JEMPOL: A 33-year-old housewife who started off collecting fighting fish as a hobby, has now turned it into a profitable source of income over the past two years.
Never in her wildest dream did Norhidaya Shafinaz Md Yunus, from Taman Seri Serting, near here, thought she would one day run a stall selling fighting fish to support her family.
When met at her stall at Medan Terbuka Bandar Seri Jempol, the mother of four said she back when she was collecting the "betta fish" as a hobby, the living room of her house was filled with bottles or containers of the fish.
Norhidaya said it was her friend who gave her the idea to start selling the fish which has good commercial value and is in constant demand.
Having discussed the idea with her husband, Mohd Irfan Zainal, 43, she took the first step and started selling the fish which is famous for its multi-coloured beauty.
"My husband did not object and supported my wishes and even helped in the fish breeding process after learning from contacts and the internet on how to go about it.
"The sale of fighting fish, although it is only around Jempol, was not enough to meet the demands until some customers had to return home disappointed, especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO) when the demand was very high," she said.
She said at the beginning of her involvement in this business, the fighting fish breeding failed three times.
Discouraged, she decided not to continue with the fish breeding effort.
Norhidaya Shafinaz said she was fortunate that with her husband's support, the fourth attempt in breeding 15 pairs of fighting fish turned out to be successful.
"Caring for these fishes is not complicated and as a housewife, I divide my time between business and managing the household.
"If previously most of the fighting fish sold were from hybrid species, I also try to breed wild fighting fish from the Allien, Splenden and Imbellis species and the price of this wild fighting fish species can reach hundreds to thousands of ringgit," she said.
She is also hopeful that wild fighting fish or village fighting fish did not become extinct even though she knew that breeding it could be difficult, but hoped it would be successfully implemented.
The fighting fish selling business has also proven to be profitable, with Nohidaya Shafinaz earning an income of up to RM2,000 a month.