Pla kiyok, a beautiful stream fish that is everywhere.

I: Many years ago in a shop in Sunday Market.
 
“Hi, how are you doing?  Any new cichlid?”
“I’ve got demason[i], mbamba, ewerti, xxx, xxx for sale today.”
“Hmm…  What’s that fish in the bag you float in the tank?”
“I don’t know for sure…  I bought them from another wholesaler because I think they are nice”
“Let me see.”
In the bag there were 3-4 medium-size barb at around 12-14 cm each.  They all had their silver bodies covered by net-like black pattern.  Their dorsal fin were bright orange-red, other fins were clear yellow.  Quite a nice fish even by African rift lake cichlids’ breeder standard, I was also impressed.  I knew they were native [Thai] fish, but didn’t know what they really were.  Hmm…
 
II: At a stream in a resort up in the mountain at ChiangMai Province up north.
 
“Pee Kem, what kinds of fish are there in this stream?”
“There are Pla boo [actually Pla kor], Pla moodsrai [real Pla Boo], Pla gam, Pla man,  Pla gan, Pla kao, Pla sew, Pla peekleung, etc, etc.”
 
Well I decided to snorkel the next morning in mid December…   Actually it was my first freshwater snorkeling.  I felt like a new world was opening to me.  Clean, clear water flew through rocks with lots of fish playing in the current.  Lots of beautiful green False Siamese algae eater[Garra cambodgiensis] with black bands and yellow-red fins danced around on green-red rocks feeding and chasing each other.  Striped Pla kor Schistura poculi with metallic gold patch on their back are busy digging around between rocks in the riffles.  Tiny spotted Pla kor Schistura geisleri in small groups searched for food on sand and around my feet.  Then I saw a group of very fast fish with yellow fins flashing around.  When I got closer I realized they are similar to the fish I saw in the bag previously.  So after I got out of the water…
 
“Pee Kem, what is the name of that silver fish with yellow fins?”
“It is Pla peekleung.  It is plentiful around here.  It is also sorta ok when DEEP FRIED…”
 
III: At Khun Nonn’s private raft resort at Khao Laem Dam in the west.
 
“Pee Yu, usually what kind of fish do you catch by this drop net?”
“Usually we catch Pla sewkaow, Pla Pan, and various kind of Pla kled [collective name for cyprinids].  We even get Pla chalard and large Pla kao, etc.etc…”
 
Well, there were lots of finger to palm size carps and barbs in the can anyway, so we took a look there.  Other than Pla pab, Pla sroi, Pla saitantadaeng, and others I saw a bunch of familiar fish.  They are Pla peekleung or Pla kiyok.
 
So they are in dams too…
 
IV: On a riverbank in SuratThani Province down south.
 
“Argh!  Not again!”
I and a companion threw our cast net for 10th time.  Every time we retrieved the net there were always 1-8 Pla kiyok of various sizes coming up with the net…and this time also…
 
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Pla kiyok [Mystacoleucas marginatus] is one of the commonest cyprinids in running waters in Thailand.  It is generally found in streams and rivers with clear water and sand to pea-size gravel substrate, but clearwater reservoirs are also inhabited.  Usually abundant, it is among the first fish to be seen by waders and snorkelers fooling around in mountain streams and rivers.  Basically it looks like a large barb with high, flattened body and net-like scale outline on the body and yellowish fins.    Together with the black margin bright orange-red dorsal fin and yellow caudal fin with black edge it is quite a beautiful fish. 
 
            With all its beauty Pla kiyok is not well liked by fishermen and people around the stream, however.  Pla kiyok and relatives have a small forward-pointing horizontal spine on the back near the origin of dorsal fin.  This spine makes this barb less palatable to predators, and helps it entangling in nets to fishermen’s frustration.   Some of its Thai name such as “Pla nambi”, “Pla kaekor”, and “Pla namlang” probably refer to this nasty character.  The barb itself is rather small [generally not more than 15 cm long], and its meat is bony and not particularly tasty.    Its other Thai name are “Pla yoksrai”, “Pla peekleung”, “Pla ya”, “Pla sammum”, and “Pla kamib”. 
 
            In its natural habitat Pla kiyok lives in school.  It is often found with a species of Pla sewkwai [Rasbora paviei], and less often with Pla liahin [Garra species], Pla kor  [Nemacheilus and  Schistura species], Pla jad [Poropuntius species], Pla sewbaipai [Devario species] and others.  It is known to spawn between April and September, from midsummer to the latter half of the rainy season.   Other than all river basins in Thailand except Salween basin Pla kiyok is also found in Laos, southern China, Cambodia, Malaysia, western Indonesia and Borneo.  The related Mystacoleucus argenteus lives in Salween basin.  It is omnivorous feeding on invertebrates such as worms, shrimp, insect larvae, algae, and exotic items such as pieces of grill chicken from campers.
 
            Pla kiyok’s catholic taste makes it easy to feed in captivity.  It accepts good quality pellet food easily, but more varied diet is better.  Pla kiyok is fast, greedy and boisterous, so it should not be kept with quiet or slow fish such as Garra species.  It also need roomy tank that should be at least 36” long with good filtration.  A 60” long tank with minimal decoration and river gravel would be ideal for keeping Pla kiyok with various medium size fast fish such as tinfoil barb [Barbonymus schwanenfeldii], Pla taphienthong [Barbonymus altus], Pla kamchum [Puntius orphoides], Pla jad [Poropuntius species], Pla sewaio [Luciosoma species], or exotics such as silver dollar.  Though some people may find the fish choice “cheap” the sight of these handsome and active fish doing their stuff in tank with enough space is quite impressive.
           
            Pla kiyok is a beautiful barb that is both wide-ranging and abundant.  It is not hard to find this barb while visiting highland streams and rivers.     This barb would be a nice introduction for freshwater snorkeling and freshwater exploration.  Hopefully with more appreciation of freshwater life one may hope for a better way to live together with streams and river, and for less destruction of our running waters.



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Very nice article. Thank you!