craze for flower horn fish

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New Sunday Times - Features

 

 

 

Cover Story

Meet the Mermaid of wealth

By Sunita Chhabra sunita

 

May 5: WOULD you pay the price of a house for a fish? Believe it or not,

rearing Lou Han fish (better known as the Flower Horn), can reap up to

RM200,000 if one of your fries turns out to be a beauty.

 

You wouldn't have to wait long either as the fish grow pretty fast - in just a

few months you'll know if you have a winner.

 

In Chinese, the Flower Horn is called Lou Han, a fish that is said to bring

good feng sui luck. Many believe the name 'Flower Horn' came from the words

'Fah Lou Han' or 'Hualorhan'. In

fact, Flower Horn is the name used by Meng Aquarium while Mermaid Explorer (M)

Sdn Bhd prefers to call it Mermaid fish. Another dealer, K.K. Lim, calls the

Lou Han Flower Leopard.

 

When Chan Woei Ming, a partner of Mermaid Explorer, took some Malaysian-bred

Mermaid Cichlid species to the Taiwan Trade Centre in July, a collector offered

RM412,570 for one of

the fish. He refused to sell.

 

How many of us know that we should be proud of this hybrid species of the

cichlid family as its origin is Malaysia? When Indonesian magazine Trubus

wanted to do a story on these fish,

they came here to do research since we were responsible for its introduction.

The first hybrids were generated in Penang and Redang in 1997 but the fish

wasn't too popular until later when

serious enthusiasts kept breeding it until it achieved colours and features

irresistible to fish hobbyists.

 

These later generations have accumulated a big following. Talk to any person in

the ornamental fish industry and the likely answer will be, " Ini ikan 'hot'

sekarang. " Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia ...

it's making waves there.

 

Collectors range from yuppies to hip executives and businessmen. But not

everyone thinks the Flower Horn wonderful. Some say it's downright ugly.

However, for those who have become

hooked, this is one aquatic beauty and some owners wax lyrical about it.

 

Y.C. Cheah, the other partner of Mermaid Explorer, says: " Before we started

breeding this fish, we were 10-20 years behind Japan and Taiwan (in terms of

breeding ornamental fish).

Now we're not lagging so far behind. " He says that governments in Taiwan and

Japan are supportive and grants are given to those who show an interest in

developing a new species. However, in Malaysia, one has to fork out one's own

money. Cheah spent almost RM100,000 to develop the lovely Mermaid Lou Han. He

hopes that due to his efforts and that of other fish lovers, there will be more

allocation of funds for this field. After all, Malaysia is a big exporter of

ornamental fish amounting to about RM40 million each year.

 

There are various types of Flower Horn and they are referred to by many

different names. They are generally characterised by a bump/protrusion on the

head, a distinctive luminous colour and

lateral markings which look like Chinese script along the length of the body.

 

What a fish is worth is determined by these very characters (if they seem to

have any meaning), the shape and size of the bump; body colour and luminosity.

The size of the fish, shape of fins and

general appearance also affect price.

 

The last hybrid in the industry that became a sensation was the Red Parrot. It

was a favourite with hobbyists a few years ago and its price soared. Now the

excitement has shifted to the Flower

Horn.

 

Cheah was responsible for the development of the prized Mermaid displayed in

Taipeh. And it all started with a broken heart. He relates how after breaking

up with his girlfriend in 1990, he turned to this fish. He checked out various

types of fishes in aquariums, books and magazines before starting on the

project to come out with a hybrid fish so beautiful it would take one's breath

away.

 

Between 1991 and 1994, he crossed the 'Human Face Mammon' with about 200 types

of cichlidae before achieving the creation of the 'Sparkling Mammon' in 1995.

Another year was

spent cultivating the third generation hybrid. " I interbred the Sparkling

Mammon and the America Rainbow Festa Cichlid (called Green Golden Tiger here). "

 

The result was the third generation Mermaid - the Flourish Monk, so named

because the prosperous " tumour " on the forehead of the fish was speckled with

nine small dots, like the drop scars initiated into the heads of monks.

 

In 1997, the Fourth Generation Mermaid, the exceptional 'Flourish Luo Han', was

born. Why is it so great? Well, not only does it have a lovely sheen, its

markings are auspicious, too. For example, if you look closely at the

'Mermaid', one of the markings looks like the Chinese character fatt

prosperity); another looks like the character ma (horse). Most curious of all,

there is one image which looks like a woman or mermaid with flowy hair.

Special? Indeed! Why else would they refuse to sell it, even at that price, in

Taipeh?

 

They now use this fish to get the progeny which they breed and sell, both

wholesale and retail. When asked why he likes these hybrid creations, Cheah's

answer was devotional: " There is no

nicer fish than the Lou Han. You can play with it and find a sense of peace. It

is also intelligent, can be trained... "

 

Lim, who works with Cheah at their shoplot in Taman Maju Jaya, is a helpful

guy, eager to share what he knows about the fish. He explains that Cheah is so

dedicated to the Mermaids that he has

concocted two types of pellets (to be put into the water) to combat the two

sicknesses that can cause these fish to die. The first is the " hole in the

head " while the other is transparent, whitish

faeces.

 

The duo claim to be probably the only ones who know how to cure the diseases

and according to a customers, it's true. According to him, most aquarium owners

will ask you to try one medication after another and before long, your fish is

dead.

 

Cheah says they are working towards a local range/brand of quality fish food

and medication for sale, not only here, but all over the world.

 

Do these fish really bring luck? Lim recounts the story of a woman who came in

to see the fish. He explains: " You and I may look at it and see nothing but

some of them will. She told all her friends

and they all struck 4-D lottery. If I'm not mistaken, the number was 4083. "

 

Many who decide to rear this fish usually start off with one, then two, then

eight... then up to 40 or 50 - an indication they do bring something positive

into the lives of the owners. Lim tells another

story to help me understand just how much the owners value their fish.

 

A customer brought a sick fish back to the shop which they managed to cure but

(at that time, they didn't instal much security), it was stolen. Mermaid

Aquarium actually advertised a reward of RM8,000 to get it back. Newspapers

then visited the owner who said he would pay an extra RM18,000 if he could get

it back. When I asked why, Lim shrugs his shoulders. " We don't

know. Maybe it brought him luck. " Furthermore each fish is actually just one of

its kind. "

 

Each fish looks different with either varying colouring, a different kind of

face, markings, personality, etc... " That's why, " says Cheah, the value of this

fish won't drop. Every single one is

unique and if you like a particular one, you will be willing to pay for it.

Unlike arowana or many other types of fish which tend to look alike, there is

little chance of finding another identical fish. "

 

Lim shows me advertisement cuttings in the Chinese newspaper with pictures of a

few adult Flower Horn fish on sale. I ask why one cost only RM65 while another

was RM135. They look at me

in disbelief and say: " It's RM65,000 and RM135,000. " All I could mutter was an

awed " Wow! "

 

Prices should also hold or stay steady over the years as from a batch of 800 to

1,000 fry, only 10 per cent will turn out to be A-Grade Flower Horns. Here's

where one could get lucky. It's

difficult to know which fry have potential. If you buy a tiny fish for about

RM80 and keep it for a few months, you may be able to sell it for RM2,000 or

more as the promise of what they may

become (the bump and colour will start showing) can be seen.

 

When I ask how sure they are that a fish could be re-sold, Cheah's simple

retort is: " I myself am willing to buy back a fish I sold a few months ago if I

think it has potential. I usually pay about RM1,800. In fact I do this often. "

 

Demand is so great today that theft of Flower Horns have become rampant. Just a

few months ago the national newspapers reported that seven of these fish were

stolen. To help curb such

problems, Cheah now puts a microchip in his fish and gives each a 'birth

certificate' of sorts.

 

Cheah feels the fish has brought him luck in the sense that he was able to

create the beautiful " Mermaid " and become a successful breeder and dealer. In

his farm, he says, he has 17 other fish

which can be considered just as nice or even nicer than the Mermaid.

 

At the Mermaid Explorer (M) Sdn Bhd at No 17-19, Jalan Bunga Melati, Taman

Maju Jaya, Kuala Lumpur ((03-9200 7888) you'll get a glimpse of the Mermaid

Flower Horn Cheah

refused to part with. There's also a fish tagged at over RM1 mil. You can

purchase Mermaids here but they also operate in the manner of a franchising

concern and there are other aquariums

here and overseas which stock their fish.

 

According to Lim, all sorts of visitors drop in daily to see if this fish

really exists. While I was there, loads of people were coming in and out of the

shop. Foreign visitors are allowed to snap a picture with the fish as a

souvenir of their visit but Malaysians aren't as they don't want to stress the

fish too much. After all, locals can always visit again.

 

Lim says their Lou Hans have the biggest protruding head bumps. Looking at

their fish, I am pretty impressed.

 

Another dealer you could consider when shopping for a Lou Han is Meng Aquarium

which has quite a few types of Flower Horn with interesting names such as

Coronation Link, Perfect Harmony and Flower Street.