Many local fish hobbyists are familiar with the locations of the clustered fish farms in Singapore, such as Lim Chu Kang, Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Pasir Ris Farmway and Seletar West Farmway.
At Seletar West Farmway 1, 2 and 3, there are as many as 18 fish farms cramped in a small area of 0.15 square km.
Located off Jalan Kayu Road, time seems to slow down in this little rural place, where its appearance changes little over the past few decades. One can still see old road name signs and old lamp posts with cables hanging between them.
The old road name sign even has a four-digit postal code printed on it. Four-digit postal code began in Singapore in 1979 and lasted until 1995 when they were replaced by the six-digit system. Before 1979, Singapore had 28 postal districts, and each was represented by a single- or double-digit code.
The sight of roosters and hens roaming around freely also gives a peaceful kampong feel to the visitors.
However, there are news that the leases of the fish farms at Seletar West Farmway are due this year and the land they occupied is likely to be taken back by the authority. With the area likely to be redeveloped or used for building dormitories for foreign workers, the owners of the fish farms may have no alternatives but to close down or move to other suitable places in an increasingly land-scarce Singapore. It will be a sad day for aquatic enthusiasts when that time comes.
Just a street away, the compound bounded by Seletar West Farmway 5 to 9 is already occupied by foreign workers’ dormitories, together with a nursery and an old folks’ home. Seletar East Farmway was replaced by the neighbourhood of Fernvale, Sengkang about a decade ago.
Published: 12 July 2011
Remember Singapore 
So sad to see this. I visit the fish farms for my home aquarium supplies every now and then. Will check out with the towkay for more details the next time i am there. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Family and I lived at Selatar Estate, before we moved to Fernvale due to En-block. Is our favourate weekend outing, we love the atmosphere and tranquility. Those are the few farms we bought ornamental fishes. Is really sad to see all these places been replace by the rapid development.
I visited this area by chance recently and I noticed that there seems to be an old Chinese temple that has been boarded up and neglected on the corner of farmway 6. Do you have any information on this temple? Great post, by the way. Love this blog.
Seletar West Farmway is under rapid redevelopment right now, with part of the forested areas being removed.
Sinflora, located at the entrance of Seletar West Farmway, has already moved to Tampines, leaving behind an empty land…
It’s a matter of time for the fish farms to move or shut down 😦
The temple is called Zhong Yi Temple and is the last Chinese village temple in Singapore. The temple dieties have moved to a new temple at Fernvale (next to Jalan Kayu) and the temple is now in a sorry state. I really hope the authorities can preserve this last Chinese Village temple for future generations to learn and visit.
The sad remnants of Chong Yee Temple
Today, The Hiding Place at Jalan Kayu, Singapore’s first halfway house for ex-drug addicts and convicts, closes after 21 years of operation…
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_794296.html
Very sad 😦 I like the rustic feel of the surroundings there. Other than Kranji, there is no other place in Singapore with that country side & rustic feel anymore. Will Animal Lodge be relocated too?? Are we really becoming a concrete jungle?
Part of the Seletar West Farmway is now under construction of a new road that links to the new Seletar Aerospace Hub
Luckily many of the old fish farms are not affected…. for now
Not sure if they will be forced to move in the future
Hi, can we have an article about the fish farms at Hougang? Thanks.
Hi, I’m a fan of planted tanks and have been to fish farms at Seletar West, Pasir Ris and Lim Chu Kang, but haven’t heard of any fish farms at Hougang. Care to share the locations? 🙂
Or is it the cluster of local fish shops at Serangoon North?
old are always replaced by the new. when the new gets older they too will be replaced.. guess the similiarity with life cycles.
I think 88URAnus88 is referring to those fish farms along Tampines Road which was even before they moved to Pasir Ris. I remember walking along wooden planks across ponds filled with araipamas !
Sea View Aquarium, arguably the most popular fish farm at Seletar West Farmway, has finally shuttered its doors in early April 2018. It will be relocated to the premises at Chencharu Link (near the junction of Sembawang Road and Yishun Avenue 1).