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Thread: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

  1. #1
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    Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

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    http://www.worldscinet.com/cosmos/06...710000504.html

    See what rubbish exists in our reservoirs.
    HH

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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Have to pay to see the whole article. $25!

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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    thats very normal.. people keep exotic pets when outgrown home habitats will released to the natur parks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tcg170980 View Post
    thats very normal.. people keep exotic pets when outgrown home habitats will released to the natur parks.
    With folks having a mindset like you. There is no wonder Ava laws are so strict.

    Do not try to encourage other fourm member to do in such a way.
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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Quote Originally Posted by tcg170980 View Post
    thats very normal.. people keep exotic pets when outgrown home habitats will released to the natur parks.
    bro.... responsible pet owners will not do that... its like throwing a living in singapore person who has no experience of other habitat into a desert..

    and....

    Satanoperca jurupari???? got this meh?????????? *eyes brimming with hope* hehehee... who knows maybe we will see white tree frogs or others in the future if such irresponsible people buys pets due to impulse...
    Too much of a fish SIAO to quit fish keeping/fishing..

  6. #6
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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Long rant ahead...

    Releasing unwanted fishes into the reservoirs is ultimately irresponsible, and on par with dumping your pet dog or cat on the streets. Sure, fishes are more likely to survive, but there's no knowing how they can affect our aquatic environments. Remember a time before people started releasing peacock bass and eartheaters into every other lake and reservoir for fishing? Or some of you might not realise that guppies don't actually belong in our forest streams, where they might compete with our native barbs and rasboras, or even spread diseases that they've picked up from captivity. Threadfin acara (Acarichthys heckelii) have been recorded in Nee Soon swamp forest, the last refuge for many of our endangered aquatic species, and god forbid that they get overrun by even more invasive species.

    It seems like the American bullfrogs aren already popping up in all sorts of places, thanks to people who think that they're doing good while oblivious to the ecological damage. No idea if the American bullfrogs have started breeding locally, but I think it's probably only a matter of time. Counting on the herons, snakeheads and monitor lizards to eat them before they wreak any more havoc!

    And someone has already found escaped/abandoned White's tree frog...

    All you need is some irresponsible person dumping his unwanted monster fish into a reservoir, prompting calls for tighter regulations and bans on certain species. I won't be surprised if there are already arapaima lurking in some water bodies. We already have South American stingrays and alligator gar; I seriously hope no one dumps his electric eels or electric catfish in the nearest reservoir!

    Having said that, I do concede that introduced species aren't necessarily all bad. Lakes (i.e. reservoirs) are an artificial environment that did not exist in Singapore in the past, when most of our freshwater habitats would have been forest streams, maybe rice paddies and associated marshes and aquaculture ponds around the traditional villages when people settled here. And those species that inhabit the reservoirs tend to prefer the sunlit, neutral to alkaline waters there. Some species do have the potential of invading the forest streams, but even if all the tilapia, plecos, carp and guppies vanished tomorrow, the reservoirs wouldn't be colonised by the forest stream fishes. In the meantime, they are part of a new ecosystem that existed here only since the 19th century, and help sustain predators like otters, birds of prey, and herons. But still, I'd rather that we avoid throwing in so many different species, especially those that stand a chance of invading our forest streams and wiping out what remains of our threatened native fishes, freshwater crabs, shrimps and other aquatic organisms.
    Small is beautiful.

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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    i heard already got motoro in the reservoir.that is not good if touch wood people got stung ;(

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    Quote Originally Posted by xconnect. View Post
    i heard already got motoro in the reservoir.that is not good if touch wood people got stung ;(
    Really? That must have been a very rich and irresponsible hobbyist.

    If they given it back to the lfs or other hobbyist. They would have been much happier.
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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Yup, we have motoro rays in Upper Seletar:

    Stingrays breeding in Upper Seletar

    Non-native species with venomous sting likely released into reservoir by hobbyists
    Grace Chua, Straits Times 25 Mar 10;

    IT IS official: Freshwater stingrays the size of dinner plates are breeding in at least one Singapore reservoir.

    These barbed Motoro stingrays, native to South America, are lurking in the Upper Seletar Reservoir where sport fishing, kayaking and boat rides are allowed.

    These fish, likely to have been released into the reservoir by fish hobbyists, can deliver venomous stings that can cause extreme pain and even death.

    But national water agency PUB, the custodian of reservoirs, said that to date, there have been no reports of stingray injuries in Upper Seletar. Still, it advises kayakers to wear protective footwear and to launch their boats from a concrete pontoon instead of the shore.

    PUB also urged fish hobbyists not to release non-native animals into the reservoir because, injuries aside, these creatures can upset the food chain there by feeding on native species, out-competing them for food and spreading diseases to which the local species are not immune.

    Examples of non-native species that have established themselves in Singapore include the toman or snakehead fish and the African walking catfish, both of which are voracious and aggressive.

    Toman made the news in 1991 when they attacked the young swans in Botanic Gardens.

    Local anglers and park staff have thus far known of the Motoro stingrays only anecdotally, but scientists from the National University of Singapore's Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research have netted and identified them.

    Their scientific paper, published late last year in the journal Biological Invasions, is the first record of these South American rays establishing a colony this far from their home in the Amazon.

    The rays seem to have adapted well to life in the reservoir: The scientists' haul of five of these disc-like fish included two pregnant females.

    What is to be done, now that they seem to have dug in and multiplied?

    Biologist Peter Ng, one of the authors of the paper, said when alien species establish themselves, they cannot be eradicated overnight, 'so we need to be proactive and plan ahead'.

    In their paper, the scientists recommended fishing or trapping the rays, educating the public on the danger of releasing non-native species into the wild and teaching people how to avoid injuries.

    Recreational angler Tan Tien Yun, 28, who has seen people catch stingrays using live bait, said of the creatures' hunting style: 'Stingrays are ambush predators. They sit around where prey is likely to be, and when prey passes by, wham!'

    When they are not hunting for food, these naturally shy creatures attack only when they feel threatened.

    These rays are themselves snared for the pet trade. Since the mid-1990s, various species of freshwater rays have been popular with freshwater-aquarium keepers.

    Adult Motoro rays can cost as much as $150 each, grow to more than 30cm in diameter and measure nearly a metre from head to barbed tail.

    Since 2004, it has been illegal for pet shops to display and sell stingrays and other venomous fish or fish with spines, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

    Shops caught selling such fish can be fined $100.

    But the ban does not apply to fish farms, which import the fish for re-export.

    They are allowed to sell these fish to individual hobbyists who know how to handle them and are told not to release them into the environment, the AVA explained.
    Small is beautiful.

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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Saw an angler caught a huge arrowana from the reservoir once. I believe more arrowanas will be released into the reservoir at the end of this dragon year when irresponsible hobbyists grew tired of them. Happened to flowerhorns in the past as well.

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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Since the article can't be accessed by everyone (Need to pay $25). I've written down almost all the fish that was found (according to the article) in the reservoirs of Singapore.

    Fishes found:
    1. Ocellate river stingray
    2. Alligator gar
    3. Clown knife fish
    4. Bronze featherback
    5. Silver arowana
    6. Asian arowana, dragon fish
    7. Clown loach
    8. Red-tailed tinfoil barb
    9. Tinfoil barb
    10. Goldfish
    11. Common carp, koi
    12. Sebarau
    13. Bighead carp
    14. Indian rohu
    15. Jelawat
    16. Bony-lipped barb
    17. Blackline or Redtail rasbora
    18. Tiger barb
    19. Kelah
    20. Red pacu
    21. Baung
    22. Pearl catfish
    23. African walking catfish
    24. Vermiculated sailfin catfish
    25. Spotted sailfin catfish
    26. Amazon sailfin catfish
    27. Featherfin catfish
    28. Redtail catfish
    29. Western mosquito fish
    30. Guppy
    31. Mexican molly
    32. Siamese glassfish
    33. Giant snakehead/toman
    34. Threadfin acara
    35. Midas cichlid
    36. Peacock Bass
    37. Flowerhorn cichlid (Luohan!)
    38. Mayan cichlid
    39. Green chromide
    40. Eartheater
    41. Severum
    42. Mozambique tilapia
    43. Nile tilapia
    44. Jaguar cichlid
    45. Demon eartheater
    46. Zebra tilapia
    47. Redhead cichlid
    48. Finescale tigerfish
    49. Barcheek goby
    50. Giant gouramy
    51. Three-stripe gouramy
    52. Zebra spiny eel

  12. #12
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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Quite amazed by how some of the fish was there. It was obviously placed by irresponsible fish keepers.

    Among those fish listed, particularly interesting are:
    1. Ocellate river stingray
    2. Alligator gar
    5. Silver arowana
    6. Asian arowana, dragon fish
    28. Redtail catfish
    33. Giant snakehead/toman
    37. Flowerhorn cichlid (Luohan!)

  13. #13
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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    Some of our drains and rivers are full of Mayan cichlid...

    Warmest Regards from Merviso aka Merv Soh
    [ my vivarium: 2012, 2010, 2009 & 2007]
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    i'm a dreamer... a dreamer living in the lost city of moonlight.....

  14. #14
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    Re: Non-native reservoir fishes in Singapore

    See this recent article:

    http://poskod.sg/Posts/2012/5/11/Longkang-Encounters

    Longkang Encounters: Alien fish in our waterways.

    They come from places like China, Africa and India. They slip quietly into the Singapore environment, taking to its vagaries and matching the lifestyle and ethics of their local counterparts. Here, the landscape is unforgiving and ever-changing, and only the fittest can prevail. These migrants are growing in number, changing the population demographic at an incredible pace –

    – The population demographic of the fish in our canals, that is. In the lively and vibrant ecosystems of our longkangs (as canals are more commonly and colloquially known) and drains, the fish that dominate are not local or native, but alien species introduced in recent years from Latin America, Africa, India or China.


    Follow the link to read the rest of the article.
    Small is beautiful.

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