ON BIODIVERSITY AND THE RAFFLES MUSEUM OF BIODIVERSITY, SINGAPORE by Marcus Ng
Summary: "Some researchers estimate that by 2050, half of all species (of the World's creatures) could be lost forever." The island of Singapore has an exceptionally rich variety of species, and the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in Singapore is playing an important role in educating the public about nature's true infinitude but also its vulnerability. A thoughtful and well written article. See also: photographic feature below.

PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AT THE RAFFLES MUSEUM OF BIODIVERSITY
by Budak
Summary: A great collection of photographs of rare or extinct creatures that are on display at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity in Singapore. See also: article above.

A VISIT TO ORIENTAL AQUATICS, OF SINGAPORE by Loh Kwek Leong
Summary: "Oriental Aquatics is one of the biggest, if not the biggest aquatic plant importers/exporters in the World." A photographic tour.

COLLECTING AND OTHER STORIES FROM THE ISLAND OF BORNEO
Summary: The author, Earle Shim, grew up in Sarawak, a Malaysian state in the northern part of the Island of Borneo, and visits often. He describes the wide variety of fish found there and his experiences collecting them.

Michael Lo is an aquarist who lives in Sarawak. He regularly goes on collecting expeditions, and presents below some accounts of his travels, illustrated by his wonderful collection of photographs of familiar and lesser known fish and plants and their natural habitats.

INTRODUCTION, and Part I: KUHLI LOACHES CAST A MAGIC SPELL ON ME!!! by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael and his cousin visited some blackwater streams and found some unusual plants, including their first cryptocoryne. They also caught rasboras, barbs, bettas and three different loach species. Michael found the kuhli loach particularly fascinating - it made him want to continue to explore the jungle streams of Borneo. Photos.

Part II: IN SEARCH OF THE LICORICE GOURAMI by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael went looking for licorice gouramis. He was unsuccessful but caught many other fish, including long-nosed loaches, Channa bankanensis, and spiny eels. Photos.

Part III: THE LONGEST HUNT by Michael Lo
Summary: A search for two species of betta: Betta brownorum and Betta taeniata. Eventually they were both found, and also Betta ibanorum. Photos.

Part IV: BATANG AI - LUBOK ANTU EXPEDITION by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael and friends took a trip into the hills. They found rasboras, barbs and swamp eels, and realised there were still plenty of waters left to explore. Photos.

Part V: A ROAD TO NOWHERE by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael and his cousin explored some blackwater streams that they had noticed on an earlier trip, and found them to be 'catfish kingdom'! They discovered other plants and fish, but were eventually stopped by a flooded road. Photos.

Part VI: A LONG WALK TO KALIMANTAN by Michael Lo
Summary: A trip along a terrible road to the Indonesian border area resulted in the capture of a large variety of fish, including four different rasboras, Apollo sharks, Betta cf pugnax, tiger barbs, loaches, catfish and eels. Photos.

Part VII: GO WEST!!! by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael made several trips to the most western part of Sarawak in search of a particular betta. He eventually found it, and discovered another betta species that had not been recorded in the area before. Photos.

Part VIII: A JOURNEY TO COLLECT FOUR SPECIES OF CRYPTOCORYNE
by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael explores various swamps and streams, and finds the natural habitats of aquatic plants: Cryptocoryne ferruginea, C. longicauda, C.striolata, and C. uenoi. Photos.

Part IX: THE CRYPT. HUNTING TRIP by Michael Lo
Summary: During the Chinese New Year holiday, Michael made a two day trip to a remote part of Sarawak and found a variety of fish and plants. Photos.

MY BIG PLAYGROUND - JUNGLE AND RIVERS OF BORNEO by Michael Lo
Summary: Michael has grown up exploring the jungles and rivers of Borneo. Development and deforestation are now destroying the habitats of many rare creatures, but unfortunately most local people don't seem to mind. Michael intends to continue to spend some of his time investigating and photographing the rare flora and fauna before they are gone forever.

SARAWAK ADVENTURE by Benny Ng
Summary: Benny and friends flew from Singapore across to Sarawak. They joined up with Michael Lo, and spent several days collecting fish and plants. Many wonderful photographs of fish and their habitats - bettas, gouramis, barbs, rasboras, snakeheads, etc., etc.

Zhou Hang lives in Johor Baru, on the southern tip of Peninsula Malaysia next to Singapore. He travels throughout Malaysia and nearby countries in search of fish and aquatic plants. Here are some of his photographic reports.

FIELD TRIP TO TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA by Zhou Hang
Summary: ZH travelled to northeast Malaysia to look for an undescribed betta species. This was found, together with more bettas, snakeheads and other fish. Lots of photos of fish and plants and their habitats.

FIELD TRIP TO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN THAILAND by Zhou Hang
Summary: ZH and his friends went fish collecting around Bangkok, and then flew north to Krabi. They caught bettas, gouramis, rasboras and other fish, and had various adventures, mostly connected with fish. Lots of photos.

FIELD TRIP TO SOUTHERN PAHANG, MALAYSIA by Zhou Hang
Summary: ZH took a long day trip with some friends, and caught bettas, gouramis, rasboras, barbs, leaf fish, and others. Lots of photos.

REVENGE ON SOUTHERN PAHANG, MALAYSIA by Zhou Hang
Summary: ZH returned to Road No. 63, and caught more Betta waseri and B. tussyae, and also Parosphromenus nagyi (dwarf licorice gourami) and many other fish. Lots of photos.

FIELD TRIP TO TANJONG MALIM, PERAK, MALAYSIA by Zhou Hang
Summary: ZH took a bus to Perak State in search of bettas and licorice gouramis. He found them, and some other fish. Lots of photos.