I’ve just returned (more’s the pity) from a month pottering around Malaysia in search of freshwater fishes and other interesting stuff, and will be posting a series of blogs about the trip since there’s far too much material to cram into a single piece.

There are around 6000 hi-res photos plus interviews and videos to check and process so for the time being here are a few images off the phone-cam, some of which were taken by my wife. First report to follow in a day or two and will feature a couple of very special fishes.

Hope these whet the appetite ’til then…

…

Matt

Aquaculture Technologies Pte Ltd., Singapore is one of Southeast Asia’s most important exporters of wild-collected fish. We were lucky enough to be granted an exclusive in-depth interview with owner Patrick Yap which will be published soon.

© Matt Ford

Mouth of the blackwater Sungai (river) Ru Rebah as it enters the South China Sea, Johor state, Peninsular Malaysia.

© Aiste Ford

Kayaking in the mangrove forest, Tioman Island. Feet not mine…

© Aiste Ford

Dodgy bridge on the Sungai Mentawak, Tioman Island. Backside mine.

© Aiste Ford

Checking the push net.

© Matt Ford

‘Puntius‘ johorensis

© Matt Ford

Hill stream near Sekayu, Terengganu where we collected around 20 species.

© Aiste Ford

Homaloptera parclitella

© Matt Ford

Sungai Berang, Terengganu

© Matt Ford

Doryichthys sp. male carrying eggs

© Matt Ford

Ever fancied a trip to Russia? The Unitex group of companies is once again arranging a series of international aquascaping competitions this year for which preliminary registration is now open.

Finalists will be invited to attend the prize events in Moscow and St. Petersburg which will be judged by a number of high-profile names from the aquarium world, while Dennerle and JBL provide sponsorship.

To be in with a chance you’ll need to submit an application alongside four photos of your aquarium by the end of September or beginning of October as follows, depending on your preferred competition:

DENNERLE Nano Cube Contest 2013 – http://all4aquarium.ru/en/events/dennerle-nanocontest-2013

To enter the contest you should fill in an application form (http://all4aquarium.ru/en/node/4817) before September 30, 2013, including your personal information, plus information about and four photos of your aquarium.

The grand final will take place in Moscow, at the ‘Days of High Aquaristic’ event between November 15-17, 2013 with finalists receiving free accomodation in Moscow as well as a contribution towards travel expenses.

The prize pool is 2,300 EUR which will be distributed as follows:

1st place: Gift certificate for 900 EUR
2nd place: Gift certificate for 700 EUR
3rd place: Gift certificate for 500 EUR
Audience award: Gift certificate for 200 EUR

Judging team: Chris Lukhaup (Germany), Oliver Knott (Germany), Stefan Walter (Germany), Stefan Hummel (Germany), Sergey Kochetov (Russia), Dmitry Parshin (Russia), Olga Uzhegova (Russia), Sergiusz Kowalew (Poland), Grigoriy Polishchuk (Ukraine), Natalia Romanovich (Belarus)

JBL Tropical Biotope Contest 2013 – http://all4aquarium.ru/en/events/jbl-biotope-contest-2013

To enter the contest you fill in an application form (http://all4aquarium.ru/en/node/4816) before October 10, 2013, including your personal information, plus information about and four photos of your aquarium.

From October 10 to October 20 members of the jury and internet users will vote and 21 finalists will be chosen. The final will be held at the ZooSphere exhibition in St. Petersburg between November 20-23, and travel expenses and accommodation will be partially or completely covered for international finalists.

The prize pool is 2,300 EUR which will be distributed as follows:

1st place: Gift certificate for 900 EUR
2nd place: Gift certificate for 700 EUR
3rd place: Gift certificate for 500 EUR
Audience award: Gift certificate for 200 EUR

Judging team: Heiko Blessin (Germany), Heiko Bleher (Italy), Chris Lukhaup (Germany), Ivan Mikolji (Venezuela), George Fear (USA), Piotr Kierzkovski (Poland), Sergey Kochetov (Russia), Elena Mazurek (Russia), Alexey Malyshev (Russia)

Eastern European Planted Aquarium Design Contest 2013 – http://all4aquarium.ru/en/events/plant-design-contest-2013

To enter this contest you should fill in the application form before September 30, 2013, including your personal information, plus information about and four photos of your aquarium.

Prize pool is 6000 EUR and winners will be announced on 17th November 2013, during the ‘Days of High Aquaristic’ event in Moscow.

This contest is restricted to entrants from the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine.

Best of luck!