Trust ~ 信任

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... 

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

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

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 :)