The ornamental fish lovers of Singapore know no limits in their fanaticism .....
..... the city remains the worlds biggest exporter of Arowana, Koi, Guppies and Goldfish ...
In 2016, their exports of ornamental fish totalled S$43 million, which represented 14.1 per cent of the global market. Such is the intensity to win fish 'beauty contests' and thus a premium on their fish, that armed guards are employed to protect entrants from being stolen or knobbled.
For instance Singapore, which boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the world, once experienced four Arowana thefts in a single week. A thief even punched an elderly woman as he took off with her fish sloshing in a bucket.
Entrepreneurs such as Kenny Yap aka "Kenny the Fish" have made their fortunes breeding fish for this market .... he for example, holds between five and ten per cent of the Singapore export market. The market first started under the British colonial era .... guppies for example, were introduced by the British during the colonial era to eat up mosquito larvae.
The Asian Arowana, known as the “dragon fish” in Chinese, is one of the world’s most expensive aquarium fish. Wealthy Chinese businessmen in particular prize the fish and one fish was even rumoured to have been bought by a Chinese Communist Party official for $300,000.
This fierce competition doesn't just lead to nefarious deeds but to the employment of plastic surgeons for fish, who perform operations such as eye-lifts and fin enlargements ..... Eugene Ng aka "Dr Ark" after his shop, is one such surgeon and he charges around $90 for the cost of an eye-lift or $60 for a fish chin job ($60), and is worth the investment for a pet fish that could be worth $300,000. The collectors, also known as 'arofanatics' even practice a form of tanning on their fish, to enhance their hues.
Its a strange world, and the world of the collectors are even stranger.
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| Arowana - The King Of Ornamental Fish In Chinese Eyes .... |
..... the city remains the worlds biggest exporter of Arowana, Koi, Guppies and Goldfish ...
In 2016, their exports of ornamental fish totalled S$43 million, which represented 14.1 per cent of the global market. Such is the intensity to win fish 'beauty contests' and thus a premium on their fish, that armed guards are employed to protect entrants from being stolen or knobbled.
For instance Singapore, which boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the world, once experienced four Arowana thefts in a single week. A thief even punched an elderly woman as he took off with her fish sloshing in a bucket.
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| Kenny The Fish .... |
Entrepreneurs such as Kenny Yap aka "Kenny the Fish" have made their fortunes breeding fish for this market .... he for example, holds between five and ten per cent of the Singapore export market. The market first started under the British colonial era .... guppies for example, were introduced by the British during the colonial era to eat up mosquito larvae.
The Asian Arowana, known as the “dragon fish” in Chinese, is one of the world’s most expensive aquarium fish. Wealthy Chinese businessmen in particular prize the fish and one fish was even rumoured to have been bought by a Chinese Communist Party official for $300,000.
This fierce competition doesn't just lead to nefarious deeds but to the employment of plastic surgeons for fish, who perform operations such as eye-lifts and fin enlargements ..... Eugene Ng aka "Dr Ark" after his shop, is one such surgeon and he charges around $90 for the cost of an eye-lift or $60 for a fish chin job ($60), and is worth the investment for a pet fish that could be worth $300,000. The collectors, also known as 'arofanatics' even practice a form of tanning on their fish, to enhance their hues.
Its a strange world, and the world of the collectors are even stranger.
Makes the guppies I had as a kid look a bit small fry.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 50p each and died by the millions ...I remember mates having them. Thanks for the comment.
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