Guide to Shrimp buying in Bangkok
For shrimps lovers, the Fish Market in Chatuchak Market is definitely something that you would not want to miss when you visit, especially for countries like Singapore where the flight time is less than 3 hours and your shrimps can still get back in your tank nice and safe.
For starters, i'm sure this is NOT the only place that sell shrimps, and this guide is for reference only and others can feel free to add on more information as necessary.
The Chatuchak Market ( JJ Market ) is a popular weekend market in Bangkok, one of the biggest in Asia in fact. It is filled with fashion and what-nots, but it is open ONLY on the weekend. Not on thursday, not on Friday. ONLY Weekends.
But, fret not.
Fishes need to eat, need water change, need human care, so the Fish Market that is in (or beside :/ ) is opened everyday of the week. So you can go there at anytime of the week to get your fish/shrimps fix done.
Also, to minimize the mortality rate of your live loots, it is recommended that you get your fishes/shrimps on the last day of your trip. But you can most definitely visit there in advance, take a look at the size of the market, watch in awe and plan your buys.
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Getting there.
1) By subway, you can take the BTS ( Bangkok's Version of MRT) to the last station of the Sukhumvit Line (Green) - Mo Chit BTS Station, and exit towards the direction of the Chatuchak Market. When in doubt, just ask, or follow the crowd. Most of them are heading to Chatuchak Market on the weekends anyway.
You just need to walk along the perimeter of the Chatuchak Market and you will see this colourful building that kind of resemble a kindergarten or a place kids will get attracted to. Turn right, walk straight and in about 100 meters walk, you will reach the Fish Market.
It's hard to miss it, you will know it when you get there. There will be tons of tanks and bags of fishes/brine shrimps that will be placed outside the shop.
When in doubt, just ask. "Fish Market", "Fish", (make the fish swimming hand sign....) - they'll get it and point you to your direction.
The beginning of Section A of fish market as you walk along the perimeter of JJ Market.
2) By Taxi, just tell the driver to go to JJ Mall. The fish market is NOT at JJ Mall, there is NO fish inside JJ Mall other that QianHu who has a store there.
The Fish Market is located right BESIDE JJ Mall, and IIRC the entrance/exits that leads from JJ Mall to the Fish Market is F3/G3.
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Getting around.
The market is separated into 3 different section, mainly A, B and C.
If you get there by subway, you probably will have to walk along section A of the market and this is where most of the fishes are sold in large quantites and in big bags.
You will start to see fishes sold in huge bags and in large quantities.
This is the area where you will see lots of Goldfish, Guppies, and most of all Bettas. Bettas are in abundance in Thailand, considering that their natural habitat is padi rice field, and Thailand is all about rice.
Betta is something that you wouldnt want to miss in this section. If you are a betta fan, you will probably go crazy here.
Tank filled with Betta
There are also lots of fish food and accessories that are being sold in this area. But most of the shops are selling the same stuffs. No shrimps and very little plant.
Keep walking straight you will come to a mid intersection where there will be many vendors outside selling food in their large pots of stuff. If you turn right and turn in the walkway, there is this place that sells all the live animals and pets. You can visit and get soaked in all sorts of cuteness
, but seeing, looking and touching is about all that you can do with them. You can't buy them back, and in most places they restrict photo taking as well.
Continue walking straight and you will reach section B of the Fish Market. This is where all the magic begins.
This is the section where they sell more planted tank stuffs, accessories, smaller fishes like tetra and shrimps.
To be very honest, the fishes didnt attract much of my attention. Partly because they have a smaller variety of fishes and they cost roughly the same or more expensive as compared to what we have in Singapore. So ... :/
What entices me is the price of Buceps and shrimps here. Particularly B26 Ebiclub and B29 88 Aquarium.
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I'll first talk about B26 Ebi Club. This is the shop where i bought my shrimps yesterday afternoon, and they are all swimming happily in my tank now.
Ebiclub is a store by aquamarts, and also with Benibachi group. It has the widest range of shrimps that i can find in this Fish Market. It is painted black on the outside wall and has this luminous board outside the store and a large shrimp picture outside the store.
The price of the shrimp is mostly the same across all the stores in this Fish Market, and i believe that the breeders that provide the shrimps might not differ that much also. Thus, it is more about choosing the store you want to buy from and the services they provide.
Ebi club Store front
With a huge picture of shrimps u cant miss.
The reason i choose to buy from Ebi Club is because of their store owner Mr Wattanachai Chenarak. He is very well informed about shrimps, and he speaks fluent English. I feel so at ease in his store because i can ask questions about shrimps and he can understand every single word i say and give replies.
Also, his "atas" looking store is stocked with everything you need for shrimps, i would say it is a one stop place for shrimps at a good reasonable price.
I bought about 60plus Fire Reds and Orange shrimps from him. And the feeling of being able to choose your shrimps from a huge tank filled with thousands of female Fire Red shrimps is ridiculously awesome.
Size and look of most of the Fire Red shrimps in the Fish Market. Note: This is from another store and NOT from Ebi Club, but u get the drift.
Many of these Fire Red Shrimps are striking red, big in sized and buzily grazing on the plants in the tank. Many of them are even in deep red colour, and berried. You will have a good time choosing your shrimps, and if you are buying a substantial number, you will soon get tired of choosing until you just swoop the net and grab the shrimps; and still be able to get good quality ones.
Zebra from Ebiclub
Snowball from Ebiclub
Orange rili from Ebiclub
Green from Ebiclub
I was told by Mr Wattanachai that he feeds his shrimps brine shrimp and puts bacteria into his tank before he closes shop every day. His water parameters is about 200TDS. Most of the cheaper shrimps are bred locally in Thailand, and others like Chocolate shrimps are still imported from Taiwan.
If you are visiting, you can give Mr Wattanachai a call, or visit them on their Facebook page. This is their namecard.
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The other shop i want to talk about is B29 88 Aqua. This shop is the one that has one large Fire Red tanks outside the store, all Female shrimps and many berried, with thousands of shrimplets in the tank.
88 Aqua store front
large tank outside their store consisting of female fire reds
deep red
full of "free" shrimplets to swoop.
Inside the store, there are any other Neocardinia shrimps and also Bee Shrimps. There are also tetras and guppies in the store.
This is their namecard, if you would like to visit, do give them a call in advance. You can also check them out on their facebook page.
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Once you have chosen your shrimps, they will count and then pack it for you. Just remember to tell them you are from Singapore, and you are flying back and they will double bag your shrimps for you and then place it in a styrofoam box for you.
I heard that you can buy the styrofoam box in one of the stores around, and they come in all sorts of sizes. Buy one at your convenience, and place the bags of shrimps and other bags of fishes if you bought into the styrofoam box and tape it. Tape it tight.
Well, according to AVA,
No permits required for up to 30 pieces of ornamental fish in 3 litres of water per person.
So... at your own risks.
You have to check in this package as carry on do not allow liquid. So depending how you place them in your luggage, make sure they will not be hit by hard impact and you are good to go. And you shrimps will make their way from Bangkok to Singapore, with some good turbulence.
I also bought some Buceps and they packed it moist and double bag in zip loc bag.
Ebiclub sells them for 150B in each locket, and there are huge variety to choose from in the tank.
Tank of Buceps lots of variety
Tank of Buceps lots of variety
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Upon reaching Singapore, i was one of the few sway ones that got checked when leaving the airport. The ICA officers made me put my baggage thru the X-ray machine, and no complaints.
Back home, the box was in tact, though there were some water that leaked out, so i would reccomend that you place the box in plastic bags and double bag it to prevent water from damaging the other items in your luggage.
The bag of shrimps is still intact, tight with oxygen, and all the shrimps alive. In to the tank they go after acclimatisation.
Bag still filled with air.
Generally, the shrimp quality that i got there is very good and looks a lot stronger and nicer that the ones we get in local LFS. Also, at one piece of shrimp at around 30cents, there is no complains about it.
I hope i get the information correct and this facilitates fellow shrimpers on how to get shrimps from Bangkok.
