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!!!

Aquarama 2015

快樂是： 想的、説的、做的形成一致。~ 甘地
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Herewith in this blog post are videos of some goldfish in the Aquarama 2015 goldfish competition. To view the pictures of all winning goldfish entries, please check out the Vermillion Goldfish Website featured article on Aquarama 2015.

Bountiful Harvest ~ 豐收年

A beautiful Lunar New Year
red packet with auspicious goldfish

給我6小時砍倒一棵樹，我將會花前四個小時磨斧頭。
~林肯

Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
~ Abraham Lincoln

Star stud 2015

The first quarter of the year is usually my busiest due to the Ranchu breeding season. This year, the first Ranchu spawn happened on 10th of January. On one hand, I am happy that the spawn sizes are bigger than previous years, but on the other hand, I am worried about the time and effort required to raise these unprecedented size of Ranchu spawns. 



Though I had managed much larger spawn sizes with my Pearlscales, raising the Japanese Ranchu requires far more time and effort. So I stopped after collecting 8 spawns as I do not want to bite more than I can chew. The lack of space and food can easily stunt very young fries, rendering irreversible effects on their future development and all efforts will go down the drain. 

Another seed pair of my bloodline
red -male, red-white - female

Quick snap of a spawn A this morning

This is a very exciting Ranchu year for me not only for having the spawn sizes that I have always craved for, but also my most important seed male that sired a few spawns is one with big and strong frame, a feature not so common for male fishes (at least for my Ranchu bloodline). I had always thought that it was a female when it was younger due to its size and broader features. This fish had also done me proud by winning the East Torishimari (4th position) in the OARS Tosai class. With better seed parent fishes and more spawns, I hope to do better than last year.

Spawned: 24th Jan 2015
Video: 17 Feb 2015

Tomorrow (19th February) marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year of the Goat and an extra long weekend to enjoy the festive holidays. This also means that the daphnia supplier will be on holiday too. This is one of the most challenging and busy period for me to ensure that the fries have alternative food sources and continue to grow at a steady momentum. It is a strange dilemma every Lunar New Year that I always look forward to the family reunion and festive mood, and yet also hope that the holidays will be over soon so that my precious BBRs can once again feast on their favourite daphnia. 

I would like to wish all a very happy, healthy and prosperous Lunar New Year!