Dactylus (2026)

05/04/2026

Venting

15/02/2025

Correct way of venting your fish!

06/02/2025

An old Fish ID Lesson.

It is about the Excalibur of King Arthur.

BROADBILL SWORDFISH

Common name : Swordfish/ Broadbill
Chinese name : 剑鲯鱼
Scientific name : Xiphias gladius

Broadbill Swordfish (BSF) is an Atlantica pelagic fish.
They occur in those temperate waters of Atlantic,Pacific and Indian Ocean.
Commonly found in deeper and colder waters and pretty much nocturnal in warmer waters of Indian Ocean.
BSF prefers deeper and colder waters as they grow bigger.
They are acrobatic and at the same time exhibit extraordinary stamina in their line pulling capabilities when hooked up.
This species is known to cause anglers to suffer from PTS (Post traumatic stress) after the battles!

BSF is also an excellent food fish.
Therefore,it's a premium fish and highly soughtafter species by both commercial fishermen and sports anglers.
It can easily grow beyond a thousand pound if given a chance.
Every angler's dream-fish that is!
But do you know that it has a very unique taxonomy feature?
It doesn't have a ribcage!
Yes.... I'm not kidding!
Don't ask me why....
I don't have the answer!
It's still a mystery to Marine scientists till today.
Interesting,right?
Conservation status is still primarily "Near Threatened" in Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean.
Fishery in North Atlantic Ocean has reported that the population of Broadbill has steadily recovered over the years due to a ban and protection and conservation,a campaign "Give Broadbill A Break" initiated by the former president of America Bill Clinton many years back during his administration.
However,I would still recommend not to purchase Broadbill steak or any BSF fish products!
Give this Majestic Fish a longer break!

Thank you guys for following my Fish ID lessons.

Best regards,

Cpt.David Ho.

WHEN YOUR FISHING IS OUR PASSION

09/05/2024

Good morning everyone.
Fish ID Lesson submitted by my buddy, Badrul.

Here it is:

SPOTTYFIN ROCKCOD

Common name: Spottyfin Rockcod
Chinese name : 宽带石班
Scientific name: Epinephelus latifasciatus

Depth : 20m~240m
Max length : 137cm (58.6kg)
Eating quality : Excellent
Sports rating : Good
Fishery status : Minor Important
Conservation status : Least concerned

Alternative common names include :
Spotfin Rockcod, Striped Grouper, Banded Grouper & Laterally-banded Rockcod.

Spottyfin Rockcod is generally a large Grouper species classified under the large family of Epinephelinae and placed in the genus of Epinephelus that houses most of the large grouper species.
It can easily grow beyond 50kg.
58.6kg is currently the largest recorded size of a Spottyfin Rockcod.
Common size encountered by anglers don't usually exceed 15kg though.(2kg~15kg)
Spottyfin is easily recognized by the 2 signature white longitudinal broad bars with dark margins.
Younger specimens display spots and streaks all over the fins.(this feature will fade away with age).
And this is how its common name "Spottyfin" was derived.

It has a large distribution range that covers the entire tropics of Indo-Pacific Oceans. They are present in Red Sea & Persian Gulf too.
However,for some unknown ecological reasons,Spottyfin Rockcod is absent in East Africa and Indian Ocean atolls and islands.
This phenomenon puzzled marine scientists and ichthyiologists for the longest time.
Spottyfin Rockcod is a demersal fish that inhabits rocky and sandy substrates of continental slopes.
It prefers continental coastlines rather than island coastlines.
The hunting and reproduction behaviour of this species is more or less similar to other Epinephelinaes.
It's not a common species in our region (Malaysia and Singapore) though.
In fact,it was considered as a rare and prized catch.
Below I had attached a photo of Mr.Badrul Hisam Muhammad with his Spottyfin Rockcod caught in waters off the east of Terengganu Malaysia at the depth of 70m.
He was amazed by the sheer beauty of this Spottyfin and immediately sent me photos and enquired for a Fish ID.

Many local anglers and fishmongers weren't aware of their existence until they encountered one themselves.
Spottyfin Rockcod is generally absent in our Singapore Fishery scenes simply because it's an elusive species in our region.
As such,it's underrated and not hunted down commercially by fishermen.
Therefore,the wild populations throughout it's distribution range are still very healthy.
However,we mustn't take things for granted.
Catch and release of undersized and larger specimens that are potentially a spawning fish are strongly encouraged.

Ok,that's all folks.

Thank you for following my humble Fish ID Lessons.

Stay safe and tight lines

Cpt.David Ho

06/05/2024

Sneak preview of my upcoming Fish ID lesson.

03/05/2024

Fish ID for the month of May 2024.

Here it is;

LONGTAIL TUNA

Common name: Longtail Tuna
Japanese name: Koshinaga maguro
Malay C.name : Tongkol Ayah Hitam
Chinese name. : 长腰鲔
Scientific name: Thunnus tonggol

Depths. : 35m~152m
Sports rating: Excellent
Eating quality: Fair
Fishery status: Minor Important
Conservation status: Least concerned

Longtail Tuna is a Tuna subspecies that was scientifically described by Icthyologist Dr.Pieter Bleeker in 1851.
It occurs in a large area in the Tropical Oceans.
It's distribution range by natural occurrence ranges from Red Sea to East coast of Africa to Japan,South China Sea to Australia.
It's presence was even reported in New Zealand.
Longtail Tuna can easily grow beyond 145cm,35.9kg which is the current world record.
It's a neritic species that avoids turbid waters and coastal flats.
Truly an oceanic fish.
The eating quality is considerably fair.
However,the fats found in Longtail Tuna lacks sweetness and acidity.
Therefore, it's eating quality is rated as so-so only by the Japanese because of the above reasons.
As such,Longtail Tuna isn't suitable for Nigri Sushi.
For the same reasons, it's not hunted down like the Pacific Ocean Bluefin Tuna that's functionally extinct.
Longtail Tuna wild population is still very healthy.
It will also occasionally appear in our Malaysia waters.
Longtail Tuna is usually prepared as steak and sautéed in Southeast Asia.

Below, I had attached several pictures of a Longtail Tuna for your reference.

Ok,that's all folks.

Thank you all for following my humble Fish ID Lesson.

Best regards,

Cpt.David Ho

25/04/2024

Good afternoon everyone.
Here it is, Royal Flagfin.
As you can see,this species definitely resembles our pesky Lizardfish.
Yes,they are both classified under the same order of Aulopiform that houses all the Lizard fish species.
So yes,Royal Flagfin is indeed a Lizardfish.
It inhabits in colder and deeper waters(50~1000m) though.
Common depth encountered by anglers is usually 100m~200m.

ROYAL FLAGFIN

Common name : Royal Flagfin
Scientific name : Aulopus filamentosus

Max TL:44cm
Eating quality : Fair
Sports rating : Poor
Fishery status : Unimportant
Conservation status: Least concerned

Royal Flagfin was scientifically described in 1792 by a renowned German naturalist, Marcus Elieser Bloch.
There are currently 4 known species of Flagfins in the genus of Aulopus as follows;

1.Royal Flagfin
2.Eastern Pacific Flagfin
3.Guinean Flagfin
4.Hime Flagfin (new species 2008)

Royal Flagfin wasn't endemic to Adriatic Sea or Mediterranean Sea as it was previously described.
It was historically present in West coast of Africa and even in Caribbean sea.
In 2010,there was an isolated case where it was found in Brazilian waters.
As such, Royal Flagfin has a pretty large distribution area by natural occurrence.
It doesn't carry any commercial value and therefore, it's population is very healthy.
Eating quality is considerably fair but not favored by fishermen.
However, it's definitely a beautiful fish to take pictures with.
Especially the male specimens that display vibrant colours and possess longer filamentous dorsal fins.
Below I had attached several pictures for you to view and refer to.

Ok,that's all folks.

Thank you for following my humble Fish ID Lessons.

Best regards,

Tight lines,

Cpt.David Ho

24/04/2024

Good evening everyone.
Sneak preview of my next upcoming Fish ID lesson.
ROYAL FLAGFIN....
Royal Flagfin is actually the beautiful version of our Ikan LJ period

09/04/2024

Good morning everyone.

Here it is, Deepsea Jewfish.

Obviously,Deepsea Jewfish is a kind of Pearl Perch genotype that is scientifically described as a distinctive species from the better known Australian Dhufish.
It's actually Deepsea Dhufish and along the line something went wrong and it somehow became Deepsea Jewfish.
As such,do not confuse it with Jewfish.
It has nothing to do with Jewfish because Jewfish legitimately refers to a few species in the Crocker family.

Alternative common names of Deepsea Jewfish include:
Northern Dhufish,Grey Bigmouth Bream, North-West Perch and Northern Pearl Perch.

It belongs to the small family of Glaucosomatidae that houses all the Pearl Perch species.
Deepsea Jewfish is classified under the genus of Glaucosoma(Pearl Perches).
There are currently 4 scientifically known species in this genus of Glaucosoma.
I will list out the other 3 species as follows

1.Westralian Dhufish ~ GL.hebraicum
2.Eastern Pearl Perch ~ GL.scapulare
3.Threadfin Pearl Perch ~ GL.magnificum

DEEPSEA JEWFISH

Common name : Deepsea Jewfish
Chinese names : 大黑目 / 灰叶鲷
Scientific name : Glaucosoma buergeri

Maximum size : 55cm in TL
Depth : 45m~ 220m

Eating quality : Excellent
Sports rating : Fair
Fishery status : Important
Conservation status : Least concerned

Deepsea Jewfish is a very popular food fish highly rated by the Taiwanese and Japanese.
As such, it's known more for it's eating quality than it's line pulling capabilities.
(Deepsea Jewfish is very responsive to jigs though)
I had the privilege of tasting this fish and I must say...it's truly heavenly.
Have you tried it?

Ok,that's all folks.

Thank you for following my humble Fish ID Lessons.

Have a blessed week ahead.

Cheers and tight lines

Cpt.David Ho

18/03/2024

NAMI GREEN AROWANA

Common name: Nami Green Arowana
Malay c. name : Kelisa Nami
Chinese name : 纳米青龙
Scientific name: Scleropages formosus

Maximum size : 7kg
Sports rating: Excellent
Fishery status : Ornamental species
Conservation status : Endangered

Yes,Nami Green Arowana is scientifically described as Scleropages formosus.
Therefore,it's just one of the numerous genotypes of an Asian Arowana.
Batik Arowana on the other hand was scientifically separated from Scleropages formosus and formally described as Scleropages inscriptus.
Nami Green Arowana is a breed of Green Arowana variant originally from a small region in Kedah.
Typically from Lake Pedu and Lake Muda.
It's distribution range by natural occurrence was restricted to just these two lakes.
It's endemic only to Kedah.
However, due to it's ornamental value and popularity, fish breeders started to crossbreed Nami Green Arowana with other Asian Arowana variants and even introducing this new generation breed into their own water catchments.
Nami Green Arowana's outward appearance is almost identical to other Green Arowana variants except for the diagnostic vermiculated designs on both it's cheek and scales.
It somehow resembles the Batik Arowana.
Legitimately, Nami Green Arowana became a cheaper substitute of Batik Arowana.
Nami Green Arowana is also commonly mislabelled as a Batik Arowana.
There is a stark difference in price between this 2 species yah.
(Batik Arowana is a lot more pricier due to it's rarity)

These 2 breeds of Arowana are so similar in behaviour and appearance,
especially the juveniles.
Because the diagnostic features that set them apart are not present in the juveniles.
Even myself couldn't differentiate them.
However, if I was that breeder, I would know the genetic lineages of the young fish that I'm selling,right?
Furthermore, I have never seen a case where a breeder mislabelled their Batik Arowana as Nami Green and sell it at Nami Green Arowana price.
Ok,enough said.
Benefits of doubt I will still give them.
It could be just an honest mistake.
(I disclaimer first🤪)
That's the reason why it got complicated when these 2 species got intertwined.

Back to the topic.
Nami Green Arowana is named after a small town in it's native range called Nami, Kedah,West Malaysia.
It's located to the south-west of Lake Muda.
I had attached a map below for your reference.
Pure breed Nami Green Arowana has red eyes and it's believed by Icthyologists that this genetic feature is imperative in identifying them.
However, those wild specimens in their native ranges are rarer than a talking frog due to over-harvesting.
Below I had attached some photos a wild specimen caught by angler Khir Firdaus.
It was a massive 14 pounder.
And Mr.Firdaus released it without hesitation.
Kudos to Mr.Faudaus and his team.
Our community needs more of such anglers.
Last but not least.
I urge everyone to protect this breed of Arowana.
Avoid using metal lip grip on them.
They're mouth brooding fish and their mouths are sacred.
Ok,that's all folks.

Thank you for following my humble Fish ID Lessons.

Cheers.

Cpt.David Ho

14/03/2024

Good evening guys.
Prior to my write-ups on Batik Arowana.
I think I still owe you guys a decent write-up on Nami Green Arowana yah.
Ok,to tell you the truth, it was already been written since last September.
I didn't post because of some issues that's not worth mentioning.
You guys have no idea what I had to deal with just so that I could share knowledge with you.
No worries.....

Get ready for it.

Cheers.

Dactylus

05/04/2026

15/02/2025

06/02/2025

09/05/2024

06/05/2024

03/05/2024

25/04/2024

24/04/2024

09/04/2024

18/03/2024

14/03/2024

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