Mike's Moments
(March '95)
Here's the problem. Louie has spent the last 12 years developing a "Purple-Longfinned Flyeater" . . . here after known as PLF . . . and he is now ready to sell them to the public. Well, along comes Susie . . . I could make a song out of that (I'm dating myself) . . . and she buys the first bunch of PLF's that Louie has for sale and she spent $25 each for them. Now, she does all of the right things to induce the PLF's to do their rightful thing and bingo there is a batch of little PLF-lets at Susie's house.
Susie naturally doesn't want the enormous bunch of those little buggers running around the place so she goes to the local PLF selling place and offers up her good fortune to the person (see ladies . . . I could have said man!) in charge and we now have a dilemma. Does she have a right to sell the highly prized PLF's as "Louie's PLFs" . . . or are they now "Susie's New & Improved PLFs" . . . or what? Does a person have the exclusive right to a color variety of animal??? Now remember Louie spent 12 years and Susie was lucky and only spent 6-7 months. What if the fish that Louie sold to Susie were inferior products of Louie's breeding stock.
If Susie knew that, then when she goes to sell her PLF's, then she should not say that they are Louie's PLF's, since she will be selling inferior stock and damaging Louie's name and reputation.
Is that OK? Does she owe any alliance to Louie? Is she under any ethical code to maintain the strain and sell the strain as Louie would do for his?
Since Susie's PLFs are just not the same high quality that Louie had and Susie knew that when she bought the PLFs but now that she wants to make some money, her PLFs are really inferior PLFs to Louie's PLFs. Now it is clear that she really is misrepresenting "Louie's PLFs" . . . oh my! Now, what if Susie mates a real PLF with a YSF . . . that's a "Yellow Short-finned Flyeater" . . . what does she have now? I know . . . a "PYLSF", well when these are young they do show the purple that Louie's PLFs have but that eventually fades and yellow show up. The questions are endless . . . what is right is not clear unless we all respect each other's work. If I buy some of Louie's PLFs I can't in all good faith sell them as "Louie's PLFs" . . . I don't think I could sell them unless I can guarantee the quality and that means PLFs X PLFs gives PLFs . . . and even then I might need permission from Louie . . . otherwise they are just Flyeaters . . . ! Think about it from Louie's view . . . wow!!!
I have experienced something in Florida that I didn't experience in the "northland." Fish shops tend NOT to buy fish from the local fish hobbyist/breeders. I know that there is always the chance of some disease, but in all honesty, I have gotten quite a few more diseases from dealers than from fellow breeders (I mean no ill will here), but if you think about it, the local breeder is more likely to not have diseases in his tank. He is most likely to be the one person's whose tanks will be spotless. Think about it pet shop owners . . . encourage your customers to breed fish:
1) Breeders are more loyal to the shops they sell to.
2) Your shop might be able to get some fish cheaper than normal.
3) Your customers will look to buy your fish because they are locally grown.
4) You will probably have cleaner fish than normal.
5) You will really be encouraging the growth of the hobby.
On the other hand . . . you breeders out there. Don't expect the local shops to buy everything you have at a full wholesale price. I know . . . maybe the show paid $.50 for a fish and sold it to you for $1.50 to $2.00, but you must understand that the shop may only want a dozen or two and you have 200 to sell. Well maybe the answer is to give the show a break and sell them to the shop for $.15-$.20 each and get rid of a bunch and let the shop have a sale on the fish . . . consider what size you bought the fish at . . . most likely it was 3/4 to full grown, and most likely you have 1/4 - 1/2 size fish to sell the shop . . . you get less money here also. Along with this is the idea that the fish you sell must be of first class quality . . . no missing fins . . . no nipped fins . . . no missing gill plates . . . no stunted fish . . . nothing that you wouldn't buy yourself . . . THIS IS A MUST!!! The fish you sell MUST . . . MUST . . . MUST be in excellent health. If you ever sell a sick fish to a shop, don't ever expect to be welcome back in the shop. Lastly . . . spend money at the store, be fair with the dealers, they really are making a living with the fish they sell, you just think you are. Sometimes even be willing to take merchandise in exchange for fish . . . cooperation is the key to the ball game. Come on Fish Shop Owners . . . encourage the hobby . . . establish yourself a good and fair policy about buying fish from breeders you know . . . trust me it usually works. The local breeders can be awfully nice people and they have some really nifty, healthy fish for you to sell if the whole thing is done right.
Boy am I smart . . . yea . . . Mikey'll eat it, give it to Mikey. Anyway . . . I've been breeding angels for about 5-6 years now. It's another story about how I got started and what I've raised, but I still piddle with them and I am always looking for a way to be more successful in the hatching and raising of these wonderful fish in a system that does not resemble a gazillion acre fish farm . . . sooooooo one night I am cleaning the tanks and I think, hey, you don't have to always have PVC tubes they lay their eggs on falling down . . . why don't you "silastic" a piece of PVC to a piece of slate . . . great idea. So I found a piece of slate that is about 3" x 3" and perfectly flat on one side (so it won't wobble) and I cut a piece of PVC about 6-8" long . . . 45 degrees cut on one end. I positioned the PVC on the slate such that it sticks upright at a 45 degree angle and "silasticated" (is that a word? - it's a fish thing) it to slate . . . perfect, perfect, perfect. Now when the fish lay the eggs on it you can just pick it up and put it in the hatching tank and it has its own base and no problem . . . heh, heh, heh! It all went perfect. My albino angels spawned like two little . . . well, they just spawned . . . I grabbed the "spawning tree" and it's base came with it slick as slime and put it in the hatching tank and bingo . . . every thing went perfect and they hatched and I was so proud I left the tube in the hatching tank too long . . . you are not going to believe what happened! Out of 300+ angels ALL but about 5 were down in the PVC tube and smothered to death . . . I'm not kidding . . . there was something to the current of the water passing over the top of the PVC tube such that all of the young as they just became free swimming they were all sucked into the top of the PVC tube and they couldn't get out and all died for lack of circulated water . . . and you think things happen to you . . . result . . . I took a hack saw and cut the PVC down vertically so that there is now a 1/2 PVC tube 6"-8" long glued to the slate. . . now it works super . . . just when you thought you think you know it all you tend to be jerked right back down to earth . . . Fins Up!