Tropical Fishkeeping in Chiang Mai

[eaglesflight]

Is anybody else in the area doing it? I'd be really interested to meet / converse with anybody who is.

I have to say that I've been very disappointed with the small selection of fish here and the appalling conditions of many of the fish / tanks in the shops I have visited. So far I've visited the ones in front of Kam Tiang Market and actually in the market, by Tesco (also a couple down another small lane in the market) and frankly they're not very impressive. Terrible advice, little to no knowledge of the fish they are selling, massively overpriced hardware and a poor selection of both hardware and livestock. I guess it's just not such a popular hobby up here as it is in Bangkok?

[augustwest]

If you knew to what extremes they go to collect fish and then have 90% die on the beach I'd say to do the right thing and go south and scuba or at least snorkel.

[eaglesflight]

Firstly, I'm referring to freshwater tropicals not marines.

Secondly, I'm not in the least bit interested in your or anybody else's opinion about the moral aspect of the hobby, I was just looking for other enthusiasts to engage with. I thought that's what I said in my post.

[worgeordie]

I believe the OP was referring to Freshwater Tropical Fish, which are bred

in vast numbers,in Thailand,Malaysia,and Singapore,Florida,and Eastern

Europe, so none die on the beaches.

The 90% dieing on the beaches is a complete fabrication,

regards Worgeordie

[eaglesflight]

I believe the OP was referring to Freshwater Tropical Fish, which are bred

in vast numbers,in Thailand,Malaysia,and Singapore,Florida,and Eastern

Europe, so none die on the beaches.

The 90% dieing on the beaches is a complete fabrication,

regards Worgeordie

Yes I was, thanks. I will freely admit to having kept marine tropicals in the UK though. It's not something I want to do here because I don't want to shell out for a chiller and there's basically no saltwater fish apart from a few percula clowns for sale in Chiang Mai - which, incidentally can be bred in captivity quite easily.

[DLock]

Shogun at Kam Tiang market has the best selection, but agree, it can vary week by week. Lately they seem to be rearranging the shop, so selection is very poor. However, selection of plants and condition of water/fish is good. I actually find the price of the bigger tanks and hardware reasonable. Knowledge varies by the guys in the shop - some are good, some know nothing.

Even if you want freshwater tropical fish, you are going to need a chiller.

Water can get very warm during the hot months, so I have to use my chiller a few hours at night during these months just to get the temperature down for the majority of my fish.

Had quite a few power outages lately...some for 8 hours or more. Hasn't affected the fish, but it's one thing that worries me. Don't have an EPS...maybe I should.

[worgeordie]

Last time i was in Shogun,one of the lads was selling a girl,6 Malawi cichlids

to go in a goldfish bowl she had just bought.!

regards worgeordie

[augustwest]

Sorry wordgordie but most of the times you are 1 of the more intelligent people here.that being said I have seen many times on the islands and in Sri Lanka also the Maldives where I have seen with my own eyes a few times that 50% of the bagged fish were dead by 4 pm. Then transported and losing another 30%. That's why they are expensive and the reason they belong where they were born

[daoyai]

I like the various hybrid gouramis here.

[eaglesflight]

Shogun at Kam Tiang market has the best selection, but agree, it can vary week by week. Lately they seem to be rearranging the shop, so selection is very poor. However, selection of plants and condition of water/fish is good. I actually find the price of the bigger tanks and hardware reasonable. Knowledge varies by the guys in the shop - some are good, some know nothing.

Even if you want freshwater tropical fish, you are going to need a chiller.

Water can get very warm during the hot months, so I have to use my chiller a few hours at night during these months just to get the temperature down for the majority of my fish.

Had quite a few power outages lately...some for 8 hours or more. Hasn't affected the fish, but it's one thing that worries me. Don't have an EPS...maybe I should.

The main tank I'm setting up will be for rams / cardinals, sterbai so that can go up to 84-86 without any big issues (I will want to keep it at around 82 throughout the year) but I am thinking of partitioning off a smaller section of one room and having a dedicated air-con unit for the fish tanks as I don't like having no control over the temperature if things get really hot. I was thinking if I get a chiller for each tank it might work out too expensive power usage wise? What kind of fish are you keeping?

The hardware in Shogun (or what I've seen) is definitely not good value. Pumps especially seem to be about 40% more expensive than they are in Bangkok. If you mean good value for CM, I guess you could be right, I haven't had a good enough look around yet.

I looked around the main Shogun shop before they started renovating and I didn't think they had a great range even then. Not a single gourami, a horrible hodge-podge of cross bred cichlids pumped full of hormones and too many dead fish floating in tanks.

Worgeordie, you're right about the terrible advice they give in Shogun, They are either incredibly stupid or they simply don't care. When I was asking for stands for a 14-inch wide tank, the sales guy tried to tell me I could stick it on a 12-inch wide stand no problem. One-inch of glass overhanging each side and no support where it's most needed seems like a very bad idea to me. They also claimed to be unable to sex platys, which if true is quite pathetic for a tropical fish dealer.

The only pure-bred cichlids they seem to have are kenyi and auratus juveniles, as well as yellow labs. The kenyis look nice but stick six of those in a tank and they'd start killing each other as soon as they grew up a bit. Same with the auratus. I think i saw some red zebras in very bad condition in one of the other shops and there's a smaller Shogun further inside Kam Tiang market that has a few more reasonable looking cichlids.

Anyway, I didn't mean to start this thread just to moan about local shops. What I was really hoping was that somebody had contacts in Chatuchak or was interested in taking a trip down there sometime I guess....or just someone to shoot the breeze with. never mind, c'est la vie.

[DLock]

Shogun at Kam Tiang market has the best selection, but agree, it can vary week by week. Lately they seem to be rearranging the shop, so selection is very poor. However, selection of plants and condition of water/fish is good. I actually find the price of the bigger tanks and hardware reasonable. Knowledge varies by the guys in the shop - some are good, some know nothing.

Even if you want freshwater tropical fish, you are going to need a chiller.

Water can get very warm during the hot months, so I have to use my chiller a few hours at night during these months just to get the temperature down for the majority of my fish.

Had quite a few power outages lately...some for 8 hours or more. Hasn't affected the fish, but it's one thing that worries me. Don't have an EPS...maybe I should.

The main tank I'm setting up will be for rams / cardinals, sterbai so that can go up to 84-86 without any big issues (I will want to keep it at around 82 throughout the year) but I am thinking of partitioning off a smaller section of one room and having a dedicated air-con unit for the fish tanks as I don't like having no control over the temperature if things get really hot. I was thinking if I get a chiller for each tank it might work out too expensive power usage wise? What kind of fish are you keeping?

The hardware in Shogun (or what I've seen) is definitely not good value. Pumps especially seem to be about 40% more expensive than they are in Bangkok. If you mean good value for CM, I guess you could be right, I haven't had a good enough look around yet.

I looked around the main Shogun shop before they started renovating and I didn't think they had a great range even then. Not a single gourami, a horrible hodge-podge of cross bred cichlids pumped full of hormones and too many dead fish floating in tanks.

Worgeordie, you're right about the terrible advice they give in Shogun, They are either incredibly stupid or they simply don't care. When I was asking for stands for a 14-inch wide tank, the sales guy tried to tell me I could stick it on a 12-inch wide stand no problem. One-inch of glass overhanging each side and no support where it's most needed seems like a very bad idea to me. They also claimed to be unable to sex platys, which if true is quite pathetic for a tropical fish dealer.

The only pure-bred cichlids they seem to have are kenyi and auratus juveniles, as well as yellow labs. The kenyis look nice but stick six of those in a tank and they'd start killing each other as soon as they grew up a bit. Same with the auratus. I think i saw some red zebras in very bad condition in one of the other shops and there's a smaller Shogun further inside Kam Tiang market that has a few more reasonable looking cichlids.

Anyway, I didn't mean to start this thread just to moan about local shops. What I was really hoping was that somebody had contacts in Chatuchak or was interested in taking a trip down there sometime I guess....or just someone to shoot the breeze with. never mind, c'est la vie.

If you have a cooler room, with not too much sun heating it up, and an air con when needed you may get away without a chiller. But my water can easily get over 90 in the hot season. Chiller was 26,000 baht and they came and installed it. I like to keep the water at about 82 as well, although the fish I have are reasonably tolerant.

I have Discus, various Angels, Roaches, Ghost catfish, Black sharks and a few other species. Nothing really exotic...because its hard to get anything exotic. Tank is 7 foot long.

Must admit I never priced anything before I set up the tank in CM, so not really sure of cost elsewhere.

Yes, Shogun over the last year has gone down. Choice is very limited these days. Not sure what changed...

Chatuchak has a pretty good selection and its easy to spend a day just looking at fish (and in my case birds - feathered) and other random animals. Some excellent shops...and some grotty shops, but that is par for the course here I guess.

[eaglesflight]

Shogun at Kam Tiang market has the best selection, but agree, it can vary week by week. Lately they seem to be rearranging the shop, so selection is very poor. However, selection of plants and condition of water/fish is good. I actually find the price of the bigger tanks and hardware reasonable. Knowledge varies by the guys in the shop - some are good, some know nothing.

Even if you want freshwater tropical fish, you are going to need a chiller.

Water can get very warm during the hot months, so I have to use my chiller a few hours at night during these months just to get the temperature down for the majority of my fish.

Had quite a few power outages lately...some for 8 hours or more. Hasn't affected the fish, but it's one thing that worries me. Don't have an EPS...maybe I should.

The main tank I'm setting up will be for rams / cardinals, sterbai so that can go up to 84-86 without any big issues (I will want to keep it at around 82 throughout the year) but I am thinking of partitioning off a smaller section of one room and having a dedicated air-con unit for the fish tanks as I don't like having no control over the temperature if things get really hot. I was thinking if I get a chiller for each tank it might work out too expensive power usage wise? What kind of fish are you keeping?

The hardware in Shogun (or what I've seen) is definitely not good value. Pumps especially seem to be about 40% more expensive than they are in Bangkok. If you mean good value for CM, I guess you could be right, I haven't had a good enough look around yet.

I looked around the main Shogun shop before they started renovating and I didn't think they had a great range even then. Not a single gourami, a horrible hodge-podge of cross bred cichlids pumped full of hormones and too many dead fish floating in tanks.

Worgeordie, you're right about the terrible advice they give in Shogun, They are either incredibly stupid or they simply don't care. When I was asking for stands for a 14-inch wide tank, the sales guy tried to tell me I could stick it on a 12-inch wide stand no problem. One-inch of glass overhanging each side and no support where it's most needed seems like a very bad idea to me. They also claimed to be unable to sex platys, which if true is quite pathetic for a tropical fish dealer.

The only pure-bred cichlids they seem to have are kenyi and auratus juveniles, as well as yellow labs. The kenyis look nice but stick six of those in a tank and they'd start killing each other as soon as they grew up a bit. Same with the auratus. I think i saw some red zebras in very bad condition in one of the other shops and there's a smaller Shogun further inside Kam Tiang market that has a few more reasonable looking cichlids.

Anyway, I didn't mean to start this thread just to moan about local shops. What I was really hoping was that somebody had contacts in Chatuchak or was interested in taking a trip down there sometime I guess....or just someone to shoot the breeze with. never mind, c'est la vie.

If you have a cooler room, with not too much sun heating it up, and an air con when needed you may get away without a chiller. But my water can easily get over 90 in the hot season. Chiller was 26,000 baht and they came and installed it. I like to keep the water at about 82 as well, although the fish I have are reasonably tolerant.

I have Discus, various Angels, Roaches, Ghost catfish, Black sharks and a few other species. Nothing really exotic...because its hard to get anything exotic. Tank is 7 foot long.

Must admit I never priced anything before I set up the tank in CM, so not really sure of cost elsewhere.

Yes, Shogun over the last year has gone down. Choice is very limited these days. Not sure what changed...

Chatuchak has a pretty good selection and its easy to spend a day just looking at fish (and in my case birds - feathered) and other random animals. Some excellent shops...and some grotty shops, but that is par for the course here I guess.

Sounds like a really nice tank. I'd like to keep discus but I don't have a large enough tank at the moment. They are beautiful fish.

I went to Shogun again today. They've filled a lot of their new tanks but no improvement in quality unfortunately. They did have some nice Congo tetras, which I've been looking out for, but my excitement at seeing Bolivian Rams printed on a tank was short-lived after I saw the deformed, balloon-like variant they've decided to stock