Re: [RML] species maintenance

chris drew (seegeedrew at hotmail.com)
Sun, 14 Sep 1997 09:44:57 PDT

Cary - some well made points.

As for the syndicate idea, I've done it the past and yes, it is
"caveat emptor". People know BEFORE they put up their money that all
the fish may arrive at their door dead or someone may not be
successful with his or her fish but on the whole everyone accepts the
risk and rolls the dice. In my most recent experience with this format,
6
guys put up C$125 each and in return now have 5 different
species/[populations swimming in their tanks. Everybody on average
received 5 fish of each species produced from the original purchase.
About C$5 per fish!! That works out to US$3.50 per fish!!! You can't do
any better than that!

There's no way I could have put up US$540 by myself to accomplish
the same results.

Does anyone want to get into a syndicate? C$125.00=US$90.00. There
is a risk but, say in the above deal we lost two or even three of the
species
that would mean each person ended up with 10 or 15 fish. That means
you'd have 10 fish that cost you $12.50 each or 15 that cost you $8.33
and this is CANADIAN $$$$!! And you'd have the original fish already
reproducing, whose offspring you could make available to other
hobbyists for about $8 a piece.

Forgive me if my math is in error someplace but, I think the numbers are
right.

BTW what news do you have on the Species Maint. program?

Chris

Ps. FORGET I ever said anything about the clubs being involved
with distributing fish. The whole thread started out "tongue- in- cheek"
and I was only thinking out loud!

>From rainbowfish-owner at pcug.org.au Sun Sep 14 06:21:04 1997
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>To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au
>Subject: [RML] species maintenance
>Date: Sun, 14 Sep 1997 13:09:28 GMT
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>
>I've been watching opinions on this thread about syndicates, species
>maintenance and wish lists. I've seen a number of good points and a
>few unworkable points. I think the only way to make a buying syndicate
>work is if individuals work together to do it themselves. I agree if
>the clubs get involved in deciding who gets the fish you're just going
>to have hard feelings. And even if its a group of individuals the same
>thing could happen. Say 5 people get together and buy six fish of a
>species. Member #1 of this group gets the fish but fails to produce
>any more than to keep his population going or worse yet looses the
>whole group. How are the other members going to feel? Not that it
>couldn't work, but I think anybody going into such a syndicate be
>aware that such an event can happen and probably will at some point.
>
>On the point of the club selling raffle tickets to decide who gets the
>fish. What good does it do if the fish gets into the hands of somebody
>that doesn't breed or has no luck at it? Many members of our clubs
>have no interest or experience with breeding. This really does nothing
>more than selling the fish to the highest bidder. It may or may not
>get to the general membership.
>
>The main problem that seems to be occurring is fish coming in and
>ending up in the hands of only a few people. If these people don't
>breed and sell eggs or fry the species will be lost to the hobby. So
>IMHO we get back to getting a Species Maintenance program going. We
>need people to take ownership of the species they have.
>By ownership I don't mean just keeping the fish in a tank. I mean
>caring about the long term good of the species. Part of this means
>spreading the fish to as many people as you can. Sell eggs, sell fry
>or trade. Damn just give some eggs away to other people. Who makes a
>profit in this hobby anyhow? If I'm lucky I may have one month a year
>where I don't spend more than I take in with my fish. I bet most folks
>are in the same boat. This ain't about money folks its about a love
>for the fish. Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with making a
>few dollars to cover expenses, but is making money why we keep fish?
>
>Hopefully as the Species Maintenance program grows we'll have more
>people willing to make fish and eggs available. Too few people do this
>at present and that's why fish disappear, nobody can get them. We
>can't expect the half a dozen people listing fish and eggs in America
>to supply the whole country. For all you folks that only have one or
>two species you can get to spawn, list that one or two fish. You don't
>need a list of a dozen species to be accepted in any publication. If
>you really like a species and plan on keeping them over the long term
>get in touch with me a join the program. You are a resource this hobby
>needs, and thats a person with the species. It doesn't matter if you
>feel you're just a newbie and learning, we're all still learning.
>Don't feel intimidated by big fish rooms and large species counts,
>there is still more unknown about these fish than know. Just look at
>some of the problems that never have a conclusion in this mail list.
>
>well off my soap box for now
>Cary Hostrawser
>
>My Rainbowfish Home Page
>http://pw2.netcom.com/~caryho/home.html
>
>Rainbowfish Study Group Web Page
>http://home.stlnet.com/~gwlange/rainbowfish.index.html
>

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