This Obscure Bangkok Market is Home to a Million-Dollar Collection of Tropical Fish
Thailand’s labyrinthine Chatuchak Weekend Market, which spans twenty seven acres in downtown Bangkok, is one of the largest open-air markets in the world. The maze-like array of stalls and shops is an immersive and often staggering practice, especially during the weekend when the market is packed with local shoppers, tourists, and food carts in the ever-present tropical warmth. But this extensive warren of shops hides an intriguing secret behind its rows of kitschy souvenirs and knock-off designer bags.
Tucked away just outside the main cluster of the weekend market is a section few Western tourists ever see: Chatuchak’s vast tropical fish and exotic pet market, home to one of the most amazing (and expensive) collections of live aquarium fish anywhere in the world. Disconnected from the main market, and far from the common points of entry for tourists, the fish market hides in plain glance across from a shopping center; even with directions, it can be difficult to locate.
his petite, nondescript entrance conceals the immense market housing some of the world’s most exotic (and expensive) fish.
After a brief walk, a few outdoor stalls selling enormous koi, some at prices of several thousand U.S. dollars, indicate the market is nearby. These koi shops pridefully exhibit trophies and plaques by their entrances indicating champ koi they have raised—much like with purebred dogs, koi are bred for certain characteristics and koi competitions suggest prizes in the ems of thousands of dollars.
Passing through the nondescript entrance, the covered market is cavernous, comprised of long opens up of walkways flanked by stalls on both sides, many literally spilling over into the walkways with brightly lit aquariums. Thai culture has a longstanding love affair with pet fish, which were raised and domesticated as pets in the country long before the modern era. The fish, which they pulled from rice field puddles to challenge in elaborate “fights” as early as the 13th century, are now known the world over as “Siamese fighting fish” or simply “Bettas.”
The market is a madness of activity on wholesale day, when buyers and sellers flock to Chatuchak from across the country.
In latest years, Thailand has emerged as a center for fish breeding on a commercial scale to supply both a thriving domestic market and hefty international request; aquarium fish consistently rank as one of the nation’s top exports by dollar value.
Chatuchack’s fish market primarily caters to Bangkok’s meaty number of aquarium owners—many of whom are wealthy and willing to spend exorbitant sums on their prized aquatic pets. Much of the market is dedicated to pricey, status-symbol fish like the arowana, or dragon fish, which can cost upwards of $20,000 for a quality specimen. Other rarities like freshwater stingrays—some the size of pizzas—and uncommon catfish species are prominently on display.
Large ‘platium’ Gar on display near one of the market’s entrances. A infrequent mutation causes this unspoiled white coloration.
Near one of the side entrances to the market, a pair of two-foot-long “platinum” gar (a uncommon all-white variant of a large, predatory fish originally from North America) cruise menacingly through an enormous aquarium. Doing a quick mental conversion from Baht to U.S. dollars, the asking price for these giants was harshly $Ten,000 each.
Despite being much, much smaller than the neighboring elaborate, the fish market sprawls across a remarkably large area, extending into narrow alleyways and dead-end corridors. Unlike any aquarium shop you’d likely see in the U.S., fish here are densely packed in petite aquariums as they are often sold in large quantities, with tanks turning over numerous times per day.
Discus fish, pre-bagged for a quick sale, occupy a seller’s shelves.
Many of the smaller shops are family breeding concerns, and slightly feature aquariums at all—instead, fish are pre-bagged and ready for sale in neat rows. Each lil’ shop or stall usually specializes in a particular breed or category of fish or aquarium—some showcasing colorful but mild discus and angelfish, others displaying a bewildering array of little but colorful freshwater shrimps.
Perhaps owing to their long cultural affinity to fishkeeping, Thai breeders specializing in aquarium fish have an international reputation and supply millions of fish to importers and shops in the U.S. and Europe each year. Just as their counterparts in China and Japan took the common goldfish and selectively bred it into dozens of colorful variants, Thai breeders are permanently cultivating fresh variants of the fish they breed, selecting out traits for color, figure form, or fin configuration.
The Crimson Dragonfish, or Arowana, is a symbol of prosperity in many Asian cultures. High end specimens can sell for over US$20,000.
The Betta is a ideal example of this—having originated with a mostly brown, unremarkable fish, there are now hundreds of varieties in shades of blue, crimson, pearl white, most sporting elegant flowing fins. For the local market, albinos, platinum, or bright crimson mutations are in high request, selling for hundreds or from time to time thousands of dollars.
One particularly popular fish in the Thai market is the Flowerhorn, a man made hybrid fish which sports a remarkable hump on its head, vibrant colors, and a feisty attitude (these fish do not play well with others). Flowerhorns considered to have good markings and form are thought to be a symbol of prosperity—a living good luck charm—and are often prominently displayed in local businesses.
Brightly-colored freshwater shrimp are sold by the hundreds in some of the market’s stalls.
The fish market, while open to the public most of the week, is most active in the mornings, with most stalls shuttered by the early afternoon. Like Chatuchak itself, activity peaks on the weekends, when the aquarium market can get enormously crowded with local shoppers.
Each Thursday morning, the market turns over into a wholesale market, when breeders, farmers, and fish collectors from the outlying suburbs of Bangkok converge on the market to sell their fish to wholesalers and exporters in meaty quantities.
Hundreds of cultivated varieties of goldfish can be found in the market, most bred on farms just outside Bangkok.
At those times, every open space in the market is carpeted in fish laid out in plastic bags—thousands of guppies, goldfish, cichlids, all ready to be bought up and shipped to a wholesale facility nearby.
This high-energy scene, with its madness of activity and panting negotiations inbetween buyer and seller, seems more akin to Wall Street trading than the normally subdued fish market, but visitors be warned—it is generally not open to the public and foreigners with cameras are looked at with suspicion.
Larger sellers lay out wholesale quantities of fish in bags to await buyers.
Even for someone not particularly well acquainted with the hundreds of varieties of uncommon fish on display, Chatuchak’s aquarium fish market is a fascinating destination for anyone looking for a brief escape from the endless, monotonous shops in the market’s more well-known counterpart.
Albeit the fish market clearly caters to locals and little English is spoken, most shop owners are polite and blessed to display off their specialty fish to a nosey visitor. It also offers a infrequent peek of a little-known hobby and industry that is a way of life for thousands of Thais.
This Obscure Bangkok Market is Home to a Million-Dollar Collection of Tropical Fish – Atlas Obscura
This Obscure Bangkok Market is Home to a Million-Dollar Collection of Tropical Fish
Thailand’s labyrinthine Chatuchak Weekend Market, which spans twenty seven acres in downtown Bangkok, is one of the largest open-air markets in the world. The maze-like array of stalls and shops is an immersive and often terrific practice, especially during the weekend when the market is packed with local shoppers, tourists, and food carts in the ever-present tropical fever. But this extensive warren of shops hides an intriguing secret behind its rows of kitschy souvenirs and knock-off designer bags.
Tucked away just outside the main cluster of the weekend market is a section few Western tourists ever see: Chatuchak’s vast tropical fish and exotic pet market, home to one of the most amazing (and expensive) collections of live aquarium fish anywhere in the world. Disconnected from the main market, and far from the common points of entry for tourists, the fish market hides in plain view across from a shopping center; even with directions, it can be difficult to locate.
his petite, nondescript entrance conceals the immense market housing some of the world’s most exotic (and expensive) fish.
After a brief walk, a few outdoor stalls selling enormous koi, some at prices of several thousand U.S. dollars, indicate the market is nearby. These koi shops pridefully exhibit trophies and plaques by their entrances indicating champ koi they have raised—much like with purebred dogs, koi are bred for certain characteristics and koi competitions suggest prizes in the ems of thousands of dollars.
Passing through the nondescript entrance, the covered market is cavernous, comprised of long spreads of walkways flanked by stalls on both sides, many literally spilling over into the walkways with brightly lit aquariums. Thai culture has a longstanding love affair with pet fish, which were raised and domesticated as pets in the country long before the modern era. The fish, which they pulled from rice field puddles to contest in elaborate “fights” as early as the 13th century, are now known the world over as “Siamese fighting fish” or simply “Bettas.”
The market is a madness of activity on wholesale day, when buyers and sellers flock to Chatuchak from across the country.
In latest years, Thailand has emerged as a center for fish breeding on a commercial scale to supply both a thriving domestic market and yam-sized international request; aquarium fish consistently rank as one of the nation’s top exports by dollar value.
Chatuchack’s fish market primarily caters to Bangkok’s massive number of aquarium owners—many of whom are wealthy and willing to spend exorbitant sums on their prized aquatic pets. Much of the market is dedicated to pricey, status-symbol fish like the arowana, or dragon fish, which can cost upwards of $20,000 for a quality specimen. Other rarities like freshwater stingrays—some the size of pizzas—and infrequent catfish species are prominently on display.
Large ‘platium’ Gar on display near one of the market’s entrances. A infrequent mutation causes this unspoiled white coloration.
Near one of the side entrances to the market, a pair of two-foot-long “platinum” gar (a uncommon all-white variant of a large, predatory fish originally from North America) cruise menacingly through an enormous aquarium. Doing a quick mental conversion from Baht to U.S. dollars, the asking price for these giants was harshly $Ten,000 each.
Despite being much, much smaller than the neighboring sophisticated, the fish market sprawls across a remarkably large area, extending into narrow alleyways and dead-end corridors. Unlike any aquarium shop you’d likely see in the U.S., fish here are densely packed in puny aquariums as they are often sold in large quantities, with tanks turning over numerous times per day.
Discus fish, pre-bagged for a quick sale, occupy a seller’s shelves.
Many of the smaller shops are family breeding concerns, and scarcely feature aquariums at all—instead, fish are pre-bagged and ready for sale in neat rows. Each little shop or stall usually specializes in a particular breed or category of fish or aquarium—some showcasing colorful but mild discus and angelfish, others displaying a bewildering array of lil’ but colorful freshwater shrimps.
Perhaps owing to their long cultural affinity to fishkeeping, Thai breeders specializing in aquarium fish have an international reputation and supply millions of fish to importers and shops in the U.S. and Europe each year. Just as their counterparts in China and Japan took the common goldfish and selectively bred it into dozens of colorful variants, Thai breeders are permanently cultivating fresh variants of the fish they breed, selecting out traits for color, assets form, or fin configuration.
The Crimson Dragonfish, or Arowana, is a symbol of prosperity in many Asian cultures. High end specimens can sell for over US$20,000.
The Betta is a flawless example of this—having originated with a mostly brown, unremarkable fish, there are now hundreds of varieties in shades of blue, crimson, pearl white, most sporting elegant flowing fins. For the local market, albinos, platinum, or bright crimson mutations are in high request, selling for hundreds or periodically thousands of dollars.
One particularly popular fish in the Thai market is the Flowerhorn, a man made hybrid fish which sports a remarkable hump on its head, vibrant colors, and a feisty attitude (these fish do not play well with others). Flowerhorns considered to have good markings and form are thought to be a symbol of prosperity—a living good luck charm—and are often prominently displayed in local businesses.
Brightly-colored freshwater shrimp are sold by the hundreds in some of the market’s stalls.
The fish market, while open to the public most of the week, is most active in the mornings, with most stalls shuttered by the early afternoon. Like Chatuchak itself, activity peaks on the weekends, when the aquarium market can get utterly crowded with local shoppers.
Each Thursday morning, the market turns over into a wholesale market, when breeders, farmers, and fish collectors from the outlying suburbs of Bangkok converge on the market to sell their fish to wholesalers and exporters in big quantities.
Hundreds of cultivated varieties of goldfish can be found in the market, most bred on farms just outside Bangkok.
At those times, every open space in the market is carpeted in fish laid out in plastic bags—thousands of guppies, goldfish, cichlids, all ready to be bought up and shipped to a wholesale facility nearby.
This high-energy scene, with its madness of activity and panting negotiations inbetween buyer and seller, seems more akin to Wall Street trading than the normally subdued fish market, but visitors be warned—it is generally not open to the public and foreigners with cameras are looked at with suspicion.
Larger sellers lay out wholesale quantities of fish in bags to await buyers.
Even for someone not particularly well acquainted with the hundreds of varieties of infrequent fish on display, Chatuchak’s aquarium fish market is a fascinating destination for anyone looking for a brief escape from the endless, monotonous shops in the market’s more well-known counterpart.
Albeit the fish market clearly caters to locals and little English is spoken, most shop owners are polite and blessed to demonstrate off their specialty fish to a nosey visitor. It also offers a uncommon peek of a little-known hobby and industry that is a way of life for thousands of Thais.