BATANG KAYAN
Date: January 22, 2006
The rainy season will be over in 2 months time. I decided to revisit some places I used to explore before.
Upper part of Batang Kayan.
This is the very first location where I found Barclaya motleyi and other species of aquatic plants, Betta lehi (fighting fish) and different species of loaches (Pangio sp.) about 2 or 3 years ago. Today, this habitat is becoming worst. The forest in upper part of this stream has became oil palm plantation. The fish population reducing drastically. The aquatic plants are not growing well. The bottom of this stream became shallow & sandy.
Different species of aquatic plants. (with green algae)
Alternate leafed Blyxa (Blyxa alternifolia)
Alternate leafed Blyxa in the stream.
Hair Sedge (Eleocharis retroflexa) {Cyperaceae = family name}
I was shocked to find this giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in this stream. This is a juvenile but the length is 18cm !!!! (length is excluding the long blue pincers)
The tail of this prawn is very colorful!!!! Locals called it "Udang galah".
Juvenile of Pangio shelfordii. (length = 4.5cm)
Juvenile of spiny eel. (Macrognathus circumcinctus)
Rasbora sarawakensis. (Very common in southern Sarawak, but never found this species in northern Sarawak)
The white "water mark" on the bushes near the riverbank of this tributary of Batang Kayan. It indicates the high water level during the heavy rain in rainy season.
Juvenile of Betta cf anabatoides. The dominant species of wild fighting fish in lower part of Batang Kayan basin.
Juvenile of Betta in its natural habitat. There are a lot of juvenile fish swimming in the streams. Rainy season is the breeding season for almost all the freshwater fishes in Borneo.
Juvenile of Puntius hexazona. (six-banded barb)
Snakehead. (Channa sp.)
The deforestation near the habitat where I found Betta cf anabatoides.
