A ROOM FOR MALAYSIAN WATERS
Glass, botanical details, and a place to look closely.
A room concept for the Hotel Hykarl intends to build on land. The Ship chose the fish; their shapes, markings and Malaysian habitats guide the pictures.
From a fish chosen
to a room taking shape.
THE SHIP’S EIGHT FISH
Needle-thin jaws. A lance-shaped tail.
A false eye above the real one.
Every species has its own signature.
The names and identifying features below are checked against taxonomic, museum and research sources. The artwork is an interpretive study. “Malaysian” means documented in Malaysia; these species are not all endemic.
THREE VIEWING COLLECTIONS
Freshwater, estuary and reef appear as separate collections. Their habitat labels guide the room’s design; these fish are not a proposed single mixed-water tank.
Inland lakes, slow waters and forest streams.
PLATE 02 TONY & BABY V
Asian arowana · Kelisa
Large bony scales, an upturned mouth and two lower-jaw barbels. The dorsal fin sits far back, behind the start of the anal fin.
Occurrence · Journal of Fish Biology ↗Identification · Forest Department Sarawak ↗
PLATE 03 TANYA & WREX
Penang betta
An adult tail with a broad lance-shaped outline, pointed dorsal and anal fin ends, and fine pelvic filaments. Iridescent green-blue scales catch the light.
Locality · California Academy of Sciences ↗Identification · Tan & Ng, pp. 61–62 ↗
PLATE 04 RACHEL
Giant snakehead · Toman
A flattened head, a large oblique mouth, long dorsal and anal fins, and a rounded tail. Adult colours are kept separate from the juvenile’s orange-striped pattern.
Occurrence & taxonomy · PLOS ONE ↗Identification · USGS, printed p. 95 ↗
PLATE 06 MISS Q
Peaceful betta
An adult male’s rounded tail carries a red outer crescent. Blue iridescence appears on the gill-cover scales and fins; the tail has no cross-bars.
Where mangrove waters meet the coast.
PLATE 05 ZARA
Banded archerfish
A compressed, almost rhomboid body; a mouth angled upward; and four to five dark bars concentrated on the upper sides. The dorsal fin sits opposite the anal fin.
Occurrence · Simon et al., Methods §2.1 ↗Identification · Museums Victoria ↗
Coastal surface waters and coral reefs.
PLATE 01 SELINA
Hound needlefish
A very long body and two elongated jaws form the needlefish silhouette. Rear-set fins, a black keel near the tail, and a forked tail with the longer lower lobe identify this subject.
Occurrence · Redang checklist, Table 1 ↗Identification · FAO, printed p. 2160 ↗
PLATE 07 ALFRED
Moorish idol
A long, white, sickle-shaped dorsal filament rises above a strongly compressed body. Two broad black bars and a yellow snout patch distinguish it from a bannerfish.
Occurrence · Redang checklist, Table 1 ↗Identification · Australian Museum ↗
PLATE 08 MISS WATSON
Copperband butterflyfish
A narrow snout, orange vertical bars, a broad rear band split by a white crescent, and a false eyespot on the dorsal fin. The eye and the eyespot stay distinct.
Occurrence · Du et al., Redang survey ↗Identification · Museums Victoria ↗