CALL it an artificial sun-tanning device – for fish.

Hobbyists and breeders have taken to a tanning rod developed by leading fish breeder Qian Hu, which exports more than 1,000 species to more than 80 countries.

Switched on over an aquarium, it can intensify the red and gold colours of fish like the Asian arowana, goldfish and koi.

That is a big attraction for enthusiasts who believe that brilliantly hued fish bring them good fortune.

It has already proven a boon to breeders and aquariums – the tanned fish sell for more, even fetching five-figure sums.

A red arowana, which sells for between $1,000 and $80,000 depending on fin size and colour, can go for double the price after tanning.

Qian Hu developed the rod, affixed with LED lights, after working on it for 21/2 years. It went on the market this year.

Kept under the light for six months, the fish develop a tan that lasts about five months.

About 800 of the rods have been sold here so far at between $67 and $159, and 5,000 have been exported.

The popular Nanyang Trading Aquarium in Jalan Kayu said it sold 300 rods to hobbyists in three months.

Three arowana fish farms also acquired the rods with an eye on boosting the quality of their exports.

The idea of tanning fish is not new.

Ornamental fish farmers and hobbyists have long known that arowanas deepen in colour under sunlight.

So they have placed fluorescent lights and even torchlights over their tanks, to give their fish that extra glow.

But Qian Hu’s innovation is the first purpose-built tanning rod for such fish.

Its head of research and development, Mr Alex Chang, explained that the LED rod emits a wider spectrum of ultraviolet rays than fluorescent lights.

He and his team of five tested the rod on more than 300 arowanas.

Mr Chang said: ‘Many people keep these fish for auspicious reasons and they want it to be very red and very gold. We have customers from Russia who spend a lot of money on such fish because they don’t want to waste time tanning the fish themselves.’

Mr Fong Ching Loon, who chairs the Singapore Aquarium Fish Exporters’ Association, said the innovation helped to keep Singapore’s ornamental fish trade competitive.

The Asian arowana, also known as dragonfish, is one of the top 10 popular breeds of fish exported. Exports of this breed alone were worth $5.9 million last year, up from $2.26 million in 2000.

With other species included, Singapore led the global ornamental fish market with $80.3 million in exports last year – a fifth of the world market.

Meanwhile, netizens in online forums such as arowanaclub.com and arofanatics.com have been abuzz over the tanning rod, with some asking if exposure to the light was safe for their pets.

Mr Louis Ng, executive director of Animal Concerns, Research and Education Society (Acres), said research has shown that exposing fish to ultraviolet light is unlikely to have a negative effect on them.

But Ms Deirdre Moss of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, urged hobbyists to pause a while, saying: ‘They should ask themselves: Is it necessary?’

Hobbyist Richard Goh, 50, who has tested the tanning rods, is going ahead to use them on his 200 red and gold arowanas.

‘Red and gold arowanas have to be really red so they bring more luck,’ he said. ‘They are also prettier.’

By limjess@sph.com.sg (From The Straits Times on 3rd Jun 2011)

What do you think I did after I read this article? Yes yes, I’m a sucker for anything that can help my arowanas intensify their color. To be frank, my arowanas already had pretty ‘good’ gold color BUT I just had to try the lights to see how much further they could enhance it!

Soooo I did the obvious…. I bought the lights the very next day!!! Here’s a photo of what the box and light looks like…

Does this really work? I have no idea but what I can say is that Qian Hu would not put it’s reputation on the line if they were not confident that it would. Anyway time will tell and personally, I do hope it works as it would give me immense pleasure watching my enhanced ‘gold bars’ swimming around in the tank! ;D

Cheerio and have a good week ahead!

In the coming days, I’ll share more of what I have collected in terms of videos and photos at the show… So hand on to your seats and ENJOY!!!!

1) Red Arowanas – Large Category
I think this was my favorite category of the lot as there were some REALLLLLYYY RED specimens in the show… Wish I had one!

2) Crossback Arowanas – Large Category
GRAND CHAMPION is in this category… Expected though as it’s an ALBINO one… No one can beat these guys as they are rare…

3) Red Arowanas – Small Category
Some nice young reds out there but nothing like their larger friends…

3) Crossback Arowanas – Small Category
I think all 3 winners are albino arowanas. What can I say?

Let me know your thoughts on these beauties…. Talk to you soon…

1) Pang Long Booth

2) Some of the crossback arowanas in the Pang Long booth

3) Different Booth at show – 1 (Nice Juvenile Arowanas)

4) Different Booth at show – 2

5) Different Booth at show – 3

6) Different Booth at show – 4

7) Very Nice Crossback Arowanas

8 ) Some of the Goldfish in Aquarama

9) Aquarium Tanks… Not Cheap I think…

10) Different Booth at show – 5

11) Discus fish is pretty popular too …

12) Different Booth at show – 6

13) Some NIce Red Arowanas …

14) Very nice juvenile crossback arowanas

15) Planted Tanks. Unfortunately I do not have the patience as I believe that it needs quite a bit of upkeep.

16) Love salt water fishes and anemone but my better half would kill me if I brought back another tank …

17) Nice combo of fish and plants …

Will feature some of the fish competition winners in the next post… Cheers!

They already had 2 ponds breeding green arowanas and they wanted to venture out into reds and xback golds as well. Just out of curiosity, I asked them how much they could sell green arowanas for in Myanmar.. and they said about US$800 per fish! Man! that is a damn good price for greens.

They were looking for someone to help them with the setup as well as enquire about certain techniques to increase their yield. They were getting about 100+ babies a year which I thought was pretty good for 2 ponds.

Anyway, where I’m going with this are the following facts.. I am just reiterating what I wrote in another post but I think it is worth mentioning again if anyone is thinking of giving this a try..
Best to do this with a question/answer format :-

Q – Can asian arowanas (reds, xbacks, RTGS) be bred in other asian countries other than Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore?
Ans – No one has succeeded yet! My advise is, DON’T TRY unless you are playing with excess money as it is not cheap to start such a venture. (I don’t mind if you throw some my way! ) The chances of success is slim. But again, who knows right? You could be the first!

Q – The climate, soil and water is very similar in my country. I should be able to breed them right?
Ans – Well.. if you go by that logic, then probably yes BUT some investors have tried in Thailand but without success. If you go by similarities, then I think Thailand is the closest to Malaysia and Singapore but yet, they have failed to breed them there. I personally think that there are subtle differences in the soil and water makeup that we cannot really differentiate.

Q – How many ponds would I need to even start this investment with?
Ans – Ok.. So you still want to try this out inspite of my frank assessment. (Ok you have some spare chump change to throw! ) What you need to realize is that you will need as many ponds as you can build and fill up, bearing in mind that not all ponds will be productive. Some ponds will be very productive and probably give you a mouthful of fry every 3-4 months and others every 6 months or so and yet others NEVER! For those ponds that have very little yield, you will have to mix them again to increase the chance of the new mix breeding.

Every pond should have at least 20-25 adult fishes to start off with. Xbacks and RTGs can start to breed when about 3+ years while reds will take a bit longer about 4+ years.

I hope that this has given you a good overview on this subject. Drop me a line in this blog if you have any more queries on this very interesting topic.

Cheers!
Steven

BUT BUT ZE GRAND CHAMPION WAS A GOOD OL RED AROWANA!!!!

Ok ok without further ado, here they are! ENJOY!!!!

1) Small RED Arowanas Category …

2) Small GOLDEN Arowanas Category …

3) Small OPEN Arowanas Category …

4) Large RED Arowanas Category (Grand Champion is here! What a RED!!!) …

5) Large GOLDEN Arowanas Category …

6) Large OPEN Arowanas Category …

Hope you like what you saw above. Let your friends know if they’re keen to see the winners.

Later on I’ll publish some nice goldfish videos here as well. Have taken the videos of the winners already but have yet to edit them. Will find some time.

Anyway cheers to everyone and take care! FISH POWER TO ALL!

Hi all,
Aquarama 2009 is finally here! It’s been a 2 year wait but I think it’ll be worth it! Drop by the Suntec Exhibition Centre in Singapore if you can! I think it’s the largest aquarium show in Asia and should not be missed if you can make it here for this coming weekend. Starts on the 28th and ends on the 31st May.

Get your bi-annual dose of fish (arowanas, goldfish, discus, etc.) competitions, fish, fish and more fish! You will have fish coming out of your ears by the end of the week!

I’ll try and take as much photos and videos as I can on the 28th and 29th and post it on my blog here. Unfortunately I’m going to be away overseas from the weekend onwards and will miss the large crowd that’s expected to turn up for the weekend. I think it’s going to be CRAAAZZZZYYY during the weekend .. As I said, do attend if you’re in the neighbourhood! Many many cheap budget flights nowadays to Singapore. No excuse ya!

Ok cheerio and have a good weekend!

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