DIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION OF INDIGENOUS ORNAMENTAL FISH PEATLAND IN BUKIT BATU BIOSPHERE RESERVES

One of the most extreme ornamental fish freshwater habitats is the peatland or peat swamp forest, with dark-coloured and highly acidic water characters. Beside of that the Peatland also known as a marginal land which nowadays in a threatened status, because degraded and converted land reason. Surprisingly, most of ornamental fish black waters has been exploited and traded in international market with fantastic prices, however information regarding bioecology and existence of those fish is still very limited. The intensive survey for diversity and bioecology of black water fish was conducted in the peatlands forests (core zone), the peatland that have been converted to industrial land (buffer zone) and human settlement (transition zone) in Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserves. Measurement of water quality, diversity and abundance of plankton in the survey locations was conducted for the supporting data. Fish that have been collected subsequently identified and analyzed for their potential as an ornamental fish. The results showed, fish in the core zone most diverse compared with other zones there are 27 species in the core zone, 8 species in the buffer zone and 15 species in the transition zone (Figure 1). From 29 species has been collected there are 21 species were successfully identified as an ornamental fish, such as; Pangio kuhlii, Rasbora maculata, Rasbora doriocellata, Rasbora gracilis, Rasbora pauciferforata, Puntius pentazona, Puntius hexazona, Chaca bankanensis, Silurichthys hasselti, Silurichthys phaiosoma, Kryptoterus macrocephalus, Pelteobagus ornatus, Hemiramphorodon, Leiocassis porcilopterus, Mystus bimaculatus, Luciocephalus pulcer, Crossochelius oblongus, Osteochilus spilurus, Sphairichthys ospronemodes, Belontia haselty, while Helostoma temminckii, Channa pleurophthalamus, Channa striata was identified as the consumsion fish. The measurement of water quality showed that the value of organic matter, conductivity, nitrate and nitrite in each zone has a significant difference, while the value for the other parameters such as; pH, DO, TDS, salinity, temperature, phosphate and Fe have not significant difference. The highest diversity of plankton found in the core zone.

According current status of fish diversity and ecology in core zone, buffer zone and transition zone that reviewed in this study, we propose conservation management of ornamental fish in Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserves. Core zone, the area where used to preserve diversity of ornamental fish, while the enabling fisheries management could be done in buffer and transition zone by following the cycle of planting industrial plants.