Ottering Devastating

The only thing worst than an otter is 2 otters.

– Someone saw 3...😓

my mistake to underestimate the otters

This year started with the kind of drama that makes you wonder if the universe has a personal vendetta against you. First, there were family matters—delicate, emotional, and not something I’ll dive into here. Suffice it to say, it was a difficult time juggling emotions and responsibilities I never anticipated.  

Just when I thought things were settling down, nature decided to up the ante. Enter: the otters. Yes, otters. Those "adorable," fluffy, Instagram-worthy pests that everyone loves? Turns out, they’re also ruthless, fish-eating ninjas. After 40 years in this neighborhood, I never imagined I’d be waging war against wildlife. But here we are.  

The first otter attack was a gut punch. In one night, nearly my entire Dragon Eyes Pearlscale bloodline—a labor of love spanning almost two decades—was wiped out. Poof. Gone. It was like watching 20 years of work get flushed down the drain, except the drain was a gang of hyper-efficient aquatic predators.  


I didn’t have time to despair. I immediately stimulated my remaining Pearlscales to spawn, hoping to salvage what was left of the bloodline. Otters are protected by law in Singapore, so we can’t trap or retaliate against these pests in any way. To keep them out, I reinforced the pond perimeter with higher fences and weighed down the protective netting with heavy bricks. Then, a glimmer of hope. One week after the first attack, some of my fish spawned, and I collected the eggs. Maybe, just maybe, I could rebuild.  

Video recorded last month... All these RIP 😭😭😭

But the otters wasn’t done with me. The very next day, they returned. They scaled the higher fences, tore through the reinforced netting, and decimated my remaining breeding stock. It was like a bad sequel to a movie I never wanted to watch in the first place.  

a few beacon of hope...

So now, I’m back to the drawing board, thinking of better otter exclusion measures and hoping for the best with the last spawn. These eggs are my final shot at saving my Dragon Eyes Pearlscale bloodline. 

Maybe luck will be on my side, and they’ll escape the brink of extinction this time. But all good things must end someday. My creation will vanish eventually when I am too old to keep the bloodline alive. Yet, if they do disappear, it won’t be because I didn’t try while I still could.

So, here’s to hoping, persevering, and maybe praying for a few more miracles. Life’s challenges—whether family, otters, or both — can’t break you unless you let them. I’ve done everything I can. Now, it’s up to fate.

Efficiency ~ 效率

如果对你真的很重要，你会找到一个方法。 要不，你将会找到一个借口。

If it is important to you, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse.
~ Unknown

A baby black dragon eyes pearl
that I am monitoring closely

Thanks to the concern from some readers about my well being since I have not been active in this blog for quite a while. Rest assured that I have never been more active in the goldfish hobby than ever before. 

Besides my annual Pearlscale breeding and planning for next year's Ranchu breeding, I am preoccupied with something that I have not indulged for many years - collecting other varieties of goldfish!

In fact, I love all fancy goldfish and used to keep almost every variety of fancy goldfish until I had to make space and time to focus on goldfish breeding. For years, I abstained from keeping other varieties of goldfish that are not directly relevant to my Ranchu and Pearlscale breeding projects.

New collection:
Pair of blue brown dragon eyes butterfly

This year, I am very fortunate to have a good friend who helped to improve my set up and cut down on the time and effort of my maintenance chores tremendously. So now with an efficient set up that free up much time and spaces, I am happily succumbing to my temptations to collect other varieties of goldfish again. I may also breed some of the other varieties in a small scale just for the experience as I do not think I will have the capacity to track the bloodlines as much as I do for my Ranchus and Pearlscales.

New collection:
Thai black orandas

 
It is a matter of time that my freed time gaps and spaces will be filled up with fishes and more fishes. Kudos to my good friend Xing again ;-))

International Goldfish ~ 國際金魚

We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanities matters more.
~ Bill Clinton

International Judges brainstorming
- note the number of white bowls with Goldfish
for the first round of judging

Ranchu Champion

I was back not too long ago from the Inaugural World Goldfish Show in China-Fuzhou (15th ~ 17th September). With Alvin honoured as one of the 12 International judges of the Goldfish Competition, I was looking forward as a member of the Vermillion Goldfish Club entourage to support the show with our club's exhibits, but instead, found myself fully engaged as a translator for some of the International judges during the 2 days of intensive judging.

It was a great honour working with various Goldfish dignitaries, but a task that I was not mentally prepared as I am not a professional translator. Fortunately, the International judges were very accommodating of my translation. It was a great experience to witness the judges persevere to complete the judging of more than 2000 fishes under fatigue and time pressure - Everyone put their heads together and work relentlessly to solve various unforeseen problems arising from the complexities and logistics of running such a big show. It was also heartening to see the sincere mutual respect amongst the International judges in understanding and accommodating each others' aesthetic standards and judging criteria in this International congregation. Isn't this emblematic of the spirit of friendship and harmony of the Goldfish hobby?

Grand Champion Ryukin

Though there were various "hiccups" as expected of a relatively inexperience organising committee running their first International Goldfish Show, the grandeur and scale with which the motherland of the Goldfish showcase their proud Goldfish heritage is awe inspiring - many rare and beautiful varieties of Goldfish from different provinces of China graced the show and we were also very fortunate to meet up with some very famous Chinese breeders, who shared in-depth knowledges about Goldfish grooming and breeding. 

Rare blue brown fantail Pompom

It was a fruitful trip meeting old friends and making new friends. Till now I am still picking up the aftermath of the show - catching up on the backlog of tasks while I was away :P

I have also updated the Vermillion Goldfish Club website with more photos of our trip. Enjoy :)) !!!

Goldfish Street of Hong Kong ~ 香港金魚街

朋友是你送給自己的禮物。

A friend is a gift you give yourself.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

So I visited Hong Kong for the 3rd time in 10 years. It was a short trip and purely a "Goldfish trip”, without having to worry about taking up family’s time :-). It was also a trip that I have long anticipated to catch up with my old hobbyist friend in Hong Kong. Moreover, with Alvin's company, the trip was already guaranteed to be hell of a good time with Goldfish and good food even before it started.

Goldfish monument candidly franking
a bikini poster advertisement

Somehow, Tung Choi Street in Mongkok, or better known as the “Goldfish Street” by the locals never fails to ignite my childhood euphoria of visiting LFS (Local Fish Shop). The LFS and Pet shops lined up along both sides of some 400 metres stretch of road selling canines, felines, fowls, amphibians, ornamental fishes and hobbyists’ accessories promise a great experience even for the window shopper. New shops have also sprouted in the upper floors of the street, orientated by splashy and prominent signboards. 

One of the few famous Tunghoi
"Tiger Oranda" in Lucky Aquarium

Eye-catching display of ornamental fish in one of the LFS

We also had the opportunity to visit the early morning Goldfish market. Just before 5 a.m. every morning, Goldfish vendors came with their truck loads of prepacked Goldfish and set up mobile stalls along the main road perpendicular to Goldfish Street. By 7 a.m., these mobile vendors would have packed up to make way for the hustle and bustle of the daytime traffic. The Flower Street and the Bird Street, adjacent to the Goldfish Street are also worth visiting. Like the Goldfish Street, both the Flower and Bird Streets boast a high concentration of shops selling very niche crafts and wares for the respective hobbies. Though many stores are plying the same goods, their businesses are well sustainable by the high human traffic and strategic location in the heart of Mongkok.

Mobile Goldfish market at 5 a.m.

Flower Street

We had a hearty time savouring the local delights near Tung Choi Street. The egg tarts and pineapple buns in one of the snack shops along Goldfish Street was simply fantastic to go with the local “Nai Cha” (奶茶 -> milk + tea). Two must-try dishes in Hong Kong are the local roasted goose (燒鵝) and “wanton noodles” (雲吞面). For the more adventurous, go for the “smelly toufu” (臭豆腐) at the end of the Goldfish Street – be sure to eat it while it is still hot!

Bird Street

Having fulfilled my long time wish to visit my friend after the trip in Hong Kong, I am now ready to spawn the TVR. Though this would be the 9th year that I spawn the TVR, it’s still the old patience game for some rain dance :) 

Doing Nothing ~ 無為

Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency.

~Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind

Finally I am back home from China again, this time round, I was in Beijing with my family. We missed the snow which was just a week before our arrival, much to the dismay of my kids who have yet to experience snowing. The trip had been wonderful - lugging two kids to scale the Great Wall of China, visiting must-go places like the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and our first skiing experience.

Having gotten used to the routine of rushing and juggling time with family, work and fish, I suddenly feel strange and restless not doing anything much. In fact, overseas traveling is becoming more and more stressful for me, particularly so when I almost always have some baby fishes at home.

Healthy adult Goldfish will do fine without food for a week or two, but not for the developing fries. The first few weeks are particularly important for the foundation of the fish. Nonetheless, nothing major happen for the 2 sessions of overseas trip, it merely slow down the development of the fishes. One major advantage about the green water is that it acts as a food supplement too. The water maintained with a healthy green provides both food and oxygen for the few days after all the food in the automatic food timer were dispensed.

Of course, being a Goldfish fanatic, I cannot forget about the Goldfish anywhere I go, especially so when I am in Goldfish country :) I managed to steal some time to visit the Goldfish display in the ZhongShan Garden (just beside the Forbidden City) and one of the nearby Ornamental fish market in Beijing Lady's Street. Taking quick snaps with my camera as my kids complained: "Hey pop... not Goldfish again please!"

China continues to fascinate me, I mean not only about the Goldfish, but the rich culture and historical heritage. I feel very proud to be part of the culture that created the Goldfish.

Pictures:

1) Great Wall of China - Mu Tianyu.

2) Calligraphy "Wu Wei" (doing nothing) by Emperor Kangxi.

3) Pagoda and Goldfish display tanks alongside the walls of ZhongShan Garden.

4) Close up of one of the Goldfish display in ZhongShan Garden.

5) A LFS setup in Beijing Lady's Street.

古都取經 ~ Goldfish Pilgrimage

觀今宜鑒古﹐無古不成今。~ 唐太宗
A study of contemporary events is best supplemented by comparative analyses on histories of bygone eras.
~ Tai Zong Emperor (Tang Dynasty)

I knew I would have a very fruitful trip visiting the Goldfish hobbyists and breeders in Northern China. In the few days of eye-opening expedition, the Vermillion Goldfish Club members covered many Goldfish farms in Rugao, Nantong, Yangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing.

We were exposed to the Goldfish keeping techniques of the North and its ancient Goldfish art and cultures. Having a cooler climate than the south, the breeders in the north employ much more shallower water to groom their Goldfish. Most of the northern farms also specialise in the Classical Pearlscale, Lionhead, Bubble Eyes and the Dragon Eyes Butterfly.

We are also very fortunate to establish contact with a group of very avid Goldfish hobbyists from the Nanjing Goldfish Club. Like us, they also rented ponds in the outdoors to further their skills in advance goldfish grooming techniques. In recent years, a few of them had retired, leased a plot of land and build their own ponds to keep Goldfish.

I was most pleasantly surprised and honoured that the stone bridge leading to the Nanjing Goldfish Club's office was carved with some of my Goldfish artworks! Besides creating new varieties of Goldfish, the Nanjing Goldfish Club members are also very passionate in re-creating and maintaining various ancient varieties, some of which, like the Imperial Goose Head Phoenix is at the blink of extinction due to less popular commercial demands.

We had the privilege to tour one of the last few places in Northern China with backyard Goldfish breeders keeping Goldfish in their roof-top. Unfortunately, with rapid urbanisation, many breeders have stopped breeding the Goldfish. Our hosts also extended their hospitality to show us their proud heritage - the breath-taking Zhou Mansions of Suzhou!

With my job and baby fish commitments, I couldn't have continued the expedition together with my fellow members. They are still having hell of a great time touring the Goldfish farms in Southern China. As I eagerly await for their stories and pictures to update the Vermillion Goldfish Club's website, I couldn't help relishing the awe and wonders of the Goldfish hobby that had forged so many friendships Internationally.

Pictures:
1) The beautiful Zhou Mansions in Suzhou.

2) The stone bridge decorating the Nanjing Goldfish Club HQ with my artwork.

3) The school of cute northern Classical Pearlscales.

4) Rare Imperial Goosehead Phoenix with Red Cap Lionheads kept by a Nanjing Goldfish Club member.

5) New creation - short tail rare colour Bubble Eyes Goldfish bred by the Nanjing Goldfish Club members.

6) One of the disappearing roof-top backyard farms.

3 Men Create A Tiger ~ 三人成虎

结论是个厌倦思考的地方。
A conclusion is a place where you got tired of thinking. ~ Arther Bloch

The translated Chinese idiom of "3 Men Create A Tiger"

can be found in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_men_make_a_tiger

How often are we guilty of stereotyping and unfairly judging people and things, only to find out later that it is not what we had initially perceived? Sometimes, we formed our opinions based on our life's experiences or from what we like to believe, but unfortunately, most inherited our views from others' opinions where information is often warped intentionally. We therefore constrain ourselves to bias views, missing out the full picture after we have conveniently arrived at our conclusions without further thinking. We become defensive and start to denounce other contradictory beliefs, in the course of which, relations are strained and we said things that we shouldn't have. Respect and courtesy are the least in our minds in the midst of proving our points.

With the exception of individuals who had intentionally chosen to canvass for their own agenda at all costs, even for the few of us who eventually found out the truth usually became prisoners of our own words. We are victims of "escalation of commitments" because we had preached so strongly in our initial beliefs, we continue to persist that we were never mistaken - all in the name of pride. We found ourselves becoming contradictory, hypocritical and jealous, cooking out excuses to justify our failures and blaming everyone and everything except ourselves. We do many bizarre stuffs just to uphold our pride, spreading rumours, mucking up half-truths and obscured facts to support our precarious ideologies.

These are the real-life social problems from working relations, friends, family and even the Goldfish hobby. Managing differences in the human society plays an important role in social and world peace. Till the day that the human race could finally embrace differences with an open mind and learn about respect and humility, there will never be, as it had never been a day of peace in our little world. While what I have said would not change the world, why not take life with a positive light? Isn't life boring without the things that we love to hate? Sometimes, they do spur us to keep improving ourselves and provide a good laugh now and then :)

In the game of Goldfish breeding, it is important for the breeder not to fall into the trap of "escalation of commitments". Although good brood stock should create good babies, we cannot always expect this to be true. A lot of factors are dependent on the breeder's aesthetic values and culling skills. If a subline does not yield results after a few iterations. It will be better to assess the problem objectively, admit our mistakes and move on.

I will be away for a highly anticipated goldfish expedition in Northern China with some of my avid hobbyist friends. My biggest worry now is the 4 batches of baby Dragon Eye Pearlscales spawned in August and September. I hope to cull away more fries to provide more space for the better ones. Focusing on the structure and the features, if I am lucky, I may be able to achieve some breakthrough this year.

Video:
三人成虎
~ the testimony of three men create a tiger in the market — repeated false reports will lead one astray. Translation : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_men_make_a_tiger

Pictures:
1) The most sexy blueberry eyes still come from the all-white sub-line.

2) Dragon Eye Pearlscales spawned on 26 September.

3) Dragon Eye Pearlscales spawned on 31st August.

Synergy ~ 众志成城

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.

~ Henry Ford

Few years back, I used to be the "scout" for my goldfish club members to recce on new shipment of goldfish. Every week, I would wake up very early on certain weekdays, drove from nearly one end of Singapore to the other just to check out the newly imported Chinese goldfish. Then I have about 20 minutes to select and made my purchases before rushing to work by 8:30 am.

We would all meet up in the evening after work to distributed the fishes. I went on this routine for almost 5 consecutive years, every week without fail. It was madness, but very enjoyable; as I drove through the long journey in the early dawn, I was always excited about the suspense of guessing what varieties of goldfish the dealer would import for the week. These "reconnaissance sorties" had trained me to be quick and sharp to scan for the fishes I want amongst the thousands of newly arrived goldfish.

The learning continues long after the purchases. My friends would feedback on the fishes that I bought for them and as we grew the fishes, we continuously studied their development in order to refine the selection criteria. We also adhered to a strict quarantine regime for newly purchased fishes, where we learned through practical experiences on handling various goldfish diseases. The strong synergy resulted in accelerated learning. As we learned from each others' mistakes, we brainstormed for solutions and made rapid progress together in this hobby. Eventually, we became confident to form the first goldfish club of Singapore - the Vermillion Goldfish Club in 2003.

Nowadays, my work commitments and the goldfish breeding projects leave me with much lesser time to join my goldfish club members on their fish hunting trips. However, the teamwork and close knitted sharing stays strong in both the goldfish clubs I am associated with - the Vermillion Goldfish Club and the Oozeki Goldfish Club.

I am really looking forward to the 2 imminent goldfish shows - The FishHub Show and the Mid Autumn Goldfish Competition to meet up with my friends again. What "secret weapons" would they field in for the Goldfish competition?


The Oozeki Ranchu Club and the Vermillion Goldfish Club welcome anyone who wants to know more about the hobby to contact them.

Pictures:

1) My amateur cartoon of the Goldfish Fanatic
2) Photo taking and chit chat sessions
3) Pair of rare scarlet dragon eye pompoms, one of the most memorable catch in 2003
4) Harvesting goldfish to study the development
5) Oozeki Ranchu Club JMIFY 2009

魚與熊掌 - Fish And Bear's Paw

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I brought my family for a tour in Hong Kong last November - my second Hong Kong trip. As would any goldfish fanatic, I looked forward to visiting the Goldfish Pagoda and Tung Choi Street (Goldfish Street) again.

It was a great disappointment to find out that the Goldfish Pagoda was demolished to make way for an elaborate panda display! Why can't the goldfish co-exist with the panda? I could only think of how coincidentally it gels with the Chinese idiom: 魚與熊掌不可兼得 (fish and bear's paw, you can have either one but not both#).

Luckily, Tung Choi Street was still as vibrant as ever. I went there almost everyday even though my hotel was quite a distance away :) You can revisit the Goldfish Pagoda and Tung Choi Street in the Vermillion Goldfish Club website.


#"Fish and Bear's Paw" equivalent to the English idiom: "One can't have one's cake and eat it too."

The Chinese philosopher Mencius mapped virtue to an analogy of fish and bear's paw: I love fish and bear's paw; If I cannot have both I'll forgo fish for bear's paw. I love life and righteousness; If I cannot have both I'll forgo life for righteousness.

孟子曾借「魚與熊掌」為喻:魚和熊掌都是美食，但在不能同時得到的時候，我們會放棄魚而取更難得的熊掌；孟子借此以喻，生和義都是重要的，但在不能同時得到的時候，我們會放棄性命而取更可貴的義。

PS: I am not advocating bear or goldfish for dinner :)

Water Change

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine

~Robert C. Gallagher

Like all ornamental fishes, goldfish needs good water quality and space for optimum growth and health. Even a fully cycled home aquarium is a closed ecosystem, too small for the biological-load in a goldfish tank. In a typical goldfish aquarium or small goldfish pond, besides maintaining an appropriate stocking ratio, a routine water change is essential to replenish the trace elements and remove the nitrates. The frequency and amount of change depends on the water parameters, climatic conditions and feeding regime. In Singapore with soft and warm water, a weekly change is usually needed to keep the goldfish healthy.

Another important aspect of water change is to remove the growth inhibitor secreted by goldfish. Growth inhibitor is nature's way to keep the fish growth in check due to the environmental constraint. Our home aquarium and pond is a closed eco-system where trace elements are not replenished naturally and new water are not usually flushed into the system.

In Thailand, it is very popular to use the "dripping" method, where new source of water is dripped continuously into an overflowing system that displaces the old water. In essence, it is a constant water change system to dilute the biological-load and growth inhibitor of old water and thus stimulate the growth of goldfish. There are many varied setups but they all make use of the continuous water change principle to attain growth for the goldfish in a restricted space.

Picture shows the setup of a Thai goldfish hobbyist. Note the overflow and continuous water input.