GoldfishArtQuatics

Year of the Dragon ~ 龍年

2012-01-18T22:28:00.003+08:00

我打算永遠活著，或冒險嘗試至死。

I intend to live forever, or die trying.
~ Groucho Marx

A wood carving Goldfish artifact

This blog turns 3 years old today! Back then, many of my close friends couldn't believe how a man of few words could be blogging away. 3 years and totaling 104 blog postings - frankly, I am surprised too :)

Red is an auspicious colour for the Chinese

Time flies and the Lunar New Year is around the corner again. From next Monday, 23rd January, the Year of the Rabbit will give way to the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is also a very sacred and auspicious legendary animal in the Chinese culture, and it would be a very popular zodiac year for setting up new family and businesses.

As for me, What better way than to start the Year of the Dragon with a pair of Dragon Eyes Butterflies? I wish all a Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year.

新年快樂﹐萬事如意!!!

The Art of Patience ~ 耐心的藝術

2012-01-12T13:41:00.000+08:00

耐心的秘訣:在同時間做別的事情。

The secret of patience is doing something else in the meanwhile.

~ author unknown

A couple of hours to work on
this anatomy of an aquarium rock

I love working with watercolour. This wonderful media empowers the artist to exploit transparency, colour layers and shadows to create natural effects in their works. Watercolour art, like the art of Ranchu, is also a lot about patience; starting from the lighter colour layers to the darker colour layers, Sometimes, waiting for the colours to dry before studying how best to continue with the painting. The visual effects created by different pigments, brushes, water quantity and paper texture in watercolour are always fascinating to explore.

My recent work: Chinese Ranchus

For the past few weeks, I've been spending a fair bit of time gazing at rocks and aquatic plants, engrossed by the simple beauty of which. These are the subjects that I always wanted to complement my Goldfish paintings. The natural contours of rocks and the fluidity of the foliage of aquatic plants are extremely pleasing to the senses.

As I feel the inspiration to paint again, I am patiently awaiting the right moment to spawn the TVR...

Trust ~ 信任

2012-01-04T18:13:00.002+08:00

獲得信任比被愛是更大的恭維。

To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.
~ George MacDonald

This year's Oozeki Annual Ranchu Show (OARS) is a little disappointing: it is the first time in 11 years that we have not got enough fishes in the Nisai and Oya classes to showcase because we had a viral outbreak sometime ago that wiped out many of our members' fishes. It was a painful experience to lost so many fishes, but we have not lost the lesson and have learned a lot from the crisis.

Unlike most shows where fishes are categorized according to size only, the OARS follows the Japanese benchmark of categorizing fishes by age. We hope some of the 50 or so Tosai fishes will be "graduating" as Nisai in the next OARS but we will still see the lack of Oya fishes in next year's OARS.

Team work in setting up

Regardless of good or bad results, the Oozekians feel proud to showcase our fishes in every New Year's day. After all, it is the Oozeki Ranchu Club's very own show and the show objectives is very different from that of Aquarama or even the Japan national level Ranchu event. Even in Japan, the objectives of the various Ranchu Club's internal shows are also very different from that of their national level competition. The later is about winning but the former, like the OARS is about learning and friendship - to learn the Ranchu art by improving our skills and bonding with fellow members. It is also a once-a-year opportunity where we try to share and promote the Ranchu hobby to people who wants to learn more about Ranchu keeping.

In this year's OARS, all the Ranchus were groomed from very small black/colour babies or bred locally in Singapore. Every year, the Oozeki Ranchu Club imports the economical and average grade baby Ranchus to make it affordable to most club members. Fishes are then allocated fairly to members through drawing lots. Though we cannot expect too much from buying average fishes and we try to showcase our best fishes we have, it is inevitable that some of the fishes with structural flaws will be field in the OARS. Unfortunately, few people understands the true objectives of the OARS and expect to see all show grade Ranchus in every show bowls.

A fish with structural defects but
very well groomed by the owner

It is no miracle that the Oozeki Ranchu Club is able to hold our show for more than 10 years. The reason is none other than trust: trust is in the judging system that members will try their best to judge each others' fishes, even though they may make mistakes. Trust is in the categorization system by Ranchu age, where members will track and submit their Ranchus according to each age class; trust is in every member is committed and tried their best to help and attend the OARS, though we understand that some members do have genuine priorities on this day... and trust is in the passion that we can put on a show for more years to come...

I was also honoured to meet up with Richard Lim in the OARS who had gone through a very drastic part of his life in the past year. He gains my respect for been an impartial and honourable man who would not hesitate to speak his mind for a good cause. Though he is having some problems with his legs, to me, he always stands with his head held high and above in the Ranchu circle, and a righteous spirit few can uphold. Richard is now living and enjoying true friendship and the Ranchu hobby more happily than ever before.

A locally bred Tosai in the OARS

We look forward to another successful year of the OARS... what Richard shared with me of a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche:

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger"...

is liken to the few remaining fishes that became stronger after recovering from the viral attack, the club has become even stronger going through the difficulties we been through for the past year.

PS: The results of the OARS are published in the Oozeki Ranchu Club's official home page.

难得糊涂 ~ Where ignorance is a bliss, it is folly to be wise

2011-12-23T16:21:00.002+08:00

放慢你的步伐，你追逐的一切將倒回來抓你。

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.
~John De Paola

2011 has been a great Goldfish breeding year and my day job getting ever busier. If there is just one important lesson that I gained this year, it is learning to slow down in life. Slowing down doesn't necessarily means slower or stagnated progress; in fact, when we give ourselves time to contemplate, sometimes, we could gain fresh insights and break new grounds in the things we've been pursuing.

2 ~ 2.5 years old Dragon balls

Taking a more leisurely pace in Goldfish breeding gives me time to plan on how to fine tune my bloodlines and preserve my energies for the next TVR breeding season. Slowing down also gives me more time with my family and friends, and I feel so much more wholesome. After all, a hobby is meant to relax and enjoy. It would be an utter tragedy if we can't even make strong trusting relationships and truthful bonding with our family and friends through a hobby.

Maybe age is catching up with me, or maybe I am just tired after all these years… many things doesn’t matters to me any more… I feel so much liberalized to care less… what that matters most to me is having quality time with my family, my good friends and my fishes.

The Oozeki Annual Ranchu Show (OARS) would be the next event I look forward to meeting up with my hobbyist friends again. May I wish all my readers - A Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!

Oozeki Annual Ranchu Show (OARS)
1st January 2012
Hong Lim Green Community Centre
20 Upper Pickering Street
12.00pm ~ 3.00pm

Greenwater, "Clearwater" ~ 綠水﹑清水

2011-11-02T22:55:00.003+08:00

水至清，則無魚，人至察，則無徒。
中文解釋: 水太清，魚就存不住身，對人要求太苛刻，就沒有人能當他的伙伴。

Water of Extreme Clarity is Void of Fishes; A Man Too Stringent in His Expectations is Lack of Companion.
~ A Chinese Idiom

Ryukin groomed in "old" greenwater

The title of this blog post has long been a very touchy subject for many Goldfish hobbyists.

I like to think of the greenwater and "clearwater" as tools to groom our fishes. Knowing why, when and how to apply these tools is the key to enjoying a successful hobby. In grooming fishes, the basic parameters to play with are stocking, feeding frequency, type of feed and amount of space amongst others. Apart from genetic factors and depending on how these parameters interplay, in general, the greenwater is ideal for colour finishing, wen growth, and providing a more stabilised temperature for fishes in drastic weather conditions while the "clearwater" is great for developing colour depth, regulating wen balance and longitudinal growth.

A farm in Suzhou, China stocking young red cap
Oranda in greenwater during the colder months

Though the Internet is a good source for learning, it is also an information jungle. It is sometimes difficult to be objective when our judgements are biased by what we learned from some sources. There are those who would argue that a certain tool or methodology is invalid simply because it doesn't work out for them, so by this argument, they have eradicated the possibility that they may not actually know how to apply the tool properly in the first place. Yet, there are some, who for ego's sake or personal agenda make out strained interpretations and far-fetched analogies that one tool is more superior than the other by presenting skewed experiments and concealing important facts.

Accepting that there are different routes to nirvana, we can be more objective to open our eyes, our ears and our minds to different perspectives. Along the line of achieving balance and harmony with the understanding that extremes measures almost always backfire, we would not fall prey easily to such radical arguments.

Japan - Seed Ranchus kept in light greenwater,
Grandmaster Ishikawa's farm

For the sharp-eyed readers who wondered why I use inverted commas for the word "clearwater", let me posit that nothing can change the fact that sunlight is the life-line of all living things; a stable body of water with good clarity where fishes flourished will be directly or indirectly exposed to sunlight and having some form of plant/algae matter. Even the organic waste from dead plant matter is beneficial for the wellbeing of the aquatic ecosystem. The greenwater, on the other hand, can be a beast if not moderated; fin burns, over development and stunted growth are some of the side effects. Any tool, no matter how powerful, is a double edged sword to weld - Power is nothing without control.

Japan: Ranchu kept in "clearwater"
grazing on wall carpet algae.

For my dear readers who still can't see my point, I am sorry for the rambling. The summary of this blog post is: just let the fish do the talking :)

Life With No Regrets ~ 無妄此生

2011-09-24T23:04:00.000+08:00

鼎盛弊端 ~ Of Crest And Troughs

Every wave, regardless of how high and forceful it crests, must eventually collapse within itself.

~ Stefan Zweig

Enjoying my pearlies at home

All mortal beings will inevitably go through the cycle of birth, aging, sickness and death. Well-fed Goldfish in the tropical climate is on the "full throttle" of development and the price to pay for faster growth is a faster pace of deterioration. Comparing to the cooler climates where the fancy Goldfish can live for 10 years or more, the average lifespan of even the best kept fancy Goldfish in the tropical is just about 4 to 6 years only.

Just turning 2 years of age, my favourite tri-colour Dragon Eyes Pearlscale is now in the zenith of its beauty. I am elated that the injury it sustained on the right side its body during the Aquarama has completely healed and the new scales hardly review the old scars. While loving every moment of its glamour, I am also lamenting that from this point of its life onwards, it will be going slowly downhill and retiring from shows. I think it would be very difficult for me to breed another specimen matching this fish - a one-in-a-million fish with balance eyes, full armoured pearls even found on its peduncle, a beautifully set tail, strong colour and evenly matched patterns on both sides of its body, good body structure that contributes to its balance, and it is plump but still swim with great agility and balance...

Video taken on 24th September for BBRs spawned on 21st August -

their growth rate is at least double those in cooler climate

The day will come too that I become too old to breed Goldfish any more. But I have live this life with no regrets that I have created some fishes I love and getting to know so many truthful and wonderful friends to share and learn about the Goldfish hobby.
Regrettably, quality do not always come hand in hand with quantity, be it fishes or friends. Good fishes and good friends - the more the merrier, but it is the paradox of life that good things don't come easy. We cannot hope for many real good fishes and real good friends in our lifetime, so having even one would be a great blessing not to be taken for granted ;)

The Simple Joys of Life ~ 簡朴的樂趣

2011-09-14T14:05:00.000+08:00

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Breeder Pearlies: Where is our breakfast?

I am greatly appreciative of the kind concerns of readers who wrote to enquire what I have been doing these days. Well, I am really fine and as always, happily enjoying the fish keeping hobby with my friends and very busy with my day job. I also had a great time in the Tosai Study Workshop and catching up with some avid hobbyists in the Merlion Goldfish Competition.

Many people also asked me how I managed to find time to juggle so many things simultaneously. Admittedly, it can be very difficult and a real test of perseverance especially when problem strikes. However, it is always in a crisis that triggers the brainstorming on how I can improve and simplify things in order to steer the hobby to fit my lifestyle.

One of the winning fishes of the Merlion
Goldfish Competition

My line of Salamander HMPK

It has always been my dream since my childhood days that I would have lots and lots of fishes and be proficient to keep them healthy and beautiful. So currently, I have 2 batches of BBRs, one big spawn of 10-days-old Pearlies, a few spawns of Bettas and my new strain of Guppies to maintain. How can it ever be a chore if I enjoy every moment of it? :)

Growth ~ 成長

2011-08-12T21:31:00.001+08:00

不是所有的變化都代表成長﹔ 就像不是所有的行動都是前進的。

All change is not growth; as all movement is not forward .

~ Ellen Glasgow

Spawn from 23rd July

Some unforeseen events kept me very busy for weeks. Nevertheless, in the midst of all the mayhem, I am glad to collect a spawn from a pair of Nisai TVR in the last week of July. Though I often collect test spawns to fine tune my techniques and verify the best combination of seed fishes, this is the first time that I breed the TVR later than May.

Actually, its running quite late by the Japanese TVR calendar where most of the TVR breedings in Japan have stopped. By now, many of the avid Japanese Ranchu fanciers would be ardently pushing the growth of their TVR to at least 12cm in order to field them in the All Japan Ranchu Show (AJRS).

CBR from spawn D
Video shot in late April 2011 (2 months old)

Same fish video taken on 12 Aug 2011
(about 5.5 months old)

No doubt size do have an edge in TVR competitions and it is not difficult to accomplished rapid growth for Ranchu in our tropical climate, I strongly believe that growth must be an accompaniment of balance but not vice versa. After all, the Ranchu is an ornamental fish and not a food fish.

Many beautiful things in life became out of proportion and ugly at the expense of greed and growth. The Ranchu hobbyists should study and moderate the growth rate of each fish to harmonize with its overall development.

Complacency Begets Calamities; Humility Reaps Benefits ~ 滿招損﹔謙受益。

2011-06-18T19:47:00.005+08:00

莫讓勝利沖昏了你的頭﹐或失敗砸碎了你的心。

Don’t let your victories go to your head, or yourfailures go to your heart.

~ unknown

To be honest, after 8 years breeding theTVR, I only begin to feel a little confident this year. It has been a tough journey to tackle the macro technicalities ofbreeding TVR, but there lies far greater challenges aheadas I delve into the micro details. My aim now is to achieve greater consistency and improving the yield of having more good fishes.

It is also one of my wildest fantasies that one day, I could acquire the skills comparable to the the top Japanese breeders - a big dream that will probably take years tofulfill, or maybe not in my lifetime at all. Many pessimists don't believe wecan achieve anything like this in Singapore... but that only makes me more motivated toprove them wrong :)

Few hobbyists really have the time to kill for real serious Goldfish breeding, i.e. going through years of painstaking efforts to improve and track their lineof Goldfish for many filial generations. Be it Goldfish or even the relativelyeasy-to-breed Betta or Guppies, earnest breeding of livestock requires a veryhigh level of passion and commitment. It can be a very depressing and lonely game in times of failures as most of our peers and dear ones cannot comprehend why are we doing our own fish breeding when it is much easier (and cheaper) to purchase from a good source. Hence, there is no coincidence that the avid breeders processthe character traits of hard work, a strong sense of prideand the dogmatic will ("stubbornness") to realise their dreams againstall odds.

Along the way as we push on, there will be a fair share of successes toboost our pride as well as failures to test our perseverance. Nevertheless, theline between pride and ego is very thin and a real threat to advancement. Peoplewith great pride and a stubborn character are also easy victims to their egos and become their very own enemies. Complacency and ego blind us as we fail to approach issues objectively; when we think that we are always right, and that we can no longer tolerate contradictory views, our minds are shut, learning stops and there is absolutely nothingto improve further.

Just like many good things in life, the learning never stops in the dynamic art of Ranchu. We are always the students of Ranchu.

If circumstances allowed, I hope to try more TVR spawning again before the end of this year. The only way to learn is to make mistakes, acknowledge them and think of how to improve.

As requested by some keen readers, I have updated the pictures of some of the Tosais bred this year. They are about 4 to 4.5 months old and measuring 10 ~ 11.5 cm.

Uniquely Singapore ~ 非常新加坡

2011-06-08T18:34:00.000+08:00

專注於旅途而不是目的地。喜悅並不在於完成，但在於執行的過程中。

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.

~ Greg Anderson

Category A 1st Prize

Finally, I realised one of my lifelong dreams to create the first new variety of Goldfish uniquely Singapore and showcase it officially in the New Varieties Category of the Aquarama International Ornamental Fish Competition.

It has been an extremely backbreaking project going through numerous failures and persevering to breed and track my own bloodline of Pearlscale for nearly 7 years. Actually I have created two new varieties: the Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pearlscale and the Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pompom Pearlscale. Rightfully, I should be on cloud nine since my new varieties had also won a few prizes in the Goldfish Competition but I was rather disappointed. It was quite an anticlimax because the Pearlscale category in this Aquarama was not as heavily contended as do other categories like the Ranchu and the Oranda categories. I would prefer a strong showdown :(

Category A 2nd Prize

A consolation for me this Aquarama is my winnings in the Guppy competition with my new strain of "Moscow-Maroon-Brown" (Class 9 Open Group 1st Prize and Trio 2nd Prize). Yes, you have read correctly - Guppy. I love ornamental fishes as far as I could remember in my childhood days. Guppy breeding was supposed to be a small project with my younger son but I got a little carried away and decided to selective breed to create a new strain of Guppy instead. It took me almost 2 years, but it was an enriching journey making lots of mistakes and getting to know and learn from some of the best Guppy experts in Singapore. Though I must admit it has also been tough as I always give in my best to whatever I set my mind on doing.

Uniquely Singapore - Short Tail Dragon Eyes
Pompom Pearlscales

I am still contemplating about my game plan after the Aquarama. Surely, I would want to further improve on my bloodline of Pearlscales and I may also try to focus on another variety of Goldfish. Of course, there is also my beloved TVR ... Maybe it is time to slow down on Goldfish competitions and devote more of my time on breeding and painting Goldfish - I just couldn't resist the joy of creation :)

PS: I have updated the Aquarama Competition results in the Vermillion Goldfish Club Website.

Guppy Sidetrack :-p

My sweat and his pride :)
~ receiving the trophy from Mr John Dawes

Our new breed of Guppy

An Itchy Idea ~ 心癢癢

2011-05-14T22:25:00.004+08:00

If you can't take the heat, don't tickle the dragon
~ unknown

The weather in the month of May in Singapore can be extremely warm and humid in one moment and torrential downpour in the next moment. Fortunately, I have concluded my TVR and Pearlies breeding for year 2011 and need not spend too much time in the outdoors.

2011 Spawn A

I am quite happy with the results of this years' breeding for both the TVR and the Pearlscales which I attributed to better seed fishes. In fact, I was thinking of attempting more spawns to prove certain concepts if not for the heavy work load in my day job and preparation for the Aquarama International Fish competition.

2011 Dragon Eyes Pompom Pearlscales

Knowing jolly well that it would be too tough to take on the heat of both the task of looking after thousands of fries and coping with work simultaneously in this time of the year, it is wiser to forget about the itchy idea altogether - - - just for now :-p

Trust & Integrity ~ 信譽

2011-04-15T13:23:00.003+08:00

信譽就像一面鏡子 ..一旦打破，就永遠不一樣了...

Trust is like a mirror..once it is broken, you can never look at it the same again...

~ unknown

Its about time to foster a relationship of trust with the Ranchus. Hand-feeding is a routine practiced by the avid Ranchu fanciers to accustom the Ranchus to manhandling. For the Ranchu fanciers, nothing beats the joy of having a school of Ranchus wagging their tails and feeding off our hands. As mentioned in one of my earlier blog, hand feeding is also an important routine to train the Ranchus to get use to the intensive human presence and handling during the TVR competitions.

In fact, the spirit of friendship with emphasis in trust, integrity, respect and honour is highly regarded by some revered old Ranchu Masters in Japan. Sad to say, the lucrative TVR trades around the world have diluted much of the original teachings, even in the land of the Ranchus... :(

The video shows one of this year's BBR exhibiting the typical traits from the old Okayama bloodlines of 2002 ~ 2005 - longish head frame and "dragon cheek" funtan. This is an interesting piece with exaggerated features of well developed head and wide open tails, plump but yet swims with relatively good control! It is also a bulky babe (approx. 7.5cm) and has not completed colour change yet. I love the cute baby fats of the BBR... enjoying it as much as I could before it changes colour. Hopefully, it will not change for the worst under my care.

* PS: The date in the video is wrong... it should be 15th April. I think I am looking too much forward to the Aquarama 2011 :)

Over Developed??

2011-04-07T15:33:00.000+08:00

I can't think why mothers love them. All babies do is leak at both ends.
~ Douglas Feaver

A quick post amidst my very busy schedule. This year I am very happy that some of the baby Ranchus have not completed colour change at 6.5cm ~ 7cm! However, I am also concern about the over development of the head... I do not want to their heads to be too big...

Both my good friends and seniors, Geert and Alvin think they are OK though...

Spawn A : 7 April

Herding Instinct ~ 群集本能

2011-03-25T13:49:00.001+08:00

說得太多﹐想得太少。

But Far More Numerous was the Herd of Such, Who Think Too Little, and Who Talk Too Much.

~ John Dryden

Spawn A ~ Photo taken 17 Mar

Herd behavior pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks and schools, and to human conduct in stock market bubbles and crashes, mob violence and opinion forming. In many cases, circumstances can conspire to undermine the wisdom of crowds if a few individuals in a population could exert an excessive influence to kick start people's "herding instinct" and rally around an absurd idea.

Herding animals do better when they live in larger social groups than in solitude. In the wild, many animals depend upon their sheer numbers to gather food, confuse or ward off predators to ensure a higher chance for survival.

Video taken on 25 March ~ a school of Spawn A BBRs

Likewise, our domesticated fancy Goldfish do better in a herd too; they are less stressful, more accustomed to humans and develop better when they are kept in appropriate numbers. Though a group of Goldfish, especially Ranchus swimming and glazing together is a charming sight to behold, however, a bigger number of fishes translates to a bigger challenge on water quality. The successful hobbyists balance their stocking based on the size of the fish, the space and the amount of food to keep their fishes healthy.

Our Goldfish reacted out of their basic instinct for herding and could not rationalise, shouldn't we humans? ;-)

In a Trance ~ 心神恍惚

2011-03-22T17:25:00.002+08:00

People Who Say They Sleep Like a Baby Usually Don't have One.
~ Leo J. Burke

Spawn A ~ 21 Mar

Another devastating earthquake, this time inthe land of the Ranchus shocked the World. The wrath of nature just reminded ustime and again of how fragile and unpredictable life is. Everything from ships, houses andcars looked like toys in the tsunami... It was very sad to see so manyhomes, families and lives lost, and even more worrying is the radiation fromthe nuclear facilities. Let's hope for the very best for the survivals of this tsunami and for mankind to evade a potential nuclear disaster.

Spawn B ~ 21 Mar

Merely 5000km away from Japan, I feel somewhat awkward thatI am fully engaged in another kind of worry - in providing the best I could to4 spawns of BBRs with enough food and water changes to keep them growing andhealthy. Frankly, I have not got the time to review them in detail thisyear. Sometimes, I feel myself in state of trance losing the sense of timewhile rushing to juggle fish, family and work. I think I badly need a good ZZZzzzzzzz… but no matter how tired I am, I have never failed to wake up very early to buy live feeds for my babies.

Spawn C ~ 21 Mar

Spawn D ~ 21 Mar

Group Learning ~ 三人行，必有我师焉。

2011-02-25T23:40:00.000+08:00

我未曾從與我完全認同的人身上學到任何的東西。

I Have Never in My Life Learned Anything from
Any Man Who Agreed with Me.

~Dudley Field Malone

Spawn A - photo taken this morning

My wish for this year's TVR breeding to achieve bigger spawn sizes came true. The challenge now is about grooming so many TVR fries, which are much more time and space consuming to raise than Pearlscales.

Spawn D hatched today!

Like the previous years, I will be passing some newly hatched fries to my fellow club members to groom. Healthy group learning like this speeds up the pace of progress because no one could possibly experiment everything and make all the mistakes. Moreover, variations in techniques provide a wider perspective when comparing notes.

Today, I took a day's leave from work just to do the culling for 2 batches of TVR spawns. After the second culling for spawn A and the first culling for spawn B, there are more than 900 fries altogether. Spawn C is too small to cull now while spawn D, the biggest so far, hatched today...

For quick updating of the growth of my BBRs, I have created a spawn log link on the top right hand corner of this blog. I will try to update this link as frequent as possible...

Same But Different ~ 相同即不相似

2011-02-16T14:46:00.002+08:00

我們人類最大的優勢是能夠包容彼此之間的分歧﹐

而最大的弱點是不能容忍彼此之間的分歧。

Our Greatest Strength As a Human Race is
Our Ability to Acknowledge Our Differences,
Our Greatest Weakness is
Our Failure to Embrace them.

~ Judith Henderson

Differences are part and parcel of life. In fact, looking at it in a positive light, differences create diversities and add colours to this world. Immoderate approaches to ironing out differences usually backfire as Mr Mikhail Gorbachev quipped: "Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences".

Candid shot of programme screening photographed by Alvin Lim

The calico varieties offer the most diverse
colour combination one can ever imagine
- very high grade Calico Bubble Eyes
collection of the Nanjing
Goldfish Club (China)

Lest this post became off-topic, it is inspired by a small announcement that I wish to make - the Vermillion Goldfish Club will be appearing in our local TV programme : "Same but Different" on next Wednesday (February 23rd). There is a change in the timing from to 9.00PM local time (GMT + 8). I will also be checking if there will be podcast or uploads to the YouTube for our International Goldfish friends. If any, I will let known in my blog.

Come to think about it - the diversity of Goldfish varieties has enchanted mankind for centuries. There are diversities in conformation even within the same varieties and those groomed in different geographical regions; aren't they all marvelously same but yet different? :)

Batch 1 spawned 6 February
- photo taken on 15 February

Thanks for the many emails inquiring about my TVR fries. As usual, I will be looking at the outcome of the fries from different parent pairings and decide on how many more spawns to collect. The peak of the TVR season means lesser time to write. Nevertheless, a picture is worth a thousand words - I will try to post videos or picture updates as and when time permits.

Paradigm Shift ~ 範式轉移

2011-02-11T17:24:00.003+08:00

If You Think You Can, You Can.
If You Think You Can't, You're Right.

~ Mary Kay Ash

New breed developed in Singapore
~ Top View Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pearlscale

Day-old fries hatched today

Embarking on the serious game of ornamental fish breeding is no child's play no matter if we are breeding Guppies, Bettas, Discus or Goldfish. As such, to breed quality ornamental fishes earnestly would require both very strong passion and focused goal.

Being cold water fishes, inevitably, it is much more difficult to condition and time the spawning of Goldfish in our warm waters; it is also an all-new paradigm shift for the breeder - because the natural spawning behaviours are altered and traditional spawning methods used in the four-seasonal countries have little or no relevance in our tropical context. The local breeders here have to adapt and develop techniques to spawn and groom their fishes, think out-of-the-box and possess the courage to try out new things.

If Guppies are bred so successfully by hobbyists in the US, Taiwan, Germany and Japan, why can't we do likewise for the TVR? IMHO it is just the question of our determination to make it happen. I hope the day would come that our local breeders could produce the TVR comparable to the quality of the best specimens from Japan.

When I became very devoted to breeding Goldfish nearly 10 years ago, everybody doubted that my fantasy will last long and thought I was mad. Today, most people have no doubt that I am serious about breeding the Goldfish and they still think I am mad... all fanatics need the madness to drive us to the limits don't we? ;)

BTW, my TVR breeding season for 2011 has begun today with the healthy hatching of the first spawn of about 3000 fries. Its time to get busy and my hands dirty again...

Magic ~ 魔术

2011-01-28T17:31:00.084+08:00

不要相信你所聽到的東西﹐ 只能相信一半你所看到的東西。

Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.

~ Benjamin Franklin

Famous Taiwanese Magician Master Liu Qian showing off a magic trick with Goldfish

In the process of acquiring knowledge - we observe, listen and decipher news and information. Information exchange has become very easy and almost instant in the Internet age. At the same time, it has also become very challenging to decipher what is accurate and useful.

Besides Goldfish websites, blogs and YouTube videos. Email exchanges, SMS and forums are also very popular media for information exchange. How then can we siphon the useful and accurate information from these sources? I think we can only rely on opening up our eyes, our ears and our minds.

It is rather sad that we can't always believe what we hear but nowadays, sometimes we also cannot believe what we see!! I hope we can still rely on our heads to rationalise and see through all the fog ;)

Enjoy the magic video presented in this blog post. May I wish all a very Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year!

Winners and Losers ~ 輸家贏家

2011-01-23T20:31:00.001+08:00

有贏家，有輸家，還有還沒學會如何面對輸贏的人。

There are winners, there are losers and there are people who have not yet learned how to win or lose.

~ Les Brown

This year, I did not manage to win any prizes in OARS but I was very happy because the members of the Oozeki Ranchu Club have made big progress in the grooming of the TVR. Overall, the skills of grooming the Tosais are much improved compared to previous years. It was quite an achievement as most of the fishes were acquired and groomed from black baby (BBR) stage.

Though the Oozeki Ranchu Club is a small club, we are fortunate to have very passionate people in the club consistently organising the show for the pass 10 consecutive years. Besides the thrill of improving our skills through competitions, the joy of this Ranchu hobby is also about forging truthful friendships with people from all walks of life, sharing the hobby with friends whom we learn about the hobby together and working as a cohesive team to realise our dreams. In this aspect, I reckon that the one similarity of Ranchu and friendship is not about the quantity but of quality.

Due to heavy work commitment, I have only managed to set up the breeder tanks last week and mix the breeder Ranchus together. This year's breeding is going to be a bit later than the previous year as I have just missed the window of opportunity for a few good spawns.

Year 2010 had also been an exciting Ranchu year in Singapore with many new faces coming into the TVR hobby, triggered by the shows organised by the hobbyists and commercials here. In time to come, the local hobbyists would be spoiled of choices when it comes to selection of Ranchus.

As we learn to appreciate the TVR, let's not forget our families who have made sacrifices of their time and space for our Ranchus, and also be appreciative to our fellow hobbyist friends whom we have shared and learned about the hobby together. Good fishes will come and go, but good friends stay in our lives. In years yonder, the conscientious would eventually lament the tragic of not having a couple of bosom friends in our life journey.

Pictures:

1. Some male seed fishes for year 2011.

2. Some female seed fishes.

New Year Resolution ~ 新年的決議

2010-12-28T17:18:00.000+08:00

砸碎決議的是懦夫; 設立決議的是傻瓜。

He who breaks a resolution is a weakling;
He who makes one is a fool.

~F.M. Knowles

Shiny scale Dragon Eyes Pearlscale (瑩鱗珍珠龍)

My dwindling postings over the weeks underscores the hectic scheduleI have been through. My apologies to avid readers who are looking forward to my postings. With this posting, I would like to wish all a belatedMerry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

It has been a very busy year withmany changes in my job and family responsibilities that it is compelling for me to addressother priorities in life. So much so that it becomes rather unorthodox for a Goldfish fanatic to miss all the junior Tosai study sessions (MIFY) in the Oozeki Ranchu Club this year. Regretfully, I also missed the ASRS which coincides with the day I flew back from a long overseas holiday. My immediate priorities was to perform emergency water change for all my Goldfish ponds. My apologies to my friends who were trying to look out for me in the show.

Wrapping up a great 2010 for Goldfish breeding,I am looking forward to the 10^th anniversary of the Oozeki RanchuClub and its 10^th Oozeki Annual Ranchu Show on 1^stJanuary. Do come down to our free road show in Hong Lim CC on New Year’s Day from12pm to 3pm.

The beginning of the New Year also marks the start ofmy TVR breeding season. Time and space permitted, I hope to breed one moregeneration of the Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale in tandem with the TVR beforethe Aquarama 2011.

Shhh... I am keeping my New Year resolution a secret :)

Pictures:

1) Shiny scale (瑩鱗珍珠龍) Dragon Eyes Pearlscale - a difficult colour to stabilize.

2) An extremely rare Dragon Eyes Pearlscale with 4 pompoms bred in 2010.

3) One of the 2010 Tosai going for the OARS.

Goldfish Photography ~ 留金歲月

2010-11-27T22:13:00.003+08:00

快照留住了即將流失的時刻。

A Good Snapshot Stops A Moment From Running Away.

~Eudora Welty

In those days of the film camera, Goldfish photography was more than a challenging feat - it was also extremely costly as the films were expensive. Moreover, the photographer could not preview the outcome of the shots and had to snap more photographs and develop them all, hoping that there would be a few good ones.

One of the most avid Goldfish photographers in Singapore is none other than Alvin, who is never short of Goldfish models from his club members. Rain or shine, he would be braving the elements in the open almost every weekend, either cursing the unaccommodating weather or the uncooperative Goldfish that turned away from the camera or pooped at just the critical moment.

The advent of digital photography technology made it much more cost effective, time-saving and easier to compose and archive the photographs compared to the olden days. However, new technologies does not alter the fact that to take good photographs of the Goldfish, the photographer needs to have lots of patience and a good feel of the subject. This is also true for any photographer attempting to specialise in any subject matter, for without understanding the appreciation of the subject, it will be difficult to deliver the "wow" factor in his/her photography.

Though I have learned much about Goldfish photography from Alvin, unfortunately, I do not have as much patience and time for studio-style Goldfish photography. I am still eagerly awaiting his new set of studio photographs that he had promised to update in the Vermillion Goldfish Club website. Stay tune to the Vermillion website by following the club's new twitter updates!!!

Photos:

1. Alvin and his weekend pass time.

2. One of my first attempt in studio photo taking in 2005 - over exposure in some parts of the picture.

3. One of my favourite Butterfly Dragon Eyes - it is relatively easier to set up and shoot top view pictures of Goldfish compared to side view pictures.

Haze ~ 煙霧

2010-10-25T21:28:00.022+08:00

自我是光明的遮眼紗。

Ego Is The Veil That Shuts The Light

~Author Unknown

It's hazy these days - the unwelcome haze has returned to Singapore again :( Rain, shine or haze I would still have to tend to my beloved fishes. Every end of the year is both my Pearlscale breeding season and a time to bring my family for a holiday. I have to reduce my Pearlscale spawns to a manageable number in order to enjoy my overseas holiday with peace of the mind.

The game plan is to grow them bigger as fast as possible so that their flaws are more obvious for me to cull confidently. Structural and feature flaws in the back curve, scaling, and finnages of the Goldfish would not be discernible until they grow bigger.

Interestingly, we can usually see more of our own flaws as we "grow" - in skills and self-esteem. When we failed, our pride supports us but when we succeed, very often, our ego would betray us. Ego results in a swollen head and arrogance while pride gives a swollen heart and the pleasure of accomplishment with humility.

Fortunately for us, the haze in Singapore is still very minor compared to some cities in Malaysia. Let's hope the rain and the cooler weather would bring respite to the hazy conditions.

Pictures:
1. Moderately hazy Singapore's skyline

2. Month old fish have not develop the scaling and rounded body

3. 6.5 weeks old fishes with more matured features

Balance ~ 平衡

2010-10-09T16:44:00.004+08:00

我夢想著掌握平衡的藝術。
What I Dream of is an Art of Balance

~ Henri Matisse

It would be getting even tougher for me to balance new commitments in both family and work from this year onwards. One of my resolutions is to spend more quality time with my family as I have been doing with the Goldfish hobby all these years.

Having overcome most of the technical issues with regard to Goldfish breeding, it is time to move on to more refinement in the process. Hopefully with improvement in techniques and more stable bloodlines would make it more time and effort efficient to manage my Goldfish breeding programmes.

"Balance" would also be the focal point for my Goldfish breeding road map, especially so when I have chosen to breed two varieties of short-tailed Goldfish. I think it would be as challenging to create a well balance and graceful swimming Pearlscales with Dragon Eyes and Pompoms just as the Top View Ranchu. In order for a fish with heavier front portion of the body to swim with balance, I would need to work on specific features to offset its CG (Centre of Gravity).

I am currently busy with breeding my Pearlscales. This would be very exciting yaer as the F3/F4 are usually important milestones after a major outcross. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Pictures:

1) Bred in 2010, a Calico Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pearlscale displaying excellent balance.
2) Red white Short Tail Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale.
3) Red black Short Tail Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale with some head wen.

Dream of a Goldfish Fanatic ~ 魚痴愚夢

2010-09-02T23:01:00.001+08:00

萬事始於夢

Nothing Happens Unless First A Dream

~ Carl Sandburg

My kinky gems ~ Dragon Eyes Pompom Pearlscales

A spark of insanity to create a completely new variety of Goldfish in Singapore was how it all got started. What followed next is years of planning and staying focus to make my dream comes true. It is more work in our climate to breed Goldfish because the tropical climate is not the natural habitat of the Goldfish. If for some reasons that the seed fishes couldn't spawn for that year or are wiped out by some diseases outbreak, everything would be back to square one again.

By 2010, I have incorporate all the exotic features from three different varieties of Goldfish into one strain of Goldfish, however, there is still much work to fine tune the features in order to create the desired configuration of my dream fish.

With no available literature pertaining to Goldfish breeding in the tropical climate, the pain and anguish learning from scratch and making all the mistakes these years can be very discouraging sometimes. The push factor to holding on to this mentally and physically taxing journey is the tremendous joy of seeing my dream fish coming slowly to life.

In this blog post, may I share with you a video clip of my blood and sweat, powered by my fanatical Goldfish dream.

Teething Problem

2010-08-23T12:42:00.002+08:00

沒齒難忘

As Unforgettable As Losing One's Tooth

~ A Chinese Idiom

Most Goldfish hobbyists who do not use sand or gravel in their aquariums would have come across those mysterious white chips lying on the base of their Goldfish tanks. They are irregularly shaped hard, white and sharp pieces ranging from 1mm to 3mm. Hobbyists who use coral chips to buffer their water would usually attribute these as the small crumbs of coral chips from the filter bed but for those who don't, they continue to be baffled by the presence of these stuff.

I was also puzzled for years until I saw the carcass of a Ranchu. The row of sharp "chips" of various sizes lining along the throat/jaw bone of the Ranchu instantly solved the mystery. Apparently, the Goldfish would shed its teeth and grow new ones to replace the old ones over time.

Apologies for the gross image of the Ranchu skeleton but it is quite amazing how the teeth of the Goldfish resembles that of a carnivore.

Pictures:

1) White "chips" on the base of Goldfish tanks.

2) A Ranchu skeleton.

3) Close up of the throat bone with teeth.

Perspective ~ 視角

2010-07-28T22:22:00.000+08:00

對事物的觀點掌握適當的視角後，許多事將能水到渠成。

When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place. ~ Roger Birkman

Appreciating Goldfish from the side view

It should be the effect of global warming that Singapore is getting very extreme weather nowadays. Scourging heat waves and heavy rain took turns to rein on our little island country. Floods brought by torrential downpours, stalling vehicles and falling trees are the talk of the town.

My fishes should have no complain about the weather mayhem except that they are given much lesser feeds than usual. In fact, growing them slower at appropriate juncture is another perspective of the art of Goldfish grooming. It is a very common perception for Goldfish hobbyists to equate good growth of their fishes to good keeping skills. However, pushing for growth too aggressively may affect the aesthetics of the fish; there are also more health related problems associated with overfeeding than underfeeding.

Another perspective to appreciate the Dragon Eyes Pearlscale - from the top view

In this time of the year, I have almost completed sorting out the TVR and Pearlscale breeders by their gender. While the relatively cooler weather this year is beneficial for nurturing good eggs in the female fishes, my only concern is, there may be too little rain next year to trigger the spawning. All the rain for next year seems to be pouring this year.

More Haste Less Speed ~ 欲速不達

2010-06-28T23:32:00.000+08:00

物極必反
Things driven to extremes will backfire.
~ A Chinese proverb

I wish I have been distracted by the celebrations of the World Cup but regrettably, I have never been a big soccer fan. Moreover, it is my day job that has been keeping me so busy lately that I need to pull back a little on the hobby. All my fishes are put on the low gear for growth to ease my task on water change.

This year's whacky weather seems to suggest that it is still goldfish breeding season in Singapore but I am not collecting any spawns. Over the years, I have learned better than to rush in this hobby. Tempting it may be, getting myself overwhelmed unnecessarily with goldfish breeding right now will leave me with no space and energy to engage the crucial breeding seasons for next year.

Work is really killing me but luckily I have the hobby to keep my sanity. Strangely, I don't know why the aftermath of MFGC 2010 leaves me feeling a little languid... the kind of feeling when your favourite clown has quited the circus... I know I will feel better again in the next goldfish breeding season ;P

Picture:
Two of my new breed Dragon Eyes Pompom Pearlscales 2010. Probably another two or three iterations to stabilise the strain.

Mirroring ~ 以人為鏡

2010-06-05T22:57:00.005+08:00

以铜为镜，可以正衣冠；

以古为镜，可以知兴替；

以人为镜，可以明得失。
~唐太宗

Mirror our image to adjust our attire;

Mirror history to understand the rise and fall of empires;

Mirror others to self appraise.

~ Emperor Tai Zhong, first emperor of the Tang dynasty

1st prize "Mirror Image"# entry of MFGC2010

Most of us use the mirror everyday - when we wake up in the morning, we wash up in front of the mirror; before we get out of home, we check ourselves in the mirror to ensure that we are neat and appropriately dressed.

We all know too well of this mirror that reflects our external self but few know of the other mirror that reflects our inner self. The latter is none other than us - human beings. We can always self-appraise from others' failures and successes.

It is not difficult to see our true self especially in competitions where our pride is at stake. Have we been objective to see our own weakness when we lost? Have we been humble to see more room for improvement when we won? The flying eagle and the well frog see the same sky very differently - the eagle feels small and humble as it soars in the vastness of the sky; the frog feels big and arrogant looking at the "small" sky above the well.

The 2nd prize "Mirror Image"# entry in MFGC 2010 by
Dr Wee is one that I admire very much.

#The "mirror image" is an interesting category introduced in My Fancy Goldfish Competition (MFGC) since 2008. In this category, winners will be judged on how close the duo entry resembles each other. Since all goldfish are unique, it is indeed a great challenge! Check out the MFGC2010 updates in the Vermillion Goldfish Club website now!

Too Good To Be True ~ 好事多磨

2010-05-24T11:39:00.000+08:00

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.

Stretching The Limits ~ 極限所能

2010-05-16T07:18:00.002+08:00

休息是為了走更長的路。
To rest is to prepare for a longer journey ahead.
~ A Chinese saying

My initial plan to push the Dragon Eyes Pearlscale fries to grow faster is hampered by the drastic weather conditions. One moment it was so hot and humid and the next moment torrential rain. In this weather conditions, it would be foolhardy to feed the fries aggressively to hasten their growth rate; one wrong step could potentially wipe out years of hard work. Slow feeding means slow growth, and slow growth means slower culling as their flaws are less obvious to cull.

Rare blue-brown

Though things have slowed down for the pass weeks, I am still kept busy with more frequent water changes to dilute the acid rain. Life only got a little easier finally after the 4th culling of the Dragon Eyes Pearlscales yesterday. Some day, some where, some things or someone would break if I do not slow down a bit on goldfish breeding. So for the next few months, I hope to channel my focus on filling the orders for my goldfish artwork.

Picture
1. Dragon Eyes Pearlscale spawn #4 at 19 days old.

Keep The Best, Forget The Rest ~ 取優捨劣

2010-04-28T11:49:00.003+08:00

"在萬中選千，千中選百，百里拔十，方能得出色上好者”~ (拙園老人1904 《蟲魚雅集》)

Sieve out the best thousand from 10 thousands, then select the best hundred from the thousand to get the 10 outstanding specimens out of the hundred.
~ quote from a Chinese book published in 1904.

It was a great relief after culling the largest batch of Dragon Eyes Pearlscales last weekend. The inconsistent supply of daphnia in the rainy season, the cost of feeding such a big batch and the space constraints all signaled the time for urgent culling. Culling was slow and eye-straining, stretching from day time to night time because the fries were still a bit too small to review most of their flaws. Inevitably, I had to keep more fries than I normally do after the first culling.

The focus of Pearlscale breeding this year would be more on fine tuning the features by crossing in the main line of Dragon Eyes Pearlscale to the F2 of the Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale (短尾龍珠球). A rare colouration I want to breed more this year is the blue-brown (紫蘭花). Having only two precious specimens of seed males, it is paramount to propagate this unique colour before the line is lost.

With 5 big spawns of Pearlsales this year, so I can afford to be very picky. I am not too worried about the large number of fries now as eventually not many will meet my expectations. Yeah! Keep the best and forget the rest - a slogan I learned from my old friend Ron. I hope one day, he will come back to this hobby again.

Pictures:
1. Short Tail Blue-brown Dragon Eyes Pearlscales (紫蘭花)
2. Day culling
3. Night culling

A Butterfly Dream ~ 莊周夢蝶

2010-04-21T12:38:00.002+08:00

惠子曰：「子非魚，安知魚之樂？」
莊子曰：「子非我，安知我不知魚之樂？」
~ 莊子: "知魚之樂"

Huizi : "You're not a fish — how do you know the fish is happy?"

Zhuangzi : "You're not me, so how do you know I don't know that the fish is happy?"
~ Excerpt "Happiness of a fish" by the ancient Chinese Philosopher Zhuangzi

Inspiration from the show "How to train your dragon"

Stealing some free time in the Pearlscale breeding season to tease my shiny scale Dragon Eyes Butterfly. Isn't it a very happy fish? :)

For the next few weeks, I am bracing myself to cull two large spawns of Dragon Eyes Pearlscales (45k to 50k). The challenge then is to grow such a big brood healthily and big enough for culling.

What Drives Me Crazy? 玩魚也瘋狂

2010-04-15T22:57:00.006+08:00

怎麼不可能 ? 關鍵在于你有多想要去做。
~ 好友阿英 (五花蘭壽狂想曲)

Why impossible? It depends on how much you really want to do it.

~ My very good friend Ying (http://www.calicoRanchu.hk)

I haven't got much rest time after 3 intensive months of TVR breeding - 3 big spawns of Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pearlscales and 1 spawn of Calico/Sakura TVR are keeping me very busy. Quite a few people had asked me how I managed to garner so much energy to juggle marathon goldfish breeding, a full time job and a young family. The long answer to what keeps me going is my penchant for creation, many good friends to enjoy the hobby together, and of course, a supportive family (actually they had totally given up on me :P ).

This year's Tosai fishes to groom for the OARS

Limitations are all in our minds right? Lest I sound like a inspiration speaker, I want to profess that everything has a price to pay. Frankly, the cost, time and effort to breed Goldfish in Singapore would put most people out of this feat. A Goldfish breeder is also nothing glamorous in our Metropolitan city. Rain or shine, weekday or weekend, there is no holiday for the Goldfish breeder. The highly menial tasks in water change and culling also mean much time away from friends and family too.

Dragon Eyes Pearlscale Spawn - Not for the fainthearted

Another of my motivations to breed Goldfish is for the purpose ofcompetition. Nothing beats the joy of competing with own-bred fishes. I use competition as a benchmark on the success of my breeding projects. Not on winning, but on how my entries pit against others'.

How not to give up on me? The mess at home
in the Pearlscale breeding season

By the time I wrap up the Pearlscale breeding near the end of the year, it will be time again to plan for the TVR breeding - this is the cyclical routine that I have been following for the pass few years. Life as a Goldfish breeder is very tough but I am enjoying every bit of it. So the very short answer to what keeps me going is just the word "madness".

# The MFGC is happening this May 27th ~ 30th, online entry form can be downloaded from the Vermillion Goldfish Club Website, Samgoldfish Website and the RafflesGold Forum. Closing date is 30th April.

Cherish What We Have ~ 知足常樂

2010-04-01T16:25:00.006+08:00

找碴兒是為了滿足我不斷提高技術的渴望。

I have this desire to keep improving, so I find fault.
~ Heston Blumenthal

I often ponder if I am in the wrong part of the world to fall in love with goldfish breeding. I love the outdoors and nature, yet I live in a land of concrete jungles with a very fast pace of life and limited space.

Batch A - 78 days after hatching

The TVR hobby taught me many things about life - Life is never perfect, just as there is no perfect Ranchu. The Japanese Ranchu Masters preach about "learning to see more of the beauty of a Ranchu than its flaws", so I should learn to appreciate what I have - health, happy family, good friends and the time with my fishes.

As I lament that breeding goldfish is much more difficult and expensive in tropical Singapore, I really have to feel very fortunate to be a Singaporean - without peace and prosperity for my country, I would be more worried about life's other basic needs than to fret over my Ranchus. After all, I am VERY proud to be a Singaporean, Singaporeans are passionate about striving to be World Class in all our endeavours.

Batch B 73 days after hatching

So I am on cloud nine, cherishing the brief early morning respite from the maddening crowds, amongst the chirping birds and the buzzing cicadas, I enjoy the company of my Ranchus :)

Metamorphosis ~ 蛻變

2010-03-19T14:15:00.003+08:00

子曰：惟有上智与下愚不移。

It is only the wisest and stupidest that do not change.

~ Confucius

All the BBRs have almost completed colour change. Their colour at this stage is still not stable until they are at least another month older. If we are not careful with the water quality at this stage, many may become bleached (full white).

Batch A ~ 66 days after hatching

Batch B ~ 61 days after hatching

MY Fancy Goldfish Competition (MFGC) 2010

2010-03-15T17:15:00.016+08:00

曾經擁有
A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~ Eudora Welty

MY Fancy Goldfish Competition (MFGC), the biennial event jointly organised by the Vermillion Goldfish Club and Samgoldfish and supported by The RafflesGold Forum is one of the most prestigious and anticipated All-Fancy Goldfish Competition in Asia. Judged by some of the World's most renown Goldfish judges and participated by strong entries from famous breeders and avid hobbyists in Asia, it is definitely a Goldfish Event not to be missed! Here is a preview video prepared by my fellow club member, Alvin Tan:

An Alvin & Alvin Production

The beautiful Goldfish portraits in this video are photographed by Alvin Lim, who spent hours in the open recording these wonderful specimens groomed by the Vermillion Goldfish Club members. Fishes would come and go, but photographs would leave us fond memories forever. Apart from Goldfish keeping skills, I have also picked up some photography techniques from Alvin.

Stay tune to the MFGC to watch some of these fishes in action!

Double-Edged Sword ~ 雙刃劍

2010-03-07T15:06:00.005+08:00

Candor is always a double-edged sword; it may heal or it may separate.

~ Wilhelm Stekel

There is a time to push and a time to pull back when grooming the TVR. Harmonising with the laws of nature and yet at times, breaking the laws of nature; the more I dwell into the art of TVR, the more I feel I am wielding a double-edged sword. So much zen about the TVR... after all, the fancy Goldfish could never have existed in nature without man's intervention and years of selective breeding.

Batch A ~ 51 days after hatching

This year, I got a fewBBR (Black Baby Ranchu) achieving 6 cm before they changed colour. The Japanese believe that the transitional stage from BBR toCBR (Coloured Baby Ranchu) is like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly. It is a difficult time for the BBR and they lose much of their "baby fats". It is also the time for us to pull back a on aggressive feeding and keep a much closer watch on water quality.

Batch B ~ 46 days after hatching

Sweet 16 ~ 吾家有魚初長成

2010-02-26T16:01:00.004+08:00

You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.
~ An Irish Saying

It is important to push the BBRs to grow as much as possible before their colour changes. The risk of pushing too aggressively without good water quality management will result in sick fishes. Even if we can keep our BBRs healthy with an aggressive feeding regime and water quality in check, it does not mean we should feed our BBR like pigs.

Sweet 16 ~ 44 days after hatching

The technique of grooming the BBR is likened to that of a Sumo wrestler - they are nurtured to epitomise strength, power and agility. The Japanese technique of grooming BBRs and Sumo wrestlersentails high quality food and good exercise as well. It is no coincidence that the ranking of Ranchus in the AJRS takes after the ranking of the Sumo wrestlers.

Ask any Japanese Ranchu Master and they will say that the bloodline is the most important criteria to making good BBRs. Besides the bloodline factor, grooming is what we do by varying pond space, amount of feed, type of feed, stocking ratio, water change regime and environmentalconditions.

BBRs just after feeding ~ 37 days after hatching

This year, I have some breakthrough in making the BBRs bigger than previous years before their colourchange. But I got to watch out for obesity and the fats growing on the wrongparts of the body. It is still too early to tell the results and I am still learning how to make a Sumo Ranchu :)

Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger ~ 藏龍伏虎

2010-02-21T15:12:00.002+08:00

Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth... Tame the dragon and the gift is yours.
~ Noela Evans

Some of the BBRs have started to change colour (虎剥げ disrobing the tiger). The foundation of the dragon head funtan (龍吻) is emerging, hopefully the head wen of this year's BBR will be better than those of last year's. I am quite happy to succeed in pushing most of the BBRs at least to 5cm before their colour started to change.

Colour changing - "tora hage" & dragon head funtan developing

39 days after hatching

Knowing One's Limits ~ 自知之明

2010-02-20T00:13:00.004+08:00

貪多嚼不爛

Never Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.

~ An English Idiom

4 healthy batches of BBRs are probably what I can cope for now. The small spawns allows me to focus on fine tuning techniques and to study the mistakes I made over the previous years. Time and space permitted, I may spawn one or two more batches in March/April with the seed fishes given by my Hong Kong friend.

36 days after hatching

The weather is showing signs of cooling down with occasional showers.More rain is expected to kick-start the spawning season in the next fewweeks and it should be about time to be a bit more aggressive infeeding the seed females. I would likely be focusing on stabilising andenhancing the traits of my new creation - The Short Tail Dragon Eye Pompom Pearlscale ~ 短尾龍睛珍珠球!.

Short Tail Dragon Eyes Pompom Pearlscales

Five Fortunes at Your Door ~ 五福臨門

2010-02-14T02:18:00.000+08:00

Prosperity Makes Friends; Adversity Tries Them.

~Publilius Syrus

The Chinese Lunar New Year coincides with Valentine's Day this year. Most Chinese all over the world will be celebrating the reunion dinner tonight. I had mine too and my guests were awed with 5 big georgous Side View Ranchus that I imported recently.

Competition grade Side View Ranchus

"五福臨門" (5 Fortunes at your door steps) is one of the popular Chinese auspicious wishes for the Chinese Lunar New Year. These premier Ranchus are bred in the Chinese province of Fuzhou (福州), world famous for the Chinese Side View Ranchus. The Ranchus from Fuzhou are commonly referred as 福壽 (Fushou) which means Prosperity and Longevity.

Batch A at 31 days old after hatching

There wouldn't be any fresh supply of daphnia until the 4th day of the Chinese New Year. This allows me to taking a breather from my early morning chore of buying daphnia for the next few days. Though this year, I am experimenting with controlled feeding and had fed relatively lesser than previous years, strangely the BBR seems to grow as fast. Maybe the Wolffia is doing wonders.

I would like to wish all my Chinese readers a very Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year and everyone Happy Valentine's Day!

Making the head ~ 頭を作る

2010-02-10T11:25:00.001+08:00

The Heart Is Forever Making the Head Its Fool.

~ François de la Rochefoucauld

The BBRs are growing fast and their colour change is imminent. This is a very crucial stage to start "making the head" of the BBR as the foundation of good funtan growth lies before their colour change. The green carpet algae and bloodworms are essential for making nice Ranchu head.

This year, I am also experimenting with wolffia columbiana (common water meal) which is used by some Japanese breeders. Wolffia from other pond sources should be sterilized before feeding to the BBRs. It should be safer to culture them with plant fertilisers.

Wolffia columbiana

First meal of bloodworms
taken on 7 February - 25 days after hatching

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words ~ 妙在不言中

2010-02-03T16:38:00.003+08:00

Be Silent, Or Say Something Better Than Silence.
~ a German proverb

Too busy to pen down my thoughts these days. Since I couldn't engage my brain before I open my mouth, I don't wana talk too much.

Here are my updates of my 2010-A batch (spawned on 10 Jan 2010):

2010 Batch A

Video taken on 3rd February

Hopes and Disappointment ~ 希望與失望

2010-01-28T23:11:00.001+08:00

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

2010-01-21T16:50:00.006+08:00

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

2010-01-15T15:24:00.003+08:00

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.