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RE: OT. bettas
You know folks that I really can't resist getting into a good useless off
topic conversation. Try as I might, when it comes to fish it is hard for me
not to form and express an opinion. So here goes.
First of all the question should not be why are bettas so expensive? It's
why are killies so cheap? The difference is that as killie breeders we are
trying to distribute our fish. We want a particular species to spread. If we
were to sell only males and cull our females we could accomplish the same
thing betta breeders do. One could argue that if the price were too high
someone could just go out and collect more. But this is not always so. In
many cases there are no more wild populations. In any case if we have a
particular fish we could just rename them when they are collected so that it
would be harder for more to be found.
Lets think about it for a minute. When someone has a very rare killie what
does he do with it. He breeds it and usually gives it to all of his friends.
Those which get sold usually start out expensive but then the price goes
down rapidly as the fish is proliferated. I have seen killies go for over
$100.00 per pair but those prices usually last only a short while until
everyone has them then it goes for pocket change at auction. If someone
figures out how to breed a difficult fish they share the information freely.
If killie breeders withheld females and kept their secrets I think that
killies pairs would sell for much more than bettas. I am not sure about
betta breeders. Maybe they do the same amongst themselves. I do not know.
But the fact that so few bettas are sold as pairs gives me the idea that
there is some method behind the madness.
As to breeding special strains of killies goes, why not? How many people on
this list have not kept albino something or red/orange or chocolate AUS.
They are nice little fish There is plenty of room in our hobby for wild
fish and hybrids alike (as long as they are correctly labeled).
As killie folk we are lucky we are in such a wonderful hobby with such a
great bunch of people! Most of my rarest fish were actually given to me or
sold to me at less than the cost it took to raise them. I don't mind
bringing fish to auction, even when I know that they will go for very
little. Hopefully someone else will be successful with them and they will
proliferate. If I were looking to get top dollar for my fish I would work
hard for other good breeders not to get them. The last place I would sell
my fish is at a club auction where others who could breed them could get a
hold of them. I do agree that It is nice when our fish bring big bucks but
certainly not necessary.
If we really wanted to raise our fish incomes all we need do is withhold
them, or at least withhold the females. In the end it take a lot less work
and cost less money to raise fewer fish and we would all make a much larger
profit. It is our willingness to share our fish so inexpensively which has
prevented any large scale killie enterprise from ever succeeding.
Finally the question is do we really want to be like betta breeders? You can
get the males for $2.99 but if you want a correct pair it will cost you
$300.00. I'm not sure that we are wired that way.
Peace,
~RJ~
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