Shell and fish

I know some believe the Black Marsh Terrapin (Siebenrockiella crassicollis) to be feral to Singapore, but it's still a relief for red-eared eyes to see a chelonian other than the ubiquitious Trachemys scripta that plaques our waters. This unafraid specimen (and another, shyer animal) was poking around in a shallow pool.

This Geophagus cichlid, a South American native, has become quite well established in local reservoirs, sifting the shallows for edibles in the mud. The fish are clearly thriving, with brilliant colours and long, trailing fin extensions.

Aplocheilus panchax – Singapore's only native killiefish. Still a common sight, despite competition from guppies.

Rasbora einthovenii in a pool much too shallow for my duck to take a dip in. Wild specimens display a lovely lilac hue which is absent from aquarium fish.

Systomus hexazona in a peaty pool, which they shared with some sparkling Boraras maculatus and...

... a pair of snakeheads (Channa sp.) that took no notice of the little red fishes swimming right under their noses. Clearly not C. micropeltes, they don't bear the striped flanks of C. striata or the patchy blotches of C. lucius. Could they be C. melasoma instead, albeit without the species' characteristic dorsal markings?

Comments

[Hai~Ren]

Nice photos. I wonder why the black marsh turtle is thought of as non-native though; anyone has any old journal articles to prove this? Or is it just a lack of sampling in Singapore's earlier years?

[slurp!]

Seriously, i think the cichlids were destorying our native fishes? i'm horrified to see many in ponds of SBG as well as SBWR.

[Hai~Ren]

It's sad, but I no longer flinch when I see wild tilapia or cichlasomines. =(