Fish gazing: A vendor tends to his ornamental fish at Parung Market. (JP/Musthofid)

Roni Supratiwo began to be captivated by ornamental fish as a little boy when his father took him to a fish market, but it was only recently that he rediscovered his long-lost passion.

On his home terrace, he has a small aquarium filled with two colorful discus. Another fishbowl on the upper floor of his house contains three.

“I love discus. They are graceful with beautiful colors,” says the father of two.

An accountant, Roni splits his time between his office job, family and fish. He enjoys feeding the fish, reloading aquarium water and ultimately gazing at his swimming pets.

Ornamental fish are available at a nearby vendor, but looking for more affordable prices, Roni will go to a wholesale outlet in Parung, Bogor regency, West Java, a 30-minute drive from his home in Depok, also in West Java.

Housing hundreds of sellers and visited by thousands of buyers every Saturday, Monday and Thursday, Parung Market is billed to be the biggest ornamental fish market in Southeast Asia.

It opened in 2003, coinciding with the rebuilding of the existing market. As the project needed clearance from all selling activities, some 70 sellers of mostly edible fish in the old market had to be relocated to an adjacent plot of land owned by a local resident.

But it was not until 2010 that the enclave began to gain popularity as an ornamental fish center. Today, the new market, which stands on 2,500 square meters of land, has 270 stalls, each shared by up to three vendors.

“Many more sellers expressed their interest to join, but there was no room left so we rejected them,” says market manager Damo Asmarudin.

Ninety percent of the sellers come from Bogor, while others are from neighboring areas such as Depok, Sukabumi and Jakarta.

Visitors, who come from as far as Palembang and Lampung in Sumatra, can choose from hundreds of species of ornamental fish. Prices range from as low as Rp 1,000 (less than 1 US cent) to millions of rupiah each, depending on the breed, shape and size of the fish.

A stall located at the center of the market sells guppies, black shadows, red eyes and black pearls, while another displays only discus. Guppies aged 2 months cost Rp 80,000 on average. The fish are kept in water-filled plastic bags.

Saturdays do not see as many visitors as on Mondays and Thursdays, when busy transactions can earn sellers a profit of up to Rp 1 million.

“I only bring seven [species of] fish. On busy days, I have 10,” says Wahyu, a vendor.

The discus is among those sold at higher prices, Rp 250,000 each on average, but the discus leopard snakeskin can be worth up to Rp 15 million.

The love for discus brought Gadri Siahaan — who has taken up collecting ornamental fish as a hobby over the last year — to the market earlier this week.

“Watching colorful fish moving around inside an aquarium relaxes me; it can release my stress,” Gadri said, holding a plastic bag with a newly bought discus inside.

He keeps some 15 ornamental fish at home, consisting of koi, bettas, goldfish and discus.

The enthusiasm for fishkeeping shown by hobbyists like Roni and Gadri may have helped scale up the country’s ornamental fish industry.

As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia is home to some 400 species of freshwater and 650 species of seawater ornamental fish.

According to the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the national production of ornamental fish increased 5.05 percent annually during the 2012 to 2018 period. In 2018, production reached 1.19 billion fish compared to 938.47 million in 2012. Likewise, exports have grown 8.28 percent annually.

“Exports of ornamental fish reached US$21.01 million in 2012 and the value was recorded at $32.23 million in 2018. It was $16.54 million in the first semester of this year,” says Slamet Subiyakto, the ministry’s general director for pisciculture affairs.

To maintain growth in the industry, the ministry launched a policy package that includes the branding of national species, developing new variants, certifications, promotion enhancement and developing aquascapes as part of diversification programs.

While the government is pushing hard to optimize the country’s sprawling aquatic potential for ornamental fish, household fishkeepers see aquariums simply as a medium for relaxation.