Teck Whye Aquarium

This bird shop, Teck Whye Aquarium, deals only with birds not fishes, is not only one of the filthiest but also the messiest I’ve stumbled upon. Is a stark contrast to their sister company, Teck Woon Aquarium which is their immediate neighbour. Quite an obnoxious sight greeted you! Step right into the shop and the concoction smell of live bird feeds like the crickets, meal worms, grasshoppers, bird faeces, etc, fills the air. The stench makes you queasy. Satirically, you will find hordes of men congregating there with their pet birds during the weekends. Perhaps, due to the lack of bird shop in the vicinity.

The majority of things were disorganized. A lot of stuffs were sprawling all over the place. Large quantity of bird cages crammed up almost the entire ceiling. You need to tread around carefully. The bird feeds and accessories were covered with dust and our hands were soiled while handling them! After a short while, our noses began to itch.

This shop sells mainly birds like the ever-popular Red-Eared Bulbul or “Jambul” and Zosterops (white-eyes) or “Mata Puteh” as the locals here called. There is also the highly prized Zebra Doves or “Merobok.” You can also find Zebra finches (1 pair S$60.00), English Budgerigars (S$50.00 each) and Canaries. We spotted the multi-coloured Gouldian finches and they are such a pleasure to watch. Hundreds or maybe even thousands of Spice finches- the type people buy to set it free, especially during Vesak day are available there too.

I think this shop is considered one of the best places to source for a good “Jambul.”

It only makes good business sense if they can step up their level of tidiness. If that day really happens, I’ll be back!