# General > Events, field trips and gatherings >  The aquaria scene in KL, Malaysia

## timebomb

Hi, everyone,

A couple of weeks ago, Deric Ong, a manager with Eheim asked me if I was interested in becoming a judge for a nano planted tank contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was reluctant at first but my wife said I should go. Deric also said the organisers of the contest will pay for my 2 day stay in KL so I agreed. It turned out to be a good decision as my wife and I enjoyed the trip and everything immensely. 

We started off on Saturday (8th Jan) morning. KL is about 330 kilometres away from Singapore. It drizzled throughout the journey along the North South highway of Malaysia but it made the drive more pleasant. I was delighted that there weren't any traffic jams at the immigration counters. We arrived at Mines Beach Resort & Spa, a hotel on the outskirts of KL at about 1.30 pm. My wife and I checked into our room which had a fantastic view of a lake and KL city. Here's a pic:



Besides being asked to be a judge for the planted tank contest, I was also invited to attend a discussion forum with several hobbyists living in KL. The forum was held in a pet shop called "The Pet Family". I was pretty impressed by the size and layout of the shop. It's huge, air-conditioned and has 2 storeys. They sell all sorts of pets - marine and freshwater fish, rodents, reptiles, dogs and cats. They even have a meeting room for hobbyists. It was in this meeting room where I met about 20 hobbyists from KL. I had initially thought that it was going to be a discussion forum but it turned out they were expecting me to give a talk. "Well", I thought, "there's no such thing as a free lunch after all." So I gave a talk although I wasn't very well-prepared. I'm not sure if I bored everyone to death but the session lasted more than 2 hours. The audience was shy at first but they asked many questions towards the end of the talk. I tried my best to answer them and I hope I didn't give anyone bad advice. The only thing I can be sure is that I was honest with my replies. In fact, I gave the sponsors of my trip a shock when I advised my listeners not to buy the Eheim 3535, the surface extractor that's a death trap for fishes and shrimps. My sponsors were magnanimous about the whole thing though and they made it very clear to me that I wasn't obligated to promote their products. In other words, I was free to speak my mind. If you're reading this, Deric, I like to say thank you very much for being so magnanimous. Eheim has the best filters in the market but not all their products are the best though. Anyway, here are some pictures of "The Pet Family" and the items that they sell:


































Here's a picture taken by my wife of my ordeal  :Laughing:  in the discussion room:



After the talk, we visited another fish shop called "Natural Aquatic World". The owner, Mr Yee was very friendly. He's someone who has been in the business for a long time and I was very touched when he said that inspite of having been in the business for so many years, he still has a passion for planted tanks. More often than not, people in business who started off as hobbyists tell me that they become sick and tired of aquariums after doing the business for some time. Mr Yee is a rare individual though and I'm glad there are people like him around. Mr Yee's shop stocks many nice pieces of driftwoods and rocks. They also have lovely planted tanks. I saw what I think is "Singapore Moss" in one of their display tanks but over there, they call it "Taiwan Moss". I bought 3 pieces of rocks and a nice piece of driftwood from Mr Yee's shop. He was very generous and wanted to give me the driftwood for free but I couldn't accept such a generous offer. A similar piece would have been priced in the region of hundreds of dollars in Singapore. Here are some pictures of Mr Yee's shop and the items I bought:








By the time I left the shop, it was late so we went back to the hotel. The next day (9th Jan), we visited another fish shop which was located at a shopping mall. When we arrived at the shop, I was stunned for a while as the entrance looks just like the one at Pet Safari in Eastpoint Shopping Centre, Singapore. Pet Safari in KL is huge and well-decorated. The number of products on display was mind-boggling. I chatted with Kenny, the owner for a while and I find him to be knowledgeable and friendly. Besides aquaria and aquaria-related products, they also have a room where reptiles are displayed. I was particularly impressed by the size of a tortoise. I think it's a Mata Mata but I'm not sure. Here are the pics of Kenny's shop:






















The fact the market in KL can support 2 fish shops the sizes of which are each much bigger than Sam Yick's in Singapore goes to show the aquaria scene there must be pretty active. They're implementing a new concept too, in the sense that fish shops do not have to be dark and dingy places. "The Pet Family" and "Pet Safari" in KL are shops where you can bring your whole family and they're will have a great time there, even if you're the only one who's interested in fish. 

After we left "Pet Safari", it was time to do my bit for the nano planted tank contest. The shop that organised it has a pretty cool name - "What the fish?". They specialise in aquatic plants. 



The owner, Terry is a pretty cool guy too. He's young but knowledgeable. I was told Terry represents the new generation of fish shop owners in KL. They're young, enterprising, service-oriented and passionate about what they do. There were 26 entries for the contest and I was impressed by the high standards. The other 3 judges and I had a hard time deciding which were the best tanks. After much deliberation, we decided to award the prizes to these 3. 








We also decided to give a honorary prize to one more tank. Although the _Glossostigma_ wasn't growing well, the composition and balance of the tank deserved a mention. As a hobbyist myself, I know it's the spirit rather than the results that counts. In other words, as a judge, I gave higher points for effort than for skill. Here's the tank that won an honorary prize:



Here are 2 pictures of my fellow judges. Besides Terry, Deric and myself, the other judge was a representative from Sera. 





Overall, I find being a judge a fun thing to do. The hobbyists I met in "What the fish?" are generally a young crowd but their interest levels are very high. They participated in the contest with the right spirit. Those who were not in the running weren't discouraged and many told me they will try harder in the next competition. A hobbyist named Dom told me there are about 50 active hobbyists in his group and they're planning on forming an aquatic plant club soon. 

I left "What the fish" after the prizes were awarded. It was unfortunate there wasn't enough time to chit chat with Terry and his gang. They're a cool bunch of guys and I'm sure "What the fish" will be one of the fish shops everyone would want to visit when they're in Malaysia. 

I left KL with the impression that the aquatic plant hobby in Malaysia is on the brink of taking off. In the near future, I'm quite sure there will be thousands of planted tank hobbyists there. The variety of aquatic plants I saw isn't as wide as what is available in Singapore but what with their resources and high level of interest, I'm sure they will be on par with us soon. 

In closing, I like to thank the many persons who made my trip an enjoyable one. Many thanks to:

Deric Ong - Manager at Eheim Singapore
Alex - Sales Executive at Qian Hu Malaysia who drove us around for the 2 days my wife and I were in KL.
Mr Thomas - The owner of "The Pet Family"
Mr Lam - Manager of "The Pet Family" who arranged the discussion forum
Mr Yee - The owner of "Natural Aquatic World"
Mr Kenny - The owner of "The Pet Safari"
And last but not least - Terry and his gang at "What the fish".

By the way, if you're going to KL, here's the addresses of the fish shops I visited:

The Pet Family
PT 10991, Jalan SS24/8
Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Natural Aquatic World
No 17 Jalan SS19/6 Subang Jaya
47500 Selangor Darul Ehsan

What the fish?
No. 7-1, Jalan PJU 1/3F
Sunwaymas Commercial Centre
47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up the name card when I was in Pet Safari but they's located at a shopping mall next to Ikea.

Loh K L

----------


## TyroneGenade

Wow! Those are very impressive stores. What is the name of that gorgeous green snake? (I have a clue but it can't be what I'm thinking as what I'm thinking of has rear fangs and is venomous...)

Those planted tanks were very lovely. I'm so envious...  ::smt044:  

Thanks for sharing!

----------


## turaco

Should be a Oriental Whip Snake.
http://www.wildsingapore.com/riablog...s/photo_1.html

----------


## aryanggie

when will u go to Indonesia to judge such a contest???  :Laughing:   :Laughing:

----------


## |squee|

If only they had such stores in Singapore.

----------


## sacy

wa!! plant/fish/acc/petz heaven ^^

----------


## Shae

If New Zealand even had half the Store of one of those i'd be happy!
i think im going to move to Kuala Lumpur  :Very Happy: 

I have to order most things takes weeks and costs bega dollars!
Killies over here are unbeliveably expensive because of there rarety aand the only way to get them is to source them from somone they are never sold in pet stores.

Shae

----------


## kimco

Hi all,

I've been visiting this site fairly frequently for the past 6-8 months and I've gain much knowledge during this time, particularly those that relates to mosses. The last time i went to Sg was way back in 1984 when the MRT was still under construction, so if you'll excuse me, I have the impression that Sg have since then developed by leaps and bounds particularly where the aquaria scenes are concerned............. especially after reading almost all of the posts here, so you can imagine my surprise when Loh finds the shops here huge and impressive!!!!!!!  :Opps:  All this while I was thinking our shops quite inadequate in terms of variety and availibility of products and that the prices are quite high! Imagine my surprise when in another post, I found the price of a timer costs Sg20 while I can find one here at IKEA for RM9.90..... around Sg4 and not to mention the drift wood that Loh says costs hundreds! I thought that things are supposed to be cheaper in Sg  :Opps:  This particular posts really clears up a lot of misconception I had about Sg.

So there you have it folks, there are still people here that thinks Sg is still cheaper than My :P 

FYI, Pet Safari is located at IKANO POWER STATION, Damansara Mutiara, Petaling Jaya. 

Cheer,

KG Tan

----------


## zmzfam

It seems that the shops are located at the Petaling Jaya (PJ) side, away from the city centre. No wonder I can't find any when I was in KL.

----------


## itssg

Hi Mr Loh,

it was great to have a chance to talk to you. i was having tons of Qs wanna find out from you. But end up too tired (feeling like lazy to talk and wanna fall asleep) after helping *** to arrange all the stuff for this competition. Anyway, my gf was the only lady there who asked you lot of Qs. She is quite familiar with all the sg roads and shops. So, i will grab her to come along with me few more months later.

The members in my list increasing daily. I am getting a member to help me to design a logo and the name for the club. Would you mind to help to give us a name or something like that? :P 

Thank you very much.

Cheers,
dom

----------


## kc

I was in Petaling Jaya last month and for 2 nights I don't where else to go but Sungei Wang! 

KL,
When are you judging the next Singapore contest, let me know.  :Very Happy:

----------


## jerryC

Loh,

I was informed that you will be in town but I was engaged with other activity. Will meet you next time. I can see that you have been to quite a few places from your short visit. 

You are right on the Aquatic Plant hobbyist in m'sia is in the brink of taking off. We have limited resources and products over here let aside plants.

I was supposed to palce an entry for the Nano competition but I have to pull out as my tank wasn't ready to compete.

The S'pore moss you saw in NA is indeed Taiwan Moss or X'mas moss (San Jiao). I have the same batch but Ah Yee's one turn completely different. My mosses turns out to be fat and broad rectangular shape whereas Ah Yee's moss were like weeping moss.

----------


## timebomb

> when will u go to Indonesia to judge such a contest???


Aryanggie, if you pay my airfare and hotel stay, I can go anytime. Remember my wife has to come along too so it will be two 2 way tickets  :Laughing: . Economy class will be fine; I'm not fussy  :Laughing: .




> Imagine my surprise when in another post, I found the price of a timer costs Sg20 while I can find one here at IKEA for RM9.90..... around Sg4 and not to mention the drift wood that Loh says costs hundreds! I thought that things are supposed to be cheaper in Sg  This particular posts really clears up a lot of misconception I had about Sg.


KG, I suspect it could be a different brand of timer. The good timers here cost about Sing 20 whereas the not-so-good ones are cheaper. I have to say your first impression was correct. Things like accessories, equipment and livestock in KL cost more than Singapore. The only things that are cheaper in KL are driftwoods and rocks. I think that's because you can find them around the streams and forests of Malaysia. With nice pieces, there's no such thing as market prices. In other words, I'm saying that a nice piece of driftwood like the one I bought does not have a definite price. The value is in the eyes of the beholder. To someone who does not appreciate its beauty, a piece of driftwood is a useless piece of junk. Mr Yee was reluctant to part with the 3 pieces of rocks because they were meant for his display tank. He had a hard time naming a price when I wanted to buy them. I won't reveal what I paid but I would say it's a fair price. Even if someone now offers me more than what I paid, I wouldn't sell the rocks because I know it's very difficult to find them in Singapore. 

"Pet Family" and "Pet Safari" in KL are both much bigger than the biggest fish shop in Singapore. They're mega stores and sell all kinds of pets. In Singapore though, we have more fish shops. Most are small but they're all over the island. Within walking distance from my house, there are already about 8 fish shops. What we lack in size, we make up in numbers  :Laughing:  Not trying to show we are better than you but just trying to make the picture clearer. 




> The S'pore moss you saw in NA is indeed Taiwan Moss or X'mas moss (San Jiao). I have the same batch but Ah Yee's one turn completely different. My mosses turns out to be fat and broad rectangular shape whereas Ah Yee's moss were like weeping moss.


Jerry, too bad you weren't at the planted tank contest. It would have been nice to meet up. About the moss in Natural Aquatic World (I don't use the initials NA because it also stands for Nature Aquarium in Singapore), your observation seems to confirm that my guess was correct. It's probably Singapore Moss because it is known to exhibit different growth patterns under different conditions. If you like to know more, click here. I'm quite sure it isn't Weeping Moss because Weeping wraps itself around driftwoods.

Loh K L

----------


## timebomb

> Anyway, my gf was the only lady there who asked you lot of Qs. She is quite familiar with all the sg roads and shops. So, i will grab her to come along with me few more months later.


So that lovely lass with lots of questions is your girlfriend. You're a lucky guy, Dom  :Smile: 




> The members in my list increasing daily. I am getting a member to help me to design a logo and the name for the club. Would you mind to help to give us a name or something like that? :P


It would be pretentious of me to suggest a name for your club, Dom. I'm sure your members can come up with a good name. Just remember not to call yourselves KL aquatic plant club or people would think it belongs to me  :Laughing: 

Loh K L

----------


## FC

Well done, KL!

Thank you for sharing the photos.

----------


## Piscesgirl

I really enjoyed this post! How very nice to get to see the fish shops and hobbyists in other countries (Malaysia in this instance). I think it makes the world a smaller, more friendly place! I have a very few pictures of a plant club meeting I went to last month, I may have to crop them and put them in another thread. Thank you, Loh KL - great thread!

----------


## itssg

> So that lovely lass with lots of questions is your girlfriend. You're a lucky guy, Dom 
> 
> It would be pretentious of me to suggest a name for your club, Dom. I'm sure your members can come up with a good name. Just remember not to call yourselves KL aquatic plant club or people would think it belongs to me 
> 
> Loh K L


hv to get gf/wife into the same hobby. otherwise, it is hard to buy more tanks to do the setup. :P I believe your wife also into yr hobby right?

Hahaha...i nvr think of that name. Perhaps like Malaysia Aquatic Plant Club. Would like to thank you for coming to Malaysia and help out *** to judge the nano tank competition. And the gifts to Terry as well. (I got chance to get some from him to try out)

Thank you Deric to invite Mr. Loh and your efforts. Hope to see you guys soon.

----------


## Martian

Hi Mr. Loh,

I have you to thank for getting the consolation prize. It doesn't fare well on other judges' score card I believe, but thanks to you, I got the consolation prize at the end. I would like to thank you for appreciating the work that all of us put into our tanks.

I have certainly learnt some valuable experience talking to you even in just a short time. I didn't know that you gave talks to some hobbysts in KL during your trip, if I had known, I would probably have been there to listen and participate. 

It was really great to meet you.

Rgds,
Isaac

----------


## jerryC

Loh,

Took a peek at the link you provided. I have one question. Is that Downoi that I saw around your moss pole?

Back to the issue of s'pore moss. Is there any differences between Taiwan and S'pore moss?

I notice mine have brown like mini tanticle beneath the spine of the moss. Then I realised that it used them to grip on the surface that they are tied to. Am I correct on my observation?

I also notice that the mosses that is closer to the light source is stringy and less triangular whereas the lower mosses tend to be longer and sparsely. I thought only plants like Glosso or any plants that require heavy lightings will react differently to light condition.

----------


## timebomb

> I have you to thank for getting the consolation prize. It doesn't fare well on other judges' score card I believe, but thanks to you, I got the consolation prize at the end. I would like to thank you for appreciating the work that all of us put into our tanks.


You don't have to thank me, Isaac. I was just doing my job. I couldn't have possibly persuaded the other judges to award you a consolation prize if they didn't believe your tank deserved one. As for appreciation of the hard work, I'm a hobbyist too so I can understand what it takes to come up with a beautiful tank. 




> I have certainly learnt some valuable experience talking to you even in just a short time. I didn't know that you gave talks to some hobbysts in KL during your trip, if I had known, I would probably have been there to listen and participate.


Honestly, I didn't know there was going to be a talk too or else I wouldn't have gone there  :Laughing: . I hope I didn't give you bad advice, Isaac. But I can tell you the things I said are generally from my own experiences. I'm not any different from the other hobbyists here. In fact, there are quite a few here who knows more than I do. But I've been around longer than most so I have more stories to tell  :Laughing: 





> Is that Downoi that I saw around your moss pole?


Yes, they are Downoi's, Jerry. I know it's hard to find this plant in KL but Terry of "What the fish?" has 3 stalks in his tanks now. I don't think he's selling any though.




> Back to the issue of s'pore moss. Is there any differences between Taiwan and S'pore moss?


Yes, there is. They're 2 different species of moss. They differ not only in species but in genus too. The Taiwan is a _Taxyphyllum_ and the Singapore is a _Vesicularia_. You can learn more about the various mosses by going through the post here.




> I notice mine have brown like mini tanticle beneath the spine of the moss. Then I realised that it used them to grip on the surface that they are tied to. Am I correct on my observation?


Yes, you are correct. The tentacles you saw are known as rhizoids. They're roots. Some mosses also have sex organs which look like bowling pins and swollen clubs. You can see some pictures here.




> I also notice that the mosses that is closer to the light source is stringy and less triangular whereas the lower mosses tend to be longer and sparsely. I thought only plants like Glosso or any plants that require heavy lightings will react differently to light condition.


Almost all plants will show different growth patterns under various lighting conditions but in the case of the Singapore Moss, it also exhibit different forms. It can look so different hobbyists don't believe they are the same moss. 

Loh K L

----------


## timebomb

> I really enjoyed this post! I have a very few pictures of a plant club meeting I went to last month, I may have to crop them and put them in another thread.


I'm glad you like the post, Deborah. We're be looking forward to seeing the pictures of your plant club meeting. It would be a good idea to post them in another thread. If you like to know, I don't usually crop my pictures; I just resize them.

Loh K L

----------


## aphy

Just to add on to Mr Loh's information on Pet Safari. There's also a pet hotel located inside of Pet Safari where you can just pamper your pets or use it as boarding facility. An inhouse vet is also present. You can also bring your pets into the building as this store (Ikano Power Centre) is pet friendly. Is there any such place in Singapore alike?

CY LIM

----------


## timebomb

> JIs there any such place in Singapore alike?


CY, offhand, I can't recall any shopping mall in Singapore that allows pets. But then again, there are some shopping malls here that have dog-grooming shops. So I suppose pets are allowed but they probably won't allow owners to bring pets into food establishments.

Loh K L

----------


## hclam

Hi K L.

It was indeed a pleasure having you and your wife at The Pet Family (TPF). And on behalf of TPF, I would like to extend our deepest appreciation for your generosity in facilitating the forum. I must say that I have personally benefited from the forum immensely. Unfortunately I missed out on the nano tank competition at ***. Heard it was a resounding success. Congratulations to Terry and his team. Certainly they are a new breed of fish shop owners. Kudos for daring to be different. Certainly what the industry need now. Sharing of knowledge with the hobbyists.

Deric, many thanks for bringing Kwek Leong to KL. Hope there will be many more of such visits. See you soon.

Cheers.

Lam
TPF, KL

----------


## timebomb

> Hi K L. It was indeed a pleasure having you and your wife at The Pet Family (TPF).


Think nothing of it, Lam. The pleasure was all mine. I'll be more than happy to meet up with the hobbyists in "The Pet Family" if you all want me back again  :Smile:  My wife and I like to thank you for taking the time to show us around the shop and we're definitely visit if we're in your neighbourhood. 

Loh K L

----------

