SUNIER: Marine fish-ponds of Batavia. 201 
CHAPTER VIII. 
A few other animals of the Batavia empangs. 
Besides the bandeng (Chanos chanos (FORSK.)) and the two species 
of Haplochilus discussed in Chapter VI, various other species of fish are 
regularly found in the Batavia empangs, the young brood penetrating 
from the coastal sea into the empang zone, especially when pond-water 
is being drained off into the sea, by swimming against the current 
and wriggling through the trellis-work partition (kereh) of the little sluice- 
gates (cf. Chapter V and photo 1, Plate VI). Of these other fishes VAN 
KAMPEN (2%) enumerates the kakap (Lates calcarifer GTHR. = Lates 
nobilis C.V.); the belanak (various species = Mugil spp.); the bandeng 
lelaki (Elops hawaiensis T. REGAN, cf. photo 16, Plate XXIV); the bulan 
bulan (Megalops cyprinoides (BROUSS.) );and the kiper, or more correctly 
kettang-kettang (Scatophagus argus C.V.). VAN KAMPEN (2) further 
mentions a fresh water fish, viz. the betok (Anabas scandens C.V.). 
Personally I have never come across Anabas scandens C.V. in the empangs. 
Neither had any of the natives living and working among the marine fish- 
ponds of Batavia, when | inquired personally or through others, ever found 
betok in the empangs, nor had they heard of the existence of that fish 
in those ponds. Neither have I any knowledge or experience proving 
that Anabas scandens C.V. should occur in brackish water outside the 
empangs. 
Also SYBRANDI(*!) says in one of his studies of Javanese aquarium 
fishes, that as far as he is aware, Anabas scandens C.V. does not occur 
in brackish water and that “he never came across this animal in the basket 
of a Javanese fishing in the rivermouths”. GiiNTHER (°) furthermore 
mentions fresh water exclusively as the milieu of Anabas scandens C. V.. 
DAY (7) however speaks not only of “fresh water”, but also of “estuaries”, 
whilst in the latest edition of BREHM (*°) it says that Anabas scandens C.V. 
also occurs in tidal rivers and consequently does not shun brackish 
water. Nowhere however do we find it expressly stated that it was ever 
definitely ascertained that water in which Anabas scandens C.V. was living, 
was brackish. 
Anabas scandens C.V. seems fated to be a fish about whose biology 
it is difficult to agree. SYBRANDI (*) already drew attention to the fabu- 
lousness of the many stories that are current about the “climbing fish”. 
Yet the very old tale of the Anabas scandens C.V. which is reported to 
climb branches or trees rising out of the water to chase insects, highly 
improbable though it appears to me and also to SYBRANDI (*!) and though 
it was never substantiated by sufficiently accurate and closely described 
observations, crops up again even in KONINGSBERGER (22). 
