# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Killifish >  Fish from Bangkok, Thailand

## timebomb

Hi, folks,

These are the fish I brought home from Bangkok, Thailand. I bought most of them from Jatujak market but the Endler's livebearers and Betta simplex were given to me by Nonn Panitvong. 

1. Brachygobius xanthomelas (BumbleBee Fish) - These are different from the normal Bumblebee Gobies we see quite often in our local fish shops. The ones I have in my tanks now are smaller. I have about 40 of them. 

2. Dermogenys pusillus (Halfbeak) - Unlike those that can be found quite commonly in our local streams, the ones from Jatujak have colours on their dorsal and anal fins. I may be wrong but I think the ones I got are Wrestling Halfbeaks while those local ones are known as Forest Halfbeaks.

3. Boraras sp - Nonn said the ones I bought are an unidentified species of Rasboras but I believe he could be wrong. I think they are known as Mosquito rasboras here. Choy who has taken many pictures of rasboras should be able to confirm this.

4. Endler's Livebearers - I've heard a lot about this fish in Killietalk digest but have never seen them before. Nonn was very kind to give me the pair he was keeping in his office. The female of the fish looks almost exactly like a female Guppy. 

5. Oryzias minutillus - They look like the Medakas I already have in my tanks but these are much smaller. I think Choy would love to take their pictures.

5. Betta simplex - Nonn gave me 4 of them. I'm not sure but I think I have 1 male and 3 females. I'm not familiar with Bettas so I will give the fish to hobbyists who are good with them. Jianyang and Francis are 2 persons I know who have bred Bettas before. I will give them first priority.

6. Sturisoma panamense - Oil and Nid gave me 2 of this fish. They are meant as gifts for my good friend, Dr Peter Chua who played host to Oil and Nid when they were in Singapore a few weeks ago. The fish is also sometimes known as a "Helicopter Fish" in Singapore.

Other than the Endler's livebearers which I have only a pair and the Sturisoma panamense which are meant for Peter Chua, I will be happy to give the fish to any local hobbyist who wants to keep them. Choy who's building a database of fish pictures will have first priority. After he has taken the pictures, I will give the fish to the person whom I think is most likely to succeed in breeding them. 

Let me know if any of the fish interests you but please bear in mind that if you don't intend to breed them, I will give you last priority. 

Loh K L

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## Nonn

Hi Loh,

Just to give you more information, the Boraras you have is most closely related to Boraras micros, which can be found in North Eastern Thailand -and probably some part of Loas but no report yet. They were once though to be Boraras maculata -probably your Mosquito Rasbora. Their are a lot of differeces in these 2 species, the most obvious is that the new species grow to much smaller size than the B. maculata. They are found in some part of Eastern Thailand, and in Malay Penisular of Thailand, in some part they are found with a new species of Mouth Brooding Betta sp. which I believe 2 professor at Singapore University, Ng and Tan, are describing. 


Another closely related species to the new Boraras you have are B. uropthamoides and B. merah -this is the one I bought in S'pore on my last trip. 

The current status of Endler's live bearer is uncertain, we still use the name Poecillia sp. Endler with them. Someone believe that their natural habitat in a few pond in Venesula has been destroyed, thus they are probably extinct in the wild already. Keep them going!

B. simplex, There are 2 pairs, one younger male doens't have that much color. They are mouth brooding species, love pH around 7.5-8, an endangered species on IUCN redlist. Our tresure!

Nonn

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## francis

Hi Loh,

Can i have a pair of the Betta simplex please?I have spawn B.edithae and the fry are about 1.5cm.I can pass some fry to you when they are bigger. :Very Happy: 



francis

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## francis

Hi Nonn,

The mouth broodering betta sp you mentioned,Are you refering to B.sp Southern Thailand?Thks

francis

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## hwchoy

Hi Nonn, I have heard talks about a new Boraras species from Thailand, possibly this is it. I had the _B. micros_ but I did not managed to get a picture, but I can still remember quite well how it looks like.

Of the 5 described Boraras species, two are from Indochina region (the _B. urophthalmoides_ and _B. micros_) while the rest (_B. maculatus_ btw, -ta was changed to -tus, _B. brigittae_ and _B. merah_) are all Sundaic (i.e. maritime southeast asia and Kalimantan). The urophthalmoides' type locality is in a swamp near Narathiwat and the range extends to the Mekong drainage (Rainboth, W.J., 1996
Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong).

I am also very excited to see the Endler's livebearer! :P 

Timebomb, I am bringing my field camp gear to set up shop in your house  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:

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## NongOil

> 6. Sturisoma panamense - Oil and Nid gave me 2 of this fish. They are meant as gifts for my good friend, Dr Peter Chua who played host to Oil and Nid when they were in Singapore a few weeks ago. The fish is also sometimes known as a "Helicopter Fish" in Singapore.


Sorry Loh, but please let me correct. Those 2 fishes I gave you is not _Sturisoma panamense_. It's _Rhineloricaria sp._ *'Red Lizard'* Please read the information of this fish here. You might call them "Red Helicopter"  :Smile:  

Those fishes came with a pair. They also can be bred if good condition provided.

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## hwchoy

they don't look like helicopters to me  :Confused:

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## RonWill

> Sorry Loh, but please let me correct. Those 2 fishes I gave you is not _Sturisoma panamense_. It's _Rhineloricaria sp._ *'Red Lizard'* Please read the information of this fish here. You might call them "Red Helicopter"


NongOil, I believe that the commonly nicked 'helicopter' is from the _Loricariidae_ family and one of those 'oddballs' I kept was the _Farlowella Acus_ [Farlowella=named after W.G. Farlow; Acus=Pointed, a needle].

Farlowellas are cool dudes in planted tanks and will also keep algae in check. Aside from what algae that's available in the tank, their diet should be supplimented with boiled peas and blanched cabbage (I tried fresh and raw, but they didn't like it). Additional suppliment should also include algae or vege tablets.




> Those fishes came with a pair. They also can be bred if good condition provided.


Breeding will occur in dim areas of the tank especially in wedges between PVC pipes, eg. the overflow pipes. The eggs are about 2mm but their youngs are difficult to raise. Even though I had a mixed paste of potato, spinach and pea, smeared near the surface, the frys didn't take to it and wasted away.

Perhaps I should also mention that the male 'Twig or Whiptail Catfish' has a longer, slimmer snout, with a fair bit of bristles. Females have broader snout and less bristles. When viewed from the top, males are slimmer and females somewhat broader at mid section.

Good luck to whoever is gonna breed them. I'm interested to know how you got along.

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## timebomb

> They were once though to be Boraras maculata -probably your Mosquito Rasbora. Their are a lot of differeces in these 2 species, the most obvious is that the new species grow to much smaller size than the B. maculata.


Nonn,

I checked the fish against the photographs I found on the net (some of which were taken by Choy) and I must say they look very much like the Boraras maculatus. The maculatus are small fishes too so it's hard to tell if they are bigger than those I have in my tank now. The fish in my tanks have 3 spots on their bodies just like the maculatus. The only distinct difference is that my fish does not seem to have the red colouration that appears on the maculatus. This could however be due to the fact that my fish are still unsettled. Anyway, we would know for sure this weekend when Choy comes to my house to take the pictures. He should be able to spot a difference, if there's any. 

The Betta simplex, your national treasure, are in safe hands. I gave a pair of it to Francis this evening. He's good with Bettas so I'm quite sure he will succeed in breeding them. 

I will be breeding the Endler's livebearers myself. The female is already pregnant with fry so it should be just a matter of time for her to drop the babies. 




> Sorry Loh, but please let me correct. Those 2 fishes I gave you is not _Sturisoma panamense_. It's _Rhineloricaria sp._ *'Red Lizard'* 
> Those fishes came with a pair. They also can be bred if good condition provided.


Oil,

Sorry about the mix-up. I've already passed the fish to Peter Chua this afternoon. Heck, if I had known they were a pair, I would have kept them for myself  :Laughing:  Peter who isn't much into breeding fish probably won't know even if they spawn in his tank. 




> Good luck to whoever is gonna breed them. I'm interested to know how you got along.


Ronnie,

If you like, I can talk to Peter and see if he's willing to give the fish to you. Like I said, it would be such a pity if the fish spawns in his tank and he didn't do a thing about it. Peter's an okay guy and he would agree to this, I'm sure. Only problem is he probably won't be able to catch them in his heavily planted tank. 




> Timebomb, I am bringing my field camp gear to set up shop in your house


Yeah, you do that, my friend  :Laughing: . I will be watching you closely to learn more about taking fish photos. 




> Can i have a pair of the Betta simplex please?


Okay, Francis, you got a pair. I hope you took note of what Nonn wrote about them being the national treasure of Thailand  :Laughing:  I wish you all the best of luck. You don't have to give me the fry when you succeed in breeding them. Just pass them around to local hobbyists who won't hybridize them. We don't encourage people to come up with new strains. What we hope is that hobbyists try to keep the fish pure and in its natural form. 

Loh K L

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## RonWill

> If you like, I can talk to Peter and see if he's willing to give the fish to you. Like I said, it would be such a pity if the fish spawns in his tank and he didn't do a thing about it. Peter's an okay guy and he would agree to this, I'm sure. Only problem is he probably won't be able to catch them in his heavily planted tank.


Kwek Leong, I've got my hands full with a new setup and tankfuls of young Blue/Scarlet badis badis and Blue Panchax.

Unless I can offload some of these fellas, I'll be spreading myself too thin, so let's have Peter take a shot at it first.

so... anyone want young badis or panchax?

Oh, one more thing... can I join the field camp as an observer?

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## hwchoy

> I will be breeding the Endler's livebearers myself. The female is already pregnant with fry so it should be just a matter of time for her to drop the babies. 
> 
> Loh K L


Hey! the queue for F1 Endlers start *HERE*:  :Very Happy:  hwchoy  :Mr. Green:

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## hwchoy

> Anyway, we would know for sure this weekend when Choy comes to my house to take the pictures. He should be able to spot a difference, if there's any.


you make me sound like some kind of Boraras expert! very pressurising leh  :Shocked:  I'm just lucky to have kept all five described species. As a fact, the three "Sundaic" Boraras are considered "big" compared to the Indochinese species. The _B. micros_ is very small compared with the _B. maculatus_. And I have been told there are two varieties of maculatus, one with big spots and the other smaller spots.




> Originally Posted by hwchoy
> 
> Timebomb, I am bringing my field camp gear to set up shop in your house   
> 
> 
> Yeah, you do that, my friend . I will be watching you closely to learn more about taking fish photos. 
> 
> Loh K L


start keep your glass clean of algae, kekekeke  :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:

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## stormhawk

Nonn, could you supply me with more info as to the captive care of Betta simplex? I'm not very good with wild bettas. Managed to keep several Betta coccina for a few weeks once and that was that. Had some persephone that I got from a local fish shop and they all died pretty soon after.

If what you say is true then I'm blessed with the right level of pH. My tapwater reads pH7.5 and I suppose that's a good reading to start with. Oddly though, I always thought that bettas prefer acidic waters. You stated pH range of 7.5 to 8, that's pretty alkaline.

Loh, I'm still trying to free up some space. Just bought some plastic tanks to house my juvenile male magnificus. They were sparring the whole day and their fins are pretty ragged. The constanciae eggs have just eyed up and the young pair of Chrom. bitaeniatum Lagos that I just recently obtained from Ronnie have just spawned earlier tonight after I moved them from their temporary container to a larger plastic tank. In fact, these Lagos really boggle me. It took the pair less than 5 mins from their introduction to the new tank to start the mating display and eventually laying of eggs on the java moss. I've yet to check if there's any eggs but I believe there are. Saw the female go pretty close to the moss and the pair just wiggled.

Oh yes, regarding Endler's livebearers, they are considered to be extinct in their type habitat. So you guys are helping out in the conservation of these beautiful gems. :wink:

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## stormhawk

Well Choy, make it the two of us :wink: I've kept all 5 Boraras species before. In fact, my favourite is Boraras micros. I've got plenty of females and just 1 or 2 males.

Didn't count the rest of the Boraras but they're still there.

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## Nonn

HI guys,

Let start with B. simplex first, they are from stream that run from Lime-stone moutain in Krabi province. That is why they love alkaline water. I measured their water during rainy season at 7.5, so I figured it might be a little more alkaline in the dry season. That is why, I give you the figure 7.5-8. Despite the fact that this species is being catch and exported in good number for many years, there are not much report of success with this species probably because of the common believe that Betta like low pH. Having said that, I don't think they are that picky about water quality. As long as you keep them in good condition, I'm sure they will breed. Put in a few pot or large PVC pipe for them to breed in and they will breed. The male will carry eggs and fry in his mouth for about 10-15 days, he will then split out anything from 20-74 fry. 74 is our record high at the moment, let see if anyone can beat this number  :Very Happy: 

http://www.siamensis.org/article/a008.asp

Take a look at the pictures in the link provides above, you should get some idea.


Ah...Boraras my favorite genus as well...I like small fishes. I've kept 4 species, it was B. brigitae that I miss. I bred the B. uropthalmoides in small lotus pond. Also do some test by putting them with Endler's, the result was terrible. I never get Boraras fry from the pond with Endler's in it. With Guppy all over the country I guess some of this small native species are in trouble. Anyway, the B. urop' are quite wide spread....

The new species look very much like B. micros, the main different is that they do have some red color on them, unlike B. micros that is very plain white dotted fish. You are very lucky that they come in while you were here. They don't come in often.

Nonn

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## hwchoy

> Ah...Boraras my favorite genus as well...I like small fishes. I've kept 4 species, it was B. brigitae that I miss. I bred the B. uropthalmoides in small lotus pond. Also do some test by putting them with Endler's, the result was terrible. I never get Boraras fry from the pond with Endler's in it. With Guppy all over the country I guess some of this small native species are in trouble. Anyway, the B. urop' are quite wide spread....
> 
> The new species look very much like B. micros, the main different is that they do have some red color on them, unlike B. micros that is very plain white dotted fish. You are very lucky that they come in while you were here. They don't come in often.
> 
> Nonn


Any details about where this boraras originate from, meaning which part of Thailand? Any informal names given already? I am glad that it looks like the micros, meaning the body is shorter and rounder rather than slim like maculatus and brigittae?

If you look up _Boraras brigittae_ in FishBase you'd find them showing a urophthalmoides picture. I gave them a brigittae picture (you can see it there by clicking the species picture) previously but for some reason either they can't seem to see the difference between a brigittae and a urophthalmoides!

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## stormhawk

Choy, some people regard brigittae as a form of urophthalmoides. In fact, some of them think they're the same species. They vary mostly in colouration and perhaps size but to others they're just the same.

Nonn, thanks for the information. I guess I'm ready to maintain these Betta simplex as it seems my tap water parameters are just perfect for these guys. As to fry care, do you have any tips or information that I may use? Especially towards the issues of feeding and housing the fry.

KL, do contact me as to when I can go over to your place to collect the simplex pair. 

Thanks in advance. :wink:

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## francis

Hi Loh,

Thank you so much for the betta simplex.Of course,many thanks to Nonn too.I will do my best to take good care of these national treasure of Thailand.If i do spawn them i`ll only pass them to hobbylist who will not hybridize them.Once again Thanks Guys.

I`m also very interested in the endler too.So i`ll queue after Choy  :Very Happy:  


francis

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## hwchoy

> Choy, some people regard brigittae as a form of urophthalmoides. In fact, some of them think they're the same species. They vary mostly in colouration and perhaps size but to others they're just the same.


well, some people also can't tell a toyota from a honda  :Laughing: 

in fact their biggest difference is their body shape (other than the coloration).

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## Nonn

I'm not sure of their origin yet. I'm sure they are down south somewhere in the Malay Penisular of Thailand, though.

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## timebomb

> can I join the field camp as an observer?


Sure you can, Ronnie. In fact, it was my intention to ask you to come along. We haven't fixed the time yet but it will probably be on Sunday morning. I think it would be a good idea if you bring your camera along. 




> KL, do contact me as to when I can go over to your place to collect the simplex pair.


Jianyang, you can bring the pair home after Choy has taken their pictures. I would suggest you set up a tank for them now. 




> I`m also very interested in the endler too.So i`ll queue after Choy


Francis, I will pass some of the Endlers' livebearers to you and Choy when they are old enough to be sexed. I just hope I'm not counting chickens before they hatch  :Laughing: 




> You are very lucky that they come in while you were here. They don't come in often.


Oh yes, the timing was perfect. I was very impressed by the fish shop owner. I don't think I've ever met anyone like him in Singapore. He knew the latin names of all the fishes I bought even though most of them were not from his shop. If he hadn't written the scientific names on the plastic bags for me, it would probably take me forever to find out the names myself. 

Loh K L

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## Nonn

Loh,

For the fish shop owner, he may looked down-to-earth but he graduated in Fish Taxonomy. He normally teach at Ubon-rachathani University -a province in the north east- in Fishery Department. He is one of the very few person in Thailand who can properly decribe new fish species. I think he described 2 this year, with Schistura panitvongi coming along the line. He is also a very keen hobbyist. 

Nonn

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## hwchoy

> Loh,
> 
> For the fish shop owner, he may looked down-to-earth but he graduated in Fish Taxonomy. He normally teach at Ubon-rachathani University -a province in the north east- in Fishery Department.


  :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:  

Loh Kwek Leong "got eye don't know or-ee-or"! 

sorry for the frivolous post, but I'd let KL explains this expression for the non-Singaporean members  :Very Happy: 

BTW, Nonn, congrats on the new species :P :P :P

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## NightHound

Hi KL,

May i have the simplex from you. I concentrate in keeping wild betta and currently have 9 species with me. Simplex only come in season, so i always have problem getting them. So will appreciate if you could let me have them.

Cheers,
Desmond

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## gweesm1

Hi all,

Looks like I am too late for the simplex.L I just came back from Malaysia with my family. If I am late on replying email, please be patient. 

My father in law collected about 7 wild orchids from the jungle and I collected some moss. From the patch of moss I collected, there is bit and pieces of Pellia like plants. Like Pellia it grow in Y shape, and it is very brittle. I did not notice them only when I reached Singapore.

I saw some emered form erect moss too. It grows in upward manner, unfortunately it was out of reach.

I will start a new tread if the Pellia like moss grow in my tank.

Regards,

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## timebomb

> May i have the simplex from you.


Desmond, I'm sorry. The fish have all been spoken for :smile: . Francis took a pair and Jianyang will be taking the other. 

Loh K L

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## NightHound

> Originally Posted by nighthound
> 
> May i have the simplex from you.
> 
> 
> Desmond, I'm sorry. The fish have all been spoken for :smile: . Francis took a pair and Jianyang will be taking the other. 
> 
> Loh K L


Hi K L,

No problem. Must be faster next time.  :Very Happy:  

Cheers,
Desmond

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## hwchoy

Hi Nonn and all,

an excellent day of shooting those fishes Loh brought back from Jatujak. I've just reviewed the pics, we've gotten some pretty good pictures of:
that little goby fish - can Nonn confirm their species as Loh was pretty sure he was given not quite the right name by that Latin-sprouting "fish-seller"  :Laughing: your precious _Betta simplex_those _Oryzias minutillus_quite OK pics of the _Boraras_ sp., you're right they're very like the _B. micros_, except for the pectoral spot which I think was bigger on the micros. But quite definitely nowhere near maculatus.some pics of killies (I have to find out their names later) and also some x-rated video of australe making multiple whoopies.  :Laughing:   :Laughing:

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## stormhawk

Choy, I believe these are _Brachygobius mekongensis_. I've seen them for sale at C328 and Choong Sua. In fact, I think only the uncle at Choong Sua managed to keep them alive. All of those at C328 were dead when I last checked.

Well there's at least several Brachygobius species native to Thailand.

_Brachygobius aggregatus_ Herre, 1940
_Brachygobius mekongensis_ Larson & Vidthayanon, 2000
_Brachygobius nunus_ Hamilton, 1822
_Brachygobius sua_ Smith, 1931

B. sua is found in the Chao Phraya basin but it attains sizes of 3.0cm.
B. nunus is found in several nations in the region but reaches the max. size of 2.5cm.
B. mekongensis reaches sizes of 1.8cm and is found in the Mekong River system between the countries of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
B. aggregatus is the largest of the lot at 4.4cm max.

On the other hand, we have a native species called _Brachygobius xanthomelas_ Herre, 1937. It reaches the max. size of 2cm. This could also be a contender for the ID of this odd little goby. :wink:

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## hwchoy

temporary pics, just to whet your appetite :wink: 

_Betta simplex_






_Boraras_ sp.




_Brachygobius_ spp.




_Oryzias minutillus_

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## hwchoy

stormhawk, the _Brachygobius kabiliensis_ apparently also ranges into the Mekong drainage. So how are we going to confirm the species? Can you find a pic or line drawing of the _B. mekongensis_?

darn these confounding ichthys  :Confused:

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## hwchoy

> I'm not sure of their origin yet. I'm sure they are down south somewhere in the Malay Penisular of Thailand, though.


Just found a Japanese site that gave it an informal name of _Boraras_ sp. 'micros red' which seem to bear out what we're seeing, that it looks like micros but with more red shades on the body and fins. But I would seriously hold judgement on whether it should be considered a sperate species. 

Well, still can't find any pics anywhere, so KL, your website is the first in the world to have a pic of the _Boraras_ sp. :wink: :wink: *clap* *clap* *clap*

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## stormhawk

Choy, apparently the Mekong drainage refers to the Mekong delta region. This region is at southern tip of Vietnam. I would consider that B. kabiliensis does not range well into Thailand. I would also consider that this part of its range (Indochina) is restricted to the Mekong delta itself. 

Just checked it out, there's a pic of it on the Mangroves of Singapore website. Apparently it's native to Singapore as well.

Online Guidebook to the Mangroves of Singapore

Here's another link to a Japanese page with very good photos of 3 of the Brachygobius species.

http://homepage2.nifty.com/PhD-mukai...us/Brachy.html

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## hwchoy

> Just checked it out, there's a pic of it on the Mangroves of Singapore website. Apparently it's native to Singapore as well.
> 
> Online Guidebook to the Mangroves of Singapore


why does the glass goby pic looks suspiciously like a Boraras?  :Confused:

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## Nonn

HI Guys,

Choy, nice images of the little guys. I have to say, those fish espeacially the Boraras and Betta simplex has not reach their full beauty potential, though.

The goby is deffinitely a Brachygobius xanthomelas Herre, 1937, according to my new guide book (Fishes of Choapraya River Drianage) 

Hey,have you guy even seen a Fresh Water Jelly fish? Check them out here. 

http://www.siamensis.org/webboard/Webanswer.asp?id=1356


Also a new species of Stenasellus sp. from Thailand, that me and my friends discovered last year, here..

http://www.pantip.com/cafe/blueplane.../E2608092.html

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## timebomb

> Well, still can't find any pics anywhere, so KL, your website is the first in the world to have a pic of the _Boraras_ sp. :wink: :wink: *clap* *clap* *clap*


Great pictures, Choy. If anyone deserves any applause, it's you, my friend. I only brought the fish home, something anyone could have done just as easily too. 

Choy, if you want more help in identifying the fish, please feel free to display your pictures in other forums too. I don't have any copyrights to the pictures although I own the fish. Since the _Boraras_ sp. are very rare here, I will try and breed them. 

Loh K L

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## hwchoy

KL, couldn't have done it without your fantastic photo tank. I think I will also paint mine black.

As for copyright, there are clear industrial and legal practice, and I think I will follow these in case we're dealing with more contributors (hopeful  :Rolling Eyes:  ) in future from other countries too.

Copyright always reside with the creator of the artifact, in this case the photographer (e.g. you film a really gorgeous girl on the streets and you made a billion dollars selling the pics, it belongs to you. Unless if the photographer is on paid assignment, then the copyright may belong to the photographer or the commissioning party, depending on contract).

Hence I will always put a copyright line for any pictures contributed to me. However to recognise the owner of the fish, I will be putting a "courtesy of" line near my logo. I think this will be a fair practice and also a nice gesture.  :Smile:

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## stormhawk

Nonn, KL, I just found out something about the Betta simplex. It seems the male has a slight injury close to his dorsal fin. Now I didn't realise that when I first placed him into the new tank. This morning I checked on him and found hair fungus growing on his wounds!.  :Sad:  He's still quite active but not as active as the female is.

I will try to save the male by trying anti-fungal medications. I'm quite worried for the male. Hopefully the attempt to save him works.  :Opps:  

Choy, that Glass Goby pic isn't a Boraras pic. That is a true goby. Look closely at the body shape and placement of fins. Haha, perhaps you need to look closer next time.  :Laughing:

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## hwchoy

> Choy, that Glass Goby pic isn't a Boraras pic. That is a true goby. Look closely at the body shape and placement of fins. Haha, perhaps you need to look closer next time.


haiz, people with bifocal cannot look very closely you know?  :Crying:  anyway the pics are too small!

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## timebomb

> I will try to save the male by trying anti-fungal medications.


Jianyang, there are many brands of anti-fungal medication in the market. Many work well but I would caution against using the brand from "you know Hu". There's a brand called Waterlife which is available in some fish shops. They have different medications for different diseases but the one known as Protozin works very well against Velvet and Whitespot disease so I think it should be effective against fungus too.

Clean water helps keep fungus at bay. If I were you, I would change the water more frequently.

Loh K L

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## stormhawk

KL, bad news.. I found the male simplex dead when I got back home from camp earlier. Just bought Sera Mycopur to treat it but I was too late.  :Crying:  

However the female is still surviving and she too has a slight fungal infection on her right gill plate. Currently treating her in a separate hospital tank. I guess if she pulls through I will give her to francis so that he can use her for breeding with his current pair. No use if I keep her to myself. I suppose francis can do with another female.

Nonn, my apologies for having lost this precious fish. Perhaps its just not my luck.  :Sad:

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## hwchoy

> Hey,have you guy even seen a Fresh Water Jelly fish? Check them out here. 
> 
> Also a new species of Stenasellus sp. from Thailand, that me and my friends discovered last year, here..


Nonn, interesting, is it really fresh or tidal? Wish I can help you translate your stuff to English! There are just so many good stuff on your site.  :Shocked:

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## timebomb

> KL, bad news.. I found the male simplex dead when I got back home from camp earlier.


Don't feel too bad about it, Jianyang. I'm sure you tried your best. I saw the delight on your face when you collected the fish so no one would be more heartbroken than you now.

It would be good if you can pass the female to Francis but please make sure she's completely cured of the fungal infection first. 

Loh K L

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## hwchoy

KL, did we do the simplex first or the boraras first? make sure your tank of boraras don't all catch fungus, and you wouldn't be able to see through all those green water!  :Rolling Eyes: 

oh, and also Ronnie's randy australe and sh!t, the minutillus!  :Crying:

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## timebomb

> KL, did we do the simplex first or the boraras first?


Oh geez, I never thought of that  :Surprised:  

I think we took the pics of the simplex before the Boraras but I'm not sure. The most important question is when did we take the pics of the _Oryzias minutillus_? They were dropping like flies and I lost many of them before you came. Out of a batch of 50, I have only about 10 left. There were many fungused carcasses in the tank so there's a chance that the fungus might have spread to the other fish which occupied the photo tank. 

Ronnie, your pair of australes were the last fish to take the photos so maybe you should keep a close check on them. However, I don't believe fungus spreads that easily. 

Loh K L

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## stormhawk

I think you photographed the simplex first. Can't remember when you photographed the minutillus but I believe you photographed the gobies before the simplex because I wasn't around when you took photographs of the gobies.  :Question:  

KL, yes I'm pretty heartbroken alright. It was a pretty male. Well the thing is, I didn't realise this at first but the odd thing was the male had this odd scale protruding on his dorsal region. The very first fungus appeared here on this spot.  :Sad:  Oh yes, I will make sure the female has fully acclimatised and is free from fungus before I pass her to francis.

I don't believe that fungus spreads that easily so I'm pretty confident to say that active fish like Ronnie's australes will not be affected. Perhaps the male was injured earlier because a healthy fish with no injury will withstand a fungal attack. Usually fungus comes as a secondary infection after a bacterial attack on a particular region of the body.

On a sidenote, I just checked my constanciae eggs and they were eyed-up!.  :Very Happy:  Pretty happy news considering I just lost a precious fish.  :Opps:  Not sure if I should dunk the peat now or wait a few more days.  :Rolling Eyes:

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## hwchoy

OK, I checked the sequence of pics in my cam, in sequence is:
your pair of killies who wouldn't come outsimplexborarasrandy australeminutillusthe gobies were shot _in situ_ not in the phototank.

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## RonWill

> Ronnie, your pair of australes were the last fish to take the photos so maybe you should keep a close check on them. However, I don't believe fungus spreads that easily.


Kwek Leong, since you mentioned it... my female is down...  :Crying:  Male's fins are clamped...  :Crying:  

Worst part is... my entire rack is now rigged as one total flow-through system and all my proverbial eggs are in one basket <gulp!>

I hooked up some lights to the rack and have been keeping close observation for symptoms. Some little fellas in other compartments are scratching themselves silly, including Tom's _A. primigenium_, _A. exigoideum_ 'Ngoudoufola and... and... arrrrggggghhhh ! (sorry... need to de-stress)

Does anyone here use a in-line UV unit? NA LFS has one, 11w I think, for about SG$140 and am seriously considering getting a used unit (or new, if affordable) for hiccups like this...

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## RonWill

> There's a brand called Waterlife which is available in some fish shops. They have different medications for different diseases but the one known as Protozin works very well against Velvet and Whitespot disease so I think it should be effective against fungus too.


Kwek Leong, is this 'Protozin' bio-filter and plant-safe? I'd flip if the rest of my plants go melting like butter. Any idea if it'd also stain the tanks' silicon?

Dosed Flubenol 5% earlier this afternoon (or rather, yesterday afternoon) and looks like I'll be doing water changes before I head off to work later.

who says killie keeping isn't exciting...

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## timebomb

> Kwek Leong, is this 'Protozin' bio-filter and plant-safe? I'd flip if the rest of my plants go melting like butter. Any idea if it'd also stain the tanks' silicon?


Ronnie, the Protozin won't stain silicon. It also won't affect aquatic plants except for Hornwort. Hornwort, for some strange reason, is very sensitive to chemicals so almost all medications will cause it to melt. The medication also won't kill shrimp and snails so its very safe to use in a planted tank. The brand is "Waterlife". I've seen it on sale at Happy Aquarium and Clementi 328.

Loh K L

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## timebomb

> OK, I checked the sequence of pics in my cam


You're sure about the sequence, Choy? If the _Oryzias minutillus_ were the last fish to have their pictures taken, then the fungus infection on the simplex and the illness affecting Ronnie's australes couldn't have come from them. In any case, although fungus can spread, it usually won't attack healthy fish unless they have open wounds. Fungus, as far as I know, is everywhere in everyone's tanks. No matter how clean is your water, the fungus is there waiting for the right circumstances to appear.

Loh K L

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## francis

Stormhawk,

Sad to hear about your male simplex.So far my pair of simplex are doing well but they are still in the quarantine tank though.I`ll will galdly adopt your female simplex with thank.If i could spawn them i`ll pass you back some of their fry.Thank again.  :Smile:  

Choy,

Those photo are great.Really must pickup some tips from you  :Laughing:  

francis

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## hwchoy

yes, they're in running numbers and also timestamped, cannot go wrong.  :Smile:

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## hwchoy

> Choy,
> 
> Those photo are great.Really must pickup some tips from you  
> 
> francis


no skills, just gear  :Exclamation:  :wink:

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## Nonn

Hello,

I'm sorry to hear about the simplex. Actually it is my false not to inform you that when stress, simplex get fungus very easily. I normally put them in quarantine tank with all the fungus remedies for a few day to prevent this from happening. We have a lot of young growing up and hopefully will be able to send some to S'pore in a few month.  :Very Happy: 

The Jelly fish is strickly fresh water species. The large body of water you see in the back of the picture is Mae Kong river, the other side of the river is Loas. The jelly fish is very small, about 1.5 cm. across the dish. The live in the form of Jelly fish for only a few month, then turn to something like Hydra for most of the year. It have to be a perfect timing to go see them. It was my first time to see them in this form  :Very Happy:

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## stormhawk

Nonn, you're not to blame. Perhaps I'll try again some other time.

Francis, bad news. The female died too. She didn't pull through the Mycopur treatment.  :Sad:

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## ban_tse

I sure understand how u feel stormhawk....
cos the pair of Betta simplex i got from Eco Culture, the male died of fungus too..just a week ago!
exactly same symptoms - fungus near the dorsal...
tried all sorts of medication, and i thought he was getting better as the 'cotton wool' was gone and the fish was rather active. instead i left him in methyl blue solution a day longer hoping to ensure it was fully cured,and when i got back from work, i was shocked to find him belly up...

now have a lone female in my wild betta comm tank...
currently searching for a male or pair ... sigh...

Ben

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