# General > Events, field trips and gatherings >  Wu Hu Aquarium a.k.a Ben's LFS

## benny

Hi guys,

During the recent AQ Excursion, we extended the trip to include the recently opened Wu Hu Aquarium.


Details as follows:

Wu Hu Aquarium
Blk 71 Seng Poh Road #01-39
Tel: 62270935
Contact: Ben Wong
Interim Operating Hours:
Monday to Saturday : 0830 hrs to 2130 hrs
Sunday : 0830 hrs to 2000 hrs


The newly renovated shop is much more spacious than the two previous shops that Ben had. It's located just opposite the old Tiong Bahru market where most of his regular customers are familiar with. Ben's first shop was located inside the Tiong Bahru Market itself and was there for the longest time. I used to visit them when I was still in school. That shop expanded from one unit to the two units a few years ago. Due to the renovation of the market, Ben had to relocate his shop to 22 Havelock Road, where Keong Seong Aquarium is located. That shop is now closed and this new shop officially opened for business on 1 Dec 2005. The display tank on the front of his shop is still yet to be set up, but it's most likely to be a planted tank accordingly to Ben.


The bulk of the staple small fishes are located on the left hand side of the shop. The tanks run almost through the entire left wall. Tetras, barbs, rasboras, corydoras, swordtails, guppies, etc. You name it, Ben's probably got it at some point in time or another. Besides these bread and butter offerings, he also has larger fishes such as arowanas and other odd balls further inside the shop.


Goldfishes lines the right entrance. Wonder if it's for Feng Shui reasons? In between these two racks of tanks, there are three large blue holding containers for aging water to be used for the tanks and for packing the livestocks. Nets and pails are neatly stacked at the side for customers to help themselves if they wish. 

With five car (actually 4 cars and 1 van!) loads of AQ members, we managed to make it a really cosy place during our visit. Even then, there is plenty of space for us to move around and not get in each other's way. The light colored tiled flooring really gives the shop a nice, clean, fresh look.


More to come!

Cheers,

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## benny

Ben was happy to see us and extend his usual warm hospitality. Obviously very proud of his new shop, he gave us (or those of us whose faces are not glued to his tanks) a short introduction to his new set up. The carefully thought out arrangement was a result of his years of experience in retailing and his opportunities to reference some of the aquatic retail outlets around the world.


The new shop is fairly deep and here's a view of the main section where all the livestock are located. Basically, the shop is divided into 2 halves, with livestocks in the front and sundries at the back. There is suppose to be more than 150 tanks in total and we believe that's excluding the betta tanks further in. Ben hopes to be able to cater to a diversified group by being able to offer different types of fishes for different hobbyists and the sheer variety of fishes available there is certainly testimonial to this philosophy.


Aquatic plants compliment most aquarium set up and Ben has also set aside six tanks just to house aquarium plants. The Aquarium plant section is located just opposite the cashier counter, in the middle of the shop. Staple offering like Hygrophilia, Echinodorus, Rotala are available in pots and those looking for plants on driftwood can find them in the lower tanks. Any other plants that are not on displayed can be ordered from the shop as well. It's great to see a greater emphasis on aquarium plants at Ben's shop!!


As can be seen, the new shop has plenty of space to accomodate our entire group, which would have been impossible in the last two shop. The photo below shows the large fish section where there are 18 tanks in 6 racks located just before the dry goods section. Arowanas, bichirs, large catfishes amongst other are also popular with Ben's customers.


Space is always a premium and Ben has creatively put all the larger items such as canister filters, light sets etc on top of all the fish racks to save space. These items can easily be retreived if customers wish to inspect them.

More to come..

Cheers,

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## benny

The back of the shop is where Ben keep all the sundry items such as food, medication as well as aquarium accessories. In our opinion, this is a lot more tactical than his previous two shop layouts. When you pick up your supplies, you must walk past the livestock gallery and chances of incremental sales are much higher this way.


It takes about 15 mins just to walk to the end. Just Kidding! Well...if you do browse as you walk along, then it's true!


In anycase, bettas are presented in a section dedicated to themselves, with fairly spacious tanks. There are some really good looking plakats there too! Aquarium accessories such as water changer, thermometers and valves are located just next to it in their respective racks.


Food, medication water conditioners and fertilizers are all neatly stacked on the opposite shelves. All the major brands such as Tetra, JBL, Sera, Nutrafin, Tropica, Hikari, Ocean Free, Interpet etc are on the shelves.

Last bit!

Cheers,

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## benny

Some of the livestock seen at the shop..


Not too sure what it is. But I'm sure hwchoy knows...


The catfish above is more commonly known as porthole catfish here.


And here's a cute little crayfish!

Obviously there is a lot more and there wasn't enough time at there shop. We were also tired from running around the whole day and will probably be back to scoop somemore goodies from Ben's tank another day.

Ok. End of update. Those of you guys who visit the place, don't forget to drop us a line telling us what you see there!

Thanks!

Cheers,

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## hwchoy

> Some of the livestock seen at the shop..
> 
> 
> Not too sure what it is. But I'm sure hwchoy knows...


nice fat _Eirmotus octozona_.

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## Simon

first class service from the boss too  :Razz:

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## budak

look like NTUC supermarket!! :O

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## taz_boy

HA....ye.. i felt it looks more like Econ Minimart, the way he place the fish food etc.......very neat and tidy....best is it's spacious...bettas have tanks for their own, unlke most lfs that pack them like selling moss like that...poor thing

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## benny

Update!

The front of the shop with the big water container has been changed. It now houses another two rows of tanks for MORE FISHES!!!

Will update with pictures when I have the chance.

Cheers,

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## valice

> Update!
> 
> The front of the shop with the big water container has been changed. It now houses another two rows of tanks for MORE FISHES!!!
> 
> Will update with pictures when I have the chance.
> 
> Cheers,


cool! seen any new bristlenoses there?

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## ranmasatome

> Update!
> 
> The front of the shop with the big water container has been changed. It now houses another two rows of tanks for MORE FISHES!!!
> 
> Will update with pictures when I have the chance.
> 
> Cheers,


YES!!!YES!!YES!!!

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## avant

waha...expanding expanding expanding!  :Smug:

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## aquarius

Yes MORE fishes!!! Heard that he'll be coming in tanganyika next week!

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## Giant

The tank at the front of the shop has this Aro swimming together with quite a number of tetras in a planted setup, I asked Ben, he says they are swim without fear of the aro.  :Shocked:  

Did my CNY shopping there today.  :Grin:

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## hwchoy

not tetras, harlequin rasboras.

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## Giant

> not tetras, harlequin rasboras.


Ooops hehe pardon my mistake.  :Opps:  
Can't remember were there cardinals also.

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## hwchoy

don't have leh haha. was just there last evening.

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## Giant

think my mistake, see too many fishies already.  :Grin:  

Or maybe the aro ATE them all already, cos I was there early afternoon.
So by the time u arrived, dinner time over for the aro. hehehe

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## Nicky

Just came back from Ben's shop..

There are lots of cardinal and harlequin in the aro-planted display tank.

I saw this pony-tail sale person trying to  :Razz:  explain to an old man that the light used for the aro-planted display tank is a 'special light meant for arowana' (though honestly I think it must be just regular 6500-7500k light) when the pony-tail-fellow lift up one end of the light.

Now the light is supported on the 2 brace and the pony-tail guy need to raise his hand to lift one side of the light.. you probably guessed it.. the other end of the light went about 4-5 inches into the water :Shocked:  .. water starts to gash into the light-holder flooding the end of the FL-tube.. I watch in horror and momentarily I froze, thinking I will see a electric-gold arowana.. luckily the pony-tail chap put the light back and water starts to flow back to the tank...

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## avant

woah.. haa... thankfully the arowana didn't jump out haa...

so any interesting fish that you saw??

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## hwchoy

> woah.. haa... thankfully the arowana didn't jump out haa...
> 
> so any interesting fish that you saw??


you still haven't gone and get that big loach?

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## Fei Miao

> Just came back from Ben's shop..
> 
> There are lots of cardinal and harlequin in the aro-planted display tank.
> 
> I saw this pony-tail sale person trying to  explain to an old man that the light used for the aro-planted display tank is a 'special light meant for arowana' (though honestly I think it must be just regular 6500-7500k light) when the pony-tail-fellow lift up one end of the light.
> 
> Now the light is supported on the 2 brace and the pony-tail guy need to raise his hand to lift one side of the light.. you probably guessed it.. the other end of the light went about 4-5 inches into the water .. water starts to gash into the light-holder flooding the end of the FL-tube.. I watch in horror and momentarily I froze, thinking I will see a electric-gold arowana.. luckily the pony-tail chap put the light back and water starts to flow back to the tank...


Wooo... that's interesting,  :Flame:  maybe I'll get the guy to show me again the next time I go down to Ben's
 :Grin:   :Grin:  


.... just kidding :Grin:

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## avant

> you still haven't gone and get that big loach?


haa...nope.. that's too big for me haa... not too convenient for me to go as well..used to stay at outram, now at hougang already  :Laughing:  

i did manage to get some loaches from eco-culture heh heh heh..

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## hwchoy

simi loach?

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## dorothy

anyone seen any wild guppies at Ben's?  :Grin:

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## Fei Miao

Dorothy, saw endler pairs at C328 yesterday!

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## avant

i just went to Ben's today. Didn't see him around. Apparently he's out again.

Just some updates:

1. the planted tank seems to be doing well. not sure if they had rescaped it as i didn't see the state when the arowana was inside. but looks algae-free, so probably they redo the whole thing again.

2. hermit crabs on sale. they put them on dry land. they look fine to me. got 4 pieces haa.. the guy who packed them for me also informed me that they are land hermits, can feed with veggies and try to put them on dry land. it's not the pony-haired guy, but another guy.

3. i've asked the guy about the coral sandbed for the apistos tank. he said he's aware of their needs for slightly acidic water. he had measured the pH to be around 7. so he said it was still okay. i guess he probably don't have a lot of power to overhaul the whole apisto tank setups. there are a lot of apisto tanks with all coral chips.

4. finally saw the schistura haa.. fat and long.. hwchoy..too big already la..

thats all for the updates  :Smile:

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## Justikanz

The pony-haired guy almost put water into my bag of LHCs when I bought them the last time I was there... I stopped him immediately and he's like, 'Huh? You sure?'... Oh well... Glad things are better...  :Smile:

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## Cacatuoides

wats some of the apistos sold at ben's? can name some? thx

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## avant

> The pony-haired guy almost put water into my bag of LHCs when I bought them the last time I was there... I stopped him immediately and he's like, 'Huh? You sure?'... Oh well... Glad things are better...


er... he was there doing tank maintenance.. thankfully it's the other chap that was attending to me.. i think he's new.. but at least he knows his stuff..
my LHCs aren't eating or moving much  :Sad:

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## avant

> wats some of the apistos sold at ben's? can name some? thx


ah..sorry.. not too sure about their IDs. they are only labelled as apistos ha.. but they look quite dull.. probably coz of lack of cover? feeling insecure i guess.

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## Justikanz

> er... he was there doing tank maintenance.. thankfully it's the other chap that was attending to me.. i think he's new.. but at least he knows his stuff..
> my LHCs aren't eating or moving much


Bring that topic to the vivarium section and discuss.  :Wink:  They are more nocturnal and can take days to finish poss a small piece of apple!  :Smile:

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## XnSdVd

Thomas, you're talking about the same guy who gave us free tubifex?

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## Justikanz

Who gave free tubifex? I thought I paid for all my stuff?  :Huh?:  I was talking about a pony-tailed guy...  :Opps:

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## XnSdVd

I got free tubifex!!  :Grin:

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## LeAnne

wow. now i noe where to find ben's LFS  :Very Happy: 

but but but i going marine soon  :Mad:

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## taz_boy

Blk 71 Seng Poh Road
#01-39

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## sheng

You are confuse  :Smile: 
No one is asking for address  :Smile: 
He said he have found Ben LFS :Smile:

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## Fei Miao

Any new happenings there?  :Smile:

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## andrewtyr

He ran out of rubies le.

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## ranmasatome

biotope have.

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## s9534891b

how to go there from senkang?

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## stormhawk

Take train from Sengkang to Tiong Bahru. Get out and take bus 16 from the main bus stop just outside Tiong Bahru Plaza. It's about 2 bus stops away. You get off and cross over and walk into the area. You can't miss the multi-storey carpark? or wet market building. Ben's shop is just past that building. You can walk there too from Tiong Bahru Plaza if you want.

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## burpz

Nice and well-lit place.. been there twice in 3 days...  :Embarassed:

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## Emokidz

The easiest way to find your way there's probably to get yourself to Tiong Bahru Market (the one with the hawker centre above). It's directly opposite.

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## bossteck

Use Google maps street view

http://maps.google.com.sg/maps?f=q&s...134.54,,1,7.52

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## skytan

Have been getting all my lifestock there, very neat and enjoyable.
As usual the boss, is very friendly and knowledgable with his wares.

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## carfyx

Is there CRS at Wu Hu ?

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## griffinkid

Yes. They have a small tank for CRS but im not sure of the grading  :Very Happy:

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## aj5122003

Today i just went there the fishes there selection very limited if compared to y618 or c328. Will not go therw again

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## bryan

I enjoy going to Ben's. Shop is spacious, clean and neat, organised and well stocked but of course uncomparable to C328. 
But most importantly, fish are properly kept and healthy.

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## alanchow76

U can see his newspaper cutting at his shop abt his life wearing army uniform,officer rank.
Neat and tidy, no feeling of being rushed abt and knocking into people as in c328. Most important they are not dumb... :Very Happy: 

There are also two LFS there at tiong bahru market,one sell cheap and good guppies
and anthr much further behind tiong bharu plaza known as East Ocean, at Blk 22 Havelock road.(walk abt 500m)

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## bryan

Somehow I kind of miss his market stall. There was always an element of surprise. It was like a mini C328.

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## ltsai

Agree. Ben's shop is neat and tidy. The fish are clearly stocked and well displayed. Same for east ocean.

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## ivanthensf

I always drop by Ben's once in a while and it is good enough for me. East Ocean is nice too but livestock are quite pricey relative to Ben/C328 and the tanks with plants have alot of algae.

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## barmby

Ben's as dark as ever. : )

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