Happy New Year 2013

 

The New Year symbolizes the birth of hope, and the renewal of life...as 2012 come to a close and a new year beckon...I hope to improve my overall grooming and breeding skills. Ranchu keeping have taught me much disciplines and I am thankful for all the moral support of my family and friends.

All Japan Ranchu Show 2012

This year All Japan Ranchu Show was held at Tsurumai Park (Aichi Prefecture Nagoya). The usual fanfare and excitement even for those(including myself) who didn't attend the show was very high. This time round,  as the tournament progresses.. I did find immediate news because of "live" updating through Facebook users and also the Japan Ranchu  Association posted the result a few hours after the show. Here are some of the winners....                                                                   

                                Oya Class Winners

 

 

 Nisai Class Winners

 

 

 

 

  

 Tosai Class Winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oya Winners

 

 

Nisai Winners

 

 

Tosai Winners

 

Oya Video....





Nisai Video....





Tosai Video....





References:
(1)http://nichiran.net/
(2)http://www.youtube.com/user/kaederanchu

Swimming...Getting into the nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts.

As part of my ranchu journey, I do many meet ups with like minded hobbyists to share and brainstorm about ranchu. One of the early days meet up with Nazari was the idea about "What constitute good swimming" and "What really is swimming"
when we talk about ranchu?

Here we have a guy who is well versed in bettas especially crown tail and who is very assured in his chain of thoughts as he spent numerous hours studying ranchus and

a "doggy" guy from another platform who is all about movement especially the power, expanse and fluidity of dog gaiting. There are much diversity amongst our discussion especially so when what is swimming in the water is so much different from what is gaiting on a vast open field. Nevertheless absorbing and as interesting as it can be relating our ideas of deportment,standing beauty and movement...we share numerous common understanding when we really get to the core of "What is good swimming" in ranchu.

What is Good Swimming....

In all honesty, it is never an easy subject to pin down in a few words what is good ranchu swimming and in most instances, while trying to figure out what is good swimming, we end up getting more confused especially so when good swimming is never the same like adding one plus two equal to three. Nevertheless I will like to share that... The prelude to good swimming is a fish must be balanced. Now here we go... how to tell a fish "is balanced"....we are talking about abstract art at its finesse. As art to be understood and appreciated..it is having that "feel" and learning through observation and most important of all willing to go over and over again that "feel" and share that "feel" with like minded friends and culminating in your own ranchu journey of discovery.

 As all mechanics about swimming is observed in a white basin...Ranchu that is balanced and swimming in a round basin must be comfortable to swim in one direction and comfortably and naturally reverse and swim in the opposite direction. In plain language a "balanced" ranchu should be abled to swim comfortably clockwise and anti clockwise. The exhilarating point for me after seeing a "balanced" fish swim clockwise and anti clockwise is to see the fish swim through the centre of the basin. If a ranchu is not balanced and there are many reasons why. For example the ratio between the head, body and tail of the ranchu if skewed disproportionately will have impact on how the ranchu swim. Unbalanced ranchu tend to swim comfortably in one direction and seldom have the courage to naturally swim across the basin. Below I like to share one of my (this year breeding)swimming clockwise and anti clockwise and cutting through the middle of the basin. Please be mindful that a "balanced" fish need not necessary be a powerful swimmer and need not necessary equate with winning in competition. In a simple analogy...a well tuned car need not necessary be the fastest car in a race...there are other attributes like engine size,tyres etc.

Monsoon A Coming.....

The monsoon is a coming and there are changes in the air. The weather is getting cooler and the wind is blowing stronger from the North. There are two main monsoon seasons in Singapore... Northeast Monsoon Season (December-March) and the Southwest Monsoon Season (June-September) In between are the inter-monsoon

period (April-May and October-November) characterises by showers in the afternoons and early evenings. It is usually hot and dry in the months of May to July and more frequent rain falls during the months of November to January. Based on climate records, November has the highest number of raining days while February has the lowest number of raining days. Understanding the Four Seasons where there are four seasons and Monsoon where there are monsoon seasons and how to capitalise on nature's climatic changes to breed is an Art. Like all forms of breeding... whether cat,dog,bird or fishes, there are pre-season preparations. As I go about preparing my fishes for Breeding Season 2013...here are another  two 2012 Tosai.

Singapore Grand Prix F1 Weekend

 

 Tonight is the big night for all the F1 teams competing in the annual Singapore Grand Prix. It is a night race and the circuit is around the heart of the financial district. I had my fair dose of grand prix mania as my office(Suntec City) is smacked right in the heart of the circuit.

Though this yearly event occur right at my doorstep, I am still fascinated and thoroughly enjoy all the heighten activities from the crowd and all the noises and  smell from the exhaust fume. The roar from the F1 engines can send one's heartbeat up a few knots.

Uniquely so, every F1 driver have a team of mechanics and other support staffs readily available to provide prompt assistance like tyre change or fuel refilling stop. For all F1 glitters and extravagance, ranchu keepers are operating from another platform... far away from the "bustling" crowd.

The challenge of ranchu keeper is a challenge against oneself....the idea of competition opinioned in a candid manner is to improve and benchmark against oneself. Rather pretentious of ranchu keepers to think otherwise as accolades and respect are earned through time tested dedication and hard work.

As 2012 draw to a close and ideas and preparation for next year breeding is slowly rising above the horizon, I gladly look back and look forward with what I did this year that hopefully will have me capture the crux of what I want to achieve next year and yet again as I reassure myself...satisfaction and my ranchu journey is a long, tedious toiling journey finding comfort in what I can achieve against the backdrop of much handicap like space and physical limitation.

There and again I can always count on my ranchu friends to give me much needed support when circumstances need be...my journey is never alone...yes it is a bit sublime and greatly enjoyable.

A Short Recap of my other Tosais....

Lately I been spending a lot of time at home. It is a good break from work as I just had a "Total Knee Replacement" of my right knee. Though I am quite immobile and is still weeks away from recovery, I managed to take some pictures of my other tosais to round up Year 2012.

Breeding is hard work.... upkeeping and grooming a pool of young fishes are equally challenging. The thrill and satisfaction is that the end result is a direct reflection of all the effort, time and all the hard work that are put in. Like the saying goes....   "The strength of the effort is the measure of the result".

As this year "Harvest" come to a close, I am looking forward to next year breeding. Last year self bred Nisai, will be Oya by early next year(I am excited) and coupled with the infusion of new compatible bloodlines, I am looking forward to improve my breeding further.

In a nutshell, I am thankful for the support of fellow hobbyists who unselfishly provide physical and moral support...to do well...it is never a one man's effort and I am thankful. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) proclaimed...

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort."

In the spirit of pure hobbyists, please challenge ourselves to better our skills and produce and groom fishes that rank just as good as those from other countries and that sum up nicely as Singapore Pride!!

Japanese Ranchu...Sunshine on some cloudy days....

As human as we can be, our lives are full of challenges and with responsibilities of work coupled with family matters, many a time we are bogged down and need outlets to "De-Stress". Ranchu keeping is a healthy avenue to spend some quiet time away from all the "hustle bustle" of daily living and have been my main stay in relieving some of the daily stress of life. I like to share the development of one of my young 2012 Tosai. I wish I can share more...maybe after another week or two...

Beauty In The Eyes of the Beholder....

Large and strong Tosai of very good deportment. The overline and underline are well defined. The Head and Body girth are... "Tosai pronounced and Tosai developed". The Back is strong and "Tosai wide". The Body is medium long and the Body through the Back is straight. The Eyes setting are correct and the Head is long. The Peduncle is thick and the  Tube is well rounded. Large and well balanced Tail and the Tail is sitting on a very good sized Oza. The Tail seat is deep and there is a slight roach. The Tail shoulders are strong and flexible. The Tail is big, but not overly large and symetrical. Overall good colour definition and the colour on the Pectoral Fins are present. The Scalings are small and harmoniously laid.

General Overview ......A large, strong Tosai with very good balance. The fish swim powerfully and the sequential of strokes are rhythmic and correct. This fish have potential for further developement. The slight roach on the back and the deep tail seating need further consideration.

Critiques are very important for the advancement of ranchus. One must learn to critique ranchu and not criticize ranchu. Last Year All Japan Ranchu Show yielded a very exciting and beautiful group of Tosai winners. I like to share how sometime with a bit of imagination and passion and in my little sketch book, I try expressing in words my feeling about the ranchu that I am viewing. Please note ..it is just my imagination running a bit wild and it is also something I like to do in my free time...it is just my little expression. Also please note... I may be wrong in my critique and as I always maintain... "I am just a student of ranchu".


The video clip of the swimming was taken from this youtube video posted by a Japanese hobbyist....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch7wEBQAZR0&feature=channel_video_title


Footnote: Tosai wide, Tosai pronounced etc etc are just terms which I feel is the maximum that the fish as a Tosai can have...like some seniors ever mentioned...a Tosai should look like a Tosai...basically let say a Tosai have a headgrowth like an oya...then as it gets older...there isn't much room for further developement.

Breeding Season 2012 ...Update 1

The weather has been extremely hot with sporadic short downpour. Humidity is on the high and it can be very tiring with a full time job and ranchu chores to perform day in and day out, but as an avid ranchu keeper and an unbounded desire to improve my ranchu knowledge and skills, these ranchu chores are moments that I look forward to after a full day at work...a time for me to relax and play with my fishes.

I did another spawn and I was careful not to have too big a spawn that will entail too heavy a workload....this spawn is my fifth spawn for the Year Breeding 2012. With much appreciation to some bros who graciously shared/brainstormed what little we know, I managed to trigger spawn after spawn...planning and how to get our seed fishes to spawn is(I realised) an art/science. I am glad too that I found a way to let the eggs carry to maturity and though today is the third day after the spawn, the eggs are still a day or two from hatching.

Samples Update of some 2012 Breedings....

As much as I progress in my ranchu development, I do make mistakes and sometimes I have to take a few steps backward in order to go forward...all in all a great year of learning ranchu with network/friends that spread far and wide and even to America. Thank you my foreign friends...you all been most kind to share knowledge on treatment and the procuring and sending me of various products for my ranchu breeding like brine shrimp from Salt Lake.

Share....One fish that cannot swim well and it is obviously the tail core that is higher than the back of the ranchu......

ps...keeping this little fella for experiment/learning

Update 3rd June 2012...eggs starting to hatch.

Breeding Season 2012

It was a slow start to my breeding this year, It was only in late March when the decision was made that I felt physically and mentally ready to go through the rigour of raising some spawns and to continue my ranchu journey. There and again, "Desire" and "Aspiration" will not succeed if the seed fishes' breeding season is over...that is where my "doggy" experience and "instinct" kicks in.

Through trials and experimentaions and with much communication with Wee Yap, I managed to induce my seed fishes to come into breeding mood and managed to spawn a few spawns. Just as my fries were starting to get bigger (into their third week), Wee Yap was very helpful and offered to pick me up from work and drove me home...just to share some of his "fries management" technique and with much appreciation, he gifted me some products and taught me how to use them in my "fries management". Two odd hours with Wee Yap talking ranchu have tremendously improve my ranchu upkeeping and I am thankful as many of the "dots" along my ranchu journey finally get connected.

Because of my knee injury, I am in no great shape to manage big spawn and neither do I  have that many tubs to raise all these fries . My Spawn B surpassed 2000 over fries and I had a hard time culling to bring them down to a 100 fries by the 4th week. I like to spawn with different combinations and try learning whether the off springs carry which parent's phenotype....identifying traits that tell me that certain combination "breed true" give me great satisfaction...I know this ranchu journey is my "personal journey" to learn the fine art of ranchu breeding and ranchu keeping. For the friends like Wee Yap, Nazari and some of the younger brothers who are ever willing to help and offer me advices and even fishes to breed...I am deeply indebted and I appreciate the friendship and brotherhood.

The Head of A Ranchu.....Appreciation and Grooming.

The four different types of ranchu head are meant as a general guideline. In ranchu appreciation... when we look at a ranchu specimen...we form "Instinctive Impression" of the ranchu head. If it is a young fish, there are much opportunities for the keeper to shape the ranchu head using his skills and patience. If it is an older fish, the keeper can still use his skills to maintain the head if it is already well developed, but for an older fish it is definitely harder to groom the head to its maximum potential.

(1) Prelude to all grooming/growing of the ranchus...

In all ranchu execises/developement whether in grooming, growing or training the ranchu to swim gracefully...The Basic Prelude to all these is "THE FISH MUST BE HEALTHY".  There cannot be any over emphasis on the "The Fish Must Be Healthy" ...a healthy fish  is so much easier to groom and grow.

(2)Factors affecting the Head of a Ranchu...

(A)Genetics...

Serious breeders especially the Japanese, have spent years/decades establishing their ranchu gene pool. The genes behind the ranchu is very important in how the keeper can harness that knowledge to grow the ranchu head. If one dwell deeper into ranchu appreciation...one will understand that different Japanese breeders' fishes carry their trademark signature head.

(B)Environmental.....

Sun....Food....Water Change. Morning Sun is best for ranchu. Ranchu in the morning after a good night rest is full of vigour and will be swimming vigourously looking for food. With good Sunlight, hopefully the tub can grow wall algae. Wall Algae is the best food to grow the ranchu head. (IMHO)...it is nature food and very healthy for the ranchu to eat. Green Water is another very good source to grow the ranchu head...knowing how to use green water as a grooming skill is a refine art. Frozen blood worm is another good food to grow the ranchu head and so does live feed like red worms..but fbw and live feed are prone to parisites infestation. Good pelleted food is another good medium to grow the ranchu head...the art of knowing which pelleted food is most suitable(need not be the expensive brand) and how much to feed and at which hour of the day to feed is important. For all these nutritious food to grow the ranchu, we must also factor in regular water change to maintain the health of the fishes.

I tend to believe that hobbyists in all our humility including myself,  tend to think and hope to grow the ranchu head..."Big Funtan" and that is success and satisfaction. Good ranchu keeper will strive for balance...head..body and tail and most important of all regarding ranchu head growth...ranchu keeper should try to grow the "CROWN" on top of the ranchu head. The ability to grow the crown on top of the ranchu head is an art that define the ranchu keeper.

(3) Appreciation...

A ranchu head should have some colour..be it full red or red white. The reason is because of the aesthetic appeal. The head is the uppermost front of the fish and it is important that the head for all its outline and beauty...the outline can be easily seen by the viewers. In ranchu competition, if everything is equal between two fishes...the one with colour on the head will score better against a full white head ranchu. Some hobbyists feed pumpkin to their white head ranchu to dull the whiteness so that the outline of the head can be easily seen against the backdrop of a white competition bowl.

The Head of a Ranchu....

There are Four Types of Ranchu Head according to Japanese Masters. It is good to try and identify the different type of ranchu heads and appreciate their inherent beauty. Hobbyists(including myself) are  fascinated by the Dragon Head Type(most popular), that we tend to be carried away and deem all ranchus as good head because it resemble Dragon Head and others being inferior because it does not resemble a dragon head.

(1) Female Mask Type....

Binhari (also pronounced bimbari) describes a fish with heavy growth on the gill covers. It takes its name from a hairstyle popular in Japan in the 1700s, in which a woman's side locks were puffed out by placing a whalebone support inside them

(2) Pocket Towel Type...

A tokin is a kind of round cap worn by certain religious practitioners in medieval Japan; it looks a little like a pillbox hat. Fish with pronounced growth on the top of the head are described as tokingashira, or "cap head." The presence of this tokin in young fish is believed to mark them as eventually growing to have the ideal, allround head growth called shishigashira.

(3) Dragon Head Type.....

A dragon head (tatsugashira) Ranchu has imposing growth between the eyes, projecting forward symmetrically in two rounded shapes resembling traditional depictions of dragons in Chinese and Japanese art.

(4) The Lion Head Type......  

Finally, the shishigashira, or lion head, takes its name from the shishi, the mythical lion-dog of China and Japan (which looks a little like a giant Pekinese). A fish with heavy growth starting from the bottom and covering the entire head is called a shishigashira.

From Mr Geert Coopen's article...The Standard of Perfection of the Ranchu and under the description of "Head of a Ranchu"

The head should be long, broad and rectangular. The skull should be deep. The distance between the eyes or mehaba should be as broad as possible. The distance between the eyes and the mouth or mesaki should be as long as possible. The eyes should be small and set in the right position; neither too high nor too much forward. The hood or wen is a thickening of the skin on the head. Thanks to the hood the head gets a nice rectangular shape. A good Ranchu has a hood that develops on the entire head, on the gills and around the eyes.

In eXtreamRanchu under "Appreciation"..... another description of "Head of a Ranchu"

Perhaps the most prominent feature of the Ranchu is the head (kashira). There must be sufficient space between the eyes, and from the eyes to the front of the head, and the gill cover should be "deep" -that is, extend quite far toward the tail. Headgrowth should seem to start from the bottom of the gill cover and move upward. Fish with broad foreheads and square noses generally produce better headgrowth.


References:
http://www.ranchubrotherhood.be/nl/the-standard-of-perfection-of-the-ranchu-english-32.htm

http://www.extreamranchu.com/mc/scoop_detail.php?a_id=59&ag_id=1

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!0CMlSHOBEhh85tKl/article?mid=5453&prev=7580&next=1073&l=f&fid=6

The pictures of the four different type of ranchu head was copied from a bro blogger as above. I cannot remember which Japanese Master put up the original pictures...any hobbyist that can enlighten will be greatly appreciated.

Life Ironies.....

A Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year 2012

Dragon in Chinese Astrology is the major symbol of Power and Good Fortune. The Dragon constellation is accorded the honour of being the "Guardian" of the Eastern Sky. According to tradition, the Dragon brings in the Four Blessings of the East....Wealth, Virtue, Harmony and Longetivity.

Wishing all my fellow friends, bloggers, hobbyists....

A Happy and Prosperous New Year filled with fun and laughter and may all have Good Health, Happiness at Home and Success in all your endeavours.


Best Wishes

Richard Lim

Oozeki Annual Ranchu Show 2012

If anything endearing about Oozeki Club group of enthusiastic hobbyists....they stood the Test of Time and stick together through Thick and Thin.... Happily hold their annual comp and proudly display their fishes. If anything concurring about this group of hobbyists....exactly like what I hope to see in a ranchu competition.... Ranchu Competition should be a come together of "like minded" ranchu enthusiasts to show case the fruits of their labour of love(ranchus).
Ranchu Competition should be  like  "HARVEST TIME"!!

I been following these group of hobbyists showcasing their "beauties" for ten odd years where some of their earlier competitions were held in Tanglin Shopping Mall(1990's).

Since 2006, on the First of January, every year, Oozeki hold their Annual Competition at Hong Lim Park The big signature of Hong Lim Park is the big white canopy that provide a huge shelter and a Grand Stage as a backdrop.

This year competition is no different from past years showcasing of beautiful ranchus and the beauty of it all is these fishes are many a time self bred by their club members or groomed from young black babies(Japanese Imports). Oozeki annually procure black baby ranchus from notable Japanese breeders and distribute these black babies amongst their club members ...to groom and share the ranchu developement during their regular ranchu workshops.

I managed to catch Wee Yap for a good hearty conversation on ranchus and he showed me a few of his proud breedings... these self bred would inspire any breeders. For those who know bro Wee Yap....a soft spoken and humble ranchu keeper...a very knowleageable ranchu keeper who is  very willing to impart his experience and ranchu know how. Wee Yap is very  much fun to talk ranchu with.

I too get to meet some other members of this ranchu club and I was introduced and managed a short heartfelt conversation with the President of the Club, Mr Alvin Lim. As New Year Day is a busy day with family, I managed to arrive at Hong Lim Park near the tail end of the competition and sadly so... I did not have a thorough overall view of the show, but nevertheless for what I have seen and blogged...these fishes I would proudly own and treasure. Looking forward to next year OARS 2013.