Goldfish Street (金魚街), Hong Kong (lots of pics)

[chiefroastbeef]

Originally Posted by karatekid14

Very cool, I can't believe those fish are hanging in bags. Why? Save space, but wouldn't they die faster?

Originally Posted by IWANNAGOFAST

that is so cool!! I wonder too why they come prebagged.

Save space, save time on employees having to catch the fish. And convenience for new fish owners (or people that don't necessary care for the the treatment of the fish) to quickly buy cheap fish in a bag, and leave.

Remember, at night time, and during the weekends, those two city blocks are SWARMING with people. With space as tight as it is in HK, the most time saving, space saving thing to do is to hang the livestock on bags, and the customers walk right by the shop front, pick one out, pay, and leave.

There are a couple of better shops (a couple of them enter the ADA aquascaping contest annually) that do not hang the bags of livestock, they truly care about the animals. But most smaller stores simply have no choice, they must attract customers by displaying the bags at the shop front to attract customers.

Some stores keep fish in their tanks, and also bag them for sale out front, and release the unsold fish back into their tanks. Which in reality, it isn't any worst than shipping them in the States.

Some of the super bush league stores get them from a wholesaler (prices next to nothing), and I truly do not know what they do with the unsold fish after a couple days.

[oscarsx]

I need to go theeeeeeeeeeeeeere

[150EH]

I could only wish my LFS had a selection like that, wow. They must do a brisk business with fish already bagged and ready to go or they toss alot at the end of the day.

That would be really cool to see in person.

We would all be broke if something like that was at our disposal!

[JasonG75]

IF only we could get stores like this in the states.....

[dubvstudent]

Originally Posted by chiefroastbeef

Majority of ALL plants there sell for $10HKD ($1.2USD), wrapped in cotton, in a black pot, and bagged with water. The more rare ones will be double or triple the price. For example, the normal green bacopa sell for $10HKD, it comes with four stems. All the plants are PRISTINE, no signs of bad growth, no stunting, no holes, no yellowing or anything. The best looking aquarium plants you've ever seen in your life. After it gets into my tank, that is another matter. :P After all, with so much competition, a customer simply walks to another shop to buy better plants.

More than 80% of the plants in this picture are $1.2USD per bag. I buy most of my plants from that shop.

Here are some prices at the fish street(you must go to various stores to get these prices, but most are comparable):

-10 Taiwan Fire Reds- $12USD
-10 Cherry shrimps- $4USD
-4 stems of pink bacopa- $2.50
-10 Celestial Pearl Danios- $15USD (depending on season, prices were double this just two months ago)
-1 Electric Blue Ram- $7USD
-1 German Blue Ram- $5USD
-1 Cardinal Tetra(they give deals the more you buy, 5 and get 1 free sorta thing)- $.50USD
-1 pot of Downoi, with 4 heads- $3USD
-ADA 60-P- $80USD
-A big bag of moss(depends on the kind) - around $4USD
-Most swords/crypts with nice growth- $1.2USD
-10 Chili Rasboras- $6USD
-a 7"x5" inch densely tied bunch of Java Fern (10" high leaves) goes for $1USD
-a big rhizome of Anubias (bigger than you and your moms hand combined) also goes for $1USD

And of course, no shipping charges, no transport stress to the plants or livestock.

The above prices are for the fish street, if you go to the local HK for sale forums ( http://www.aqugrass.com/phpBB3//viewforum.php?f=2 ), prices are even cheaper. $.10USD for a cherry shrimp, crystal red shimp for $12USD, etc. With +100 cherry shrimp in my tank, I don't bother selling them in Hong Kong, I give them to friends.

When the time comes for me to go back to the US, I may just quit the aquarium hobby, there is no way I'd be wiling to pay US prices after living in HK.

Wow, after seeing this, I can't help but feel horribly ripped off.

[chiefroastbeef]

Originally Posted by JasonG75

IF only we could get stores like this in the states.....

I think HK is one of the places with such tight competition, with retail stores of the same industry grouped closely together, within 2-3 city blocks, I really wonder how it all works.

The district the fish street is in is called Mongkok. It is a major tourist/local HKers destination.

In Mongkok, you have streets upon streets of stores that sell nothing but the latest sneakers/sportswear, streets that only sell plants, streets that sell only electronics (imagine two of the same chain store within one city block of each other), and of course jewelry. You have shopping centers with 200+ stores (stores smaller than a standard US bathroom) all packed in, all selling new/used cellphones/cases.

It is all too fascinating.

[jreich]

Originally Posted by chiefroastbeef

I truly do not know what they do with the unsold fish after a couple days.

eat them?

[mach_six]

I've been to HK 3 times now and i always go to that street to look. What livestock or plants can you bring back w/o being confiscated?

[Deahttub]

Truky stunning pics.....wonder what shipping would be to the states....

[orchidman]

OMG! i want to be there! and the prices make it all the better! 80$ for a 60P?????

[IceDragon]

Originally Posted by jkan0228

ahh yes. the asian market! Fantastic place
Hey bro, 你看得懂中文嗎?
Yea man I'm chinese

lol, enough to know what your asking. Not enough to make it practical. Mystery dinner when the menu is completely in Chinese characters.

Originally Posted by speedie408

And we wonder why US is so far behind scoring on the IAPLC. It's because, "WE DON'T HAVE STORES LIKE THESE!!"

AFA here in SF is better than nothing, but I wish we had Goldfish Street here as well. One day!

Exactly what I was thinking, half of the winning entries seem to come from Asia. haha.


Chiefroastbeef, got any tips on trying to get a job in HK? I've been dieing to go back, ahah. Its been a year since I went and I'm still having a hard time readjusting to normal life again. Not the mention the job market for new grads is shot to hell in this country. S Korea and Australia also seem to have better job outlooks atm...

[thinBear]

Oh you won't know how much I miss just wandering there after school back then. Thanks for these photos!

Most recent news I heard about that street is, the urban planning dep. are going to re scape the street, which killing lots of the "side-walk" selling/ small shops, and jet up the rent for the shops...

[Axelrodi202]

Nothing matches the fish markets of China. Makes me want to go back, haven't been there in years...

[HD Blazingwolf]

anyone else notice how rediculously clean the tile flooring is??
i wish it was that way here. evyerthing there looked meticulously cared for

[Alaskan Fishface]

It's like I picture heaven!