Rescuing fish is done out of love, that is everything opposite of the love of money...

[thebiggerthebetter]

I love it. My first rescue was a 17 year old stunted common pleco that I named "skully" or "scoliosis pleco"

Good job. Common pleco are bred rather carelessly and as cheaply as possible. It is common to see developmental deformities such as scoliosis in babies and in adults raised properly by responsible keepers. Moreover, there is a market for misshapen fish, especially in Asia, catalyzing efforts to produce mutants. There is such a thing as "high back" common pleco offered for sales at LFSs, an obviously deformed fish from the getgo. Just some thoughts to supplement the statement.

You mentioned 99% of fish donated do not fall under the extreme category and consist of plecos, koi, and goldfish. Simple mathematics indicate the remaining 1% are made up of the extreme cases.

An RTC and paroon shark are obviously difficult fish to sell. Using such fish would be an extreme example.
***I gave a typical and easy-to-grasp picture. Giving extreme examples equates to intentional misleading.

What about the stingrays, datnoids, peacock bass that you bring in that sell in a few days to a few weeks? I imagine not every fish is held for a year to 15 before a buyer is found.
***99% of rescued fish are common stuff - common pleco, koi, goldfish, cichlids, etc. stuff one buys at big box chain stores. The fish you list hold high resale value and people most usually have no problem selling them, no need for a rescue. In 13 years, we have had 3 pbass, one silver datnoid and no stringrays donated to us.

You are a great reader and thinker indeed and I thank you for it. My bad for forgetting about this little piece. The point I mumbled was different. You were assuming we must be getting and flipping, for profit or break-even, a significant portion of our rescued fish, that is the fish of market / after-market value, and I was merely replying that pricey, rare, specialty fish, desirable fish that hold their value when large are rarely donated, 3 pbass in 13 years, enough said, no? I didn't bother to continue the list of commoners, only baited / started it. Red tail catfish, TSN, RTC x TSN hybrid, pacu, channel catfish, iridescent shark catfish firmly fall into the "etc." term in my list after pleco, goldfish and koi. Maybe even silver arowana too.

... if big fish bother you then its better to target the shops selling them or try to spread the education message. As we all know a LFS will more often than not try to sell you something instead of let you walk out the door, if that happens to be a red terror for a30G tank as happened to me recently (didnt buy it obviously) then its really down to the shops sales tactics and lack of knowledge from the purchaser.Focusing on this side of it would be a better way to solve the problem than worrying about the genuine rescue people out there.

I think Matt is legitimately and with fair grounds challenging my thread, starting from the title that can be read as self-righteous, flashy, arrogant, passive-aggressive, etc. and down to details. He has every right to do so, by my book. And I much appreciate that he is doing it and doing it civilly.

I submit that I didn't have enough wit to think through how my title and OP could be read from someone else's perspective. I am so used to everyone praising and appreciating what we do, that I got lazy and self-contended and arrogant, I guess. Matt and ya'll helped me greatly. Thank you guys.

 

[BIG-G]

With the costs involved In maintaining just a few small aquarium and the meager stock I have in comparison.
I have no doubt that a venture such as this would or could be a money pit.


So if someone does manage to flip a fish here or there and makes a little profit, I say I’m happy for you.
If it was to turn out that you can actually make a living doing it that’s great.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

With the costs involved In maintaining just a few small aquarium and the meager stock I have in comparison.
I have no doubt that a venture such as this would or could be a money pit.


So if someone does manage to flip a fish here or there and makes a little profit, I say I’m happy for you.
If it was to turn out that you can actually make a living doing it that’s great.

Thank you. ... right. I believe it is the possible / potential misrepresentation that Matt's after.

 

[FLA]

Good job. Common pleco are bred rather carelessly and as cheaply as possible. It is common to see developmental deformities such as scoliosis in babies and in adults raised properly by responsible keepers. Moreover, there is a market for misshapen fish, especially in Asia, catalyzing efforts to produce mutants. There is such a thing as "high back" common pleco offered for sales at LFSs, an obviously deformed fish from the getgo. Just some thoughts to supplement the statement.

This thread is interesting and there is a lot of the conversation I am going to stay out of. I will comment on what is probably seen as the least important part. Common plecos aren't really bred for the market. People collect eggs from the feral populations found throughout South and Central Florida. Those eggs are hatched and grown up in ponds then sold off mostly between 1.5-2.5". This results in no planned breeding and the fish you see on the market represent what the genetics that are in the lakes and rivers around the state. Six mile creek and the Tampa bypass canal were the historic collection points. Many have complained about the quality coming out of six mile creek and the canal thus collectors have spread out to more diverse locations. If you ever collect eggs it is an interesting experience. Each body of water is different. In the Peace river you find very small egg masses roughly the size of a small tangerine. In the Hillsborough river the egg masses seem to have twice as many eggs roughly as big as a naval orange. I have heard reports that in Kissimmee they are twice as large as the Hillsborough.

Hundreds of thousands of eggs are collected in this manner. While many fish go to hobbyist who are not prepared to house these animals it is up for debate as to what populations would look like if tomorrow all egg collection stopped. Some believe the populations would increase dramatically while others think it might crash with an overabundance. At the end of the day it is all speculative at this point. This does provide a means for people to make a living. Egg collection has no barrier to entry other than a commercial fishing license (which is cheap), the ability to swim, and a vehicle with a cooler. It is tough to get rich on it, but it can pay some bills in the summer time.