By JEREMY TAN
SPURRED on by fond childhood memories of catching Betta fish, otherwise known as fighting fish, 31-year old Lee Seng Hui started breeding these colourful freshwater species, first as a hobby, and eventually for competition.
His seven-year love affair with Bettas has seen his collection swell to over 300, and his efforts paid off as one of his fishes, a 4 1/2-month old red half-moon short-tailed male was crowned the overall grand champion at the recent Betta Fish Competition 2009 held at the Chew Thean Yeang Aquarium on Burmah Road, Penang.
The competition, aimed at providing a platform for Betta lovers to get together and share experiences, as well as cultivating fish keeping as a healthy hobby among the public, attracted over 50 participants and their 350 fishes, divided into 30 categories.
The fishes were judged based on their colour, clarity, finnage, aggressiveness and condition.
It was a true kaleidoscope of colours as the fishes in hues of blue, green, red, yellow, orange, gold, black, white, and steel, swam about nonchalantly in the little tanks, oblivious to the attention showered upon them by owners and spectators.
The iridescent ones drew the most admiration, as members of the public marvelled at their glistening skin.
“To be honest, I’m quite surprised and happy, as this is the first time one of my fishes was crowned grand champion,” said Lee, who is in the real-estate business.
“It’s not hard to breed Betta fish, but it isn’t easy to breed grade-A ones either. The biggest aspect is the quality of water they live in, as well as their diet,” he said.
Wild Betta species that live in oxygen poor environments, such as the padi fields in Thailand and Malaysia, are able to live in small containers without aerators or filters which most other fish require, and they are thus relatively inexpensive for one to keep as a hobby.
It is one of the several hundred types of fishes sold at the Chew Thean Yeang Aquarium, which first opened in 1963 but has since grown into a multi-storey pet centre.
Apart from fishes, the centre also has a wide variety of pets, from cuddly hamsters to crustaceans and reptiles, as well as a wide range of pet-related merchandise for aquariums, ponds and gardens.
Present to give out prizes to competition winners were Penang Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow and the centre chairman Datuk Chew Seng Lye.
This article was taken from: The star online: metro: north 18 march 2009
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