HIGH RANCHU RELOCATION REPORT

At the end of February, the "Big Move" was approaching fast. To prepare my ranchu for a two day journey, I purchased two plastic storage containers with snap on lids. After drilling several venting holes through the lids, I filled each with about 15 gal (57 L) of water, added Prime de-chlorinator and aeration, and transferred the ranchu into them. We where planning to drive late afternoon on Friday, so I had my fish in containers by Thursday morning. No food was given, to purge the fish from excrements. This helps to keep the water clean and with less ammonia build up. Since goldfish will eat back their excrements (read my earlier post "Poopie Monster") I periodically syphoned any derbies.

After the U-Haul truck was loaded and ready to depart, I combined my eight ranchu into one of the two plastic containers and filled it less than 3/4 of its high with fresh dechlorinated water. Container with fish was placed into another container for strength. Lid on. I had it set up on the middle seat of the driver's cabin.

You really become a good driver, when traveling with fish. Quickly you learn to brake and accelerate smoothly. Still, have a couple of towels on hand if the lid isn't airtight.

We did stopped midway for the night and I brought my ranchu inside the motel room and set it with a couple of airstones for the night. Still no food was given! Saturday early morning we were on the road, arriving to our new home in the evening. I had my friend fill a couple of children's pools with the well water from the property and let it sit for a day.

About the well water that I am going to be using. Some of the parameters are

pH - 7.5-7.8
Hardiness - 55 grains per gallon
TD Solids - 985-1000
Iron - 0.5 per million

A month prior to bringing my ranchu to Florida, I made an experiment to hard test my well water. I bought several goldfish from a local Petsmart and kept them for a two weeks in the well water. The fish were doing great! As I was feeling guilty for using these fishes as an experiment, I fed them well and they grew noticeably.

So, here I was, on Saturday night letting my precious ranchu in the water where they will be living and breeding. I set up their original 8 x 2 ft (2.4 x 0.6 m) fiberglass pond and it has been a week since they are in the well water. The ranchu are doing great! As the day temperatures in Florida are warmer than they were in my Washington DC apartment, ranchu's appetite has doubled.

With all this, I have to get used to one thing - NO WATER CONDITIONERS!!! I no longer have to use any de-chlorinators. The well water gets aerated as soon as it is pumped out and can be used straight as is.

First big step is taken, lot's more work ahead.

Storage containers for transporting my ranchu.

Venting holes on the lid.

High Ranchu purging before the trip.

Necessary equipment while traveling: dozing syringe, water conditioner, digital infrared thermometer, air pump, airstone (not shown).

Storage container with ranchu in U-Haul cabin.

Finally, High Ranchu arrived. Temporary home, before their pond is set up.

VISIT TO TG RANCHU IN BANGKOK, THAILAND - PART II

PART II

Aor is a top view ranchu line-breeder. He uses the same method for creating and maintaining ranchu bloodline, as it is done in Japan. Line-breeding is when animals are selectively bread for desired features by mating closely related individuals. Over time this creates a bloodline with breeder's desired characteristics. This method requires great dedication and skill. Bloodlines can be line-bred for decades to continually improve and develop characteristics that sets them apart. On occasion, line-breeders will introduce ranchu from a different, but often related bloodline to boost vigor and to minimize the negative effects of inbreeding. 

Over six years that Aor has been involved with ranchu, he has achieved a tremendous success and respect among ranchu keepers and breeders in Thailand, as well as Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and here in the USA. 

We were visiting Aor after his big sale, when most of his 2 month old CBR were already sold and waited to be picked up or shipped. 

BBR are growing fast. All are almost perfect at this stage!

Some of the Aor's CBR for sale

A couple of tubs were housing Aor's potential seed ranchu, selected from this year's spawn. They are CBR of 2.5 month of age. Please observe beautiful proportions of these promising, but still very young ranchu.

One of the future seed CBR. Great swimmer too!

Aor's future seed CBR

Given Bangkok's hot tropical climate, with an average year round day temperatures lingering over 91 F (33 C) and night temperatures often above 74 F (23 C), ranchu develop very fast. They reach their sexual maturity quick, with their life span extending three to four years. 

Based on Aor's answers below, he goes on average through 45,000 fish each year to continue working on his bloodline. This requires very hard work, thus Aor's family is involved in this venture as much as he is. Being able to process and cull through such quantity of ranchu is only a part of success. The masterful grooming complets the cycle. Even a perfect BBR can be ruined by improper  techniques. Swim too much and the tail is gone, eat not enough and the ranchu goes undeveloped, etc. And the most challenging part of all is that you must improvise based on what you have. It is never set in stone, all techniques serve only as guidelines.

Aor employs breeding and grooming techniques suitable for his location. Here are some Q&A with Aor regarding his breeding methods and ranchu quality:

Q: How many spawns do you collect per year?
A: Three times a year, each time 4-5 batches.

Q: How often do you cull?
A: Every time I do water change.

Q: What is an outcome from one of your average spawns? How many final keepers do you end up with on average?
A: Approximately 10 fishes from one batch of 2000-3000 fishes.

Q: Do you hand spawn?
A: Yes, only hand spawn. Usually one female with one male.

Q: How often do you introduce seed ranchu from other breeders to continue working on your line?
A: Not often, only to prevent inbreed, because I use line breeding system.

Q: What is the main characteristic(s) of your line of ranchu that sets them apart?

A: When I cull, I focus on the balance of my fishes.

Q: What are the main qualities that you try to preserve or develop in your future ranchu?
A: I intend to develop tail structure to be stronger, because temperature in Thailand makes them more active and swim a lot.

Q: How many times have you won ranchu competitions and in what categories?
A: I won many times various categories from every club in Thailand. Two consecutive years, 2012 and 2013, best in show at the Siam Ranchu Club, and #1 ranking in Thailand for 2012 - are my remarkable prizes that I am proudly presented with.

Q: What suggestion(s) will you give to a beginner ranchu keeper?
A: You need to understand basic needs of ranchu such as container, water, food and air.

Q: Do you have the ability to sell/ship your ranchu internationally?
A: Yes, I can ship my ranchu almost everywhere. Although, please check custom procedures for your country.

Here are some of Aor's older ranchu. At the time of our visit he had no oya left. I was happy to hear that his 8 inch (19-20 cm) oya! were sold to a ranchu connoisseur.

I will always remember this visit to Aor. What a guy, what a fish, what a visit!

VISIT TO TG RANCHU IN BANGKOK, THAILAND - PART I

PART I

Jun Luk, my friend and neighbor ranchu fellow, and I had a privilege of visiting ranchu master Nuttavut Prueksiri (aka Aor) in Bangkok, Thailand. Many thanks to Jun for setting up and coordinating this visit. Aor's ranchu business is known under the name of TG Ranchu (Facebook page - TG Ranchu, YouTube - aortaoaortao). 

Having returned from a long flight the morning of our visit, Aor was very kind to show us around his farm and his work with ranchu. Energetic and with a great sense of humor, Aor is fun to spend time with and have conversation. During a few hours of our visit, we learned and shared a lot about the ranchu.

Aor is posing proudly in front of his trophy wall.
I think, it is time for a bigger wall. Not all of Aor's trophies could fit here.

Jun and I couldn't resist posing next to Aor and his trophies.

My first impression of the place - how perfectly organized everything is. Aor employs a traditional Japanese method for raising and grooming ranchu. Fiberglass tubs of different sizes are used to house his ranchu. The tubs are protected from the sun by the overhead shades and by the net enclosure from the hungry birds and such.

Aor is a mentor and promoter of top view ranchu. It is amazing how readily and eagerly he shares his vast knowledge and experience. He is also a ranchu judge.

Inspecting the quality of one of Aor's nisai ranchu

Hand spawning demonstration

Here are some Q&A with Aor regarding his grooming techniques:

Q: How often do you change water?
A: Every four days.

Q: How does your "new" water get prepared?
A: Tap water is collected in the cistern and aerated for 1-2 days. No chemicals or dechlorinators are used. The fresh water is pumped from the cistern to the tubs.

Q: Do you use "green water" and if you do for what reason?
A: No, In my opinion, temperature in Thailand is not proper to use green water.

Q: What is the feeding regiment for BBR and CBR?
A: To develop funtan and keep up with rapid growth - five feeding per day, three of which with bloodworms and two with pellets.

Q: What brand(s) of pellets do you use?
A: Saki Hikari

Q: Is there any other supplemental food given to your ranchu?
A: Watermeal, aka Swamp Algae or Wolffia.

Q: Is feeding regiment different for your nisai and oya fish?
A: For younger ranchu I feed more often with high protein food. For nisai and oya the same feeding regiment.

Q: Do you use any prophylactic drugs or treatments for your ranchu?
A: In case they get sick only.

TO BE CONTINUED ... 

PROVOCATIVE RANCHU

While in Vientiane, Laos, I stumbled upon a great find. A little antique shop filled with odds and ends got my attention. As I looked through shelf after shelf of stuff, my eye got caught on a stone carved ranchu sculpture. Yes, not just a goldfish, so common in Asian art and crafts, but ranchu! I grabbed it from the shelf and in my hand it separated in two halves, revealing something unexpected inside. An erotic ranchu?!

The owner of the shop couldn't tell me anything other than this is an old stone carving from China. Well, I haven't seen anything like it and I definitely haven't thought of ranchu being associated with erotic art. But why not! Ranchu are fertile and might have inspired the artist. Here are some photos of this provocative ranchu!

A PROPER ATIRE

Finally, I was able to purchase proper enamel bawls for my ranchu, exactly the same bowls that are used for ranchu competitions throughout Japan. Even in Thailand, you have to know where to go to find them. If it was't for Aor's, Thai ranchu master, generously taking us to the right place, I would have not fond them on my own.

It was at the local market on the north side of Bangkok that has a vendor selling them. However, knowing that wasn't enough to locate the bowls without Aor's assistance. There was no way that I would have found these bowls at the small stall stuffed up to the roof with many goods and home utensils.  As we pulled the bowls from the stacks, there were several sizes available. Notice my new enamel bowls in the previous post. Thank you Aor!!

Buying enamel bowls for my ranchu at the Bangkok's local market

QUIET BLOG NO MORE

This blog was quiet for a while, partially due to a fairly uneventful time at the end of winter and partially due to my travels for most of April in South East Asia.

That said, I am anticipating a series of posts about my goldfish findings in Laos and Thailand, including a memorable visit to ranchu master, Mr. Aor in Bangkok.

All this, while my ranchu were left alone for the entire three weeks during my travels! A true test to my set up. During my absence, the automatic feeder was set to one meal of Azayaka Pellets a day, while the rest of their food was algae. This is not the best diet, when you want to condition ranchu for spawning, but I had no choice. Although, I can't tell whether they have been spawning in my absence, from now on I am keeping a close eye. The ranchu diet is back to frozen bloodworms three times a day, one meal of Azayaka Pellets and Wolffia. Water change schedule is back to 90% weekly.

As you may imagine how worried I was during these past three weeks away. To a pleasant surprise, I found my ranchu active, healthy, grown and with increased head growth, and increased appetite too!

FEARLESSLY SUSPENDED IN SAMSĀRA

I have just returned from a 10 day photography trip to Nepal. Having absorbed "terabytes" of information and visual stimulation, my sensory system is overloaded and it will take me some time to digest all I have seen, heard, smelled, tasted and felt. It wasn't however, my first time visiting Nepal, and yet it was full of rich experiences, as always. 

In this brief report, I would like to share some of my observations about fish and especially goldfish symbolism in Nepalese culture. Being predominantly Hindu and Buddhist, Nepal's religious and spiritual fabric is ancient and rich, interwoven with many legends, myths and symbols. One of the symbols, equally important for both Hindus and Buddhists is the carp or goldfish. Being one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, fish carry a special significance. Originally, two goldfish represented the two sacred Indian rivers - Ganges and Yamuna and symbolized good fortune. For the Buddhists, goldfish are seen as a representation of being fearlessly suspended in Samsãra, the repeating cycle of birth, life and death followed by reincarnation. Buddhists believe that a living being who practices Dharma need not fear drowning or suffering in the ocean of Samsãra and can freely migrate at their rebirth, from place to place and from teaching to teaching, like fish freely swim through the water. Because of their complete freedom of movement, carp is also a symbol of happiness and represents fertility and abundance. Here are a few photographs I took throughout Buddhists Temples in Kathmandu depicting goldfish and various fish design. 

Two goldfish painted on the gates to Shechen Buddhist Monastery

Two goldfish on the metal gate to Shechen Buddhist Monastery

Fish scale design on the window of a Buddhust Temple, 

Swayambhunath

Carp fish locks 

Through my travel, I did stumble upon an aquarium store, while walking between Pashupatinath and Boudhanath sites. A store the size of a small room with several fish tanks was selling few tropical fish varieties and black baby common goldfish in this Kathmandu neighborhood. 

Speaking of my own fish, I left my ranchu for 12 days practically on their own, with the exception of my partner adding fresh water once due to evaporation and cleaning the intake pump's filter a few times. Before I left, I did a 100% water change, cleaned the filter and filled the automatic feeder with pellets. The feeder was set to dispense three small meals a day. In addition, my ranchu had "all you can eat" green wall algae. Upon my return, I checked the water parameters and was pleased to find zero ammonia and nitrites. The pH value was as I left it at 8.3. With no delay I performed a 100% water change, long awaited by the ranchu. I watched them being stimulated by the fresh water, swimming actively and effortlessly, making me think of Buddhist symbolism and the flow of life.

If anyone reading this is interested in visiting Nepal with me, I will be leading two tours next year. For more information please visit my travel website  >>  NATURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS.