Tag / fishes

by mondaymorgue

Eartheater Cichlid

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Eartheater Cichlid (Geophagus altifrons)
Bedok Reservoir, 10th January 2012

This carcass of an Eartheater Cichlid was found by Fung Tze Kwan.

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by mondaymorgue

Spotted Scat

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Spotted Scat (Scatophagus argus)
Changi, 7th June 2012

This dead Spotted Scat was found by Xu Weiting, who shared a photo of it on Facebook.

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by mondaymorgue

Discus

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Discus (Symphysodon sp.)
Potong Pasir, 7th March 2012

This dead discus, a South American cichlid native to the Amazon Basin, was seen at the foot of an apartment block by Alvin Lim, who took a photo and shared it on Instagram.

There was no water nearby, and my guess is that this was not an abandoned pet. It’s possible that this was a case of a fish jumping out of a tank placed close to a window, only to end up falling all the way to the foot of the block. Alternatively, the fish could have died in the aquarium, only to be dumped out of the window instead of being tossed into the trash or flushed down the toilet bowl.

It is also possible that this discus fish had been released into a nearby canal or pond, only to get snatched and subsequently dropped by a piscivorous bird like a kingfisher, heron, or raptor. We probably won’t know for sure.

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The vast majority of discus seen in aquariums are captive-bred varieties that have undergone intensive artificial selection for distinctive colours and patterns. The taxonomy of discus in the wild is still unclear, but most traditional references list 2 species; consequently, the nomenclature regarding domestic varieties (some of which might be hybrids between discus belonging to different populations or even species) also requires further clarification.

Most of the Discus seen in the ornamental fish trade originate from one or more of the colour forms typically classified under the Blue Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus):

by mondaymorgue

Eel


Eel (Anguilliformes)
East Coast Park, 21st February 2010

This dessicated and sand-encrusted eel was found on the beach along East Coast Park. I presume that it was caught by an angler and then left to die on the shore. I personally have an axe to grind with people who do such things. Even if the fishes that are caught are unwanted, surely it’s not too difficult to empathise with them and release them back into the water? Why make a fish die so unnecessarily?

I didn’t look too closely to conclusively identify it, though I would think that it’s either a moray eel (F. Muraenidae) or snake eel (F. Ophichthidae).There are 2 species which I think are among the more likely candidates:

Estuarine Moray Eel (Gymnothorax tile)

Burrowing Snake Eel (Pisodonophis cancrivorus)

by mondaymorgue

Pink-eared Emperor

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Pink-eared Emperor (Lethrinus lentjan)
Beting Bronok, 14th June 2010

This recently dead pink-eared emperor was found inside a bubu trap on an exposed portion of Beting Bronok; other victims were 1 other (possible) pink-faced emperor that had been reduced to a skull and several other scattered bones (seen at the bottom of the photo), and at least 5 very dead filefish. Survivors included a white-lipped eeltail catfish (Paraplotosus albilabris) and a swimming crab (Thalamita crenata) that was ovigerous (carrying eggs); these were promptly released into the water.

Wild Fact Sheets
A Guide to Common Marine Fishes of Singapore
FishBase
Fishes of Libong
Field Guide to Lombok Island

by mondaymorgue

Mangrove Whipray (Himantura walga)
Pulau Ubin, 3rd December 2009

by mondaymorgue

Waigeu Sea Perch

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Waigeu Sea Perch (Psammoperca waigiensis)
Cyrene Reef, 26th June 2010

A long driftnet had been laid across a section of Cyrene Reef, trapping many fishes. While many were still alive and were promptly untangled and released, this was one of the fish I found that did not survive entanglement.

A Guide to Common Marine Fishes of Singapore
FishBase
Fishes of Bitung