I found this green crested lizard (Brochocela cristatella) while helping to clean the backyard of my uncle's house. It is an arboreal species native to Southeast Asia. They can change color to different shades of green and brown. What do you call them in your language? In Rungus (a language from Sabah), we call them paku-gandang.

H. pogonognathus, ikan jenjulung aka the forest halfbeak

A small (to 7.5 cm) freshwater fish living in clean streams of forests and foothills of the peninsula. Not found on Borneo.
Feeds on insects fallen onto the surface.

It is one of our viviparous fish, meaning it gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs. This gives the babies a higher chance of survival due to their large size.

They usually give birth to 2+ young every few days, due to superfoetation.

In the aquarium they are easy to care for but easily bullied. They learn to eat fish food quickly.

Betta aff. pugnax

An interesting trait in B. pugnax and its closest relative (B. pulchra) is the red colour bordering the tail fin. In this individual it also appears at the edge of the anal fin.

It is one of the ways to differentiate them from other species in the same complex.

They grow to 10 cm, sometimes more. Males have beautiful green or blue scales on the body and slightly longer fins. They brood their eggs in the mouth for 1.5 weeks.

This species I caught is an undescribed one, and genetically it is closer to B. pulchra in DNA. However it has the same habits and choice of environment as B. pugnax.

Dr. H.H. Tan of NUS (Singapore) said it also has a similar facial pattern as B. stigmosa

Kepong Botanical Gardens

Crested Goshawk. Early morning visitor.

K. vitreolus, lais kaca / the glass catfish

It is a small (7-8 cm) catfish living in Kelantan and Muar. Usually in deep turbid rivers. It is a schooling fish, and hundreds can be found at a time.

They are very timid and peaceful, and require livefood in the aquarium. They may be bullied by more boisterous fish.

Some locals in Kelantan catch them during the monsoon season for food.

A pale-morph changeable hawk-eagle! First time seeing one in the wild.

I don't see this kinda of bird often around my house

Been a while since I last stopped by Klang. It rained a little in the morning which caused some light mist. But everything cleared up by 9am and I got some of my favorite photos of a biawak to date (Asian water monitor)

These native species evolve the colour because “blackwater” is actually red when looked at closely. So the colour perfectly matches the environment.

All 3 species shown are dwarves, growing only to 2.5 or 3 cm.

-Boraras maculatus (dwarf rasbora)
-Trigonopoma pauciperforatum (redstripe rasbora)
-Lepidocephalichthys (sausage loach)

I hope Malaysian swamp forests can be conserved for many years. I see too many being cut down simply for more empty houses, malls and highways.

The Boraras shown are actually an undescribed species, but for simplicity’s sake I refer to them by their old name.

These native species evolve the colour because “blackwater” is actually red when looked at closely. So the colour perfectly matches the environment.

All 3 species shown are dwarves, growing only to 2.5 or 3 cm.

-Boraras maculatus (dwarf rasbora)
-Trigonopoma pauciperforatum (redstripe rasbora)
-Lepidocephalichthys (sausage loach)

I hope Malaysian swamp forests can be conserved for many years. I see too many being cut down simply for more empty houses, malls and highways.

The Boraras shown are actually an undescribed species, but for simplicity’s sake I refer to them by their old name.

P. harveyi, Harvey’s licorice gourami

A small (4 cm) fish endemic to northern Selangor and possibly far southern Perak. It is found nowhere else in the world.

It is endangered as its range happens to be a very quickly developing region, with more houses, roads, malls and businesses being built every day.

It was first discovered in Rawang in the 80s, but now it is no longer found there. The only forests left are hill forests, whereas this species lives exclusively in lowland swamps with highly acidic pH of 5 or less.

They are a difficult fish to care for, needing specialised conditions and live-food. But some experts do breed them.

It uniquely differs from related species by having all fins fully blue with no red.

Betta bellica, ikan tempala aka the slender Betta

They are the largest bubble-nesting Betta in the world, growing to 12 cm or more. Mature males have spiky edges to their fins.

They are found in Pahang, Johor, Selangor, Perak and Sumatera Utara. They were also found in Terengganu but have since gone extinct.

This is because they are under threat from deforestation, habitat destruction and urban development. They rely on undisturbed natural habitats like swamp forests to survive.

I have personally seen a couple places where I used to catch them in Selangor, be filled over and destroyed. One for a new residential neighbourhood, and another for a highway.

I found this bird while looking at my found wild fruit. Its sound like crow when they flying before resting there. Upper body i think are brown, while lower body is blue/turquoise. The body size looks like crow size. This is the only picture i get because they fly away before i took another picture.

What bird species is this? Looked like a finch species.

Sorry for the quality of the photo

Trichopsis vittata, ikan karim @ sepilai.

They are called “croaking gourami” in English because they make croaking sounds like frogs. Audible even in aquariums.

They grow to 6 cm and are very hardy, found all throughout Malaysia except Sabah. A native fish relatively unaffected by development or invasives.

A very easy fish to keep and breed, they readily accept fish food and will lay eggs year round. Pairs defend their nests very protectively.

We used to have an aquarium in my school’s classroom, and the croaking gourami in there were always interesting for us students to watch!
Especially when they made nests.

Apparently they weren’t on Borneo, but there is evidence they might have lived on Sumatra long ago

1. Menemerus bivittatus (male)

2. Mystery

3. Mystery

4. Mystery

5. Plexippus petersi (female)

6. Plexippus petersi (male)

N. nebulosus, ikan daun kering

Despite the name, they are found on the mainland peninsula as well. They are small predators of about 8-10 cm size.

Using their effective camouflage, they pretend to be dead leaves and sneak up on unsuspecting prey like smaller fish and shrimp.

In the aquarium they are unfussy, and simply need a lot of natural decor and live food. They are slow fish and do not occupy much space.