MFK Book: Red-Tailed Catfish

[fishhead0103666]

Abbreviations & Acronyms

Abbreviations & Acronyms OK folks, here's the place to offer your FISH RELATED forum abbreviations and acronyms. To make the growing list useable, I'm going to update the list alphabetically. I'll start it off. Feel free to join in. Your contribution (if used) will help our new members and...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Here you go.

 

[Pond Pioneer]

“GREAT SUGGESTION! What is a LFS?”

So, you want to make a book about fish and you don’t know what lfs means?
I’d take a step back and just watch the discussions on this site for a year or more before even attempting anything like this.

Lfs means local fish store.

There’s a thread floating around somewhere that would help you, I’ll find it for you bud.

I appreciate the help, thank you. But I'll continue to do this, thanks for the concern

 

[Oompa Loompa]

What I should do is a pioneer appreciation document. To let these pioneers know how much I appreciate and love what they have accomplished and discovered.

I think you're thinking about this the wrong way. You should ask for permission, plain and simple. You WILL eventually run into legal issues asking for forgiveness instead of permission. All it will take is one person that gets pissed that you're making money off their photo, and it's over.

I really admire the energy you're putting into this, but I think you need to step back and look at what this is actually going to take. You really need to get experience with these animals to write a proper book on them. I don't want to speak for anybody, but I don't think that MFK will want to officially promote a book written by someone who has never kept the fish before.
You might think that everything in your book is accurate, but at the end of the day you don't know what you don't know. Besides the fact that I ran out of steam, this is a big part of what stopped my book - I've never kept a shark or ray in my life. I like to think I know what I'm talking about, and I can help 9/10 people down the right path, but there are so many things I don't know. It wouldn't be right, IMO, for me to put a book out there without knowing those things.

I don't want to discourage you, I honestly think it would be a great idea to have a collective book on monster fish, but you're about twelve steps ahead of yourself on this. Keep the fish, learn the stuff, talk with the people keeping them, THEN work on the book. Don't worry about promoting it with MFK, with Youtubers, don't worry about selling it, just get it made first. Don't count your chicks before they hatch.

 

[Pond Pioneer]

I don't plan to sell this book, it will be free. If someone else wants to publish it and make it official, great! And if I change my mind and I do want to publish it and sell it, I would never sell it until i get permission from the parties that I source.

I wish I could communicate this better. I don't want to write this book. But this book needs to exist asap because of the reasons I listed in the first post. I know I have no experience so I have no business to do it. But I can't selfishly ask others to do it while I sit and wait.

However, if I can at least establish the basic foundation that everyone knows, actual experts can take over to elaborate which isn't public knowledge, that's what I want. I'm sure that no one wants to repeat themselves over again, so that why I at least want to just state the basics.

You should totally finish the book! The hobby won't progress until we make it easier for newbies to learn, and even though this forum and all of the people are absolutely amazing (seriously, this is my first time being on a forum and I don't care even if someone is just negative and telling me no, to be able to talk to people that care is brilliant) it won't get the masses into the hobby. And to your point of you don't know until you know, that is everything new in life! That's what makes it exciting, even when Elon Musk is launching a rocket into space, he knows that there is a certain percentage of failure. Why does he do it? Because he knows it's the right thing to do. I am no way claiming I'm like Musk but I am willing to fail even if I try my hardest if it means someone else can pick up the pieces and carry the torch.

Please send me your book, I'm sure you won't accept my money, so how about a promise? I'll build you your dream shark pond if you do.

 

[RD.]

The hobby won't progress until we make it easier for newbies to learn, and even though this forum and all of the people are absolutely amazing (seriously, this is my first time being on a forum and I don't care even if someone is just negative and telling me no, to be able to talk to people that care is brilliant) it won't get the masses into the hobby.

Easier for newbies? LOL For some of us there was no internet when we first began in this hobby, no youtube, no fish forums. In the history of fish keeping, going back hundreds of years, today it is FAR easier for those new to fish keeping to jump online, spend some time researching (such as coming to forums such as this) and being successful from the get go. IMHO people that need to be spoon fed everything, won't last in this hobby, among other things first & foremost it requires dedication and a true love of fish. If you look at the data available through various sources you will see that the hobby of fish keeping (both marine & fresh) has grown steadily over the past few decades.

Pet Industry Market Size, Trends & Pet Industry Statistics from APPA

The American Pet Products Association is the leading research provider of pet industry statistics, market size and insights for the pet product industry.

www.americanpetproducts.org

U.S. pet ownership statistics

Companion animals | Exotic animals | Formulas/Calculator - Source: 2017-2018 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook.

www.avma.org

U.S. Pet Fish and Aquarium Products Market Trends and Opportunities Report 2017 - Research and Markets

The

www.businesswire.com

FA124/FA124: The Ornamental Fish Trade: An Introduction with Perspectives for Responsible Aquarium Fish Ownership

University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension outreach is a partnership between state, federal, and county governments to provide scientific knowledge and expertise to the public. The University of Florida (UF), together with Florida A&M University (FAMU)...

edis.ifas.ufl.edu

Based on total numbers, freshwater fish is the most popular pet category in the United States. There will always be swings & trends based on various factors, but I don't see the hobby as a whole suffering, because newbies can't find the info that they need. IMO, that's ludicrous.

 

[Pond Pioneer]

You're right, that is extreme for me to say, I retract that statement. I do have a biased view. However, like with everything, it can be improved upon and made easier. And growth would be faster. And you are also right in that people need dedication, I just want to remove as every little bit of inertia as I can. And there will be a limit, just think about weight loss. There are so many gyms, programs, free online advice, but people still choose to not be healthier (Me). But I don't think the Monster Fish Keeping industry is there yet as an industry. And as an aquatic pet industry as well. It's especially true for my industry in ponds.

Also what is IMHO and IMO?

 

[twentyleagues]

So many carts before horses these days. Alot of them seem to be the same.

Imho -in my honest opinion
Imo- in my opinion

 

[Pond Pioneer]

So many carts before horses these days. Alot of them seem to be the same.

Imho -in my honest opinion
Imo- in my opinion

But if I look upside-down, the horse is in front of the cart!
What do you think I should do? Please share

 

[fishhead0103666]

You’re killing me bud, lol.

 

[Pond Pioneer]

Hopefully with kindness