During Heiko Bleher’s recent visit to Manila for the judging of Discus at the Aquafiesta 2009, his friend and Philippines largest fish importer and wholesaler, Stanley Cheng, showed Heiko Manila’s famous Cartimar Pet Centre…

The Cartimar Pet Centre is the largest in Metro Manila, Philippines and Heiko Bleher visited it recently and had a close look at some of the shops together with Stanley Cheng.

_{This great shop owner and his wife gave Heiko a warm welcome – he actually owns 5 shops in the huge Pet Centre…}

_{The Flowerhorn cichlids are still popular in the Philippines and some sold for very high prices and all kept individually even the new mutants (centre). Very large cichlids in general are popular unfortunately and mainly the Parrot (mutant) cichlids, but also some nice (natural) ones like Vieja argentea.}

_{Arapaima gigas (left) from Amazonia is a very high priced fish in Manila and the Philippine’s freshwater snail (right) are just beautiful…}

_{…but not these terrible Thayeria boehlkei mutants.}

_{There were lots of Goldfish and Koi, plenty of life foods for the beloved fishes, many plastic plants and weird décor material, but also aquatic plants on sale (without the pot) and some nice decorated aquaria (great) even with Hemigrammus bleheri!}

_{The centre has also outside the large Unico Tropical Fish shop which sells mainly dog and cat supplies and the Aqualand Alley were the prices are lower then in the main building (also the quality)…}

_{…but the worst were the Discus – in every shop they were sick (except for one shop), a crime to sell such fish – very bad for the hobby. (Heiko told them all.)}

_{Rewarding for Heiko was the great welcome by almost all, the finding of the only marine (very poisonous) snake living in freshwater of the Lake Taal (top) which he collected many years ago (see aqua geõgraphia edition volume 12), the giant Lepisosteus and the (marine) stingray being cleaned underneath by a wrasse… (a rare sight).}