That place is simply amazing...I can't wait to see weeping moss in my tank. Oh well maybe sometime next decade .
Hi, everyone,
Together with the Professor and a few friends, I had the honour of being invited to visit Oriental Aquarium on Sunday. Dr Unnikrishnan and one of the family members of Oriental were very kind to take time off their busy schedules to show us around the place. I must say Oriental is really huge. The farm is easily 5 to 6 times the size of Teo's Aquatics.
For our foreign friends in this forum who may not have heard of Oriental - They are one of the biggest, if not the biggest aquatic plant import/exporters in the world. Oriental is located somewhere to the north of Singapore in quite a remote area. Besides the one in Singapore, they also have farms in Malaysia and China.
Oriental is still very much a family business and usually, they don't entertain walk-in visitors. When I toured the place, I can understand the reasons why. The sheer size of its premises makes it impossible for Oriental to keep an eye on visitors. To do so, they would probably have to double or tripled the number of staff. Many of the paths in the farm are also very wet and slippery and a visitor can easily fall and injure himself if he's not careful. I enquired about organised tours but they explained that it would be impossible for them to conduct such tours because plant shipments are usually carried out on weekends and they just don't have enough manpower to spare. So, sorry guys. I tried but you really can't blame them for not allowing visitors.
Anyway, the good folks at Oriental were very nice and they allowed me to take many pictures. Here are some of them:
The place where plants are sorted out and tied into bundles
Thousands of pots of Annubias grown emersed
A new moss that Oriental is cultivating. It has a very appropiate common name - Weeping Moss
The plants are watered at regular intervals by sprinklers
Java Moss grown emersed on wet floors
More Java Moss grown submersed in baskets
Annubias everywhere!! Who needs CO2?
[b]Oriental's ice cream sticks (Java Moss grown emersed)
Bolbitis heudelotii
Adding value to plants by using driftwoods
Micranthenum umbrosum emersed
Collecting plants for shipment
Hygrophila polysperma
Parrot Feathers?
Plants, plants and more plants
Mother of all aquatic plants?
Hemianthus Callitrichoides?
Many species of Echinodorus
Echinodorus bleheri
Young seedlings transferred from tissue culture lab
2 toned Parrot Feather?
Putting them into pots
Cleaning plants with powerful jets of water
Cleaned plants
Packed and ready for export
Hope you enjoyed the tour :smile:
Loh K L
That place is simply amazing...I can't wait to see weeping moss in my tank. Oh well maybe sometime next decade .
Ryan aka wicked_good_guppies
I understand that Oriental alone account for about 10% of world aquatic plant market share. In fact many of the plants that Tropica is famous for originated here, such as the Echinodorus Marble Queen.Originally Posted by timebomb
why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica
Thanks Kwek Leong for posting up the pics... good composition, commentaries and helluva long time to download on my dialup connection! :wink:
It would be worth-while to consider a write-up on your visit and post the article at the main site.
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Oh, I think Budak is going to do that. He writes far better than anyone I know.Originally Posted by RonWill
Loh K L
... not forgetting the Echinodorus 'Oriental'... my favourite echi :wink:Originally Posted by hwchoy
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Thanks Mr Loh for the Introduction of Oriental Aquarium.
Hope soon we can easily get cheaper Hemianthus Callitrichoides?
So did you manage to buy any plants from them?
Cheers.
Best Regards, TS
PlantLog Garden Cryptocoryne, Bucephalandra .....
We didn't buy any plants as Oriental gave them to us for free. But then again, I took only one piece of driftwood that has an unusual liverwort growing on it. I would have gladly paid for it but Oriental was generous. I hope though we didn't impose on their generosity. We weren't looking for cheap plants when we visited Oriental. To be allowed to visit is already such an honour :wink:.Originally Posted by ts168
Loh K L
ok thanks. I just got myself a pot of Hemianthus Callitrichoides to try out.
Best Regards, TS
PlantLog Garden Cryptocoryne, Bucephalandra .....
Quite an eye-opener really!
Mohamad Rohaizal.
If you've learnt, teach, if you have, give.
Don't walk behind me as I might not lead, don't walk in front of me as I might not follow. Walk beside me, as my friend.
Mohamad Rohaizal is my name. If it's too hard, use BFG. I don't mind.
Were you able to acquire any of the Weeping Moss because that really looks cool?
Ryan aka wicked_good_guppies
Wow, KL! Thanks for that tour of the nursery. I'm now dying to get some Hemianthus Callitrichoides too!
cheers,
shireen
An addendum ...
I found their website. http://www.orientalaquarium.com
They grow variegated A. nana and C. wendtii! Ahhhh! I want some! I just emailed my fish store begging them to get the plant list and put in an order. Does anyone have their gorgeous catalogs? I wish it could be viewed on-line, it looks incredible.
BTW, KL. Remember that "Erect Moss" you sent? For the longest time, I kept it in a container of water by the window because my tanks were algae-infested disasters. About a month ago, I set up a tank with A. barteri, some long-leaf Java, and attached the "Erect Moss" to some wood. It's coming up beautifully -- in fact, it's very cute. You should have named it "Perky Moss". javascript:emoticon('')
Thanks my friend for all you've given me. YOU ARE THE GREATEST!
Let me know if you want any eggs this year, the weather will be warm soon and safe to ship.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Loh K L,
Makes one wonder if their eyes are seeing correct!
Deb Bear
AKA#08746
SAA#175
The Oriental Catalogue is very nice and retails for only about US$25. But it'll probably cost you US$40 by the time it includes shipping.
why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica
Kwek Leong,
Thanks for the web tour. It was very educational. Can't wait for the weeping moss.
I wouldn't be a Moss lover if I didn't, Ryan :wink:. Although I didn't take any from Oriental during the visit, I have this moss in my tanks. Oriental sent some to me long before the visit. :smile:Originally Posted by Wicked_good_guppies
Shireen, no one did more to help me when I was building this web site. If there's any plant, book or whatever you need from Singapore, all you have to do is ask. I lost your mailing address when my computer crashed so can you please send it again through private email. I would even send you my heart if it's not already taken .I don't keep as many Killies as I used to so you don't have to send me anymore eggs. We have now quite an active killifish scene going in Singapore and with the resources and connections of the guys here, it's much easier to acquire eggs. But thanks for the offer, anyway. You're very kind.Originally Posted by whimbrel
Folks,
Gan Cheong Weei who was at Oriental too on Sunday sent me 4 pictures. I must say Cheong Weei takes much better photographs than I do. But that isn't a surprise really; all I know is to point and shoot
The first 2 pics are Oriental's planted tanks inside their research room. The moss on the driftwood in the second pic is Weeping Moss. Oriental said that for some strange reason, the moss takes on the "weeping look" only after it has been conditioned in the tank for some time. Oriental keeps many planted tanks inside their research room but they are not for aesthetic purposes. They are used for scientific research.
Cheong Weei's pictures give a much better perspective of Oriental's size. The 2 men with their backs facing the camera are Professor Benito Tan and Dr Unnikrishnan. They are camera-shy
Loh K L
Great pics and tour!
There is a old chinese saying:"The scholars need not be out of the house to know everything in the world".
It's a treat to my eyes!
Thanks.
Great pictures, Oriental aquariums looks vast - it must have taken a while to get around. It's very interesting to see how the plants are grown on a grand scale and yet another beutiful moss to collect. Is any more information known about the moss ie where its origins are and latin name.
Cheers
Tony
We were told the moss could be from China. Pof Tan is in the process of iding it.Originally Posted by Tony
Hi KL - thanks for sharing the tour with us! Great photos.
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