MALAYAN' FISHE8. 3» 



From ail athletic anrl sporting point of view, liecause it in- 

 cludes the Pepuyu {Anabaf; scandens) the famous climbing Perch, 

 mentioned liii all natural history books, as well as the Ikan belaga 

 the equally famous fightino- fisli, on which Pahang rajas liaye won 

 and lost fabulous sums ; and frojn a scieutitic point of view, because 

 all members of this family are ])rovided with super-branchial res- 

 piratory organs, situated in a cavity al)0ve the gills which enal)les 

 them to live, happily, out of water for long periods. 



The Kalui grows to a length of about two feet and is regarded 

 as -one of tlie best flavoured fishes in the East. It has been ac- 

 climatised in India, the Guiauas, Mauritius and Australia. 



Day writes, 



" C'ommerson who ol>s('rved it in the Mauritius in 1T70,. 

 states tha he never ate any fi-h more excfuisite in flavour, 

 whether from the sea or fresh water : he also added that in 

 Batavia the Dutch reared them in large earthen pots, changing- 

 the water daily and feeding them on nothing but freh water 

 plants, especially the Pislia natans.'' 



General Hardwicke' gives an account of the breeding of this. 

 fish, apparently monogamous ; he observe.--, 



'■ They commence at six months of age, whilst their fecun- 

 dity is astonishing. During the breeding season, they frequent 

 the sides of tanks, where shelter is afforded them by the grasse.; 

 and weeds growing in the water. For several days they are 

 very active, ]3assing in and out of their gra~sy cover, and in 

 some places thickening it, l)y entangling all trailing shoots, 

 and forming what is generally considered the spot under which 

 the ova are deposited. They continue to watcli this place with 

 the greatest vigilance, driving away any interloping fi.--h, and. 

 at the end of a month numerous fry aj^jjear, over whicli the old 

 gouramies kee|3 watch many days." 



I kept these fish in a large pond at Kuala Pilah, having first 

 caught tliem with a casting net in the Muar river. Their natural 

 food consists of aquatic plants and I used to collect the leaves they 

 like and send a leaf at a time down the stream until a Kalui rose 

 to the bait. It was then a simple matter to lure the fish nearer and 

 nearer, with carefully flicked leaves until it was close enough to my^ 

 place of concealment to enable me to throw the net over the floating- 

 leaf under which the fish was rising. 



There are ).)rol)ably many old friends who will remember the 

 little dinners in Kuala Pilah. wliea the fish, fowl, mutton and 

 vegetables were all locally raised. 



The Kalui in my pond were fed daily on leaves, jirincipally 

 wild caladium and tapioca shoots, not thrown broad-cast but in- 

 serted in split Ijamboo jwles which were pushed into tlie bottom of 

 the pond. They ate a tremendous lot and grew very rapidly: 



1 Zool. Journ. IV, p. 309. 



