Hopes and Disappointment ~ 希望與失望

Hope is passion for what is possible.

~ Soren Kierkegaard

Last Sunday, I did the first culling of the first batch of TVR fries when they were 7 days old (7 days after free swimming) - 357 remained from 1123, since there were originally not many fries, I am less stringent in this culling in order to make up a healthy number to groom in the pond.

My hope for a cooler weather to kick start the Ranchu spawning season is dampened by progressively warmer weather for the pass few days. It seems that the warm humid weather is going to persist till after the Chinese Lunar New Year (14th February 2010). The period between the end of the Chinese  Lunar New Year to the Qing Ming Festival (5th April 2010) would usually be the peak Goldfish spawning season in Singapore. Anyway, I am no weatherman, just stating some phenomenon that I noticed over the years.

My suggestion to hobbyists trying to spawn Goldfish in this period is to tone down on aggressive feeding of the seed fishes till the weather turns cooler for at least a few days. The diet of seed fishes should consist of mainly of bloodworms and occasionally pellet food to ensure a balance nutritional intake. Overfeeding  in very warm and humid weather is one of the main causes of egg engorgement in female fishes.

Pictures:

1) Bloodworm feast for the breeders.
2) 11 days old fries from batch A.
3) Close up of a 12 days old fry.

Top View Ranchu Déjà Vu

错一遍，精一遍。
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter.
Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
~ Samuel Beckett

Time flies and it's been a year since I started blogging on 18 Jan 2009! I am very happy that this  humble blog has attracted many Goldfish hobbyists around the world and some readers would write to me to chat and share about their Goldfish stories too.

Though I know that the Goldfish is cherished Internationally, I can't help being surprised by readers coming from countries like India, Africa, Russia and Spain where I least expected to have much Goldfish activities compared to the US and countries near Asia. My sincere thanks to all for your kind support and please keep those emails coming in - I will definitely reply your mails, but bear with me if sometimes my schedule does not allow me to reply sooner.

Lately, I am again busy with the TVR spawning and my work commitment is also ramping up, so I may have to make do with shorter blogs without the luxury of time to pen down more of my thoughts. Another reason (or rather excuse) is, I plan to do more spawns of the new breed of Dragon Eyes Pearlscale this year. This would likely leave me with lesser time to blog. Anyway, most people would never believe how much time I spent with my fishes :)

This is the first year that I managed to collect TVR spawns in January. I have now two small but healthy spawns on the 10th  (about 1000 fries) and 15th January (about 3000 fries). For a good start, these two spawns were hatched much healthier than any of last year's spawns.

The weather in Singapore this year is no less crankier than last year's, so I probably would not have a very easy time again to groom the BBR. It has been scorching hot for the past few days and the feeding of the female fishes has been reduced to prevent egg engorgement. I also took the opportunity to do some preventive treatments to keep them healthy before the height of the spawning season. If there is more rain and the weather becomes cooler, I will start to feed the seed fishes more aggressively.

Every year, I look forward to TVR breeding with mixed feelings of anticipation and apprehension. The challenges tickle my curiosity and at the same time, can be quite disheartening, especially when I could only be more sure of the results in another 6 months' time. I keep my fingers crossed and hope the mistakes I made in previous years would help me to improve.

Thanks for the support of this blog!

Pictures:
1) 15 Jan spawn hatched on 18 Jan.

2) Precautionary treatment of 2010 seed fishes.

3) 10 Jan fries grazing daphnia at 4 days old.

Black and White ~ 黑白分明

Shades of gray whenever I go.
The more I find out the less that I know.
Black and white is how it should be
But shades of gray are the colours I see.

~ Billy Joel

Few years ago, an enthusiastic newbie in the Goldfish hobby asked me about the finer points of Goldfish appreciation. He was trying to compile a holy grail guideline on how to select a good specimen of any variety of Goldfish. I tried to explain to him that although there is a general guideline of what constituents a good specimen of Goldfish, delving into the finer points involves the "feel factor" and years of constant exposure to Goldfish. These experiences and feelings could not be expressed easily with words.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), he gave up his quest for the "mother-of-all-Goldfish-selection-guideline", thinking that I did not want to share my views. Today, I learned my lesson well and would readily reiterate this evergreen slogan to most novices eager for a quick answer: "if you like the fish, than it is a good fish". In the context of most people acquiring a Goldfish for personal appreciation, why need bother about what others think if you truly like the fish? :)

Life is not really so straight forward that we can always quantify anything as absolute good or bad.  No doubt there are basic rules governing any form of standards, Art is a realm void of this clear boundary especially when it comes to the finer details. Ironically, it is the kaleidoscope of shades of gray between black and white that make our lives so much more colourful and interesting, albeit frustrating at times.

Unlike most other ornamental fishes where similar varieties exhibit highly uniform traits and thus show standards could rigidly spell out the expectations of a good specimen, it is not as easy when it comes to Goldfish. The Goldfish's colouration, body structure, tail length, body proportion with respect to its finnages varies across different varieties and even within close siblings. Moreover, the ever evolving new varieties and hybrids with varied compositions of fanciful features further complicate things.

In my humble opinion of a good fish,  the basic traits showing the breed's specific characteristics must first be satisfied. For example, an Oranda should have wen growth and a Ryukin should have back hump.  The other major factor is how its features harmonise as a whole. Let's take the analogy of ladies and their hairdos - not all ladies are suited for long hairdos - their hairdos should match with the shape of the face, dressing, body height, etc. It would be myopic to stereotype that any lady would  look her best with a long hairdo just as it would to conclude that any Ranchu with a beautiful head of wen is a good show grade fish. 

The field of aesthetics is also very subjective and full of exceptions - contrast and complements could highlight or compensate certain visual perspectives. With the right combination, it could enhance the subject's innate beauty and charisma. For example, the longish body (shunned by most modern Goldfish hobbyists) of some classical Goldfish varieties is complemented by long wavy droopy tails emanating a fairy-like grace. However, even if we have a comprehensive set of judging criteria and experience judges, there will still be some minor areas biased by personal aesthetic values and preferences. A good show would mitigate this by having more judges to steer the outcome towards majority views.

Ranking chart in AJRS showing that opinions of experience judges are not necessary always unanimous. Horizontal rows are the names of the Ranchu owners, vertical rows are the judges' names and their respective ranking 1 (best) to  6 of the fishes. The smaller the total score, the higher the ranking of the fish. If there is a tie, the Chief Judge will decide the ranking.

We are very fortunate to live in the Internet era where Science and Technology are so advance that information travels across the world within seconds.  However, the field of Science has zero tolerance for ambiguity and some of us have become accustomed to quantify everything rigidly in just black or white. 

Goldfish appreciation is more of an Art than a Science; the fancy breeds man creates for ornamental  pleasure should have more avenue for imagination and creativity. As we embrace Science and Technology, lets also take some respite in Art and ponder over how we can appreciate life's many imperfections :)

Pictures:

1) My stable lines of black and white Dragon Eyes Pearlscales.

2) A very high grade Calico Dragon Eyes Butterfly showing good balance features and a unique colouration. The top view Dragon Eye Butterfly in the same picture is also a fantastic specimen.

3) Dragon Eyes, Butterfly or Pearlscale? How to appreciate this new variety?

4) A nice Ranchu excellent for personal appreciation but not likely any chance in shows due to a tail flaw.

5) A score chart showing even the very experience judges in Japan's All Japan Ranchu Show (AJRS) are not unanimous in their ranking of Ranchu in the final round. Final Ranking is based on the majority vote.