Hong Kong: MongKok 'Goldfish Street' Adventure at FishLoves Aqua

Store: FishLoves Aqua
Owner: Alan
Specialty: Shrimps, Cichlids, Planted Tanks, Nature Tanks

FishLoves Aqua is another specialty aquarium store located right on the main street of MongKok.  This store, like other specialty stores, is located on the second level of the building.  The store may seem small at first, but Alan made great use of the space available.  The store is divided into two areas, one dedicated for cichlids and another area for shrimps.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to visit FishLoves Aqua twice during the entire stay.  My first time around the store was to explore and see what was available.  Alan is a world class cichlid breeder and is also skilled at breeding and rearing shrimps.  He mainly kept Crystal Red Shrimps of mix grades and Taiwan Bees.  Alan's Ruby Reds are quite stunning and definitely a sight to see!  The colors were quite amazing.  It was on my second trip that I was able to see the Rubies and Dragons as he is currently moving into this space and is doing renovations.  Alan doesn't speak much English so having a translator will help you tremendously.  I was fortunate enough to meet Alan's wholesale supplier for ADA products on the first day.  He spoke perfect english and really helped me explore the many different things inside Alan's shrimps tanks as I had a ton of questions.  Oh, if I didn't already mention, I traveled with my girlfriend who spoke decent Cantonese, but it was my girlfriend's mom who really helped me get the sweet deals on all the goodies I bought while in HK.  Well... enough with the talking.. check out the photos!

The Logo

Unfortunately, the store's actual logo is quite discreet and you might miss this wonderful store if you're rushing by.  Above is the store's logo once you step inside.

Street Sign.. Keep an eye out for this!

Meet Alan

Meet Alan's Shrimps

Not PRL but still AMAZING! 

:O Alan's Ruby Reds/Dragons

Moss stump

My attempt at demonstrating his collection

Alan's Plants

Alan... The Cichlid Pro!

Alan's cichlid breeding rack

OMG Buce Tank!

Super awesome, simple lava rock/buce scape!

ANOTHER but SMALLer!

Oh.. and this SUPER SWEET glass aerator bell!

Whoa... That was a long one with so many pictures of Alan's store!  I didn't realize how many pictures I was taking but I'm glad I took that many.  Overall, I'm very impressed with Alan's store and his passion for breeding and caring for cichlids AND shrimps!  Although Alan's store doesn't keep/sell any Pure Red Lines, the normal grade crystal red shrimps that he does sell are still quite spectacular.  I really enjoyed his setup and I feel really lucky to have been able to see his Ruby/Dragon TB on my second visit.  If you find yourself in HK with some free time, definitely stop by FishLoves Aqua on MongKok!  Oh, remember to swing by the adjacent fish store, it's also owned by Alan!  I'll leave what lies inside that store as a nice surprise for you to experience as you explore!

I hope you guys enjoy this part of my HK/MK 'Goldfish Market' review for FishLoves Aqua.  I have a few more entries I hope to post by this week so stay tuned!

Hong Kong: MongKok 'Goldfish Street' Adventure at Nigons

Store: Nigons
Owner: Tat
Specialty: Shrimps - Pure Red Lines, Nikishi PRL, Elegant Ladies, Hakata PRL 

Nigon is a shrimp specialty store owned and operated by Tat Ngai.  The store itself is located on the second level but overall, the store is quite easy to spot with its unique store sign.  This is my second time visiting Nigons within two years and Tat has really made dramatic changes to the store's overall layout since my last visit.  One of these changes includes adding eight new shrimp tanks.  I spent a lot of time looking around at the many different types/grades of shrimps available.  The experience was like being a kid at Toys"R"Us, just so happily distracted by so many awesome things.  Tat is an awesome guy who is friendly and very quick to answer my many questions.  It's very awesome to actually see an expert shrimp breeder (Tat is an expert shrimp breeder with his own farm located right in HK) and share the different breeding methods and ideologies.  I think in all I spent around five hours at Nigons just chatting it up and asking questions to learn and improve on my own breeding methods and techniques.  

Nigons Street Sign

 The store front as you can see.  It was pretty awesome to spot this on my second visit.  I was so stoked I ran up and totally forgot about my girlfriend.  I'm a bad boyfriend, but I couldn't help it!

All smiles

PRL - Nikishi 

Beautiful Bucephalandra cluster

...Sold Out...

Even More PRL

AWESOME TIBEE TANK!!  (Sorry couldn't get a closeup)

More Nikishi PRL 

Taiwan Bee Mix Tank

Buce Tank *Droll*

R.E.C. Brand Foods (Smells WONDERFUL)

F2 - Digestion Foods/Growth

F3 - Pregnancy/Birth Foods

F4 - Color Enhancing Foods

Netting my own PRL

Being Picky

The Winners!

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Nigons.  I was able to meet with Tat for the second time, exchange some great info and establish an awesome source for knowledge and potentially shrimp related goodies!  I'm very happy to be the owner of some very beautiful PRL and I'm very excited to get started breeding ASAP.  It was an awesome time spent at Nigons and I hope to be able to visit this store again on my next HK trip.  Oh, and I hope you give Nigons and Tat a chance next time you're in HK!  Nigons is definitely a worthwhile visit for shrimp hobbyists and enthusiasts!