Fish Experiences
Ornamental fish keeping is a childhood passion.
1973: Started discus-keeping.
1989: Transformed the hobby into a business venture, known as Associates Aquarium Pte Ltd specializing only in discus.
1994 to 2006: the company acquired a 1.95 hectares land for Ornamental fish culture and Research development.
2008 to first quarter of 2010: Partner cum consultant in an Ornamental fish production and export Assam, India.
The main commercial focus: To produce healthy and disease-free applying high-tech fish culture systems. Major focus is creating new strains/variants for the Global Ornamental Fish Industry.
Achievements:
- Guppy, a live-bearer has a lethal parasite known as ‘Tetra Hymena’ that can cause mass mortality and which is still very much in the fish production around the world today. We have invented a new technology to eliminate it completely from our production. The one and only technology in the world as to date. This technology can be applied to all live-bearer species.
- Further to that, we have succeeded in producing protozoan-free and bacterial-free egg-layer. Fish species used was discus.
- We succeeded in mass-production/intensive culture of adult Artemia.
- Through basic genetic engineering, created new variants of ornamental fishes for the global market.
- Though viruses is most daunting to eliminate if not impossible, I was able to remove iridovirus from all my production in my 1.95 hectares farm within 4 months. An achievement endorsed by AVA Veterinary department.
- Designing and established a farm in Assam, India that is pathogen-free, first in the world.
- Written two discus books: “Discus, the Naked Truth” in 2005 and “Discus, Problems and Solutions” in 2009 Both books have received global recognition as the best books in the world (Google to affirm).
Collaboration:
Project: A water-recirculation system for mass culture of discus (Andrew being the principal investigator) It was an Associates Aquarium Pte Ltd project in collaboration with AVA, Ngee Ann civil Engineering department and NSTB.
- Project period: 3.5 years
- Project sum: S$1,200,000.00 est. (900,000 plus USD)
- Project results: Successful
Portfolios held
- 1995 to 2001: Served as Secretary of the Singapore Aquarium Fish Exporter Association
- Present involvement: Regional Consultant; Farm cum Hatchery design and Creation of healthy and pathogen-free live-bearers’ brooder-stocks for regional commercial farming/mass production inclusive of wild fish culture.
Last related full-time job:
- Location: Assam, India
- Designation: Ornamental fish culture cum export consultant
International interaction:
Besides being invited as lecturer for the local farmers and trainees under the government body, Agrifood and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), I have given numerous talks during Ornamental fish events locally and overseas.
Some of the international involvements are:
- Singapore Aquarama 1995, Seminar speaker ‘Discus Health’
- Singapore Aquarama 1997, Conference speaker ‘Intensive culture of Artemia’
- Singapore Aquarama 1999, Seminar speaker ‘Sexing of Discus’
- Singapore Agrifood 2000, Seminar speaker on ‘Creating new Guppy’
- Germany Interzoo 2000, Conference speaker ‘Ornamental fish culture in Singapore’
- Sri Lanka 2002, ‘Good husbandry and export practices’ the only speaker for 2 days workshop – specially invited by the Fishery Department of Sri Lanka and FAO International
- Germany 4th International Discus Competition 2002, Seminar speaker ‘Sexing of discus’
- Bagalore, India 2006, Seminar speaker ‘Discus health and treatment’
- Cochin, India 2007, Conference speaker ‘Management, Disease control and Autopsy of fishes’ plus workshop – specially invited by the fishery Department of India
- ACA Sacramento, USA 2007, Conference speaker ‘Discus health, Disease and Treatment’
- BIDKA, Bristol, UK 2008, Seminar speaker ‘Best discus practices disease control’
- BIDKA, Bristol, UK 2009, Seminar speaker ‘Designing Discus’
- Napoli Aquatica, Italy 2010, Seminar speaker ‘Genetics in Designing discus’
- Polish Discus conference 2011, Seminar speaker ‘Advanced Genetics’
- From 2011 to the present, given seminars in Italy, Greece, India, AG USA
Besides judging in some of the local discus shows, he was a discus judge for the following overseas events:
- Discus Competition 2001, Indonesia
- 1st Discus Championship 2002, France
- 4th International Discus Championship 2002, Germany
- ACA Discus Championship 2007, USA
- BIDKA Discus Championship 2008, United Kingdom
- BIDKA Discus Championship 2009, United Kingdom
- Napoli Aquatica 2010, Italy
- Polish Discus Championship 2011
- Local and overseas discus competitions in Italy, Greece, USA… up to 2017