NANFA-- Well, I'm back

Mysteryman (bestfish-in-alaweb.com)
Fri, 14 May 2004 13:04:31 -0700

It looks like it's been a slow month around here...only some 580 emails
waiting for me instead of the usual 1100 or so.
I guess I'll make some comments on various topics.

I'm finally going to become a full-fledged NANFA member by sending in a
real paper check.
I finally got a Shinerscoop, and wouldn't you know its been raining like
crazy all week.
One batch of my tank-raised Flagfins went bad, afflicted with some
fungus when the filter failed and the tank crashed. Good thing I split
them up into four groups. The others are still immaculate, and now that
I've finally managed to get some Kordon Breathing Bags, I'll be able to
start sending them to those of you who have been waiting.

Leo.. "thousands" of Welaka fry everywhere and you didn't nab some?
Don't you know that tank-raised specimens may well prove prone to
spawning in aquaria without Longears? ( not to mention be hardier )
Oh well, maybe next time.

lessseeee....AH! Big Box vs Little Guy. I may have mentioned that I was
once an LFS owner, and like many, I took real pride in being able to
provide a huge selection of top-notch fishes, but alas, I too was
crushed by the idiots-in-the big box store. It really makes me sick.
Those big box stores are quite literally ruining the entire hobby. All
they offer are bread-and-butter fish and a few extras, and they
obviously don't have a clue, but still they wipe out the good guys.
Don't the hobbyists understand the harm they are doing to their own
future success and enjoyment when they shop-in-the 'Mart? Once the only
real viable fish trade is those guys, the supply and variety of species
will dwindle to only those few species the big stores carry. Why should
the importers and fishfarms waste precious effort and space on things
they can't sell?

I have a plan. We need to fight fire with fire. Little fish stores can't
compete against the big guys, but could a big fish-only store chain?
Imagine a chain of bigbox fish stores. Each store has some 500-600 tanks
of fish in it. There are 2 or 3 distribution centers which import/buy
all the fish and then clean them up with cleansing/conditioning, and
then send only very high quality fish to the stores. The result is that
a hobbyist who walks into such a store will be blown away by the huge
selection of healthy fish and by the expert staff that really knows what
it's doing, and really works to help the hobbyist succeed. Each store
could even have some little classroom/learning center in it, and perhaps
even host local fish club meetings. Eventually, the hobby wouldn't
dwindle and suffer in a PetsMart/Petco infested arena, but instead
thrive as never before.
So, who has a few spare million to invest?

Finally, I'm home all weekend, and it looks like the rain will finally
stop. Does anyone feel the urge to collect some South Alabama species?
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