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.

The Farm, the Fish, and the Passion

 

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
~ Walter Bagehot, English journalist and economist

The farm is my heaven and haven

I

High quality butterflies

t’s been a while since I last wrote. Life, as it often does, took its course—between running the goldfish business and managing the farm, I found myself consumed by the day-to-day operations. Writing? That was something I kept putting off. But recently, I had come to realised that I had forgotten why I started all this in the first place. It wasn’t just about running a business—it was about my passion for aquatics.

I began as a hobbyist. Watching goldfish grow, creating new varieties of goldfish and ornamental fish, and seeing the delicate balance of an aquarium thrive—that was what excited me. Over time, my hobby became a full-time job. The work was rewarding, but I realized I was losing touch with the joy that originally fueled me.

One of my new creation hybrid endler (poecilia wingei) popular with nano tank hobbyists

Now, in this semi-retirement phase, I’ve decided to slow down and refocus. The farm is still thriving, but I’ve freed up some time to reflect and reconnect with the hobby that started it all. Not just goldfish, but guppies and other ornamental fishes too. I’ve been breeding various ornamental fishes for some time now, experimenting with the challenges of hard-to-breed varieties and creating new varieties. There’s something thrilling about seeing a unique new breed come to life—a fish that didn’t exist before, born from careful breeding and attention to detail. It’s one of the things that keeps me excited about this journey.

This blog is about more than just the fish breeding process; it’s about the joy of living your passion. I’m excited to share these stories and lessons with you—because this is more than just business for me. It’s about living a life I love, doing what I’m passionate about, and sharing a wonderful hobby and how to do it right.

Thank you for joining me again. I’m looking forward to sharing more with you.

The SingPost Goldfish Definitive Stamps 2019

Be like a postage stamp, stick to one thing until you get there.
~ Josh Billings

SingPost recently launched Singapore’s 2019 goldfish definitive stamps. I am honoured that the image of one of my goldfish was featured in the 1st Local and Local Stamp Book designs.

The image is of a Telescope Eye (a.k.a Dragon Eye) Pearlscale that has been on the main banner of my Facebook page for some years. Born and bred in 2010 in Singapore, it won first prize in the Pearlscale class at the 2011 Aquarama International Goldfish Competition. This uniquely Singaporean creation was the product of a breeding program that I had begun in 2006.

Tank view of the First Local Stamp Pearlscale

The basic features of the Pearlscale are a roundish body and pearl-like protruding scales, from which the breed derives its name. The more commonly available strains are the Ping-pong Pearlscale and the Crown Pearlscale.

The idea of creating a new strain came about in 2005. I wanted to set myself tougher challenges in the goldfish hobby and was determined to refute critics who believed it impossible to produce quality goldfish in tropical Singapore. Thus was the blueprint of the new variety conceived, based upon the Pearlscale variety - one of the most demanding goldfish to properly cultivate.

A big pearlscale from the Little Red Dot:
Size from the top view of the First Local Stamp Pearlscale

My dream was to develop a Pearlscale with an adorable rounded body and short tail; and exotic oriental features in the form of dragon (telescopic) eyes, pom poms (velvety narial bouquets), and topped off with a mini crown. I also wished for it to have a multitude of colour variations and the potential to achieve an impressive size.

It does not take much imagination to realise that my ideas would be accompanied by a engineering challenge - a fish with a short tail on one end having the daunting task of powering a plumpish body which would sport the heavy payloads of dragon eyes, pom poms and a crown at the other end. Balance had to be achieved through careful selective breeding for the optimal backbone structure, body-head-tail proportions, eye size, tail shape and angle. This was important to allow the fish to swim with grace and refined deportment, and live a healthy dignified life.

Dragon Eye Pom Pom Crown Pearlscale came to life in 2013

A goldfish breeding programme is a long term project. It entails knowledge of goldfish genetics and show standards, water quality management, contingency planning, ample pond space and the commitment to track the development of the bloodline.

In livestock breeding, a stable bloodline is one that exhibits a high consistency of desired traits over generations. Outcrossing - ie mixing with unrelated strains or bloodlines - is necessary to introduce new desired features to the baseline pearlscale variety.

Power of the dream

However, outcrossing is akin to shuffling a deck of hitherto ordered cards - once done, it is difficult to predict the hand that will next be dealt. Stable and desired traits may diminish or even disappear in the new hybrid offspring. A bad decision in outcrossing or casualties in brood stock can have catastrophic - or even show stopping - consequences for the whole breeding programme.

Tank view of a Singapore Dragon Eye Pom Pom Crown Pearlscale in 2015

If the outcross proves promising, back-crossing - breeding the new outcrossed hybrid back to the original stable line - is done to reinforce any original desired traits “diluted” by the outcross. This process may take multiple iterations over years before the new bloodline stabilises. As such, preserving the “last working version” is crucial so that there is no need to return to square one, when things go awry.

Creating a new goldfish variety is a long game of patience with no guarantee of success. The journey was at times lonely, with few fans or believers when it began with the first generation in 2005. Singapore’s tropical climate has allowed me to breed up to 3 generations of goldfish a year (as compared to only one generation in spring for temperate climates like China’s or Japan’s). But even with the quickened progress, it took years to stabilised the new variety.

2019 Dragon Eye Pom Pom Pearl babies 5 month old

As of the time of writing in December 2019, this labour of love has endured for over a decade. Having given many of my best years to the cause, it all seems worthwhile whenever I see specimens developing nicely.

Whilst still less known here at home (at least before the stamps were launched!) the Telescope Eye Pearlscale has gained recognition internationally as a uniquely Singapore variety.

However, the quest for “pearl-fection” is a continuing passion and I would hope to continue enhancing the breed for as long as I possibly can.

My heartfelt thanks once again to SingPost for showcasing my work in the prominent way that they have!

You may purchase the Singapore goldfish definitive stamp set and Stamp Book from shop.singpost.com


Check out some of my blog articles:

My Goldfish Breeding Journey:
~ Dream of a Goldfish Fanatic
~ Aquarama 2011
~ Balance

~ Real & Imaginary
~ Culling & Selective Breeding 

My Goldfish Artworks:

~ Serenity
~ A Minute on Stage is 10 Years of Hard Work
~ The Art of Patience
~ 5 minute Pearlscale

Enjoy more than 100 goldfish articles posted in Goldfish ArtQuatics!!!

SG50 - Happy Golden Jubilee Singapore!!! 新加坡金禧年

多數人放棄是因爲他們看到的衹是還有很長的路要走，而不是他們已走了很長的路。
~ 匿名


The reason most people give up so fast is that they look at how far they still have to go, instead of how far they have come. 
~ Anonymous

Just last week, I discovered one of my pearlscales in a breeder pond has developed a little crown head wen. This is no coincident as I had created my new variety from the Chinese crown pearlscale, what that's more interesting was that the head crown phenotype had been inhibited for quite a number of years before it resurface again. 

In recent years, I have been focusing on the tail structure and pearl scaling and have not paid very much attention on the head crown. My thought was that once the finnages and scaling are stable, I can cross them with the crown pearlscale again to re-construct the head crown.

I was really elated that after 10 years, my dream creation with all the characteristics I aspire - pearl scaling, dragon eyes, pompon complete with head crown has finally congregated in a single fish. A rare specimen that exhibits good finnages and complete balance. It is an example of how aesthetics can be harmonized with structural balance. I cannot describe how happy I am :))

This weekend, on the 9th of August 2015, Singaporeans will be celebrating 50 years of our national building. How timely that this fish has arrived for another good reason for celebration. I am proud that this new variety has been acknowledged by a few goldfish dignitaries in China. I hope that my crowned dragon eye pompon pearlscale will be known as a goldfish uniquely made in Singapore :))

In this Golden Jubilee year for Singapore, my wish is for fellow Singaporeans to forge a stronger sense of national pride and identity based on the virtues of trustworthiness, perseverance, efficiency and hard work.  

Happy 50th birthday Singapore!!!

Quality vs Quantity ~ 質量與數量

質量是: 當沒人注視時，你做了什麼 ?
~ 亨利·福特

Quality is what you do when no one is looking.
~ Henry Ford

Finally, I am relieved from some domestic affairs that kept me preoccupied in recent months. For now, I am busy with picking up what I had neglected in my job. Nonetheless, it's great that I have a more carefree time whenever I am with my fishes and not to worry about what matters more than my fishes - my family.

The yield of the Pearlscale spawn this year is much better than last year's and I will soon be segregating them by gender, making breeding plans for the best seed fishes. Comparatively, the big spawn of TVR in August has rather low yield and I have culled away most of them.

I think I have a better feel of selecting seed fishes for the Pearlscale than with the TVR. The correct seed pairing is the way to achieve many good fishes with a relatively small spawn size.

Anyway, there is always something to learn from a good or a bad spawn. Somehow, I came to expect that the good things in life are seldom in great abundance ;-)

Real & Imaginary ~ 真實與想象

你所能想象的一切都是真實的。

~ 畢加索

Everything you can imagine is real.

~ Pablo Picasso

Master Huang's Zisha clay figuring and my real creation

The aftermath of Aquarama left me with backlogs of work. Garnering whatever free time in these few weeks, I finally managed to sort out the photographs and updated the Vermillion Goldfish Club's website of Aquarama 2013 and the club's 10th Year Anniversary.

Master Huang at work

I am very honoured to know Master Huang, a good friend from Beijing - China, and one of the Aquarama Goldfish judges whom I first met in the 2012 Inaugural World Goldfish Competition. Master Huang impressed me as one with great passion in Goldfish breeding and conservation, he is also artistically inclined and devoted to put his life skills to the Goldfish hobby.

Though I had not shown Master Huang a life specimen of my new Pearlscale variety, he had crafted my dream fish out of "Zisha" (紫砂) clay, based entirely on his imagination. Remarkably, the figuring epitomized much of my dream fish's configuration and provided such a wonderful comparison with a real fish that I bred last year - a jet black Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale. This is just one of the very few fishes that I hope to propagate more of such in the years ahead.

If you are interested in the Zisha figuring of any variety of Goldfish made by Master Huang, you can email me for enquiries and orders. Each Zisha figuring is unique and handmade, and complete with refine packaging in a traditional bamboo box. You may peruse more of Master Huang's creation in the following links:

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=269340

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=269032

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=258957

http://www.lanshou.net/read.php?tid=256899

Culling & Selective Breeding ~ 篩選與改良

It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first.
~ quote from "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen.

Wouldn't it be great if we can judge and select our friends just from their phenotypic traits? We know it is not that straightforward as our intrinsic virtues should be valued above our extrinsic traits (ideally speaking). The fact is, it takes time to know someone and see who are our true friends :)) In the parallel context for selective breeding of livestocks, we tend to breed only animals with favourable physical traits, but in truth, genetics is far more than meets the eyes and it takes time for breeders to truly understand their bloodlines. 

One of my new creations - Pearl, Pompom or Dragon eyes?
the onus is on me to create a bloodline that is both healthy and
has good ornamental value...

In nature, culling is a definitive refinement process - by the fundamental law of nature, the weaker ones shall perish and the stronger ones will propagate their genes to ensure a better chance of survival for future generations. 

Big, broad and round lobed caudal fins, prevalent
in most Thai-bred Orandas is evidence in this
Chinese bred Oranda - a result of selective
breeding and outcrossing in the Thai Oranda bloodline

Selective breeding and culling of livestock by man is also a refinement process, but usually with the aim to enhance certain phenotypic traits. As such, the strongest ones may not necessarily be those we want to keep. Fancy Goldfish, like many pedigree animals bred for ornamental appreciation are "freaks of nature" that would not have been existed without the intervention of man, simply because their fanciful traits hinder their chances of survival in nature

One of my Okayama bloodline Female Tosai
with good colour depth and head wen
features.

In other words, selective breeding is about man meddling with mother nature, and so we can expect things to go awry. It is all too easy for breeders focusing on physical traits to neglect genotypic attributes like resistance to diseases, fertility and other genetical problems which are not easy to envisage, especially if the brood stocks are too young. Common examples in the human world are genetic heart disorders and the male pattern hair loss that manifest at a certain age. Hence, there is much wisdom in the age old adage that breeders should try to select their brood stocks from fairly matured individuals because their genetic attributes are more "stable".

Broad frame and big bone structure, rarely found
in the males of my bloodline makes this fish
one of the most favourable brood stock
candidates for next year's breeding

Back to the context of Goldfish breeding: besides resistance to diseases and fertility, it is important for the brood stock to process strong characteristic traits pertaining to its variety, having stable and good colouration as well as strong bones and finnage to balance and support its structure throughout its lifespan. Some very experienced Japanese Ranchu masters working for decades on their bloodlines know their bloodline so well that they could strategize the grooming techniques and growth for individual fishes for breeding or competitions. 

Sometimes, the breeder may hit a dead end and have to decide if it would be better off to outcross or restart from scratch than to delve in a vicious circle. Having said that, it should never become too easy to conclude that our bloodlines need major revamp without thorough analysis.

Inner Peace ~ 內心平和

我明白內心平和的那一天將是我看開一切的那一天。


The day I knew peace is the day I let everything go.
~ C. JoyBell C.

Inner peace is instrumental to bringing my hobby to higher level: When I fulfill my responsibilities in my job, I have the peace of mind to enjoy my hobbies without worrying about work commitments; When I exercise my duties in my family, I have the peace of mind to focus on my hobbies with full family support.




2012 Dragon Eyes Pearlscale


I also feel the peace of mind every time I completed a new breeding cycle, for it means I am assured the continuance of my bloodlines for the subsequent years. Ironically, I can no longer feel the peace of mind to travel abroad and leaving my fishes at home for too many days without worrying about them... my wife quipped that my "true inner peace" would be the day when I am totally free from keeping or breeding any Goldfish :))

Well, that I have to agree and the day will come when I am finally too old to breed Goldfish, but I have already felt so much inner peace that this hobby has brought me so many wonderful friendships. I am proud and confident to say that I have many good and truthful friends... I think I am really lucky to find inner peace amongst true friends and love ones :))

Insanity ~ 瘋狂

瘋狂是反復的做同樣的事情，但期待著不同的結果。
~ 阿爾伯特•愛因斯坦

Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.
~ Albert Einstein

2012 Pearls - Many blue-browns 紫蘭花﹑五花龍睛珍珠鱗

I have never felt tired of breeding the Pearlscales and TVR all these years because every stage of progress becomes more and more challenging. Both breeds provide me with so much interesting insights about the Chinese and Japanese Goldfish Aquaculture. Sometimes, they can be so similar in different ways...  

I am extremely pleased with my Pearl breeding this year as I managed to revive the blue-brown morph that was once prevalent in my Pearl bloodline :))




Tosai 2012

Contrast ~ 對比

一個擁有邏輯思考的人與現實世界拼成了很好的對比。

Somebody who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world.

~ The Law of Thumb

I closed the chapter for year 2012 TVR breeding last week as it is getting too late in the year to spawn TVR. The tremendous efforts required to groom the BBR would become too much to cope when the workload in my day job ramps up by the middle of the year. Overall, I am glad with the improved consistency in features in the BBR but unfortunately, the overall quality of the fishes still fall short of my expectations. If only I could have a bigger spawn, I think the results will be much better.

For the past 4 months, I strive in vain to get a sizable TVR spawn. In fact, for the years breeding the TVR, this is a problem that keeps haunting me. I have come to accept that the low fertility of the TVR is attributed to genetic dead-end. Even when I had tried to out-cross to another breeder's line and avoid direct inbreeding as much as possible, the average spawn size for TVR is relatively much smaller compared to my Pearlscale. I reckon that in Japan, the bloodlines of TVR are still very closely related amongst different breeders.

2011 breeding - contrasting pair closer to the traits I aim for

In contrast, my Pearlscales are very fertile and never fail to overwhelm me with eggs. Within 3 days of conditioning the Pearlscales indoors for spawning, I have an egg glut!!! Very soon, I have to stop collecting Pearlscale spawns too.

 

Pearlie egg glut - collected on 30 April

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

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

Life With No Regrets ~ 無妄此生

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

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? :)

Uniquely Singapore ~ 非常新加坡

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

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

Paradigm Shift ~ 範式轉移

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...

New Year Resolution ~ 新年的決議

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 schedule I 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 belated Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. 

It has been a very busy year with many changes in my job and family responsibilities that it is compelling for me to address other 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 Ranchu Club and its 10^th Oozeki Annual Ranchu Show on 1^st January. Do come down to our free road show in Hong Lim CC on New Year’s Day from 12pm to 3pm.

The beginning of the New Year also marks the start of my TVR breeding season. Time and space permitted, I hope to breed one more generation of the Pompom Dragon Eyes Pearlscale in tandem with the TVR before the 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.