"Chitala lopis" in captivity

Dunia Air Tawar is so far the only place that currently houses a species that could actually be chitala lopis, I also saw this big fish during my visit to this place on January 3th this year. This species has recently been announced to be extinct, but there is some that might survived in captivity. There is a person that claimed to keep one:


There is also a lot more that claimed to have one too, but it turned out to only be a bronze featherback (Notopterus notopterus).

I add quotation marks on the tittle as DAT and LIPI (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia or Indonesian Institute of Sciences) is currently still identifying the individual which was said to be chitala lopis by using blood and scale sampling, so it's not 100% a chitala lopis. I'm going to post updates on this thread.

A photo of the "chitala lopis":

 

Ever since Chitala lopis was separated into Chitala borneensis, Chitala hypselonotus and the OG Chitala lopis, it's much harder to find the true one. Mr. Rian, a friend of mine who works at DAT said that he has been working day and night to research about Chitala lopis.

 

Hi there, I joined solely for the sake of making this reply. Hopefully someone will view this and possibly help me find people to reach out to. I’ve recently acquired an oddball chitala specimen and have spent over 2 months keying it and trying to determine exactly what species it is. I’ve taken careful consideration and I now believe I have a true specimen of chitala lopis. I can get into the detail on how I acquired it if anyone happens to be interested.

 

I don't know that this species has reached the American aquarium fish trade and I'm do interested in how you acquire it. I know that there is many fish stores in the US selling rare predator fish, with some species that is hard to find here in the Indonesian aquarium fish trade.

 

Anyway, FYI, this specimen at TMII was a wild caught from West Java.

 

I acquired this specimen from an importer from Indonesia, I received a message from them one day, unable to identify it. I am not well acquainted with this specific importer but I am aware that the fish they collect sometimes come out of Java. I paid for shipping and the fish was gifted to me. I have spent many hours keying, and researching this fish and it’s close relatives. I have determined it to be true C. Lopis for numerous reasons including the high concentration of iridophores lacking in C. hypselonotus. I have more video recording of this specimen as well and is growing healthily. I am hoping if you are aware of any experts I may contact? I have had another look and he has agreed with my conclusion.

this fish has always fascinated me and it would be a wonder to start an effort in the Americas to maybe breed them and reintroduce them into Java.

any help is much appreciated.

 

We receive a lot of by-catch here, often people do not properly identify the fish before they export them to the US. When they arrive they are then appropriately priced. In this case the fish was brought to my attention before hitting the public market. This specific recipient has never received C. Borneenis or c. Hypselonotus either.

it is quite the oddity.

 

my specimen looks eerily similar to this one. If you ever notice pictures of properly identified c. hypselonotus, they lack iridophores this deep. This is part of the reason why fish such as true platinum c. Ornata do not exist.



A video of my specimen for you

 

I don't really have contacts with fish experts, but @Fargusno might have.

 

Try contacting Rian Dietra on Facebook or Instagram. He's a curator and zookeeper in Dunia Air Tawar with expertise on Indonesian native fishes.

 

Thank you, I’ve sent a message to him

 

On the topic of C. borneensis and C. hypselonotus… does anyone have pictures of an accurately identified specimen? Chitala taxonomy sure is a mess, I’ve tried my best to wrap my head around it and I’ve written out a few diagrams but it is still odd.

I believe this is borneensis and that both may be an offshoot of blanci including lopis. I say this because of the lacking of intense iridophores

 

I have received a response. After a long discussion and potential for the specimen to be either borneensis, hypselonotus, and maybe even potentially lopis. We are looking at option to send off samples of the fish and getting it genetically tested

 

Is there a chance for a breeding program ex situ locally and in US?

 

Yes there definitely is, I have been doing a lot of research on breeding chitala. They are a tough fish to spawn but not impossible with proper amounts of space

 

Did you guys get the result yet?

 

none yet, I am still working on this constantly. You would be shocked at how many ichthyologists disregard this fish when I show it to them.