Philippines – Manila, in May 2011

Stanley Cheng is an amazing guy and the only real wholesaler with a very large breeding establishment in Metro Manila, below some photos of his place. Stanley is a very dear friend who had invited me several times in conjunction with the director of BFAR (Department of Fisheries), like recently to do research on Mindoro islands.

_{The entrance may not have the brightest of colours, but once inside, one can see all the amazing variety of fishes in tanks according to the species, if from the African lakes, from anywhere in Asia, or the Americas.}

_{There are hundreds of small breeding tanks, which are set up weekly, mainly for egg-layers. And often the young are grown up for a few weeks in small aquariums, where they will grow faster without having to swim long distances to get to the daily food. Here we see some fry of the red-cap Geophagus from the Rio Arapiuns, Tapajós basin, Brazil …}

_{… as well as some beautiful Geophagus cf. proximus in courtship action …}

_{… and Stanley is trying – and has had success with some – of his almost complete variety of India’s and the Madagascar cichlids, such as Etroplus canarensis and the Paraetroplus species, all showing courtship colours soon to spawn …}

_{… there is a "prohibited to enter" sign into the breeding section. But Stanley has rare fishes like the Pelteobagrus ussuriensis (labled as Tachysurus), a species only found in the Ussuri and Sungari rivers, Amur River basin, and Khanka Lake, in Russia and to my knowledge never imported to Europ or America. Also the large (up to 100 cm long) growing Bagarius rutilus. from the Nam Xam and Nam Ma basins in Laos and Red River basin in Viet Nam and Yunnan, China, rarely ever comes into the hobby.}

_{Stanley Cheng is a real outstanding person and an amazing fish-lover, knowing all the rareties and where to find them, a real gain to the hobby in the Philippines and to the fish-lovers around the globe.}

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