Hope for the Best & Prepare for the Worst ~ 怀最好的希望，做最坏的打算。

子曰: 工欲善其事，必先利其器。

He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. ~ Confucius

Extreme hot and cool weather become more prevalent in Singapore now then ever. These drastic changes in atmospheric readings and temperature often trigger Goldfish to spawn. Though the sexes are segregated into different ponds, some of the female Pearlscales had started to spawn even without the courtship chasing of the males. As usual, it is much more difficult for the TVR to spawn than the Pearlscales. There are still no sign of the TVR breeders showing any interest to spawn as yet.

In retrospect of 2009's Goldfish breeding, I am quite happy with the progress of the new breed Dragon Eye Pearlscales. Three new colours - the black, the calico and the blue-brown have been created. Next year will be devoted to further fine-tuning the features and the development of the new line of Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscales. I could feel my adrenalin rush just by thinking of all the exciting combination next year :P

I wasn't as lucky for the TVR breeding this year compared to the Pearlscales. In fact, I have not done better than my previous 2 years. The Pearlscale and the TVR are groomed using totally different techniques from two distinct cultures - China and Japan. Actually, I am very curious to study the differences and appraise what could have gone wrong. From September, I had also earmarked the seed fishes and paying more attention to their dietary needs. I plan to spawn the TVR after the Ozeki Annual Ranchu Show 2010 (OARS 2010). For next year's TVR breeding, I have also planned an out-cross to a new bloodline from Japanand acquired a pair of female TVRs of related bloodline from my Hong Kong friend. Hopefully, these females conditioned in Hong Kong could produce better eggs this year.

In the pursuit to improve on Goldfish breeding, I know that I have to be prepared to be disappointed over and over again - Particularly so that the tropical climate is never the natural habitat of the Goldfish. There will be many more questions than answers to come along the way and numerous brainstorming to improve on techniques of Goldfish breeding in the tropical weather.

Pictures:

1) New colour this year - 3 months old calico and  blue-brown Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pearlscales.

2) Seed female #1 from Hong Kong.

3) Seed female #2 from Hong Kong.