Malaysia in November

[Rod Porteous]

Hi all

I’m hoping to go to Peninsular Malaysia or possibly even Sumatra this coming November, with hope of maybe collecting some of my own fish. Having never done this before, I am unsure how to go about it. I have a lot of questions so hoping anyone that has done this before might be able to offer some guidance.

Many thanks
Rod

[helene schoubye]

I have never done that, so cannot give any advice, – but there are some people in the Project which has been several times, and know how to go about it, so I hope you will get some answers from them. It sounds really interesting.
All I know is that catching paros is supposed to be really difficult 🙂

[Peter Finke]

Catching Paros is an exhausting thing:

1. They live not in the free water, but in the riparian grasses.
2. Use very strong sieves and catching instruments only; everything else is useless.
3. You must work in the vegetation; this is heavy work.
4. They do not live near the surface but in greater depth than 20 inches.
5. You have to change waters very often; store enough water for that purpose.
6. The best time in the year is two or three months after the breeding season.
7. This means: November is not the best period; high waters are generally bad.
8. Restrict your search to blackwater habitats only; use measurement kits for water parameters.
9. You must obey the laws.

Many people have told that in the wild they never saw a Paro. This does not necessarily mean that there were none. It means that those people expected to catch them like Rasboras or Trichogaster. One has to know something about their behaviour in order to be successful.

[Rod Porteous]

Thanks Peter

All your tips should come in useful.
I was hoping to visit collection spots along the east coast, and the east coast wet season only begins in November and goes through until March, so water levels should be at their lowest at the end of October beginning of November, so I was hoping this would have made things easier in relation to catching some fish.
The west coast monsoon is opposite as wet season finishes in November so water levels will be at their highest.

One question I have is how to bring back any fish? Is this done by export licence? I assume Germany and the UK would have similar regulations both being EU?

Rod

[Ed Prust]

Offcourse we expect a buttload of habitat pictures :cheer: :cheer:

[helene schoubye]

Yes, I agree, – we would be very grateful for any contributions to the knowledge of biotops, and how things are developing in the areas, – at this homepage this is also one of the aims, to document as much as we possible can.

[Bernd Bussler]

I’ve been three times in Malaysia and have brought every time Paros.
Basically, nothing should be taken from the wild and exported to other countries.
Paros do not always come in black water before, paludicola for example, alfredi and rubrimontis occurs in clear water, and certainly a few other species. But most of Paros are sure to find in the black water. The equipment will be used for the fish is clear. Safety net, waders, container to collect the animals during the catch, transport containers and fishing bags or containers for the return journey.
We have mostly caught Paros on the first or second day in Malaysia and then in part three weeks transported to return them home alive.
Transports we have the animals in 18x13x5 cm flat and transparent bowls with lid, can be bought anywhere in household goods for a few cents, you can very well be stacked in styrofoam boxes. As transport water we osmosis water that you can buy as drinking water used, in every night we did 80% water change and now and then fed to a bit with Artemia.
Nets You can save you just need space in your suitcase. In the budget shops there are great noodle sieves, to purchase up to one meter in diameter, for a few €, prefer to take 2 pieces, otherwise you are angry when damaged a screen at the biotope you. With the sieve under the riparian vegetation, lift and shake the bushes, Paros then fall into the sieve. With a band I have bound me a bucket with a lid around the belly in which I then collect the fish and herziehe behind me. I am indeed in the water and start in the riparian vegetation and would have to bring every time out of the water to the fish in the box to the country.

[Rod Porteous]

Hi Bernd

so you are saying I shouldn’t collect my own fish and bring them home? I thought this was best practice.

[Bernd Bussler]

I did not say that. I have always taken fish to take home. Last time safely 80-100 Paros. They are small and can not be seen by the light, they have always transported in the luggage and not in your hand luggage, that was no problem

[Rod Porteous]

Sorry Bernd I must have misunderstood

Thanks for your help and extra information. Especially I didnt realise alfredi were found in clearwater streams.

[Bernd Bussler]

Well, I have alfredi trapped in a large creek with clear water, I look at home if I still have a habitat photo of it. No idea whether there are also black water alfredi, but the habitat in Sedilli is clear water and rather have a small river than a creek.

[Stefanie Rick]

[quote=”Bernd Bussler” post=3559]
Paros do not always come in black water before, paludicola for example, alfredi and rubrimontis occurs in clear water, and certainly a few other species. [/quote]
[quote=”Bernd Bussler” post=3559]Well, I have alfredi trapped in a large creek with clear water, I look at home if I still have a habitat photo of it. No idea whether there are also black water alfredi, but the habitat in Sedilli is clear water and rather have a small river than a creek. [/quote]

Hello, Bernd,

I think these data that you give about the water parameters P. alfredi, rubrimontis and paludicola live in according to your experiences urgently need confirmation.
In the species category here on the website of the PP you can read that the type localities of alfredi and rubrimontis are blackwater habitats.

P. rubrimontis:

Linke found low pH values (between 3.5 and 4.5) and an extremely low conductivity (only up to 20 micro Siemens/cm) in the original habitat, a typical black water creek, which was very dark coloured by humic substances.

It is strictly recommended for rubrimontis to see to very similar water conditions according to their original habitat. I think it might be dangerous to raise confusion about the water parameters they really need. There’s a great difference between the “clear water creeks” you report and the “very dark blackwater creek” the species description speaks of. So this needs to be clarified – for the sake of the fish.

P. alfredi:

type locality with black water of pH 4.5 to 5.0. Standard breeding conditions for Paros.

According to our species description here only P. paludicola doesn’t necessarily depend on real blackwater conditions and will not resent being kept in soft, acid clear water (but still not totally without humic substances) – due to the fact that some forms indeed are found in clear water creeks whereas others are blackwater inhabitants like almost all other paros.

[Pavel Chaloupka]

I of course know very little about paro habitats, but from what I know about some South American species, quite a lot of them are not found in strictly one type of water as far as color goes as long as other parameters like hardness and acidity are met. Some Nannostomus and Rivulus occur in both blackwater and clearwater. + the color of the water may change over years. So if Bernd cought them in clearwater, it does not have to mean they occur strictly in clearwater habitats and vice versa. The coloration they have may be useful even in clearwater environment with dense growth of costal vegetation over the water surface as there is also very little light penetrating.

[Peter Finke]

It is most important so realize that the present situation is not any more the orginal situation that was the case for a long time. Many Paro habitats in the peninsular Malaysia have more or less changed during the last twenty years of deforestation. From or aquarium experience we know that many soecies can be kept and even sometimes propagated in more or less clear water, but we don’t know anything about the effect of this on their life and life span. The only species which is known to be occuring in clear waters ist paludicola, and by its colouration it is obvious that this should be the case for a long time already.

All the other species mentioned occurred in former times and even two decades ago in blackwater only. The present situation cannot be taken as indicating them to be no blackwater fish. It only indicates that the whole blackwater biodiversity is doomed to extinction because the blackwater habitats are domoed to ectinction. And it indicates that some react faster than others. Luckily, alfredi and ribrimonties react more slowly obviously, but this is no indication that their typical habitat is clear water.

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