Frenzy Feeding!

Hey guys, it has been a while since I posted the last event. Guess what, the wildly caught ikan bandaraya has been actively feeding after 2 weeks of acclimatization in captivity. Like the diets I used for the previous specimens, she is now enjoying them like cucumber, alga wafer and blench water spinach. And I introduced a new juvenile fish my friend caught from Sungai Simpang Empat Perlis 2 weeks ago and they have become so active in feeding ever since being put together. Crossing fingers to see them grow and get mated for eggs!

 

Still no Signs of Feeding

Hello guys, it has been over a week since I caught the fish from Sungai Perlis but it has not touched the food given to her. Yet, she still looks intact. But I noticed from the filter that some debris stuck on it and I also noticed there are benthic algae growing on the wall of the tank. Is it feeding on it?

 

gDNA Extraction from Ikan Bandaraya~~

 I used this affordable yet considerably cheap extraction kit for gDNA from a local brand. The result was surprising with high amount of pure DNA extracted! I will go for this kit as I could not afford to buy expensive kits like from Qiagen etc..

 

D-4 of Recuperation

 Hey guys, today would be the 4th day of pre-treating the wildly caught adult female suckermouth catfish from Sungai Perlis. Compared to the 1st day when she was really in stress, today, she had gained its strength back and the looks from her body telling that she is stabilizing down. But, when I fed her with cucumber slice, she would not eat it. I guess, she is still in trauma and does not bother to eat anything at the moment. So, to speed up the recuperating process, I put few drops of stimulant made for fish to overcome stress.. Seems that it is working so far. Hopefully, she would start to eat in a few days from now. Crossing fingers for this~~

 

Sailfin Catfish Hunting with SPIA

Lebaran Baru 2026 marks the beginning of our genetic control research on ikan bandaraya, which officially kicked off with the SPIA team at Kangar Waterfront this morning. Truly fortunate to finally meet in person the key figures of Skuad Pemburu Ikan Asing Tok Tuah Channel, Haziq, Captain Amli Renjer, abang Syuhaily Suhaily, and others whom we usually only interact with virtually, during a CSR programme hunting invasive fish in Sungai Perlis together with IKBN, MPK, and JPS Perlis. Learned a lot of new field level information from them, especially on invasive fish, particularly ikan bandaraya. Understandably, we are not from a fisheries background, haha. Even though I was down with fever, still pushed myself to go, and the outcome was worth it. Preliminary observations indicate that Sungai Perlis has indeed already been exposed to invasive fish threats, especially IB. God willing, I will join the SPIA team again if time allows. Now it is time to analyse the samples in the lab.

 

Life as Growing Fries in Captivity

 Hey guys,

It has been a while since the last post on the fries of Ikan Bandaraya in captivity. Until today they are doing just fine, thriving and growing. On the other hand, I had difficulties in changing the filter almost everyday because they kept pooping out 24/7. But it is ok as long as they grow!

 

More than One Month in Captivity

 Hey guys,

Today, I want to let you know that the viable fries of the Ikan Bandaraya have been over a month in the tank. Check out the video I posted here. Guess what, they thrived well and started growing. I could see from the filter box that it could last only less that one day if overfed them. But I am very happy that they are growing! Seems that my diet formulation and rearing setup are adapted for them. For instance, when I feed them with blench water spinach, their poops were green as you can see in the picture. Keep growing fellas to be my subjects of CRISPR gene editing experiment soon!