Field trip with a difference

[jayc]

This is going to be a field trip journal of a different kind.

I won't need to go bush, I don't need to trek down obscure paths fighting back weeds or insects. I won't need to get wet, nor will I need camping gear. Spotting shrimp will be guaranteed.

I will be holidaying in Singapore late Oct.

Alvin Chan has kindly allowed me to visit his private shrimp room, and if progress of his shop renovations progresses well, there might be a visit to Aquarist Chamber as well. Thanks Alvin!

You have all seen Alvin's shrimps. Now I will get to visit first hand !

I'll be taking lots of photos and videos to share.

Unfortunately, this field trip does not allow me to return with any native fauna. Too bad.

But at least I will get to question Alvin about what he does to be successful in this business of raising beautiful shrimp.

If you have any specific questions or pictures you want me to take of his shrimp room, please let me know.

OK, so I finally got off my ass and downloaded all my holiday snaps off my camera.

Alvin allowed me to visit his shop, which is still under renovation and transformation into a shrimp shop. From the looks of it, Alvin's shop will be a specialist shrimp shop, not a fish shop with some shrimp, but a shop that will specialise in all things to do with shrimp.

The shop was in it's early stages of renovation, so there wasn't much to see.

But apart from Alvin and the builders, I can say I was one of the first to visit! :encouragement:

This is the front of his shop

The area just through the entrance doors.

Shrimp Display room, looking towards the rear of the shop.

Another angle of the area that will eventually be the room for shrimp display tanks.

The business end of the whole shop, the breeding rooms, where there will eventually be tanks for breeding.

That's Alvin taking me through the shop.

Another view of the breeding room looking to the back doors of the shop.

Alvin has clearly been busy with this new hobby ... the shop. He has been too busy to post updates, but he has given me permission to post these updates, and have sent these pictures to me via WhatsApp. Check out what the shop looks like now ...

The area just through the entrance doors. Compare this to the 2nd photo.

Shrimp Display room, looking back at the entrance.

Compare this to the 4th photo

If you are ever in Singapore, a visit to Alvin and Aquarist Chamber is a must see destination.

I forget the actual address, but it's on the corner of Upper Serangoon Rd and Hillside Drive.

[CNgo2006]

Lucky B!@#$%d! A LOT of us are very jealous! have fun and share with us some tips and trade secrets you learn while you are there (SKF spy) especially on the pinto's please.

[jayc]

:victorious:

I'll definitely take lots of shots of the Pinto.

[Squiggle]

That's very cool dude, there'll definitely be a lot of very jealous members. An absolutely amazing opportunity & I'll be keen to see all the pics when you get back. :encouragement:

[KillieOrCory]

Nice one! :encouragement: Go to Green Chapter as well!

[jayc]

That's already planned for another day after visiting Alvin.

;)

[Wraithie]

Awesome! Bring me back something nice ;)

[CNgo2006]

:victorious:

I'll definitely take lots of shots of the Pinto.

I'm talking about the recipe into making the Pinto! try to find out the X's of shrimp that make them what they are! LOL! Pictures well that is a given ;)

[jayc]

Hey SKF!

Signing in to post a quick hello. Almost at the end of my trip, and got to visit Alvin's shrimp room and his shop (which is still under construction).

Will post pictures as soon as I return, since internet access is limited here.

cheers.

[ineke]

Great stuff looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing about your adventure:encouragement:

[jayc]

First post updated with pictures of Alvin's new shop that is under construction.

This post are pictures from Alvin's personal shrimp room in his house.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Alvin for his generosity and willingness to open his house up to me for a visit.

I must say he has a very nice house and what seemed like a purpose built room just for shrimp.

His shrimp room is on the top floor of his house. As you walk up those third flight of stairs towards the shrimp room, you are greeted by a room surrounded by glass And as you walk in those glass doors you see this ...

Top row of tanks to the right and left are mainly planted tanks.

It's a very bright room, and the glare wasn't making it easy to take photos.

So apologies for any blurry pics.

Here are some of Alvin's amazing shrimps. The clarity and whiteness of his PRL CRS is just .... drool

Wider shots of his tanks showing internal sponge filters and K1 DIY filters.

PRL tank on the left, and PBL tank on the right.

Eheim Classic filters for the tanks.

Alvin uses 2 Eheim Classic canisters per tank.

No only does using 2 canisters increase filter capacity, he is able to turn one off for maintenance without needing to shut the other filter off.

The other filter can continue functioning, aerating and circulating water flow, while one canister is cleaned.

Even if a canister fails, the other can continue working.

You will note one or two canisters are wrapped in black foam. This is common practice to keep the canister cool, and out of direct sunlight.

Of course Alvin's room is air conditioned, but keeping sunlight off the canisters will also help prevent heat from entering the canister and ending up in the tank and water.

I asked why don't you use sumps, Alvin advised that there were drawbacks to using sumps to service several tanks.

If you get a problem with filtration in the sump it impacts all tanks. So if it was disease from one tank of shrimp, it will impact all tanks. It was too much of a risk for a breeder to put the entire stock at risk. Using individual canisters might be cumbersome, but it allows you the freedom of keeping tanks isolated. You can have different water parameters for each tank. And if anything impacted one tank, it wouldn't spread to the other tanks. Damage is limited to only one tank.

Even the pros get BGA

Alvin's neat workbench with some of the products he uses.

More shrimps...

Pure Black Line

Wider shots of Alvin's PBL tank.

Note how green the side of the tanks are?

Don't bee too eager to clean the sides of your tank, as it provides a lot of biofilm and algae for the shrimp to eat.

Back to some PRL, cause I like PRLs...

Some other aquatic animals he keeps at his house.

Koi, giant Plecos and I think I same Siamese Algae Eaters.

And to finish off ... me (on left) presenting Alvin with the bottle of a nice 2011 Aussie Chardonnay from all of us at SKF.

I said he could open it in celebration when his shop is officially open for business.

We can have a virtual toast with him from Australia.

[ineke]

Wow what a setup.:encouragement:

[Squiggle]

Awesome pics dude, stunning shop & setups, can't wait to get over there myself. Those PRL's are definitely droolworthy!

[jayc]

Added more pictures and edits.

[Ronskitz]

That would have been an awesome trip :)

[blackcat]

Wow what a trip wish I had that opportunity :-) ty for sharing and Alvin good luck with the shop :-D so generous

[Garnelchen]

Oh Wow! Thanks for sharing the pics!

Alvin's setup and shop look stunning!

Note to self: Must stopover in Singapore again next time I'm flying home! :congratulatory:

[BlueBolts]

Wowed, thanks for sharing the pics....looks absolutely awesome !

Will this his be the 1st shrimp ONLY dedicated some in Singapore ?

[KillieOrCory]

Great stuff! :encouragement: Congrat Alvin and thank you J for sharing the photos.

[jayc]

Wowed' date=' thanks for sharing the pics....looks absolutely awesome !

Will this his be the 1st shrimp ONLY dedicated some in Singapore ?[/quote']

Alvin and Aquarist Chamber's greatest competition in Singapore is a shop called Green Chapter.

A post of my visit to Green Chapter coming soon.

All the other fish stores in Singapore are old stores that still operate like they used to 2 decades ago. They don't even have a web site. Tanks are all bare bottom, and crammed with fish. Shelves are packed with products and have no presentation aesthetics. GC is different. And soon AQ will be another shop that brings the industry into the 21st century.

Green Chapter sells a lot of shrimp, but they also specialise in planted tanks and everything associated to creating a planted tank, including fish and shrimp.

GC has been running for many years now, and is well established.

Alvin needs to offer something different to be successful. In talking to him, I managed to piece together a few of his business strategy. Stocking Lowkeys and RAC (Ryu Aqua Creator) products. Stocking quality shrimp at reduced prices. Most stores (with the exception of GC) don't really care for their shrimp, nor do they take the time to ensure the livestock is of a good quality. A lot of retailers will import shrimp cheaply, and offload them with a small markup - it's just business for them. It's another inventory item in their fish store.

With Alvin's store ... well you all know how he looks after his shrimp.

In knowing how well he keeps his shrimp, and if his prices are on par or cheaper ... who would you buy from?

Good luck Alvin.

(ps. Love the float valves on the tanks).

pps. Did everyone note that the bottle of wine was from ALL of us?

I should have got me act together earlier, and bought an SKF shirt for him. Maybe next trip.

[jayc]

I'll try to keep this post updated with progress pictures that Alvin sends me (via WhatsApp).

[jayc]

share with us some tips and trade secrets you learn while you are there (SKF spy) especially on the pinto's please.

Unfortunately I could not learn anything on the Pinto.

Alvin was lucky enough to get the pinto from his business colleague, so he didn't breed it.

It was his business colleague that bred it.

[Garnelchen]

pps. Did everyone note that the bottle of wine was from ALL of us?

I should have got me act together earlier' date=' and bought an SKF shirt for him. Maybe next trip.[/quote']

Yes, I did notice! Well done! But yeah....an SKF shirt would have been great! :)