# General > Events, field trips and gatherings >  Longkang Fish Study

## dogcom

I'd like to conduct a little study of the longkang (canal) fish with the help of members of this forum.

1) To compare the types of fishes found in longkang.
2) To compare if the species have evolved diferently at different place through the pictures.

Please post 1) PICTURES, 2) NAME OF FISH, 3) LOCATION, 4) DATE CAUGHT.

I think the main focus would be Wild Guppies and Mollies, since they are the most common. Other fish are also welcome.

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## lorba

by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.

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## hwchoy

[quote:4198b38a1e="lorba"]by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.[/quote:4198b38a1e]

but then you can't catch fish in the jungle  :Angel:

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## MrTree

purpose of the study?

cheers,

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## lorba

[quote:e0af0b1c9b="hwchoy"][quote:e0af0b1c9b="lorba"]by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.[/quote:e0af0b1c9b]

but then you can't catch fish in the jungle  :Angel: [/quote:e0af0b1c9b]

yes choy, no catching!! That's why i put it as 'searching'  :Smile:

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## Simon

during my schooldays :P I used to frequent 2 location (longkong) to catch fishes

1) drain along mountbatten Road, i believe this is brackish water, as you can find mudskippers, mangrove crabs in the drain....

2) monsoon drain at cityplaza, used to catch betta splendens.. but it only happens at certain season and the drain is filled with bettas

You check the location out, though I think the monsoon drain at geylang might have drastically changed over the many years  :Angel:

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## dogcom

To improve our Aquatic Quotient  :Smile:  

[quote:dd62387cee="MrTree"]purpose of the study?

cheers,[/quote:dd62387cee]

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## dogcom

Yes, streams would be better but Longkangs particularly old Longkang also count.

[quote:a74293093c="lorba"]by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.[/quote:a74293093c]

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## BFG

[quote:faa0cb977f="hwchoy"][quote:faa0cb977f="lorba"]by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.[/quote:faa0cb977f]

but then you can't catch fish in the jungle  :Angel: [/quote:faa0cb977f]


Agree with hwchoy! Jungle got fish meh?  :Grin:

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## dogcom

Hello BGF,
I think hwchoy don't mean jungle stream have no fish. What he means is "you can't catch", nature reserve, it's illegal. Right hwchoy?

Anyway, there are still many streams and ponds here and there at Ulu places and not within nature reserves where one will find fishes. Take Lorong Ah Soo for example posted by another forumer earlier.

[quote:c9202757a2="BFG"][quote:c9202757a2="hwchoy"][quote:c9202757a2="lorba"]by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.[/quote:c9202757a2]

but then you can't catch fish in the jungle  :Angel: [/quote:c9202757a2]


Agree with hwchoy! Jungle got fish meh?  :Grin: [/quote:c9202757a2]

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## budak

I am still rather unclear as to the purpose of the study..... is it to study the ecological aspect? the evolutionary aspect and driving forces? Do you have a working hypothesis or framework for study? Also, I am not sure that you are clear about your terminology - are there really such things as "longkang" fishes? If you can clarify these issues, the study might prove to be an interesting one.

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## Encriptic

Theres this longkang near my place at yck, used to have red tailed rasboras in there, somehow earlier this year i went back to try my luck, all i could find are lohan, guppies. Now the guppies are even more depleted. Occational toman (snakeheads) were spotted.

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## lorba

interesting. what red tail rasbora? harlequin?

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## hwchoy

I think it is the _Rasbora borapetensis_ native to Thailand. Toman is actually good, it is at least native  :Smile:

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## budak

[quote:5ef2b159a8="hwchoy"]I think it is the _Rasbora borapetensis_ native to Thailand. Toman is actually good, it is at least native  :Smile: [/quote:5ef2b159a8]

I recall seeing the toman on a presentation about alien species at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity though.... and the BP Guide lists it as feral.....

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## hwchoy

I using it to loosely refer to the native _Channa_ spp. can't recall the local species, _Channa gachua_ ?

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## dogcom

[quote:2e7d05bed5="budak"]I am still rather unclear as to the purpose of the study......[/quote:2e7d05bed5]
1) To compare the types of fishes found in longkang. 
2) To compare if the species have evolved diferently at different place through the pictures. 



> Do you have a working hypothesis or framework for study?


I am not doing this to earn a degree, just a simple interest in nature in general.



> Also, I am not sure that you are clear about your terminology - are there really such things as "longkang" fishes? If you can clarify these issues, the study might prove to be an interesting one.


Well, I see you have the title AQ Editor. I presume it mean you edit. The term "Longkang" which I am sure most readers would already know it's 
meaning, is a Malay word meaning "canal" 

Hope that clarifies.

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## budak

I think the study of how recently-introduced species evolve to their new habitats is a still little-explored branch of ecology/evolutionary studies. The task, however, should involve much field work and some prior study in the dynamics of evolutionary divergence..... I could recommend the book "Darwin's Dream Pond" which touches on cichlid evolution in Lake Victoria..... as well as any book by Jay Gould for some grounding into evolutionary concepts as well as misconcepts. 

One doesn't have to study nature just to get a degree..... but any such endeavour should have some rigor to it, instead of being just a blind quest for some sort of knowledge in the most general terms. By framework, I am talking about how you would plan to place your study within the context (or without) of existing theories/field studies/papers on related or similar subjects.

Don't worry too much about me. I have messed myself up in longkangs, payas, parits, kualas, sungeis and tasiks for enough years to know the difference.  :Grin:  What I meant to ask is the physical scope of your planned study, as I am sure most longkangs start from somewhere (a stream?) and end up somewhere too (a canal, river, reservoir, sea?). If you are looking specifically at introduced fishes like livebearers, I think a clearer definition of your study subject will help people get to the point than spend time over the semantics.

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## bad_boyz

[quote:3b24395e34="lorba"]by long kang, do you refer to small streams too?

Guppies are not native to our biotopes, but introduced. If the study is meant for studying local fish, then searching in jungles might be more useful. Concrete Long kangs, in the first place, arent natural to begin with.[/quote:3b24395e34]
Some jungle streams are link to concrete long kangs. I won't be surprise to find native fishes in them.

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## lorba

Certainly. But long kang is man made and content all kinds of junk. Therefore, if the study is about finding native fishes, it is more _logical_ and _natural_ to search in the less disturbed areas (not much left).

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## Encriptic

theres these small streams around the lower pierce boardwalk. i went there recently and i spotted some betas, not too sure what type and also a bubble nest. those familiar with bettas know that its a good sign that theres breeding going on. ghost shrimps are also abundant there.

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## MrTree

The _Betta_ found in that area is _Betta pugnax_, which is a mouthbrooder. 

The bubble nest should be frog's or gouramy's.

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## kuching

which gourami making the bubble nest? 2 spots gourami? Kalui?

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