Considering the insane prices that some people pay for fancy goldfish, koi, Asian arowanas, flowerhorns, etc...it's actually a bit surprising to me that bettas seem so relatively inexpensive.
But I'm sure that'll change eventually. Once the market gets flooded with short-body super-long-fin three-eyed glo-bettas...and I'll bet someone's trying to create them...then prices will skyrocket.
Of course, once robot fish hit the market place, all bets are off. Then owners can brag about how much money they spent without needing to worry about all those messy aspects of fish-keeping like feeding, cleaning, etc. Just turn the switch on when your friends come to visit, spend some time oohing and aahing about how cool the thing is, and then switch off your "pet" and move on to the next trendy cool thing. Or...maybe get a "smart" robo-betta, that will automatically activate and act all "fishy" and life-like when you enter the room, and then turn off after you leave to save electricity.
Personally, I am putting a lot of effort into developing a strain of Invisible Bettas. They are immortal, don't need food or oxygen, can subsist indefinitely in any water conditions or temperatures and in even the smallest aquariums. They aren't aggressive, so you can keep as many together as you want without problems. No need for filtration, no water changes...in fact you can keep them in a sealed glass jar so you don't even need to worry about evaporation.
They won't be cheap...but, then, cutting-edge progress never is...
I'll try to keep prices low enough so that virtually anyone can afford them. And, if they take off as I expect they will, I plan on expanding into Invisible Goldfish, Invisible Koi, Invisible Arowanas....really, the sky's the limit.
That kid buying the tropical island never did get back to me regarding a partnership; can't wait around forever for him, so I plan on concentrating on this project for the foreseeable future.
But I'm sure that'll change eventually. Once the market gets flooded with short-body super-long-fin three-eyed glo-bettas...and I'll bet someone's trying to create them...then prices will skyrocket.
Of course, once robot fish hit the market place, all bets are off. Then owners can brag about how much money they spent without needing to worry about all those messy aspects of fish-keeping like feeding, cleaning, etc. Just turn the switch on when your friends come to visit, spend some time oohing and aahing about how cool the thing is, and then switch off your "pet" and move on to the next trendy cool thing. Or...maybe get a "smart" robo-betta, that will automatically activate and act all "fishy" and life-like when you enter the room, and then turn off after you leave to save electricity.
Personally, I am putting a lot of effort into developing a strain of Invisible Bettas. They are immortal, don't need food or oxygen, can subsist indefinitely in any water conditions or temperatures and in even the smallest aquariums. They aren't aggressive, so you can keep as many together as you want without problems. No need for filtration, no water changes...in fact you can keep them in a sealed glass jar so you don't even need to worry about evaporation.
They won't be cheap...but, then, cutting-edge progress never is...
I'll try to keep prices low enough so that virtually anyone can afford them. And, if they take off as I expect they will, I plan on expanding into Invisible Goldfish, Invisible Koi, Invisible Arowanas....really, the sky's the limit. That kid buying the tropical island never did get back to me regarding a partnership; can't wait around forever for him, so I plan on concentrating on this project for the foreseeable future.
