Reservoir fishes

According to research published in 2009 by academics Ng Heok Hee and Tan Heok Hui, however, Singapore’s reservoirs are almost wholly populated by alien species.

A popular freshwater gamefish native to South America. It said to be introduced in Singapore by anglers and aquarium hobbyists who released the fish into some of our local reservoirs, ponds and streams.

Singapore didn't have much local gamefish species to begin with in the first place! Even our Belida and Giant Snakehead (Toman) were introduced!

Even though there are 16 different types of peacock bass in the world, in Singapore we have three main species of peacock bass: Temensis, Mono- Peacock Bass and Azul Peacock Bass.

Temensis is the largest among the 16 known Cichla species recorded!

At Punggol, we catch mostly Butterfly Peacock Bass

Th FWC in Florida attempted to release Temensis in the waterways of Florida however, they were unable to thrive, Singapore along with the amazon waterways is one of the only water bodies where the Temensis tend to thrives

Why Singapore is perfect for peacocks? similar climate to the amazon on the equator: Peacocks are very sensitive to low water temperatures and cannot survive in water temperatures that dip below about 65 degrees. Low water temperatures will cause peacock bass to stop feeding and turn darker in color because of slowed blood flow. There’s little temperature change in a tropical climate.

Where to find big Peacock bass? Jungle bashing or fishing at illegal spots (2 young boys in Singapore caught on video landing a massive peacock bass at merlion park)

Peacock Bass have several qualities that make them an ideal angling target. For one, they are very territorial and aggressively defend their territory including their fertilized eggs and the young fry up to an age of ten weeks. As they are so territorial, ideal baits and lures are not as important to get strikes as the placement and movement of the lure. Live baits are successful and will generate higher probabilities of landing a lunker, however, playing on their territorial instincts is more strategic.

Temensis are all Peacock Bass but not all Peacock Bass are Temensis.

it possessed the distinctive body shape and ocellated colouration characteristic of the group, including the distinctive caudal ocellus (or “peacock spot”) on the tail. The latter is thought to potentially confuse predators by mimic the eye, thus leading would be attackers to question whether their prey was coming or going.

Each spawning period the female deposits a relatively small number (1000’s) of sticky eggs on a convenient substrate (often a flat stone in shallow water) before brooding the larvae in their mouths once the eggs hatch.

The mouth brooding strategy of the peacock bass vastly improves the survival rates of the young fish, no doubt contributing to the success of the species wherever they have been introduced into suitable new locations

They may be invasive, but not in Florida. Butterfly peacock bass were introduced in the waters of Florida to control the population of the invasive Tilapia and Oscar. They have since been living there without affecting the ecosystem of their surroundings in Florida.

In Singapore, the peacock bass helps to control the population of flies that breeds on the water.

Snakeheads are freshwater predatory fishes with a large robust head. There are 5 species in Singapore - 4 native and 1 introduced

Toman is non native to Singapore, it native to Southeast Asia including India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malay Peninsula

This is a very widespread fish of considerable economic importance. It is valued for its supposed medicinal value when eaten for it is reported to be good for healing bodily wounds and thus recommended for post-operation patients.

In the news: Woman finds fish flopping on Pasir Ris boardwalk on rainy day, releases it back into water: They are known to traverse over land surfaces in search of other bodies of water.

Toman fish, also known as the snakehead fish or loyhe in Hokkien, are common in Singapore.

It is sold at wet markets and supermarkets here, costing around $24/kg. Toman fish is loved for its firm and tender white flesh.

It is typically used as an ingredient in tonic food, steamboats, and many Singaporeans’ favourite zichar meal san lao hor fun.

The Chinese also believe the fish has healing properties. It is often given to people who have just given birth or undergone surgery.

Anti-nociceptive effect:

 This means, it helps to block out pain. Hence, the patient is more comfortable and less stressed, which helps them to recover faster.

Tank busting fish species dont have a place to go after they outgrow their tanks, so the owner would release them into the reservoirs. We even have exotic gar fish inside our reservoirs.

Offenders caught releasing animals in parks and nature reserves face fines of up to $50,000, while those who release wildlife can be fined a maximum of $5,000.

A prominent country where it is banned is the USA that has banned the import and transport of all Snakehead Fish species due to their aggressive and domineering behaviour as well as their diverse diet, that is capable of upsetting the ecosystems in the USA because Snakehead Fish can outcompete the native organisms living in the freshwater habitats of that country. “prompting a warning from local officials to kill the animal “immediately” if located.”

The snakehead has evolved to be able to breathe air. The snakehead fish can survive on land for several days!

This adaptation enables snakeheads to thrive in low-oxygen, stagnant bodies of water in a variety of settings, from swamps to muddy rivers to canals to ponds. It can survive outside of water for up to four days.

Parents defend their young for several weeks, and have even been known to attack people who get too close, like a Delaware boy whose hand was bit when he reached into a pond to investigate the shimmering color of a juvenile snakehead.

Environmentalists are concerned the fish could spread to the Great Lakes, where they could wreak havoc to those sensitive ecosystems.

However, there are several efforts to eradicate them and limit their spread, including programs to fish and eat the creatures. The state of Maryland, for example, has an annual snakehead fishing derby that teaches people how to fillet the meat and gives a small award to the person who catches the biggest one. When snakeheads are found, serious measures are often taken, such as killing everything in that particular body of water, when that’s deemed possible or appropriate.

A lake was drained just because 1 sankehead was accidentally released into the water.

Know to millions of Southeast Asians as 'Soon Hock', it is considered good eating and is to be found in the live tanks of Chinese restaurants.

The Marbled Goby is native to Singapore and Indonesia.

The marble goby lives in both freshwater and brackish water

In Thailand, marbled goby are cultured in tilapia ponds to control the density of the tilapia population and provide additional income.

Soon hock is usually prepared Cantonese-style, where the fish is steamed with aromatics such as ginger, spring onion and coriander. Then, it’s finished with hot oil and a light soy sauce dressing

The marble goby is culturally very popular in the southeast where they have a lot of cultural importance and are usually seen as a form of wealth. It is eaten in a variety of dishes in Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries for its clean white meat and is usually priced high. People

Marbled gobies are some of the easiest fish to catch, even though they are big and powerful. What makes them an easy catch is their greedy nature. The fish does not like hunting but waits for the prey to come in instead. One of the best ways to catch a Marbled goby is by setting up an easy food for them to catch and pulling them all in together when they are busy feasting. Live goldfish are often used as an effective bait. You can set up a place of segment pipes where you leave the bait and wait for them to come in. This must be done at night since these fish do not hunt in the morning.

Marble Gobies are difficult to breed in captivity. Breeding in aquariums proves to be troublesome as the adult fish attempt to eat the young fish as well as their mate due to their territorial and predatory nature.

This knifefish is native to freshwater habitats in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam,[2] but it has also been introduced to regions outside its native range.[1] It is one of the world's most invasive species.

This freshwater fish has also been spotted in Palm Beach County and Broward County of Florida, the United States

The clown knifefish is an exotic fish and one can find it and buy it in pet stores.

The clown knifefish (Chitala ornata) is one of the most beautiful and unique fish of Southeast Asia. The most fascinating thing about this freshwater fish is its scaleless knife-like body

The Asian arowana is the most expensive aquarium fish on the planet, fetching tens of thousands of dollars in the pet and black markets. The fish is so coveted that in 2009, an albino breed reportedly sold for a whopping $300,000, more than a typical Lamborghini that goes for about $200,000

Before they became famous, They were food for the poor in the countries of Southeast Asia, where they live in their natural habitat.

today they are the mythical “dragon fish”, Arowanas are today a status symbol.

The Chinese believe that aquarium fish brings happiness and wealth. Asian arowanas are especially considered to bring this

Rich Singaporeans spend a fortune on cosmetic treatments for their pets. Esthetic eye surgery became a standard procedure of Eugene Ng. It is one of the most famous cosmetic surgeons for Asian arowanas in Singapore. With the forceps, he removes the tissue behind the eye and suppresses the eyeball deeper into the fisheye socket. I know that some people think this is cruel, but really, I am doing the fish a favor. Now it looks more beautiful and the owner will love it more, says doctor Ng.

Stories about sacrificing themselves by jumping out of the tank to warn the owners of bad investments and dangers, only contribute to their popularity.

Goreng arowana: Indonesian cooks husband's prized fish after he breaks promise to clean its tank

These ancient athletes love to jump. In the wild, arowanas love feeding from the water surface, but they occasionally even take a step further than that. Indeed, these fantastic predators are able of jumping out of the water onto tree branches, in order to catch themselves a tasty monkey or snake.

When needed, arowana fish are able of collecting oxygen from the air and to breathe. They can literally suck air into their swim bladder, and absorbing oxygen from it. This allows them to survive even across some dump water areas around their natural habitats, making them amazingly adaptable survivors

If you have done at least a bit of previous research on these spectacular creatures, you have probably stumbled upon the phrase ˝living fossils˝ at least a couple of times.

And indeed, they are often referred to as such, and that is not for no reason. In fact, arowana fish are proven to be millions and millions of years old. Moreover, this family presents the most primitive among all modern fish species.

Fossils from extinct genera belonging to the same family have been collected on basically all of our continents, except on Antarctica. These prove that arowana fish were very much alive during the ages of the Late Cretaceous, but also during the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. Living fossils, indeed!

Larry Tan Chin Guan, 48, was caught after he filmed himself releasing three pet Motoro stingrays into Lower Seletar Reservoir and uploaded the video on Facebook. Two individuals reported the clip

Clothed in striking patterns such as stark white spots on black or tiger stripes, the fish is growing in popularity here. Some consider it a status symbol.

It does not come cheap: A single fish can go for hundreds of dollars or a five-figure price, with one fancier reportedly paying $200,000 for a single specimen. Price varies according to breed, quality and size.

Many species are native to South America, and some are giants. Species popular in the aquarium trade can grow huge, measuring more than 1m across their discs.

Much like its saltwater cousin that killed Australian conservationist Steve Irwin, it is capable of defending itself. The fish is armed with venom that it can inject through a sting at the base of its tail.

Empire Exotic Rays: you can buy your own Rays from Singapore’s Largest stingray breeder.

Barbs replaced up to three times a year.

Although docile creatures, they inflict more human injuries yearly than any other animal in Amazonian rivers.

Ancient Greek dentists were very well aware of the power that a stingray’s stinger may hold. And they used it. Since the venom that a stingray holds in its body is protein-based rather than poisonous, it was often extracted and applied as a local anesthetic

tilapia was first brought to Singapore by the Japanese during WWII. When the tide of WWII turned for the Japanese Empire, its food provision was running low for the troops, so they reared a tilapia species brought in from Java to make up for the shortage.

Scientists here are breeding tough, fast-growing superfish that have extra amounts of healthy fat in efforts to produce more local, high-quality protein.

The "premium tilapia" are also disease-resistant and rich in Omega-3, and are being bred in Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL).

The tilapia will join the ranks of locally produced fish stock - TLL-bred sea bass and barramundi developed by Barramundi Asia.

Tilapia is a traditional brackish-water or freshwater fish. In Singapore, we don't have much freshwater sources. But we have a lot of coastal lines, so we are working on adapting our tilapia to grow in seawater," said Dr Liew Woei Chang, research investigator at TLL.

TLL is also using a sex-reversal method to produce all-male tilapia as the male fishes grow twice as fast as the female ones. The lab said more male fishes will also prevent unwanted breeding.

Tilapia is the second-most farm-raised fish in the world after carp.

Algae or other plant-based fish food can be used for tilapia farming, making it a sustainable alternative to fragile wild fish stocks and farmed fish that require animal protein based feed.

Tilapia farming on a mostly vegetarian diet also reduces the cost of farming for aquaculture producers.

Tilapia are ideal for farming because they reproduce quickly, eat pretty much anything, don't mind overcrowding, and can live in any type of water.

Barramundi is known by many around the world as Asian Seabass

The name barramundi is Aboriginal for “large-scaled silver fish.”

Virtually all barramundi are born male, then turn into females when they are three to four years old. This means female barramundi can only be courted by younger men!

Barramundi live in freshwater, saltwater and estuaries (where fresh and saltwater meet). (there are barramundi in Singapore fresh water reservoirs)

The barramundi in Punggol were trapped there when the punggol damn was built, there is a healthy population and breeding population of barramundi at punggol.

Barramundi are catadromous fish, meaning that they are born in the ocean and live in freshwater — basically the opposite lifestyle of the salmon. However, they also are able to live purely in saltwater.

A Barramundi’s age is determined by counting growth rings on their scales (much like counting growth rings on a tree).

They are commercial farmed in Singapore (Barramundi Asian wants to make a super patented Barramundi)

AKA: the Asian Sea Bass

the ideal farm fish: Spawning throughout the year.

They have huge gills, good for low oxygen environment

Highly disease resistant

They can live mostly on vegetarian feed.

They can do something no other fish can: they can make omega 3 fatty acids from vegetarian oils.

Marketing this fish to the WEST: But the west still loves the European sea bass and the salmon, highly disruptive fish, why not call it Asian sea bass? Would help it to gain traction in the West.