Field Trip to the Kayan River Basin (Revised)

21st October, Wednesday started out as a fine warm day with an ambient temperature of 31'C. A field trip to the Kayan River Basin was the order of the day. We headed up East first as my partner-in-crime (P.I.C.) wanted to visit his parents first. Upon arriving, they were out tending to their rice fields. Rice harvesting has started several days ago. 

Lunch was the next order of the day as we drove into town in search for grub. We headed towards the shops to grab some food to tank up. I, particularly warmed up to the Mee Mamak the first time, cooked by one of the stall operators. 

Unfortunately, the dish tasted different every other next visit. The last meal was quite a disaster as the dish did not resemble Mee Mamak at all, so I’ll be looking for new grub on my next visit.

After lunch, we started heading back towards Kuching and turn into a kampong (village) on the right side, we decided to look around in that area. Pushing our way into the thick undergrowth, we trekked towards the interior until we came across a shallow, clear stream. The temperature difference was immediately noticeable as we entered the jungle canopy as it was cool and comfortable. There were a few persistent mosquitoes determined to make a meal of us. My eyes are now on the lookout for leeches and Assassin bugs, the latter which can cause a really painful bite that last for days.

P.I.C. started sampling and immediately netted a few wild adult Betta ibanorum. This is a common fighting fish in this area. Meanwhile, I had started sampling further upstream. Dipping my net in yielded a few Rasbora caulimaculata, Rasbora einthovenii and Rasbora pauciperforata. Sweeping under the leaves on the sand-bed, there was a small maroon colored fighting fish caught in the net. Betta brownorum but without the greenish-blue spot. I thought unusual to have found this fish in this type of topography. 

Several specimens were caught later, and all fishes lacked spots, which led me to conclude that these could be Betta rutilan. Collecting this fish was time-consuming as they could only be found scattered, almost always singularly. As seen in these photographs, the paler fish is the female as the other fish is the male.

This was a surprising find as I had thought that this specie can only be found in Indonesia. The day was already late so it's time to pack up. There will always be another day. Who knows what one may find next.