2feet Aquatic PTS 5.0 - *FAILED*

It's been months trying to find nerite snails to placate my algae problems. These days, I grow algaes it seems!! :P Thanks to the fact the our weather has been previously hot and the change in the sun's position... my tank has not been getting enough light at all! hence the bad bloom of algaes! Name 'em and i'd probably have them at this stage!! lol :P 

Even with extra CO2, insufficient light'd causes the glosso to reach for the sky! Notice the driftwood behind, they're all totally covered with staghorns and even the blackbeard's blooming!

Only thing stopping me from tearing the entire setup down is that unfortunately, i don't have the time and i'm also currently using this tank as a nursing bay for a cichlid suffering from intestinal problems! The other good thing about growing algaes, especially good healthy green staghorns is that i get to supplement my cichlids with greens! Omnivoures that they are, i'm hoping this would keep their diet on the healthier side...

And people ask me why I take photos of the aquarium at night... Obviously it's a mess, lol! Alas, till the sun comes back up proper, i'd have to make do... or tear the entire thing down again, sigh....

88 Petsmart Sunwaymas - 'in search of the mighty nerite'

It's a long over-due post, sorry! I've been caught up with stuff and unfortunately this blog took a secondary priority :)  Also, my tank has been swarmed by all sorts of algaes! I've got pre-dominantly staghorns, green and blackbeards all over my tank. Even with up-ping the co2 dosage didn't even put a dent in its growth! All this i think may be 'cause by the past few weeks really hot weather, water temperature was really high... alas, the problem with setting an aquatic tank outside one's home. Well, lesson learnt!

So i've been thus looking for a bunch of nerites. SLS didn't have stock and other big fishshops were also short! Made a trip to 88 petsmart to also check it out. 

Oh and i've read somewhere that some pond snails are actually nerites....ehh?! Well, time to go snail hunting again!! 

They've got quite a good aquascaped setup and most stuff required can be purchased there. Nerite's not really a familiar name and i ended up asking for snails that eats algaes :P Which works and i realise most people knows them as algae-eating snails! RM3.50's the approx. normal price too. 

Battalions of SAE awaiting taking flight and coming to an aquarium near you!

Don't you just love a tank with cherry shrimps... lots of them too :)

This looks a bit alternative though...like the idea about bricks by James Maslin, brilliantly beautiful...anyone? :) lol!

Seeing these tanks, makes me wonder if i shoulda listen to convention and kept my tank indoor.... ergh! I need to update the newer tank pics to explain how bad it's gotten! Good thing about having a algae production centre is that you'd get unlimited amounts of good green chlorophyll with loads of fiber, great stuffs to add to your cichlids diet! I've been taking chunks of it and feeding my other cichlid tank and they've happily gulped it down :) None has died as yet though :P lol...afterall, cichlids are supposedly omnivours and would usually scavage and eat plant matter in their natural environment. Maybe i've ultimately killed some of them because of a heavy meat diet throughout... so, let's see how this goes!

This is the terranium setup... love the misting. They've also got a few terranium tanks that you can purchase if you're into them.  I did enquire and they do custom size tanks upon your request. a 6feet monster, could cost you approx RM600.  Not too bad, considering I purchase my 4.5feet 5 years ago, a RM350. 

Lastly, was tempted to purchase this lil' clump of anubias. Considering i've got a algae plague, it'd be a waste of money till i get everything sorted out...

Obviously, i don't need to mention what they'd have and all, especially since i've got a URL that u can check out with contacts and other details :) Yes, i am dat lazy! Oh yeah, anyone wanna start a fish business should go check out this offer!

Office / Outlet :
No. 20 & 22 Jalan PJU1/3D
Sunwaymas Commercial Centre
47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan 

Tel : 603-7805 4478
  603-7805 4479 
Fax : 603-7806 2278
E-mail : factory@88marine.com
  enquiry@88marine.com
URL : www.88petsmart.com

Taman Desa Panmee - Restaurant Sepetang

If you're ever in the area, drop by Taman Desa to try this bowl of panmee! This gerai (hawker stall) has been around quite awhile, i've eaten here back in 2005 i think! Their speciality really is a really good brothful bowl of noodles with lots of mince pork meat and condiments. Portions really is huge, so order at your discretion. 

A double engine :) Two panmee rollers, and i shoulda taken a shot of the noodle block, it was before lunch when we arrive and it looked like they've gone through 10% of it only. It's huge, nearly a foot long and a probability of making tons of noodles :) You could see a glimpse of it right behind the right roller! Business is good!Restaurant Sepetang is really a nice place, albeit it's a coffee-shop and non-a/c but it's spacious and it opens up to the back alley where most would sit and enjoy the cold breeze. We'd usually order and move on to the back!And as always, a cuppa cham or "tea-coffee mix", one for the missus, another for me :)

Most other times, we'd eat a soup bowl 'pulled' instead of 'yao' or thin as really the only way to enjoy good soupy panmee is 'pulled' as you'd taste the noodles more (As per the Klang's Fatty Mee). Somewhat like eating the usual spagetti bolognese instead of angelhair bolognese... somehow, u don't taste the pasta as well (IMHO). If you're wondering what's 'pulled' and 'yao' means, i wrote about it earlier here!

Oh yeah! Of course... the neccesary 'evils' :) A compulsory big bowl of vegetables!! :)

I kinda took this photo half way digging into the bowl. That's half the amount of meat i had in mine! So for the meat lover, do expect chunks of mince pork in your noodles :)

This is the dry big version. It's great with lots of chillies so ensure that they've given you enough. I'd usually dump a whole sauce-bowl in and would need more to go :P  

The humble pounded chilli belacan sauce, simple yet the best thing ever for a big bowl of panmee. Doesn't look that great though, but really... it'd spice up your meal alright! :P

All in all, we ordered two big bowls and an extra bowl of vegie and the bill came up to RM9! Yeap, it's really good/economical/healthy/and have i mentioned cheap too? :P A hearty cheap meal in Klang Valley. So here's a map to the location, unfortunately the shop doesn't have other details or days off mentioned! If anyone do know, please comment yah! 

Sri Kembangan Prawn Panmee

 It's humbling to think about how the panmee's simple beginnings in malaysia where poor folks those days would eat them as a staple meal. So the story goes as how i'd remember my parents telling me that during the japanese occupancy in Malaysia, people were in hiding and were staying in the jungles. There wasn't much to eat and they would plant tapioca. The chinese folks would cook noodles made out of flour from the tubers with simple condiments. The idea behind eating panmee is that because you're starting out with a block of knead-dough, which one could either make strings of noodles or pulled to size, you can prepare it as and when it's needed, however you'd want them. A good panmee shop starts your noodles from that block which they'd cut a section to make your portion from. Bad panmee is shops which have them already prepared, urgk! They'd end up having to over-salt or end up putting too much sauces and oil to make their bowl edible!

 Hence a soup base of anchovies, adding the ever available sweet leaf which grows so easily and meat slivers, a simple and nourishingly conforting  bowl of noodles was served! Those days, only the poorer folks would eat panmee. The original recipe did come from China but it really is something to think about how far it has travelled, taste-wise becoming a dish with many different nuances to satisfy the populace. These days, the malaysian folks are eating more and more panmee as a healthier alternative with no or less MSG and lots of vegetables. Chillie panmee being healthy?! Maybe not to your stomach :P

 Thus far, if u're going to be eating a basic dry panmee, this place really does serves up a really scrumptious meal! The best way to enjoy this version of the panmee, is to order it with extra everything or in cantonese, to tell them "ka-lieu" (add ingredients). I'll always have the dry-version (kon-lou) and that the noodles are thin (yao). Typically, panmee comes in 3 versions; thin (yao),  thick (chou) and pulled (meet)... :P Depending on shops and also preference, one could order panmee and have them in different ways :) So, here's what you'd have to tell the cook when you wanna order! kon-lou, yao meen, sai... kah lieu! :P lol!! tai means big and sai is for small. Oh and yeah, meen is noodles in cantonese. This will ensure that u'd get all the good-stuff

 Don't forget your dose of vegetables! Here, you can order a separate bowl of vegetables. They'd also have fish paste-stuffed beancurd (fpsb) which goes brillantly with your bowl of vegies. I'd usually make a separate order of one piece of  fpsb in a bowl of vegetables! Sorry, no pictures though... missed this one, was too hungry! You could also order sui-gau which is seasonal! The bowl is served with a number of big prawns and comes with extra chrispy anchovies and sambal belacan on the side.  The first time i tried this place, i actually ate yee-mee instead and never realised their speciality is the panmee! Over a period of time and a colleagues insistent to try panmee, we took a drive out to Sri Kembangan! That was nearly 5 years back and as they'd say... the rest is history! 

All in all, a small bowl of noodles, with extra ingredients plus another bowl of vegie will set you back less then RM8, approx as i can't remember ever ordering a single order and remember what the tab was in the end!! Here's the map to the location. It's house no. 800! It's quite difficult to find as the shop's really in the heart of Sri Kembangan! :) Hopefully, the map does help though!

2feet Aquatic PTS 4.0

Latest addition to my planted tank! :P Purchase a pair of killifishes from AI the other day. Their colours are so remarkable and they really do bring out the best in your aquarium. I wished i had enough for a school of killis and it'd be fun to see 'em breed! The planted tank is doing well, glosso growing up quite fast! Whoever says you can't plant glosso with sunlight only! :P 

I've decided to trim back a whole load of plants, seeing as the water has stabilized. I've cut out all the pennyworts and removed a clump of water poppies. Threw out the mosaic plant too as it'd was loosing to the water poppies! I never knew the water poppies could overwelm the entire tank. I've got shoots nearly 1.5feet in lenght! Never did see this sorta growth in my waterpots! I've yet to see flowers, though having a few buds growing. Wonder if it's a water-level thingie, and the bud have to be outta the water quickly! Will try to get one out and see :P This photos were before the trimming began though, more photos in later updates :)

So yeah...lots of snails around :P I've even added a version of the trumpet snails, was told they'd be good to churn your substrate! Obviously, the LFS i got them from hates them, n were giving 'em away to me for free!! Experiment away i will :)

New yamatos acclimatising to the new environment :) 

And lastly, here's a pic of the baby wagtail! 

I did lose a pair of swordtails and a wagtail, this tank needs a water change every 2 weeks. In my excitement, i made two water-changes in a day... n that has caused me a killi fish... *sob* *sob*! I was moving my tank nearer into the sunlight! Have learnt a valuable lesson not to purchase fishes till tank is good to go! Lets hope the other guy survives...

Aquatics International Sdn. Bhd. (AI)

AI is supposedly the biggest aquaculture in malaysia, but then... I'm wondering if Xian Leng has actually thumb them off that list (they're a listed in our local KLSE!). Comparing footprints, AI actually has a bigger display area, as to Xian Leng, more varieties as well. But then, I am only comparing Xian Leng's Shah Alam and not its entirety. Some people who'd actually gone to their HQ in Muar has profess of its size and magnitude!! But then, who cares about statistics, afterall... unlike panmee, it's the fishes and plants that matters in the end :)  In need of a few more yamato shrimps and more fishes, we headed out there! 

Every shop needs its super display tank to impress and jaw-drop. AI has two, one being a marine tank and another a planted display unit! ... man, I wonder if that's a water-cooled system underneath! Running a canister filter, with metal-halide lights... Plants are so lush and beautiful!

Sorry, didn't really like the marine tank hence no pictures of it! That's the thing about buying fishes and blogging about LFS... You really can't concentrate and do both, esp. when wifey and friends are around. There's only so much photos/fish observation one is allowed before mood changes!

AI is also known for its marine setups and tanks! Beautiful fishes, unfortunately unafforable for the poor plebs like me. At Aquafair 2008, AI was selling baby reefsharks even! If i'm not mistaken, the sales personnel told us they were going for RM600 a piece! fwah.... You'd find an assortment of sea anemones, star fishes, rays... sharks, even cultivated corals. A one stop shop for marine enthusiast! Beautiful tanks... unfortunately, raving mad prices too! :P 

Say hello to a smiling leopard shark :) Just don't shake it's hands!

I do notice these days, AI seems to cater to more expensive pure-breeds. I mean, a few years ago, i never imagine sharks n this RM150 frontosa!! Beautiful as it is... RM15o?! take back n it decides to belly-up?! ouch!!

Maybe Malaysian Aquatic and Ornamental fishing community has matured in taste ... erm, nah!!! But then, AI is an exporter and this may be its extra stock they're pushing out to the local malaysian. Anyway, here's a picture of a portion of their sales setup! I bet'cha this has more freshwater fishes then even our National Zoo of Malaysia! They'd have most fishes in our local market... afterall,  LFS do stock from them! Oh yeah, an in AI... go in groups, the more you'd buy, the better the discounts!

Here's the yamato shrimps!! I purchase them for RM3 per prawn, but got a RM1 discount!

Lovely banana shrimps! Was contemplating this guy... but seeing as  I don't have a big tank, I decided not to! It's lovely to see them sitting in the waterflow, grabbing for food and watching them eat!

A tank of brackish water puffer-fish... fresh fugu anyone?

A cloud of frontosa...man! 

And the resident clean-up crew! Resting between meals :P

Beautiful pearlscale! RM24 bucks!! 

If i had the money, i'd stock my 20feet pond with a few hundred of these comet goldfish... and then throw in a starved toman (giant channa)! What am i saying!! I love fish, i really do!! 

Picture of the guys packing your fishes. They'd pack for local LFS but the even bigger quantities or for shipment overseas, happens all hush hush, behind the scene! Something we'd only get a peek at...unfortunately!

AQUATICS INTERNATIONAL SDN. BHD. 
http://www.aquatics.com.my/
260A Jalan Satu A, Kampong Baru Subang 
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia 
Tel: 60-3-7463559, 7465042 
Fax: 60-3-7463864, 7461978, 7177009

And here's the map! Using the newly done-up Subang Old Airport road, it's a breeze to get there from Ara D'sara! Erm, getting there is rather difficult as there really isn't any roadsigns as the road is under-rennovation, so I'd recommend you to head out with someone who's been there or drop them a call beforehand! :)