Similar to having pet cats and dogs, aquarium fish lovers sometimes want to keep exotic species without thinking of the consequences.
One such specimen is the gar. This fish is as fearsome as it looks and can grow up to 3m long.
Aquariums to hold a fish so large will cost more than RM10,000, and owners quickly find that feeding them can burn a hole in their pocket.
It is like buying a cute kitten without bearing in mind that it will not be cute anymore when it grows up, said state Fisheries director Noraisyah Abu Bakar.
When you dump cats and dogs in public areas, they become a pest.
It is the same with unwanted fish dumped into lakes and rivers, but such a fish can create a bigger mess than stray cats and dogs, she said.
The gar (below), which comes from the North American continent with a basin of millions of hectares for its home, has become an ecological menace in a tiny place like Malaysia.
Several gars confiscated a few years ago from aquarium shops that sold them are now kept at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Aquarium in Batu Maung. A few have grown to almost 2m long.
Some aquarium shops sell juvenile gar smuggled in. Their resemblance to alligators is eye-catching, but as they grow, owners will face major problems keeping them.
Of course, the owners won’t have the heart to kill their fish! So they release them in our waters.
This species has found its equilibrium in their natural habitats, but in Malaysia, they will ravage other fish, introduce harmful parasites that local fish cannot fight off and hurt our ecosystem, she explained.
An unbalanced ecology in water bodies, she added, will eventually trigger a reaction that can affect the direct environment of humans.
To legally own such fish, she said, written permission had to be obtained from the Fisheries director-general and it is not easy to get because specific parameters on how the fish is to be kept must be met.
Thirty-four fish species are banned in Malaysia and a pictorial list of them was published in The Star’s Metro North on March 30.
Some of the species seem ubiquitous and are commonly known to Malaysians, such as the tilapia and African Catfish.
But Noraisyah explained that such species, though bred as food here, cannot be allowed into the natural environment.
We did a fish inventory of Prai River last year and found that it is now infested with African Catfish. We may have to plan a fish culling programme for the river soon.
As for people who wish to perform the merit of releasing freshwater fish into lakes and rivers, she said her department had listed seven local species that will do the environment a favour when released in enormous quantities.
Among the approved species that stand out is the climbing perch (ikan puyu). In Malaysian folklore, this fish can repel evil spirits and block black magic from being cast on their owners’ homes!
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