Hate to say it man, but like every other kind of collector, oddball hobbyists strive for the most unusual and rare oddballs that nobody else has. Years ago when things like jumbo rhoms/manueli, Goslinea platynema, certain cichlids and other such fish were near impossible to get (or if they did show up they were shipped straight to Japan/Europe) they were at the top of everyone's collecting list. Fast forward to today when the majority of the above is available and suddenly they're out of the spotlight and nobody really cares anymore - sure they're nice and all but they're not *special* like they were before. Demand has gone down for them. It IS the same way with cars. Nobody's denying a Ferrari F430 is a nice car, but its high production numbers doom it to a large depreciation curve just like its predecessors, whereas other lower production f cars like the 333sp, F40 LM, F50 GT1 continue to appreciate.
What does the living organism argument have to do with anything? As long as there are stable populations in the wild then there's no worry, correct? Collectors will be collectors, that's all.
As for that, majority of these oddball predators would not present a solution to the lfs problem. One of my LFS has carried Charax gibbosus several times and they start off in one of the more noticeable tanks, where they fail to sell. Then they get moved to the corner tanks where nobody sees them, they're either underfed or bought off slowly one by one. An LFS has to turn a profit by selling fish that people want. The Charax eventually do sell, but at a fraction of the speed a tank of dollar sized oscars would have. The reason these small predators are so hard to find in the pet trade is because there isn't a significant demand for them. If they were documented in older aquarium books, you can assume they were likely available in the past, and their absence now would mean that there wasn't enough demand to keep them in the pet trade. Things like big oscars, clown knives, giant gouramis, pacus, etc. have much greater appeal to a larger audience than some drab little tetras that swim kinda funny. You have to understand that we (oddball fish keepers) represent a TINY almost insignificant fraction of the people that walk in and out of an LFS everyday. The fish are called oddballs for a reason.
What does the living organism argument have to do with anything? As long as there are stable populations in the wild then there's no worry, correct? Collectors will be collectors, that's all.
As for that, majority of these oddball predators would not present a solution to the lfs problem. One of my LFS has carried Charax gibbosus several times and they start off in one of the more noticeable tanks, where they fail to sell. Then they get moved to the corner tanks where nobody sees them, they're either underfed or bought off slowly one by one. An LFS has to turn a profit by selling fish that people want. The Charax eventually do sell, but at a fraction of the speed a tank of dollar sized oscars would have. The reason these small predators are so hard to find in the pet trade is because there isn't a significant demand for them. If they were documented in older aquarium books, you can assume they were likely available in the past, and their absence now would mean that there wasn't enough demand to keep them in the pet trade. Things like big oscars, clown knives, giant gouramis, pacus, etc. have much greater appeal to a larger audience than some drab little tetras that swim kinda funny. You have to understand that we (oddball fish keepers) represent a TINY almost insignificant fraction of the people that walk in and out of an LFS everyday. The fish are called oddballs for a reason.
Retuks;3473233; said:
WTF does experience with hot rods have to do with having one wrecked while your working?
