Al i have to agree well said ..Acouple more things to think about if you will can you make money in general Breeding for the Hobby ???? Probably not if your lucky you break even more lucky you make a couple extra bucks here and there and ya can buy your self another tank or two to further your pleasure Buddy i hate to read this and seemingly so down it's a hobby treat is that and maybe a little more pleasure can be had ..And believe me sometimes i need to slow down myself take a step back and say to myself hey man this is just a hobby LOL!!!!
I understand it's just a hobby.... I do it for the love of it and nothing else. I never set out to make money. I just wanted to breed some quality Marbles as it seemed put near impossible to find nice ones that stay nice. I threw cost out the window. I wanted the nicest I could find. I payed to play. But who would have known that afer spending just shy of $2500 for a pair of Marbles that the pups would be worth no more then pups from a $600 pair? Find me a black ray breeder that's selling pups at 20% the cost of one parent...... lol. My heart's always been in the right place. Just ask anyone I've dealt with, I've sold my nicest male on more then 1 occasion to another hobbyist for the simple fact that they had a nicer female for that male then I had. Always keeping an eye on the quality of the big picture. I just get so frustrated with Marbles cause nice ones cost 4 digits to me, I sell them for half or less then half that and the pups from the nicest parents I could find sell for the same as something that looks like a plain ol Motoro. They're simply worth more to me then anyone else. So rather then absorb all this myself I've been slowly selling off most of my Marbles to other people that feel the same as I do about the value and quality of these animals.
Bottom line is I would pay more for a pup then anyone else so why sell them? Do you really think I could be bitter about the hobby when I'm surrounding myself with some of the most beautiful little flatfish I could find and they're reproducing making even nicer cute lil flatfish. I'm happy to be in the hobby for the right reasons, that's all....
And Richard, that is a fabulous plan. I couldn't agree more with you on it being in my blood. Has been from day one. I love brown rays and can't wait to see what the future holds..... I hope to see brown rays swimming in my tank by the end of the year that I honestly thought I wouldn't get to see in the flesh before I die (Falkneri). Pair that with the anticipation of lil lil Bill becoming a father and my only headache left will be aquiring Boesemani.