Rasbora pauciperforata

Rasbora pauciperforata, (Weber & De Beaufort, 1916) from the Family Cyprinidae, (The Red Line Rasbora)

A small freshwater fish with a streamlined, compressed body, the Red Line Rasbora has a wide habitat range from West Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra) and Borneo. It is an inhabitant of peat swamp basins, pools and natural ditches. It is usually found in clean, tannic, soft waters (2-4˚H) with a pH ranging from 3.5 to 6.50. Water temperatures in their natural elements are typically 25˚-28˚C. It favors indirect sunlight and quiet, deep-shaded waters with very gentle currents.

Although the body is well developed, it struggles in fast flowing currents and will usually seek refuge in crevices or less turbulent waters. It can be found in depths ranging from shallow up to a meter deep. Banks with well-developed vegetation such as weeds, over-grown grass and floating plants are their favorite haunts where they typically swim within mid-water levels. When they encounter danger, they usually attempt to escape by diving to the floor bed or seeking refuge in thick vegetation where they will remain until the danger passes over.

A single red band runs from the tip of the mouth to the base of the tail. The scales above the line have a peppery dust pattern on the edges while the scales on the belly have a wedge-shape pattern comprising of small dark pigmentation cells. Fins do not have any markings. Overall, captive fishes kept in acidic, tannic waters will bring out true colors.

Sensitive to heat, light and vibrations, the Red Line Rasbora is quite shy and generally avoids open spaces devoid of plants and bright spaces. In a bare tank, specimens usually sulk at the bottom of the darkest corner. A school of at least five fishes is recommended. Singular fishes are timid but gain confidence in the company of fish schools, even if it is of different species.

Wild caught specimens acclimatized fairly fast in captivity, accepting frozen and dry foods readily. Bright lights should be avoided. A typical tank set-up should comprise of a heavily planted tank with indirect light. Frequent water changes with the replacement water filtered over peat moss is highly recommended to encourage the fishes to show their prominent red line. Once properly acclimatized, the Red Line Rasbora will be emboldened to show itself in open spaces but they will usually not stray away from nearby plants or cover. They typically swim in short distances, hover momentary by twitching their fins to stay suspended and dart around in bursts of speed. The fish is a fairly good jumper so a tank cover is recommended.

This fish’s diet in the wild is not really known but their habitat usually supports a wide range of plankton matter such as aquatic larvae, insects, tubificid worms and small crustaceans such as Daphnia. The Red Line Rasbora will adapt to frozen and dried foods readily.

The Red Line Rasbora can reach a length of 6 cm. In the wild, they typically form small to medium sized loosely-formed schools. Females are larger than the males. A very peaceful fish, this is an excellent species for a community bio-type tank.

 

Rasbora kolachlorma

 Rasbora kolachlorma (Bleeker, 1851) from the Family Cyprinidae (The Clown Rasbora)


The Rasbora kolachlorma’s any closest resemblance to a clown are the two or three big dark green spots that flank both sides of the fish. It is also known as the Iridescent Rasbora. It has a rich, brown color that is overlaid with scales that have beautiful iridescent colors which is very evident when taken out from the water. A greenish fairy-dust pattern can be seen decorating the top of the fish from head to base of the tail. Fins are maroon-ish brown and do not have any markings. Found in peat swamp basins, it has a wide range in Borneo and Indonesia (Sumatra) and inhabits a wide range of habitats which includes shallow streams and peat swamp forests.

Their favorite habitats are submerged areas with thick vegetation, tree-roots, overgrown grasses and knee-deep waters under shade. They have a stream-lined body which enables them to traverse in fast currents especially during heavy rains but they prefer quieter bodies of water. This is a relative large, elegant Rasbora attaining a length of 11cm, as observed in the author’s specimens.

This fresh water fish’s habit parameters are usually clean, tannic, soft (2-5˚H) waters with a pH of 4.0-6.8 with a gentle water current. Water temperatures can vary from area to area but generally in the jungle and peat swamp fed streams, temperatures range from 25˚ -28˚C. Occasionally, they can also be found in stagnant bodies of waters, which usually is the result of a heavy rain overflow which traps them temporary. When the water levels rise with the next rains, they usually slip out of the stagnant pool to new hunting grounds. In the wild, they form small, loose schools with an average of three to five fishes.

Breeding is observed during the rainy season when the water levels rises and floods the jungle floors, sometimes for several days. Mature fishes gather in larger schools sometimes as many as thirty fishes and make migratory trips into the flooded jungle to breed. Favorite breeding platforms are peaty, grass over-grown areas with thick jungle canopies. Low light levels due to the jungle’s thick canopies are commonly observed.

Hatched fries are usually found in these flooded jungle floors in very gentle currents but fish count is usually about two to three fishes per square meter. As the waters slow ebb, some fries will follow the currents out and a few will be trapped in pools until the next rains come. The flooded jungle floor is rich in suspended microscopic food such as daphnia and aquatic larvae, and these form part of the foods for the fish and fries.

Juvenile fishes are observed to be competitive as they frequently chased and push weaker siblings away to dominate food resources and territories. This behavior is also observed in wild-caught adult specimens.

Scraping behavior is usually limited to their own specie. Otherwise, this is a very peaceful, benthopelagic fish that will fit a large community tank.

Wild adult fishes are observed to be surface feeders, preying on insects on the water such as water skaters and floating foods. However, domesticated specimens will readily adapt to frozen, dry foods with a high protein matter and low carbohydrate content. Wingless fruit flies are an excellent source of protein for them. Dry foods should be of the floating type. Rasbora kalochlorma often exhibit the ‘Squirrel Syndrome” as I called it. They will aggressively collect as much food as they can in their mouth or cheeks while consuming it. Hence in a community tank, it is necessary to closely observe that the rest of the occupants will have sufficient food to eat.

Properly cared for specimens are generally long-lived with an average life-span of three years. Rasbora kaloclorma is an excellent jumper with the ability to even jump out when they are netted so a tightly covered tank is recommended. Adult specimens are often observed as solitary fishes in the aquarium but will readily regroup as a school of fishes during feeding or mating times.

This is an excellent fish for the community bio-type tank. No commercial breeding has been observed for this fish and most of the Rasbora kalochlroma for the aquarium trade are wild-caught. Again with encroaching development into their habitats, this would be a good fish for breeders to include in their list.

Rasbora sarawakensis

Rasbora sarawakensis, from the Family Cyprinidae (The Sarawak Rasbora)
 
Although the name suggests that Rasbora sarawakensis is a freshwater fish from Sarawak, it has a wider range that includes West Kalimantan (Indonesia) and the Kalimantan Barat River Basins. This small fish is endemic to the island of Borneo and grows to a length of an average of two inches although larger specimens may have been reported.

In Sarawak, it can be found in shallow, highland streams. However, it is noted that water levels can rise dramatically during heavy rains, the streams experiencing pH and temperature variations during this time. Habitat parameter for pH is 5.50-7.50 as it also has been caught in streams in limestone areas. Favored water temperatures are an average of 23˚-27˚C as it tends to avoid warm bodies of water. Hardness is 2-11˚H, however, soft waters and a pH of 5.0 - 6.5 is considered most ideal. It also have been caught in waters with a strong Fe (iron) content, noted by red colored aggregates and soil matter in the stream beds and soils.

Rasbora sarawakensis is a schooling fish, but do not form large schools in the wild. Groups of three to ten specimens are the norm in Sarawak and generally, they favor mild currents in deeper waters and fairly strong, shallow currents. In fast currents, they love to huddle behind large stones or rocks on the stream bed. It is not really known of their exact dietary habits but they are opportunist feeders in the wild and have been observed to nibble on ripe wild fruits that sit in the water. Perhaps, they are not exactly eating the fruit but the maggots and organisms that feed on the rotting fruit.

Rasbora sarawakensis fries have been collected from the wild in slow moving waters with a slightly warmer temperature (28-30˚C) as these waters are usually sun exposed areas with vegetation (usually overhanging grasses and small bushes) leading to a boom in microscopic plankton that thrive on algae growth. The fries feed on these until they have grown and develop the proper body muscles to swim out into the water currents. The adults are generally spotted in sun-drenched and shaded areas of streams but are not exactly fussy with terrain types but generally prefer clean, clear, cold waters.

Domesticated specimens given the correct condition and foods are generally robust and long-lived about two to three years. They are excellent jumpers and tank covers are strongly recommended. A school of at least five specimens is recommended. The metallic bluish-black strip with a golden edge on the top of the strip and back that runs from the gill-plates to the base of the yellowish tail makes the fish a very desirable aquarium fish and colors typically are very strong in a medium school. Very healthy fish will have a very beautiful peppery scale pattern that stands out well. This is a very peaceful fish for a community tank but requires decent swimming space and will not do well in a small tank. Among themselves, they may chase each other but do not bother other tank mates. They generally occupy the middle and bottom strata of the tank and will happily at the surface to inspect anything that catches their fancy.

Easy to acclimatize to domestic conditions, these fishes will adjust decently fast to their new habitats. The tank should have gentle water currents to replicate their habitat. Healthy specimens usually will accept food within a few hours. During feeding time, they have a tendency to collect as much food as they can in their mouths while consuming it. Given the opportunity, they will gorge themselves until their bellies extend to a frightening bulge. A high protein diet with a low carbohydrate content brings out the colors of these fishes. They will readily accept dry and frozen fish feeds.

It is not known if this fish have been bred successfully. Most fishes for the aquarium industry are wild-caught and it would be good for breeders to work on this specie to meet demand and reduce loading on wild populations.

 

ANOTHER BAD DAY?

 WHY ME? ANOTHER BAD DAY?

After a recent harrowing experience with my first on-line trade in May 2010 with a bottle of cologne, I realized that I had opened myself wide to potential predators who would have no qualms of ripping up unsuspecting victims. I had done a foolish thing not to have taken the time and care to list the group of sales properly  and I've made corrective action to prevent another incident from happening again.

If this event had happened many years ago, I would have an amygdale attack. In layman’s term, that means I would have reacted poorly and my hot temper would have taken over my grey matter, pushing aside any possible means of logical reasoning. In many cases, it has lead to dire personal consequences… hurt lives, lost opportunities, lost relationships and a loss of self-worth and respect.

As a young lad in a foreign land, I got picked on by a superior who always found fault in everything I do. I’m never good enough, my boots are never polished enough, my uniform is this... he always have something to pick on. Besides, no one else on the crew ever got chewed on. I had a venomous relationship with him. Why me? When the right questions are asked, the answers may surprise you and perhaps, doubted upon at that time. He shared that with me. I sneered and I’m right back in boot camp. 

Reflecting back many years later, I would want to hug him and shake the hand of this drill-sergeant when I meet up with him. He was one of the key people who shape up my maturity.

Unfortunately, sometimes it takes time to appreciate a gift. That gift can come in unexpected forms. Like the 1985 recession. Why me? But like that drill-sergeant incident, I learned nothing from it. It took another major crisis to wake up my senses. The 1997 Asian economic crisis was one main event that shook me up. Why me? Again? When one is picking up the pieces after the Asian crisis and predators in the guise of a friend swindled me. Why me? But I’d supposed in a way, I had a small laugh by naming a newly-discovered worm after him.

Today coming this far, I am thankful to my family, a group of close friends and strangers who are now friends and especially my current business partner who have been supportive of helping me bridge through difficult times. I also want to thank the person who gave me that harrowing experience I wrote of in the beginning of this article as it reminds me that another bad experience is not necessary bad. Bad events are sometimes good teachers and they build, strengthen and develop a person’s self-worth and respect.

So if you are one of those who had a bad experience recently? Perhaps you could just take a breather in a quiet corner and ask… what good can come out of it? We all will have challenges in our every day lives. Will you become a stronger person or become a bitter person as an outcome of that experience? I have also learned to lean on a Greater Power for strength to weather through difficult storms. I find that during these difficult times, when I lay my troubles before God, I can find peace and a solution. Have Faith, He is Our Strength. God Bless You All.

Philippians 4:8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, what is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or trustworthy - think of such things.

 

 

DILL WHOLEMEAL BREAD ROLL

I love breads, especially country breads. The aroma of freshly baked bread stirs up memories of wood-fired ovens. Every bite tasted lovely with ingredients made from extra virgin olive oil, whole-wheat flours, fresh herbs and the smokey oven.

Back here in Kuching, it’s pretty hard to buy something like this in the local bakeries as they cater mostly to the white sandwich bread lovers. If one looking for German rye bread without the baker taking out the stout or a no-cheat sourdough, the nearest one can get in Kuching would be someone’s home kitchen you know of. With a little bit of adapting, you can enjoy something that close. It would be perfect if you own a wood-burning oven.

So here’s one of my favorite own recipes for dill whole-meal bread rolls with spices. Using cold water instead of warm water delays yeast action, allow the flour gluten to develop and improves the bread through slow-rising.

Finding fresh yeast in Kuching in small quantities is quite impossible so I have resorted to using instant yeast. If you are using fresh yeast, double the amount. The smaller amount of yeast also contributes to a slower rising time and with the lemon juice altering the pH of the water, adds character to the bread.

DILL WHOLE-MEAL BREAD ROLLS

This recipe is good for 15 rolls.

1. Whole-meal flour 491g
2. High-protein bread flour 132g
3. Brown sugar 18g
4. Water, chilled 418g
5. Instant yeast 4g
6. Lemon juice 7g
7. Rock salt 15g
8. Extra virgin olive oil 20g
9. Fresh dill, stalks removed 36g
10. Oats 74g
11. Combined spices of choice (caraway, cumin, fennel or any small seeds you liked) 2g

My favorite seeds are caraway, mustard seeds and cumin for this recipe.

Extra flour for dusting

METHOD

Combine the bread flour, brown sugar, water, yeast, lemon juice, salt and sugar together in a tall bowl. Stir them until they are thoroughly mixed. Stand aside at room temperature for an hour or until yeast starts showing signs of activity, that is bubbles begin to form on the surface.

Place the whole-meal flour, oats, dill and seeds in a mixing bowl and stir them together. Make a well in the center.

Add the olive oil to the water-yeast mixture and stir briefly. Pour this into the well of the flour and gradually stir the water-yeast mixture from the sides of the well against the side of the flour until the water is absorbed. At this point, the dough would quite wet at some places.

Empty the contents of the mixing bowl onto a flat, work surface and start kneading the flour for 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic and will not stick to the work surface.

Cover with a damp cloth for 45 minutes and allow to rise at room temperature or until the dough has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, oil a baking tray lightly with olive oil and set aside.

Knock back the dough and knead for another two minutes. Divide the dough into 15 equal parts (about 83g each). Roll them into a ball-shape dough and pressing gently against the sides, roll it into an oval shape. Dust the bottom of the roll lightly with flour and place slightly apart from each other. The dough will push against each other as they rise. Repeat for the rest of the rolls.

Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for another 30-45 minutes or until double in size. You may want to brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle them lightly with rock salt before you place them into the oven.

Preheat oven to 180˚C/ 350˚F/ Moderate/ Mark 4. Bake for 25-35 minutes until rolls are light brown.

Remove from oven and rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

The bread loaf shown here were made into a singular loaf instead of bread rolls. A spoonful of turmeric powder was also added in as I love the richness of the spice

LIVE FOODS; Lumbricucus sp ‘chungming’

In the hazy, crazy days of bell-bottoms, Brooke Shields and Saturday Night Fever, looking for live foods such as tubifex worms to feed your fishes was quite a breeze. One just had to look for a drain with soil embankments and work towards finding a mass or patches of red, wriggling worms on a warm day. To collect it, it involved lots of elbow grease, a pair of Wellington boots and rubber gloves (or a willingness to wade in bare footed and hands… aha, I know what you are thinking right now), a pail and the ability to withstand the stench of rotting vegetation and gases that will floor an upper-crust gal within milliseconds. 

Those days, it was a miniature feat to balance the-boy-on-bicycle with one hand on the handlebar and the other clutching the pail and boots (and nose, too). Fish shops would also stock this item and it was a common inventory for fish-shop operators.

It’s different these days. Much of the infrastructures have been upgraded to divert the floods that regularly awash Kuching during the Landas season. Cement embankments are the norm now. These days, natural T. tubifex population(s) is an item extremely difficult to find. I believed that chemical pollution also diminished the population of T. tubifex.

I visited a spot that used to yield aquatic worms which I used to collect when I was a teenage. It is a small patch of sandy ditches that had withstood development and managed to collect a golf-ball size of worms over a period of several days. It could only be done during early morning or late evenings.

I attempted to breed them in 2008 and 2009, using methods described for breeding tubifex and blackworms and all attempts failed. During the beginning of March 2010, I decide to try another time. By now, parameters had been correctly established for conditions needed to breed. This time, the worms started laying creamy colored cocoons which when hatched, appeared as red botches across the surface. Eventually as they grew, they start spreading into a wide maroon-colored patch across the media.

However, my success was short-lived as parasitic invaders in the form of tiny moths started to breed in the troughs they were housed in. Clouds of these moths swamped the troughs and laid masses of eggs that hatched into small creamy larvae and competed with the worms for food. To make matters worse, the creamy-colored larvae developed into black-colored larvae about 10mm long and started to feed on the baby worms and almost decimated the worm population. 

Most of the fishes refused to eat the black larvae. The only fishes that seemed not to mind them were the halfbeaks Hemirhamphodon kuekenthali and freshwater glass prawns Palaemonetes paludosus. So it was a time-consuming task to rip out the troughs, collect any remaining adult and juvenile worms and quarantine them for several days before housing them in new sterilized troughs housed in a different area. All this for a worm. Oh, there is this funky² smell too.

After prolonged, close observations, I have concluded that this worm is neither Tubifex tubifex or Lumbricucus sp. blackworms. Stirring the soil or media and allowing it to settle, T. tubifex will start clumping together into a tight ball of worms on the surface of the media but this worm will not clump together unless the container is bare. L. blackworms thrives in cold water whereas this worm does not like cold water. So I shall nickname this worm Lumbriculus sp. chungming, aka Khoworm after a certain low-life-form-from-Kuching I know of.

There is another type of worm with different behaviors although they look almost the same. This worm was extremely difficult to extract from the media where they were collected from. Once unearthed, each worm will curl into an individual knot and will not clump together unless the container was bare-bottom too so I decided to nickname them Lumbriculus sp knotti.

This worm is of special interest as it seems to be very tough and can survived polluted, anaerobic waters, dried-out media and warm conditions including being under the sun. A trial involves placing a culture in a small bowl with media that receives direct sun during the afternoons and they have survived for more than three weeks without much food and water, wringing their tails after showers fill the bowl. L. sp. knotti  also does not attempt to escape from the container they are housed in whereas L. sp. chungming demands specific water conditions, temperature and other parameters otherwise they (Bless his soul, they are as slippery as he is) will crawl out very fast from the container they are housed in. L. sp. chungming also will not clump into a ball like T. tubifex unless they are housed in a bare container without any media.

My juvenile wild-collected Betta brownorum started losing their shyness once they were fed with chungming and knotti worms and quickly adapted to their new surroundings and grew into healthy adults. I hope to be able to establish a large population of disease, virus-free chungming and knotti worms for my fishes and offer any surpluses to hobbyists who share the same interest as we do.

   

BETTA BROWNORUM

Betta brownorum, a wild dwarf fighting fish was once found in numbers in the swamplands of Sarawak. This is easily the most beautiful member of the Coccina family. Unfortunately, rapid development take over many of their habitats and it is not easy to find these beautiful gems these days. They still exist in very small pockets of swamplands in highly tannin waters with pH sometimes as low as 3.5. These are wild-caught fishes last January 2010.

Breeding this fishes requires extremely clean water with a pH of 3.5-6.6. My experiences have shown that they will breed in shallow water with a depth of 3 inches up to 7 inches with a lot of Java Moss with the tank receiving indirect sunlight. The down side is they produce extremely small clutches of eggs (9-17 eggs) in a single breeding.