# General > Events, field trips and gatherings >  AQ Farm Excursion Sep 06 - Comments/Pictures

## benny

Hi guys,

Thanks for the wonderful turnout. I was expecting a small group of about 6 to 10 person maximum, but it seems like there is always interest to go for a quick romp in the farms.

Firstly, my sincere appreciation to the drivers who was kind enough to help provide transport for the other members who don't drive. 

Secondly, a note of appreciation for everyone who kept to the timing so that the program could run as planned. Even those who could not make it informed me in advanced so that alternative arrangements could be made. 

For those who doubted if we had female members in our community, you usually get to seem them during these outing. I'm also glad to see some making this a family event and brought along the missus and the kids. Hope they had as much fun as we did.

On the point that the excursion did not extend beyond C328 after lunch, it's a shame. I think some of us wanted very much to go to Lorong Harlus, but it's best saved for another trip. Easier on the time and the pocket. Besides, given the heat, the morning program already zapped quite a bit of our energy (at least the older ones like myself). Anyway, pictures are on the second page of this thread.

As usual, we will definitely do it again! Perhaps sooner than the 9 month break since the last one. Once again, thanks guys, for making this excursion possible.

Cheers,

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## Goondoo

Thanks for the trip, AQ...
To the rest, thanks for the company. This is the first time I see such a large group. Sorry I have to miss the lunch with you guys.
The most valuable lesson from today's trip is learning how to grade CRS from a nice staff from Qian Hu.  :Grin:

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## diki

Thanks for organising this trip. Enjoy myself and get to meet some of the forumers in person.  :Grin:  At least next time we see each other we can say "Hi"! So when is the next one???  :Grin:

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## richietay

> The most valuable lesson from today's trip is learning how to grade CRS from a nice staff from Qian Hu.


Looks like its a fun trip for you guys, Goodoo maybe can share with the rest of us the tips!  :Smile: 

Anyone took photos??

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## Goondoo

> Looks like its a fun trip for you guys, Goodoo maybe can share with the rest of us the tips! 
> 
> Anyone took photos??


Thats the perks of participating in the outing :Opps:

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## Memnoch

Thanks for the trip indeed... Now i know i can look out for familiar faces at LFSs rather than just suspect that the dude buying fishes is a fellow forumer...

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## Goondoo

> Thanks for the trip indeed... Now i know i can look out for familiar faces at LFSs rather than just suspect that the dude buying fishes is a fellow forumer...



errrr.... you mean you were there?  :Laughing:

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## gummynut

hi.. thanks to the organisers to organise this fun trip and drivers who are kind enough to drive us around. an eye opener for my wife and me as well. now i know where to find the goodies and 'treasures'. also a good chance to meet up with forum folks in real person. at least now my wife knows that the fishy people that lurks in the forum are decent & enthusiastic hobbiyists. YES.. when is the next outing? :Grin:  

gummy (cheah)

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## stormhawk

Haha, sorry fellas, didn't get most of your nicks and names but I'll remember a number of you folks. My thanks goes to yappeyap (Alex) and his wife for the lift in their car, and of course, to Mr Benny for organising the whole thing.  :Wink:  

I finally got to know eddy_planer as well. Nice knowing you and your family. Plus, you got a great kid there in Titus, the little one. Not forgetting your elder son and your daughter. We had a great time hunting for snails at Teo's.  :Grin: 

Benny and the rest, my apologies for not having lunch with you folks. I left for Tiong Bahru soon after we returned to C328, ended up bringing home a _Corydoras reynoldsi_ and a pair each of 2 different _Brachygobius_ species. Lotsa corys there for the catfish nuts and I did spot a number of Tiger Oto still available in the store.

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## Wackytpt

> errrr.... you mean you were there?


I can vouch he was there. He was my poly work attachement mate at a stupid motor company  :Razz:

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## Memnoch

Small world aint it...

and yeah.. it was a stupid motor company...

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## LeAnne

haha i had fun  :Very Happy:

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## XnSdVd

pictures please  :Grin:

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## ccs

Hey any new fishes at Gans?

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## yorky

> Hey any new fishes at Gans?


If only Gan's had those wild apistos like in the past.. :Sad:

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## ccs

Yup wild apisto at reasonable price and lots to choose from  :Smile:

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## genes

> Yup wild apisto at reasonable price and lots to choose from


Eh? Have ah...never see...damn...only saw lots of rams and plecos...

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## ccs

> Eh? Have ah...never see...damn...only saw lots of rams and plecos...


Oops should have mentioned used to have  :Grin:  :Razz:

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## FishFan

Argh!! Looks like you guys had loads of fun. A pity that I could have joined in.  :Sad: 

Oh well, I'm looking forward to the next outing.  :Smile:

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## jacquetlc

yeah... finally got to know whereabouts of Teo's farm... thanks to Benny for organizing the trip!  :Smile:

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## Simon

ya, have fun  :Wink: , must thank Benny for the transport, without him, my mom wouldn't have driftwood for her wild orchids :P

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## Wackytpt

Pictures must wait for benny when he is free to upload. Think he took a number of shots.  :Razz:

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## genes

Vincent too  :Grin:  Both of them were so busy snapping pics... Looking forward to your pics guys

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## benny

Nope. Didn't take that many... Here's a teaser..

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## valice

Didn't take many photos.
Just only one to show for... But it is not a good picture still.
Someone let me know what species is this, so that I can edit the picture with the name...

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## benny

That's a killifish. _Nothobranchius rachovii_.

Cheers,

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## benny

So...here's the (partial) report for the trip. I'll update it throughout the day when I have the time.

On that day, we had a few last minute changes to the 'formation', but nothing to worry about as we have plenty of kind drivers with spare seats. After a hearty breakfast (for me at least), we set off from C328 to Qian Hu Fish Farm. It's a good thing that C328 wasn't open yet. Otherwise, I think we won't leave till 10.

Easy drive on a Saturday morning and we are on schedule at Qian Hu.

I believe most of the folks were hanging around the retail area, fish gallery and the spare parts section. A few adventurous ones ventured to the slippery Quarantine area for 'treasures'.

Here's are some fishes from the gallery that I took some snapshots off.







I don't think there are many (or any) arowana hobbyist amongst us that day. Otherwise, this will be of interest to them.



Anyway, there are plenty of other distractions.


More to come...

Cheers,

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## richietay

Nice photos, fun reading through the summaries of the trip which benny took the effort to add in.

Guys, any interesting finds and things worth to get at this stop?

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## benny

The subject of recent bad press, following the demise of the famous crocodile hunter.


Chubby...looking almost like a bar of dirty used soap.

But obviously costing a lot more.

And this chap is HUGE..

The entire mouth alone is the size of my closed fist!!!!!

And for some of the others, supermarket style shopping for Eheim parts!


More to come... Gan Aquarium Fish Farm Next!

Cheers,

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## yappeyap

> Haha, sorry fellas, didn't get most of your nicks and names but I'll remember a number of you folks. My thanks goes to yappeyap (Alex) and his wife for the lift in their car, and of course, to Mr Benny for organising the whole thing.


Thanks (Stormhawk) Rashid & his lady friend for their company and sharing his experience in algae management!!!

May be next time we do a oversea trip over to our neigbouring - Malaysia? Food, durians, site seeing and not forgetting local farms & aquariums...!  :Laughing: 

Last of all happy to know you guys & gals

Special thanks goes to Benny for the work, ehmm when the next one coming Hrr! Kekee!

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## valice

Think the next one we should do the Lorong Halus again...
Or we do LFS hopping... Which will be good for people who are unfamiliar with locations of certain shops...

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## eddyq

Thanks, everyones who came and met-up, to see your faces after hiding behind in this forum all this while. This is my 1st time outing and hopefully see you guys another time. Maybe next round make it a whole day outing.

So far met Benny, Valice,(both carrying professional cameras), Simon, wks,
genes, Gummuynut and wife, Memnoch (was buying alots of plants/DW/fishes), eddy planer and family and Rupert (the only ang mo) and joteo.

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## valice

Hope everyone who bought the bristlenoses at Gan's place are enjoying them... And also the plants...

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## benny

Next stop was Gan Aquarium Fish Farm.



To be honest, they used to have a lot more variety than they do now. I would say that for some, it must have been a bit of a disappointment.


Obviously, there are still good buys, such as the juvenile bristlenose, tetras etc. Since it's cash only, most folks always need to reference their pockets when shopping there.

What is of interest is that Gan's have actually started an Arowana breeding program and here are the results!!!



So that's why there are so many ponds on the other side of the farm, all locked to prevent outsiders and intruders.

Oh..there was the planted tank in the showroom setup in 2003 by Aquatic Quotient. Obviously now it looks radically different from the old setup.

I think it's time for an overhaul.. Anyone keen to take up the project?  :Razz:  Can be another gathering!

At this point, I realised that we have quite a lot of vehicles as almost all the cars there were from the AQ outing. Those in this picture definitely are from our group and there was a few more on the left side. The numbers have been changed to protect the innocent...

I think in total, we had about 9 cars, including those that joined us later. Right?

More to come.... Teo's Plant Farm!!

Cheers,

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## budak

Gan cover up the longkang ah? Last time car always fall inside one. I remember once we had to rescue one AQer's Toyota when he anyhow gostan.... Now got pole and marked lots some more....

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## benny

> Gan cover up the longkang ah? Last time car always fall inside one. Now got pole and marked lots some more....


Not only cars, even blind hobbyists too busy admiring their fishes on the way to their car sometimes step right into it.  :Laughing:  

Cheers,

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## jacquetlc

Actually how to get fishes at Gan since most (all?) of the tanks look like they need some thorough cleanup... I can't really look into the tank at the fishes... someone advice me?!?!?!?  :Smile:

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## stormhawk

You just have to look real hard. Most of the time its just a glimpse, then time for those giant nets to work. The tanks definitely need a cleanup though. Seems like they haven't changed at all since the last time I was at the farm. Its a pity that the selection seems to be the same ol' cardinal, rummynose tetras and balloon rams. Oh yes, not forgetting the smaller quantities of plecos this time round.

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## valice

But in those "dirty" tanks, which is full of ketapang leaves and shit, the fishes are real healthy and sturdy...

My batch of harlequins and green neons from the last trip in Dec are still going very strong in my tank now...

And according to Mr Gan, those tanks allowed the fishes to grow much faster too...

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## benny

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...656#post205656

My note of appreciation to those that made it possible. First post. Thanks guys! The credit should go to you guys, not me. I just organised the namelist.

Cheers,

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## benny

Final installment!

The hightlight of the trip for some of us...Teo's plant farm!

It was shipment day tomorrow! How lucky of us! Plenty to choose from as the friendly folks are preparing for the plants to be shipped out.



A detailed discussion on the effects of reducing CO2 fertilisation in favor of higher light output and NO3 on the new _Echinodorus_ spp. with the folks from Teo's. Just kidding! They were making us a special offer for some of the plants on display.


Market style selection. Get them whilst they are fresh!!!


For those who ventured further beyond, this is what the inner portion of the farm is like.

Final round to see if any goodies were missed. Cash parted hands and some going home with plants, wood and even snails!!!


We departed Teo's around 12.20 instead and headed back to C328 for lunch. Some of us when to have a look there whilst others journeyed on to Ben's etc. All in all, a quick splash and dash program to get new folks familiarised with the location and what the local farm scene is like. For those who have previously been, a chance to pick up a few goodies and meet old friends.



Justin, this one is for you. We will miss your presence. It will not be the same without you.... AND DON'T FORGET US WHILST YOU ARE IN JAPAN!!! We will send you the shopping list in a Microsoft Excel list separately.

Cheers,

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## vinz

> The subject of recent bad press, following the demise of the famous crocodile hunter.
> 
> 
> ...


 I think the poeple who appreciates The Crocodile Hunter, will know the fish was not to blame. It was protecting itself from a perceived threat. I guess Steve just got a little too close this time. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he deserved it... he just got too close this time, or his time on earth has ran out. On the same note, I'm sure some of his critics out there are saying 'I told you so!')




> ...
> 
> And for some of the others, supermarket style shopping for Eheim parts!
> 
> 
> ...


 Hehehe... I'm guessing that's Vincent (Valice) fulfilling my P.O.  :Razz:

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## stormhawk

Well it seems that _Potamotrygon_? species in Benny's pic was not responsible for the freak accident that killed Steve Irwin, but its cousin, the Bull Ray, _Dasyatis brevicaudata_, was.

Unfortunate accident it was, but hey, we did see some beautiful freshwater ray while at Qian Hu. There was that beautiful _P. leopoldi_ I think, and some _Himantura_ too. Fascinating buggers they are.  :Smile:

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## valice

> Hehehe... I'm guessing that's Vincent (Valice) fulfilling my P.O.


Yupz... That's me!  :Laughing:

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## Wackytpt

> Yupz... That's me!


and me supervising you.. wahahaha

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## benny

> and me supervising you.. wahahaha


And me taking a picture of you supervising him! wahahahah!!

Cheers,

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## vinz

So, how many AQ mods does it take to change a light bulb?  :Razz:

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## ccs

> So, how many AQ mods does it take to change a light bulb?


Ans: None because they are all busy fixing the eheim filter hehe :Evil:

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## Memnoch

guys, anyone know the L-numbers of the plecos i bought at gans?

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## valice

What you have bought is _Ancistrus dolichopterus_, common name is L183...

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=221

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## stormhawk

Ah, so those tiny ones in the main tank near the door are baby dolichopterus. Thank goodness for Benny's info, that I didn't get any. I thought of buying those but seeing how big they grow, I skipped the idea altogether. Now the snails from Teo's are doing their job.  :Laughing:

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## Ibn

Looks like fun.  :Smile:  That's an amazing amount of plants at Teo's and I still can't imagine seeing a pleco that size up close. You have a full shot of that pleco, Benny?

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## Memnoch

Eh they grow very big ah?

Gan said abt 6cm?

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## valice

10 cm to be exact... According to the link I gave you.
But, as long as you don't feed it high protein, high fat diet often, it wouldn't reach that size fast...

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## genes

These plecos do eat the plants and woods in our tank right?

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## vinz

Seeing that no one has answered yet, let me offer what I know.

They don't eat plants per se... but some (mostly those that are larger then a few inches), when scraping algae off the leaves, damage the plant surfaces as well. And yes they do feed on the wood. I'm not sure if the latter is a general fact or only for the majority.

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## grey_fox

Shit! (sorry for my language) I totally missed out on this trip...  :Crying:

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## eddyq

Any reason why no group picture was taken?

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## michael lai

> These plecos do eat the plants and woods in our tank right?


Genes, only the genus Panaque( royal plecos ) threaten drift wood if that is your concern. ie: L90,L330,L27. THe rest is considered acceptable, anyway most pleco tanks are bare except for DW.

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## richietay

Can request to identify out who is who on those pictures??  :Smile:

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## vinz

Questions about camera equipment and photography skill split to Equipment vs skill.

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## benny

> Any reason why no group picture was taken?


We usually do not take group picture of most outing. If you are there, you know who everyone is. If you are not, there is no need to know.

Cheers,

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## tcy81

any plans for the next outing already ?
seeing teo's planted tanks...... make me want to setup planted tank again...

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