Interview: Kelvin Wong Winner of Singapore Shrimp Competition 2019

Kelvin has had this hobby for almost three years now. Previously, he was heavily involved in the crayfish community and also raised other fish such as Discus, Adoketa Cichlids and even Channidae. With extensive experience in the field of aquaculture, he quickly chose shrimp farming.

We approached Kelvin and asked if we could do an interview with him and he happily agreed.

You are watching: Interview: Kelvin Wong Winner of Singapore Shrimp Competition 2019

Reporter: What made you get into shrimp farming?
Kelvin: I used to raise crayfish, and through crayfish, I met many people who have been in shrimp farming for a long time and slowly learned about this hobby. I decided to dive into shrimp farming and since then, I have loved the hobby. I quickly started this hobby as I also learned a lot about water parameters in crayfish culture. I created my own line of shrimp called TMJ, it basically means Taman Jurong, that's where I live!

Reporter: What were the challenges you faced when starting this hobby?
Kelvin: The biggest challenge in this hobby is buying shrimp. It is difficult to get quality shrimp from local fish shops. Conventional LFSs usually include official shrimp and bringing in shrimp from abroad is a big risk and too much complexity.

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Reporter: What do you think is the most important factor when setting up a new tank?
Kelvin: Whenever I set up my tank, after adding soil I fill the tank with 100% RO water and adjust my TDS to 100 instantly. I find by doing that, my water is cleaned very quickly from the bacterial outbreak. This way, light can penetrate the clear water and algae can grow rapidly. The entire water cleaning process only takes about three days if I adjust my TDS during setup.

Reporter: What other factors would you note or do?
Kelvin: Another thing that I would do is overfeed the shrimp. I feed as many shrimp as I can eat during the day and never skip a meal without feeding. In this way, the shrimps grow faster and bear fruit faster.

Also, don't be too strict in your selection. It's always good to have the quantity in advance instead of just a few shrimps. For a one-foot tank, have at least 30 shrimp for a reasonable amount of biology. Growing small shrimp in a tank will also affect the reproduction rate and growth rate.

Finally, when you see a nice shrimp, buy it! Money can always be earned, but good shrimp are hard to find.

Reporter: Do you think plants are important in the tank?
Kelvin: There is a limit to how many shrimp you can have in your tank. To increase the limit you have to add a lot of hidden space and plants are definitely great as they create hidden space and look nice. Plants like moss are great because they don't die easily. The hidden space helps weak shrimp or new shrimp molt. They can hide easily and will not be attacked by others.

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Reporter: What is the most important thing in shrimp farming?
Kelvin: When buying shrimp, I always look at the origin of the shrimp. The similarity of the actual shrimp I am purchasing and the parent shrimp should be as close as possible to determine good lineage.

Lineage is very important to me. You can get good shrimp through screening, but that will take years, maybe a quarter of your life, to achieve something good. So I'll just take a good line and perfect it. It will save me almost half the time.

Reporter: How do you usually prepare for the competition?
Kelvin: Two weeks before the competition, I won't do any water changes to keep my parameters stable. You also want to avoid molting during this period so that the shrimp won't change color. I would also start dosing TDS about two months ago at the recommended dosage. This makes the shells shiny and the blue ones more vibrant.

Reporter: Being a two-time champion, what other shrimp will you focus on now?
Kelvin: I will probably be researching the breeding of Yellow Boa, Red Boa and even Mosura PRL.

Reporter: Finally, what do you think about the shrimp farming community in Singapore?
Kelvin: I feel that having a shrimp contest helps perfect this hobby of mine. It sparked the competitive spirit in me and made me want to advance my lineage and perfect my lineage. I started to pay more attention in culling and also to improve some of the characteristics that my shrimp lacked. I would recommend like-minded people to join for an experience and it's great to meet like-minded friends.

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