Loaches Online Forum

hi all,

i'm planning a trip to the East, and think a fun mission would be to go and see clown loaches in the wild. Has anyone done this? I need to go to Sumatra/ Borneo /Indonesia but has anyone any suggestions on how to actually find a suitable river / get a guide / contact a fish collector?

cheers!

trevor

wow that sounds awsome good luck

well, its early days yet.

no mention of clowns here http://www.visitborneo.com/ though

I might suggest getting in touch with the producers of the series Jungle Hooks which is a fishing programme. I am sure their researchers may have covered the Clown loach as one of their quarry for the series. Heaven forbid that they are caught on line, but I know they are a food fish over their so maybe they may know the areas likely, even if they did not actually film it. Other than that, a local fisherman or guide would point you in the right direction. I know you would never wish to see one as a result of being line caught, I know they are not seen like this over here, but that is the reality. A bit like keeping a Brown Trout in your fish tank. Matt Hayes or John Wilson are fishermen who have been all over the world also, as has a guy called Paul Young ( not the singer lol). I am sure if you contacted them through Channel 4 or Discovery Home and Leisure channels you would get a reply from someone with information about natural Clown Loaches.

thats a geat suggestion - thanks midman, i'm onto it...

funny about the idea of eating them: i know they are a food fish, and i wondered what i'd do if i came across them on the menu. i was veggie for 7 years, but when i started eating meat again i felt it would be sort of hypocritical to be selective, so i've since eaten everything i've ever been offered... including some decidedly odd stuff while travelling.

so i reckon if for some reason i found myself being offered "Poached Clown" i'd actually eat it... how weird would that be??

Trevor. Have a look at this. Tom live's just up the road from me and supplies many lfs with there stock. He has breeding farms in Thailand...etc.

http://www.tomhalvorsen.co.uk/expeditions.htm

See if you can contact the wonderful Finn, Antti Vuorela, as well. He's been down and photographed numerous habitats in Sarawak and elsewhere. A very nice guy.

http://www.kolumbus.fi/vuorela.antti/sarawakenglish.htm