# collection trip in india



## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

I arranged a collection trip near a canal at about 2kms from my place(_kolkata,west bengal,india_).
*team*:aritra(jr),rahool,my cousin and me
*photography*:Rahool

We thought we will not get much plants/fishes as rainwater just poured into the fields,ponds at that place..I planned to visit that place and check the condition,and then to arrange a bigger trip.

we reached that place at about 12.30pm...the water in the canal and fields were totally black...In the canal we first saw a few hornwort sp.we got exited and followed the sideway of that canal,we noticed a lot of hornworts there.
























got some lilles-








unknown pant 1.ID?








unknown plant 2.ID?
















hornwort-








unknown plant 3.ID?








everywhere in the water there are so many hygrophilla difformis growing like grass,looking awesome,by we couldnt take much photo of that beauty because of cloudy sky and the black water....we collected a few milfoil sp,a a few unknown aquatic plants.hygrophila difformis-
















got some native killifish-

















suddenly I noticed a ludwigia sp looking almost ludwigia brevipes(just the plant is totally green),,,we got just amazed,ludwigia brevipes like native plant in W.B.?!I am sure its aquatic.
























we were very upset as we didn't catch any fish from there,a few times later I noticed some very small fishes running in the water,took out my net and caught some,,fishes were looking like badis badis(I am not sure).we haven't any pic of them,as all of them died at the end of the day.
















































red hygrophila difformis-








hunting for plants and fishes-








me and aritra took out the bigger net(mosquito net) and came into a pond,we caught some small fish like creature and thought some tadpoles and going to through it away,suddenly aritra shouted "bumblebee goby",and I was shocked to see 5-6 b.g. in the net!!!we got very very excited..and tried to catch more,20-30 gobies we caught with 5-6 glass fishes and some(2-3) Oryzias javanicus!!!Oh god,we finally made our trip successful!we were very very happy at the end of the day.
goby-
























Oryzias javanicus--








a small crab-








glass fishes-
















one of the lillies we've collected-








hornwort-








milfoil-








thanks to all kolkata aquarium club members.
can anyone id the plants I asked please?


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## NeonFlux (May 15, 2008)

Wow! What a trip!! It must have been fun! I wish I could go travel and collect live plants and animals like that.

The pictures are great!! Thanks for sharing. It was really exciting to get all of those, I must imagine. Congrats.


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

thank u neonflux,you are welcome...really enjoyed a lot...I think we will get more varities of fishes and plants after a month...last year I saw some rotala and najas sp. also!thanks..


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## wearsbunnyslippers (Feb 18, 2008)

that red difformis is awesome, does it stay red in your tank?


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## Gerrard (May 5, 2011)

it was indeed a great trip and we have enjoyed a lot!!


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## nesopheus (May 30, 2011)

What fortunate opportunity! I hope to have a chance at the Amazon one day. Fabulous picture record, thank you for sharing.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

very nice, does anyone know anything about that red difformis?


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

@nesopheus::I also dream so...
@all::I kept once the red difformis,but it changes to green after about a week,dont know why...may be because of water condition.everyone may think its H. Pinnatifida at first sight,but it is surely difformis...


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## H2OAggie (Jan 10, 2011)

Awesome pictures. That red difformis is great.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Ok, I'm going to India. Bye everyone see you in a few weeks!

...annnd that crab is awesome! I wish we had a freshwater crab like that in the hobby. I remember finding one in a river in South Africa that looked similar. Its strange we don't have these types of creatures in our LFS.


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## Gerrard (May 5, 2011)

thankx everyone,n zapins,u are always welcome!! by the way anybody know anything of that red difformis,next time we will bring a close-up of that difformis!!it may help us!!


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Excellent! I have chosen this thread to be on our front page, so everyone coming to the site will see it.

The reddish plant is a _Ludwigia_, though I think it's likely a species like _L. peploides_ or _L. adscendens_ that aren't really suitable for aquariums.

The narrow leaved green plant looks like something from the Rubiaceae family, but I can't say with more certainty without a closeup, especially of the nodes. If you please...


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

hi michael,u are welcome,come to india,there are no probs...btw the crab is very very easy available here,u can see them in every ponds,rivers,canals,,,


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

@Cavan Allen::yaaaa..that is surely L. adscendens.once I kept it in the tank,grows very very fast,in the wild it grows like a floating plant.and the closeup-









thank u man!


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## Gerrard (May 5, 2011)

thankx Cavan!!


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

@ Zapins and any other member who willing to come to india:you all are welcome,I can arrange everything here and also similar collection trips.


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## saumya (Oct 19, 2010)

it is indeed wonderful to see such interest in aquatic plant biotopes of india, kudos to you "Choto" Soumya ( in my native bengali, choto means junior, i say this because i share the same moniker with my aquascaper friend, believe you me guys you will see more of this energetic young hobbyist in the days to come), please also allow me to thank everyone in APC who has expressed interest to come to India, we can arrange all your accommodation, you can even put up in my own house and explore local waterbodies and maybe even the rivers, we would love to let you guys experience our culture ( we also promise you bottled mineral water, non-spicy food and cellphone connectivity  ), if possible please do visit our orkut and facebook page of the Kolkata Aquarium Club and join us...


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## Gerrard (May 5, 2011)

Agree with Saumya da!!


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

here is the wikimap of the place of the collection trip-
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=22.4349896&lon=88.454082&z=16&l=0&m=b

details of the map I've given in a attachment.


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

I want to share some pics of the collection trip of *last year October,2010*.in that trip we were 4 guys in the team..shiladitya-a pro marine hobbyist and my friend,Mr. Saumya chakraborty-pro planted hobbyist and like my elder brother,and Mr. Ashique Mondal-very good planted hobbyist and have also some beautiful cichlid setups.photo credit-saumya da,ashique da('da' means elder bro)
again difformis-
























some lilies-
















most probably najas indica-








may be some saggiteria sp-

































some non-fishy/planty pics-

















some type of bug taken by macro maniac Ashique Mondal-








from right-me,Shiladitya,Ashique Da








from right-Shiladitya,Saumya Da and me


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Soumya said:


> @Cavan Allen::yaaaa..that is surely L. adscendens.once I kept it in the tank,grows very very fast,in the wild it grows like a floating plant.and the closeup-
> 
> thank u man!


Well, that's not what I thought it was! That's the same plant from the first page? The photo you've shown now looks like something from Hydrocharitaceae, like maybe _Nechamandra alternifolia_. Maybe. I must do my best from the photos. Even so, that's really the same plant?


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

Looks like you're having fun during the trip. It's fun for me to look at these photos as well..very interesting indeed. You're lucky to be able to get wild glass fish. There's no way I could find non-dyed glass fish in my country. The bumblebee gobies look different from the ones I normally see in the LFS too - the ones in the LFS has more black colour (maybe they're Malaysian varieties)


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

@Cavan Allen::which photo do u mean?I am meaning the 5th photo from the top.it looks similer like _Nechamandra alternifolia_..thanks.
@totziens::ya...we had great fun...glass fish is very very common in india,specially in our eastern region.you can find them even in every waterbodies...pics of the gobies are taken when I just kept them in the tank,they were very stressed,the black bands will be darker with yellow shade with time.
thank u...


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

video of the fishes we caught-


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## AQUANZ (Apr 30, 2011)

WOW thats so awesome thanks for sharing!


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

you're welcome buddy....


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## Submarinr (Jul 29, 2007)

Very beautiful photos Soumya and I especially like the glass fish. Nice to see their natural coloration.

Have always wanted to see more of Indian plant / fish species, so thanks!

My wife's family lives in Pune and one day I will have to visit and check out more of the native plant/fish species.!!


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## Soumya (Jun 30, 2010)

yaa...surely...thank u...you can fing H. Pinnatifida in west india,specially in maharashtra,may be nearby Pune!!you can come to kolkata also,not very distant from Pune...


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

i had a question about the hygro difformis. you said it only stayed red for about a week. what do you think caused that? low light? higher or lower pH? not alot of fert dosing or co2? i have some green ones right now that im going to alter the water for them. 

im assuming where the hygro is found with the fish around it the water is harder and their has to be a nice nutrient rich soil they are taking from. where these collected in a more shaded spot or a very open area. what kind of plants are around them that you noticed?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I think it's a combination of low nutrients (nitrate, anyway) and being under full sun. You often see _Ludwigia palustris_ blood red in ponds, but good luck keeping it that way. It's not so easy.


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