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View all search resultsExplosion of janitor fish is a sign Ciliwung River heavily polluted, BRIN says
The explosion of janitor fish (Pterygoplichthys sp.) in the Ciliwung River shows the failure of the river's self-recovery capacity.
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Low-income housing is seen on Nov. 13, 2025, on the banks of the Ciliwung River in Matraman, East Jakarta. The explosion of janitor fish (Pterygoplichthys sp.) shows the failure of the river's self-recovery capacity. (The Jakarta Post/Iqro Rinaldi)
T
he blooming population of janitor fish (Pterygoplichthys sp.) in the Ciliwung River is a sign of the ecological crisis entangling Jakarta’s main river, latest research by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) shows.
The phenomenon is not a sign of successful environmental recovery but a reflection of a damaged ecosystem balance due to decades of lasting pollution.
The research found that the explosion of the invasive fish instead shows the failure of the river's natural system due to persistent waste accumulation.
Senior BRIN researcher Dyah Marganingrum from the Energy and Manufacturing Research Organization (OREM) said the Ciliwung River’s water quality has steadily deteriorated over the years.
She said that river pollution did not come from a single cause but from various overlapping causes.
“Ciliwung River’s water quality keeps degrading because of various sources and factors,” she told Kompas.com on Thursday.
She said there were three main pollutant sources, domestic waste, industrial waste and agricultural waste.
