Fish fauna of the Batetangnga River, West Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Batetangnga River is one of the rivers in West Sulawesi and is well known as an ecotourism area. This preliminary study was performed to reveal fish fauna in the Batetangnga River, West Sulawesi. Ichthyofauna research was conducted in April and May 2021 at two stations in Batetangnga River, namely Rawa Bangun and Butute’neng. During the study period, a total of 14 species belonging to 9 families were identified. No endemic species were found in the study area. Native fish species such as Stiphodon semoni, Butis butis, Glossogobius sp., Glossogobius aereus, Stiphodon sp., Giuris sp, Atule sp. Ambassis miops, Ambassis interrupta, Microphis sp. were recorded. Four alien fishes species were documented i.e. Aplocheilus panchax, Poecilia reticulata, Anabas testudineus, and Oreochromis niloticus. Freshwater fish exploration and efforts to control alien fishes species in west Sulawesi are essential things to be done shortly.