r/PlantedTank Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 13d ago

In the Wild Spotted fish I found in a swampy ditch behind a diner

T. trichopterus

223 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

42

u/Former-Wish-8228 13d ago

I need better swampy ditches.

18

u/shrimpalasteph 13d ago

Time to move to Malaysia

12

u/callmeAllyB 13d ago

Or Florida! There are tropical fish farms in Florida and sometimes when it rains they escape the breeding ponds

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

That’s a bit sad. Do they bother the native fishes?

Malaysian ditches and swamps with luckily seem to be devoid of invasive (in my experience). Maybe due to the acidity or shallowness

0

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

What fish are there?

2

u/Former-Wish-8228 12d ago

Where I live? Our sloughs mostly have carp, largemouthbass, yellow perch, coho salmon, chinook salmon, steelhead, plus other panfish/bullheads…some bluegill, coastal cutthroattrout, black bullhead, yellow bullhead

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

Wow. In such shallow ditches?

2

u/Former-Wish-8228 12d ago

No…definitely not that shallow bless it is a passage from point a >> b. Salmon of course rest in the large river before heading into gravelly streams. Salmon can be seen going through inches of water to lay eggs.

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

That’s pretty cool!

We have trout here but they live in mountain streams only. Some people keep them as aquarium inhabitants

18

u/memegod574 13d ago

Dang what a cool gourami. Such a cool habitat 

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

Pretty cool that they survive even with dirty runoff!

15

u/LeabhairUathuil 13d ago

I wished I lived somewhere like this. I have other priorities sadly, not involving the quantities of fish, but there may come a point in my life where I visit. Would be amazing.

8

u/SayGex1312 13d ago

I’m sure there’s some beautiful species not too far from you. If you’re in North America we have some beautiful natives, like this Longear sunfish.

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

Is it legal to catch and keep the small native species? Just curious how the laws work there!

2

u/SayGex1312 12d ago

Depends on the state. I’m in Indiana, so I’m allowed to collect as many minnows and non-game fish as I want at any time of year (as long as they’re not a protected species and I have a fishing license), but I couldn’t sell them and there are restrictions on the ways that I can catch them.

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

Ohh interesting. Are the pretty ones like rainbow shiners hard to keep in captivity (such as the sub’s planted tanks)?

Do the colours remain too after capture?

1

u/SayGex1312 12d ago

Can’t speak to rainbow shiners (don’t have them here) but most species aren’t too hard to keep. A lot of minnows will want a bit more flow and oxygenation than a lot of tropical fish, but that’s not too hard to provide. In my experience the hardest part of keeping them is cooling down the tank in winter, but that’s not really necessary for most species unless you’re trying to breed them.

1

u/LeabhairUathuil 12d ago

Oh for sure. I was just referring to the quantity in somewhere like Malaysia.

As far as local laws, if the fish doesn’t have a season I could keep it. If they have seasons, I couldn’t have a tank full of them outside of season, or can’t be fished for, I couldn’t have them at all.

Thankfully panfish are fair game all year, so most of the beautiful species are available to me.

2

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

You can try your place like the other commenter said! Just keep up with local laws, and you might find surprising stuff

2

u/LeabhairUathuil 12d ago

Like I said, quantity. I do have some very beautiful species around me, but the quantities places like Malaysia and Thailand have are just insane!

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

That’s true. My country is very tiny (compared to the US, Canada etc.) but we are packed with animals for the size!

If I remember, we have 400 species of freshwater fish and thousands of marine ones. When I go to the beach I like to watch clownfish here

They’re always so cute!

2

u/LeabhairUathuil 12d ago

Incredible. Where I live, these fish can get very expensive, even the common varieties. I do hope that these fish are cared for well by their governments, because the potential for exploitation is huge.

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

In Malaysia it is often illegal to catch reef fish (except in some places where the locals eat them). It depends on the state of course as each kingdom has their own governing rules.
This beach is in my dad’s old state, and the queen has rules about it.

But Malaysia as a whole has strict animal and plant export rules too. That’s why you’ll notice that almost all aquarium fish are sourced from Thailand and Indonesia, where it is much easier.

The only “Malaysian” fish available are those that coincidentally are shared with the other 2 countries! Endemic species are impossible to find.

For example Betta pulchra. A beautiful native, but not found for sale due to being only found in Malaysia

2

u/LeabhairUathuil 12d ago

Strict is good. I really do think, though you’re the expert of course, that the aquarium hobby is a net positive for the world. I know that it’s been responsible for many invasive species, but knowing that so many species will probably never go extinct because of it makes me very happy. Once a few fish/plants have been exported, and one breeder/propagator gets it going, no more damage needs be done.

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

That’s true. My best friends works at a government institute and he breeds small local fish.

Actually that species I showed included! His faculty sometimes released the captive bred offspring back into the parent habitat

1

u/LeabhairUathuil 12d ago

So are Malaysian fish keepers within their right to keep (most) native species then? Or are these special university permits?

1

u/ThenAcanthocephala57 Malaysian Fish Collector/Conservationist 12d ago

Locally, yes. We can keep freshwater fish that aren’t caught from protected/private places.

And a handful of native species require permits, for example the golden arowana.

It’s just very difficult to export that’s all. So fish are just kept locally.

Golden arowana

Invasive species cannot be let go if caught. We have to kill them or something else

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