September 28, 2011 / 17:39 IST
Fancy an unusual new pet? Perhaps a tiny shrimp that glows turquoise and commands prices higher than that of a gram of gold is just the ticket.
Or maybe a fairy mermaid fish with a human-like face and long tail.
Both are among the new generation of aqua pets, expensive new breeds of shrimp and fish, set to star at a Taiwan aquarium expo opening later this week.
The "Blue Velvet shrimp," featuring a turquoise glow, was developed from the popular Rili shrimp, which has a transparent body and a red head.
"We discovered the blue-colour genes in these transparent Rili shrimps, so we tried to stabilise the gene," said Lee Chi-tai, the breeder.
"After a year the blue colour is showing up very well, but of course there is still room for improvement."
Another new breed that Lee developed is the "Chocolate shrimp," which is a cross between a Tiger shrimp, Bee shrimp and an aboriginal Taiwan shrimp species from the mountains.
Brown colours appear on shrimp, but they usually don't stay It took six to seven years to stabilise the genes to produce the tiny, dark-brown coloured animal, Lee said.
Also on offer at the exhibition will be tiny fluorescent fish, genetically modified by inserting the genes of jelly fish and coral.
"They only grow up to two centimetres, but their bodies glow very brightly when they are only one centimetre long," said Lin Yu-ho of Jy Lin Trading Co Ltd, who developed the fish.
"They are especially suitable for small aquariums for children."
Taiwan exports more than 80% of its aqua pets overseas, and the Taiwan fisheries agency has been encouraging breeding of the shrimp because farms take up only small plots of land and generate little pollution.
The payoff is not small.
The genotypes of the two shrimps were auctioned for up to 16,000 Taiwan dollars (USD 525) online, and while each shrimp weighs less than a gram, the centimetre-long creatures are more expensive than a gram of gold -- which on Wednesday was going for roughly USD 1,640 an ounce (28 grams).
