The Party Has Begun

The road to success is always under construction.
~Lily Tomlin

The sudden change in atmospheric pressure from yesterday's downpour had triggered the spawning of TVRs this morning. About 4000~6000 eggs were collected from 2 females belonging to different sub-lines.

I track all spawning information and bloodlines very closely. Most of the time, I will hand-spawn two or more males from the same bloodline to one female. More males increase the fertility rate and the chances of good parent matching to produce good babies. There are also times that I will breed one male to a female if I know that the particular combination is good or I want to enhance certain genetic traits in that combination.

From this juncture, there are numerous huddles to clear before we can "make" some decent fishes. Unfortunately, not all spawns will develop well - sudden temperature swings, bad fertility and bad quality of eggs/milt are the major factors affecting the outcome of the hatching.

Success is also not assured even after the eggs are hatched. Fries that are not able to swim for more than 3 days after hatching, high percentage of deformities like bent body, fused caudal tail joints, deformed eyes are also signs of problem with hatching or the health of the parent fishes.

Breeders in cooler climates use the heater to control the water temperature during incubation of the eggs. In tropical countries, we can use the air conditioner to lower the temperature near to 20°C. More spawns are expected in the weeks to come. The fertility yield of eggs is usually, but not always, better in subsequent spawns.


Pictures:
1) party time 2) hand spawning 3) eggs collected 4) porous fine netting media for collecting eggs

Clouds On The Horizon

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.
~Author Unknown

The weather is showing signs of getting cooler with occasional drizzles. In the early hours of dawn, some fishes are engaged in courtship chasing - a sign of imminent spawning. It is time to start feeding the female breeders slightly more.

However, with humid and warm weather near 30°C, the risk of egg engorgement can be high. More rain is expected towards the peak of the spawning season around end March to April this year. I will be very careful with water quality as the health of parent fishes are of paramount importance now.

Romancing the Stone

Art collecting is: "A passion pursued with discipline and Science is a discipline pursued by passion."
~Arther Sackler - scientist and art collector

Collecting goldfish artifacts is another addiction introduced to me by my good friend and mentor, Alvin Lim.

Recently, I got hold of a piece of Chinese stone seal artifact with a refine goldfish carving and an auspicious wording - 金玉滿堂 - literally means "a hall full of gold and jade". 金玉滿堂 is also a common wish phrase for prosperity in the Lunar New Year.

The Chinese pronunciation of goldfish - 金魚 (Jin Yu) sounds like 金玉 (gold and jade). As such, goldfish is frequently used as the subject together with designs of Lunar New Year cards, lanterns and red packets. This carving is the masterpiece of Master Chen from Fujian province who took years to master this art.