High-Living Killie

[timebomb]

Hi, folks,

When I was in Bali, Indonesia, I found this Killifish in one of the ponds in the hotel where I was staying. I couldn't catch any as I didn't have any nets with me then. But I managed to take a picture. I'm quite sure it's a Aplocheilichthys as it has the characteristic white spot on its head.



Not all Killifish live in muddy pools of water, you know This one is a high-living Killie as the pond where it lives is located in a 5 star hotel. Here's a picture of the pond:



Loh K L

[stormhawk]

KL, that's a pretty fruitful trip, you got to see some killies as well. I believe those are Aplocheilus sp., rather than Aplocheilichthys, which is from Western Africa. The fish in the pic is more likely that of Aplocheilus panchax, which has one of the widest ranges among the Aplocheilus species. Anyway, it's one lucky fish to be living in a 5-star hotel!

[timebomb]

I believe those are Aplocheilus sp., rather than Aplocheilichthys,

Thanks for pointing out the error, Jianyang. You're a sharp one.

Loh K L

[elmike]

When I was in Bali, Indonesia, I found this Killifish in one of the ponds in the hotel where I was staying.

This post sure strikes a chord. It reminds me not only of the childhood days, but connects with one of my personal penchants today as a fish enthusiast.

As kampung kids, we used to stand for hours in wait by the drains, and whenever there was a ripple of fish life popping up at the fringes, we would scoop them up in a flash. Throughout the lost years however - the period post-childhood fish craze till the day I rediscovered the lost love - I never bothered if there’s a drain or puddle under my nose, let alone look into it for fish. But from the day I was sold on fish again 3 yrs ago, I would find myself checking every pond and drain for signs of fish life. And when there was fish, my heart would leap for joy and I would be longing…and longing to jump in to catch that fish – just like the good old days. Suddenly, a visit to the zoo has a new meaning – to look for fish in the ponds and streams around.

Sure, I had numerous encounters with water bodies during those lost years. I remember being so enchanted by a distant view of a gothic tower of the Univ of Glasgow that I made my way on foot for a closer look. I was greeted by a beautiful stream, which runs along the fringes of the campus. I took some moments to savour the visual feast of water fowls swimming and basking in the water, and also to relish in the invigorating sounds of crystal-clear water cascading down rocks and twigs. IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND AT THAT TIME THAT THERE COULD FISH IN THERE!

And yes, I was there when they dyed the Chicago River green on St Patrick’s Day. I looked into the river and saw the dye pervade the water to a bright green shade. I DID NOT LOOK OUT FOR FISH! In my other encounters during boat rides along the canals of Amsterdam and the Sumida River in Tokyo, or ferrying across the river to Staten Island, the creature FISH had never crossed my mind!

Today, I would check every longkang, even puddles in HDB neighbourhood that crop up after a downpour, for fish life, like checking for mosquito larvae.

My conclusion is:
A hobbyist would always peep into a drain for fish, as would a man into a “kopi shop” to check the colour of the day. If you’re not in this group, you are, in my book, a lesser hobbyist.

Let there be fish in every longkang and puddles!

[timebomb]

My conclusion is:
A hobbyist would always peep into a drain for fish

Mike,

That never occurred to me but now that you mentioned it, I think your conclusion is right on the dot. As far as I can remember, I have always been interested in fish. Even as a kid, I have always been fascinated by them.

In the old days when everyone was poor, I spent most of my free time catching mosquito larvae and daphnia to feed my Guppies. We were too poor to afford tanks then so we kept our fish in jars and sometimes in plastic tubs. Fish shops sell Tubifex worms but we don't have money to buy them. If we can't get live food, we give our fish bread.

I also spent many hours catching Guppies from the drains and streams around Singapore. In those days, we made our own nets, crude contraptions made from bending a wire into a loop and sewing a piece of cloth around it. We were so poor then we didn't even have plastic bags. When we catch fish, we used empty tins to hold them. No kidding; those were the good old days.

I may sound like I'm exaggerating but I can assure you I'm not. But just to relate a joke I read in the Readers' Digest - When asked to write about the good old days, someone wrote:

In the old days, we were so poor there were no washing machines so we washed our clothes by the river. And we didn't even have rocks. In order to wash the clothes clean, we had to beat them against our heads

Loh K L