Fish fanatic sets up breeding centre for rare stingrays...in his living room
In crystal-clear water, they swim with ethereal grace ... a school of stingrays. But this is not the exotic reaches of the tropics - it is the living room of a house in Wigan.
There, Neil Woodward has become the first man in the world to breed rare stingrays in captivity.
The aquatics shop owner travelled to the Brazilian rainforest to capture two pairs of the fish - known as Amazonian freshwater pearls - to be brought back to the UK.
He spent five years trying to get them to produce young in a specially-made tank he set up in his three-bedroom home. Then this year, the fish gave birth to their first babies, known as pups.
"I was really pleased to see them breeding," said 38-year-old Mr Woodward.
"They're really beautiful creatures, and I find them fascinating to watch. People think it's strange that I keep them in the house, but they are doing really well.
"They're not at all dangerous. They even come and feed out of your hand."
He harvested the fish from the Tapajos river, a tributary of the Amazon.
The expedition was one of many he has made worldwide to bring exotic breeds of fish back to his shop, Pier Aquatics, in Wigan. "It was a tough trip," he said.
"These fish don't breed anywhere near major towns or urban areas, so we were in really remote places."
The stingrays are 4in long when born, and can grow to about 2ft. The two breeding pairs are fed on specialist food bought from a Chinese wholesaler.
Mr Woodward pumps specially softened water into the tank, which is 7ft long and holds 500 gallons heated to 28c (82f).
He takes the babies into his shop, where they attract a lot of attention among the 600 tanks of up to 15,000 other breeds of fish.
"They're growing bigger all the time and we're going to move house so we can fit a bigger tank in," he said.
"My wife, Adele, loves them too. They breed once every hundred days or so.
"In the wild, they can have litters of up to 14 pups. One pair had five just last week.
"They are very hard to come by, so they are quite expensive to buy. We sell them sell well via the shop. I'm about to ship some out to Malaysia.
"The adults are priceless, because it is no longer possible to export them from South America. I'm very lucky to have them."
In crystal-clear water, they swim with ethereal grace ... a school of stingrays. But this is not the exotic reaches of the tropics - it is the living room of a house in Wigan.
There, Neil Woodward has become the first man in the world to breed rare stingrays in captivity.
The aquatics shop owner travelled to the Brazilian rainforest to capture two pairs of the fish - known as Amazonian freshwater pearls - to be brought back to the UK.
He spent five years trying to get them to produce young in a specially-made tank he set up in his three-bedroom home. Then this year, the fish gave birth to their first babies, known as pups.
"I was really pleased to see them breeding," said 38-year-old Mr Woodward.
"They're really beautiful creatures, and I find them fascinating to watch. People think it's strange that I keep them in the house, but they are doing really well.
"They're not at all dangerous. They even come and feed out of your hand."
He harvested the fish from the Tapajos river, a tributary of the Amazon.
The expedition was one of many he has made worldwide to bring exotic breeds of fish back to his shop, Pier Aquatics, in Wigan. "It was a tough trip," he said.
"These fish don't breed anywhere near major towns or urban areas, so we were in really remote places."
The stingrays are 4in long when born, and can grow to about 2ft. The two breeding pairs are fed on specialist food bought from a Chinese wholesaler.
Mr Woodward pumps specially softened water into the tank, which is 7ft long and holds 500 gallons heated to 28c (82f).
He takes the babies into his shop, where they attract a lot of attention among the 600 tanks of up to 15,000 other breeds of fish.
"They're growing bigger all the time and we're going to move house so we can fit a bigger tank in," he said.
"My wife, Adele, loves them too. They breed once every hundred days or so.
"In the wild, they can have litters of up to 14 pups. One pair had five just last week.
"They are very hard to come by, so they are quite expensive to buy. We sell them sell well via the shop. I'm about to ship some out to Malaysia.
"The adults are priceless, because it is no longer possible to export them from South America. I'm very lucky to have them."
