Too Good To Be True ~ 好事多磨

宁為有瑕玉,不為無瑕石。

Better a jade with a flaw then a stone without.

~ Author unknown

As the Ranchus grow bigger, some of their structural flaws manifest. Fishes having desirable traits for breeding are earmarked as breeder fishes while those with show potential will be groomed specially for shows. Besides segregation by show and breeder classes, the sexes are also separated to minimise the chances of premature spawning at such juvenile age.

 

Tosai 2010

Through all these years, I have learned to appreciate how difficult it is to produce a good Ranchu. The work is humongous, but the results are always uncertain and the more I breed Ranchu, the more I am humbled to feel how much I still do not know about this art.

 

My favourite fish with a bent right shoulder.

It will be one of my important breeders for 2011

 

Hopefully, the few promising breeder fishes selected from each spawn would yield better results next year. My main focus of for the next few years will be to achieve consistency both in TVR grooming and breeding techniques.