Thanks Bandersnatch for taking the effort in writing this up. I was in BK for a month in March and wanted to do a write-up on JJ market, unfortunately I left my iphone at the apartment and only took my simple no-camera phone. Looks like you beat me to it!
It really is an amazing place, well over 100+ petshops all right next door to each other ranging from large air-con'd professional stores to tin shacks with fish in buckets. Every time i'm in Thailand I spend a whole day just wandering around the JJ market pet zone and even then not getting to see everything.. I didn't know there were fish shops in the mall as well! will definitely check them out next time I need a break from the heat of the outdoor market.
There is a huge amount of variety in the market and over the years I have been going I have also noticed the increase in plants and aquascaping. You still see a lot of shops focusing on Arrowanas, Discus and Flowerhorn Cichlids but you don't see many shops stocking Rainbowfish, West African Dwarf or great lake Cichlids. I have never seen an Oscar in the market for example. A couple of years ago there was even a shop owned and run by an american 'Farang' but didn't find him on my last visit.
For tourists it's good for picking up small bit's of equipment cheap as you can't really stick some heavy or delicate items in your luggage to take back, at least that's what my wife has told me. I don't know what the law is but i'm pretty sure taking livestock and plants through customs without appropriate documentation is a no no, it's a real shame as i'm always half tempted to buy myself a squirrel wearing a dress (yes, you really can buy a squirrel wearing a dress here). I did once bring back a portion of java moss that cost 20 baht i.e. 50pence. It completely filled one of those plastic take away cartons and when you compare to how much you get for for a couple of quid it's a real shame that bringing plants back isn't really allowed.
It really is an amazing place, well over 100+ petshops all right next door to each other ranging from large air-con'd professional stores to tin shacks with fish in buckets. Every time i'm in Thailand I spend a whole day just wandering around the JJ market pet zone and even then not getting to see everything.. I didn't know there were fish shops in the mall as well! will definitely check them out next time I need a break from the heat of the outdoor market.
There is a huge amount of variety in the market and over the years I have been going I have also noticed the increase in plants and aquascaping. You still see a lot of shops focusing on Arrowanas, Discus and Flowerhorn Cichlids but you don't see many shops stocking Rainbowfish, West African Dwarf or great lake Cichlids. I have never seen an Oscar in the market for example. A couple of years ago there was even a shop owned and run by an american 'Farang' but didn't find him on my last visit.
For tourists it's good for picking up small bit's of equipment cheap as you can't really stick some heavy or delicate items in your luggage to take back, at least that's what my wife has told me. I don't know what the law is but i'm pretty sure taking livestock and plants through customs without appropriate documentation is a no no, it's a real shame as i'm always half tempted to buy myself a squirrel wearing a dress (yes, you really can buy a squirrel wearing a dress here). I did once bring back a portion of java moss that cost 20 baht i.e. 50pence. It completely filled one of those plastic take away cartons and when you compare to how much you get for for a couple of quid it's a real shame that bringing plants back isn't really allowed.
