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Day 1 - Getting Discus mania!
When I first saw the ad in the newspaper about a Aquarama 2001,
I was flabbergasted! I was hoping for a Discus competition or
exhibition of any kinds to come by. Ohhh... yes it has come.
Aquarama 2001 was to be held at the Singapore Expo Hall 2 from
31st May - 3 June. From 31st May to the 2 June afternoon, it
was for trade visitors. It was saddening and I thought I had
to squeeze with the public in the last two days.
Then I went to Chai Discus Farm to buy some medication. I was
a very frequent customer and I was fortunate to walk away with
a trade visitor invitation card! That saved me the admission
fee and gave me unlimited trips to Aqauarama 2001!
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Here is my trade invitation card given to me kindly by Mrs.
Chai.
The day before the opening, I couldn't sleep. Don't laugh!
I bet ya felt the same before? :0) Anyway I sleep maybe a couple
of hours and was ready to go. My dad took a half day leave to
join me. My friend Shaun was coming along too. After lunch,
we set off.
It was a big event. We had to register at a counter to get
a trade badge, a proof of our identity for unlimited access
on all days to the exhibition. My badge hung loosely around
my neck, the strap was of Tetra brand, cool! We entered Hall
2, slightly after 1pm. We would be there for another two hours
or so.
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An entrance to a booth. Very creative!
The hall was massive and it was my first time at the Expo.
My adrenaline started pumping higher. Show tanks stood everywhere.
Brands like Eheim, Fluval, Sera and Tetra had booths which were
very glamorous. I ventured past many booths, uninterested. My
main aim, was to take a look at the Discus at the competition
area first, before exploring the rest of the booths!
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The Discus competition area.
I went bonkers when I saw from a far small tanks lined up properly
and there were tags on them. I rushed that equipped with a Canon
IXUS 300 digital camera and I started to snap all the prize
winners for my Discus'O'Zest website. I admired briefly each
Discus from class one up to seven.
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Lee Tong Juan, the Discus Grand Champion owner. A lucky shot.
As I was taking my photos, I happened to chanced upon the Grand
Champion owner Lee Tong Juan! I thought to myself "Wasn't
he the one I read on this mornings newspapers?". He was
carrying a trophy and posting for some shots. Not hesitating
I didn't to give him a shot too. I found out that he was an
avid hobbyist like me too. Not a breeder. He breeds his Discus
at his backyard laden with 40 over tanks.
I decided to take a photo with the Grand Champion itself. Although
it wasn't very cooperative,
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Me and the Grand Champion, I see no Discus in there! Maybe he's
camera shy.
There wasn't only Discus, there was the majestic Dragonsfish(Arrowana),
the fighting betta, tetra, guppy, goldfish and one interesting
section showing new species of fish.
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This is the 2nd prize winner for the Dragonfish (Arrowana) category.
I like the reddish colour it bares.
Then I diverted my attention and visited Mr and Mrs Chai at
their booth number 532. It was nice seeing them in formal clothing.
They don't do so back at their shop. They had a good assortment
of Discus. There was the Millenium Gold, Golden Melon (the same
strain that won the 1st prize in Class 2), Super Melon, Snow
White, Web Leopard Snake etc...
My friend, Shaun, can't resist the temptation to buy a Snow
White and so we stood there choosing for a long time. It was
difficult to select a Snow White, because they are all white!
In the end, we caught a 1-inch in length Snow White. It was
adorable and it looked innocent and dumb. Hehe...
After wondering around for a short while we went home. We spent
all together 2 well-spent hours there and the parking charges
was S$2. ;0)
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