Wow Julie,
You sure got into this one and good on ya!
Ever since I joined ANGFA we have been trying to popularise our Australian
native fish for aquarium purposes as well as concern our selves with their
propagation and conservation.
We have constantly hit our heads against a brick wall in many cases because
most aquarium shop retailers are small businessmen and like to buy cheap
and sell dear and above all else try never to let a sale get away.
Consequently they try to buy their fish from the breeders and wholesalers
at about the 2-3 cm size or slightly larger because they are cheap.
Unfortunately at that size very few show much colour and especially they
are unlikely to look attractive in a crowded, unplanted , almost bare tank
where the water parameters and temperature are also usually inappropriate.
No wonder they would usually sit around for weeks before some clued up
enthusiast recognised them for what they really could look like and took
them home to a better set of conditions.
We finally convinced a very few to set up planted display tanks for their
Rainbows and then they could show the customer what those little silver
slivers would look like with a little time and attention. We even donated
fully grown adult fish in full colour to stock those tanks for them and for
a brief time we basked in the "glory". BUT as soon as a well-heeled
customer saw those glorious display fish and offered $10 or $20 for THAT
fish it was gone and we were back to square one.
That was one of the problems we hoped to overcome with our ANGFA Native
Aquarium Fish Posters the first 4 of which are available and attempt to
show many of our Rainbowfish and Blue-eyes in adult colour. The aquarium
shop can display these posters on the wall near the sales tank and
customers can see what those little fish can become. [
<< GOOD stores, however, do go the extra bit,
and these stores should be supported. Believe it or not, I actually have
a boss who, at a recent meeting, said that he wants us to make sure that
every customer knows exactly what they need to to care of any animal
they may buy from us, and that we should make sure to take the time to be
certain that this is done. This is a good example of a store that does
it's job>>
If your aquarium store is one of these GOOD ones support them with your
custom and recommend them to others. Tell the opposition that you saw their
display of Native fish and were impressed. We know how nice our fish are
but we need to educate a wider sector of the public..
Bruce Hansen
ANGFA N+Q