Betta Rubra Spawning

Betta Rubra are one of those lesser seen wild bettas in the circle of hobbyist. Many have seen photos of the red beautiful male in tiger stripes so I thought I will share a photo of a female specimen in spawning colors. As you can see the egg is ready for delivery and the male in courtship dance in the background. These beautiful bettas hail from northern Sumatra near Aceh. My first few Betta Rubras was sourced from a friend, Haji Baharuddin. Couple with some from another source, we are now breeding these little beauties.  

UPDATE

Betta Rubra Revisited: This specimens from Aceh have been identified as a different species from B Rubra by Dr Tan Heok Hui in a recent update. These are Betta Dennisyongi, named after naturalist Dennis Yong Ghong Chong. There are slight difference with the similar Rubra found in the same coastal areas in North Sumatera in body size and markings. Source: The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2013 61(1): 323-330

Cryptocoryne 'Batang Ai' Sp

The Cryptocoryne 'Batang Ai' Sp is still an undescribed species, first discovered by Michael Lo a couple of years ago. I am amazed by the sheer intensity of the leaf color. It has speckles of metalic sheen with magenta on it. The tiger stripes also enhances the beauty of this Cryptocoryne. Natural habitat is fast flowing river with low pH of 6.0. Temperature of 25C. This Cryptocoryne shares the habitat with Crytocoryne Striolata, Blyxa Aurbetii, Eleocharis Acicularis.

Out on a Raining Day

Photo of Josh and Herman in action at a swollen river. It was raining at the time they got into the river. Josh had to dive for Cryptocorynes as the water was very high, while Herman was there as a decoy for crocodiles. Hahaha...I am just joking.

It has been months since my last posting as we went through a very strange season of excessive rain here in Sarawak. Much of our earlier field trip has been hampered by bad weather. So we took the opportunity to expand our quarantine facility as well as servicing local demands for planted aquariums. However last week, a couple of friends from West Malaysia came to Kuching and we went off on a 7 day journey sampling and collecting cryptocorynes and fishes in Sarawak.

Our initial plan was to visit the 2 locations of Cryptocoryne Zaidiana but it didnt materialize as our local contact there advised us not to go due to the high river water level and evening thunderstorms. We did spend days on all other different location in this ardous journey. Braving the heat of scorching sun, the rain that never fail to show up just when we are about to reach a location, swarms of blood thirsty mosquitoes, cuts and scratches climbing and rolling down steep river banks, we came home tired but happy with some Cryptocorynes and other plants. We also enjoyed the good local food along the way and I had the pleasure of catching the Live Telecast of Le Tour De France's race stage for the Tourmalet peak in a hotel room in Sibu. Overall the locations of some Cryptocorynes are in very good condition but some are dwindling due to polution or development.

Thanks for dropping by and I will update this forum more frequently now as I have several postings coming soon. Cheers!