Fundulopanchax sjoestedti

By Rosli Zakaria

They are both lecturers – one with a PhD in Lighting Design and the other holds a Master in Occupational Safety (ergonomics)

When both are at work, they give their all to ensure students achieved excellent results.

Safial Aqbar Zakaria, 49, is a Germany-trained Professor who lectures at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang and his twin brother Safial Eqbal who is still pursing a PhD in Occupational Safety, is a Master holder of Occupational Safety (Ergonomic), lectures at Open University Malaysia on ergonomics and has a tuition centre teaching physics.

As educationists, they both excelled and masters in the field of their choice but as individuals, they both share the same hobby and much respected in the international aquarium fish trade.

Safial Aqbar breeds killifish originated from the African and Latin American nations, raising the beautiful fish from eggs to maturity.

He has been in the hobby for 18 years and is a highly respected breeder in Europe, especially when he was doing his PhD in Germany.

In Malaysia, Safial Aqbar is well known in the aquarium trade, though initially he had focussed on selling killifish eggs on online platforms abroad.

Sam, as he is well known in the killifish trade, has bread 120 of some of the rarest killifish species, both cold water and warm water species.

“Breeding killifish is most challenging and killifish breeders stay true to the originality of the fish and the area where it were collected, and other codings to enable breeders to ascertain it’s origin.

One of the breeds – Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum

Maratecoara formosa – extinct at source in Brazil

“We do not hybridise killifish to enhance the colors, pattern or size of the fish,” said Safial Aqbar.

Aquarium fish traders in Malaysia have only caught up with killifish, which have lifespan of between three months to three years depending on the species.

Asked how he divide his time for the hobby, he said: “At night after work, and during weekends.”

“It is not about the money, but the passion. The dedication is a form of discipline. The success of breeding these fish makes me happy and this invigorate my day,” he added.

Among the awards he had won include Best Breeding Group in Germany, a prize for annual species in Portugal, best show non-annual species in France, best With American annual species in Belgium, and a prize for South American annual species in the Netherlands.

His twin brother Safial Eqbal, on the other hand, is a highly respected betta splendens breeder whose shelves at his farm in Lenggeng Negeri Sembilan is lined neatly with throphies he had won in competitions.

“There’s always up’s and downs in this hobby but the most important thing is to strive for excellence because betta splendens breeder always try to improve on quality.

“In a spawn of 150 fry, I will select less than 10 of the best for competitions. And there will be further selection to ensure only fish that meets the International Betta Convention standards are raised.

“I get satisfaction winning competitions because my fish will become one of the benchmark in the next competition,” said Safial Eqbal, who admitted that it’s a back breaking job doing daily water change for nearly 1,000 bettas raised in small whisky bottles.

“This hobby is not without challenges. Contaminated water will kill all the spawn and a rise in water temperature is a death sentence for the fish.

“I keep track of developments in the IBC. The standard and quality bars are always raised. Imagine now that a top quality betta splendens must have the seven colours of the rainbow to have any chance to win in one of the many divisions,” said Safial Eqbal who started the hobby catching the wild betta imbellis.

“I will grow old with this hobby not only because it pays but also I made many friends,” he added.

Safial Aqbar checking on new spawn