Re: [Killietalk] Shows and new members

["Koran, David HQ02" <David_Koran at hq02.usace.army.mil>]

Keith, et. al.,

I am not sure if you are talking about Michiana or the MKA but with regards
to a "public" show or I guess in general killifish publicity I think the
critical element is not as much as the potential convert finds you as much he
or she finds the fish and can actually acquire a killie.  Seeing killies
displayed or reading about them in a general aquarium publication doesn't
have the same effect as getting your gubby little hands on a pair and taking
them home.

There is always a question of just how much effort do you put forth and what
is the reward.  I think you have to balance all of this with the idea of just
dangling bait in front of an interested party.  While it is great to see a
variety of killies, if you can only acquire one or two, where do you start
and surely you may tend to back off if you get into a bidding war on
something you perceive as a must have only to find that the "rare killie" is
conveted by a killifish person who either bids you through the roof to get
the sucker or as a novice you get the fish and suddenly get branded as a
place where the fish goes to die.  I would advocate a public show as being a
publicity effort and a "low level" affair where maybe your goal is to get
killies out to the public and to focus a bit more on education rather than
competition if this isn't part of a general acquarium show.  I don't think
the awards issues and killifish talks we associate with our typical shows fit
well with a public place.  It almost works better if one thinks of having two
events and your club show becomes a workshop/auction.

It also works that if we have killies written up in an aquarium magazine, the
public wants to know where they can get the featured fish or something closed
related.  It is hard for a non-killie person to read an article on say,
Fundulopanchax avichang, then search the local shops for a killifish and only
find say, Aphyosemion striatum.  What we publicize in our public articles
needs to be available somehow to general public, a supply chain issue.

Getting back to the public show concept, those of us in the local clubs
cringe when we think of "mercy bids" for common killies that come up in our
regular meetings or the lack of stock in the local LFS's or maybe the markup
for those common killies.  The low key public show is the way to place these
fish with the curious, walk up aquarist.  At least if they get a pair of
killlies they know there are local faces that probably produced those fish
and maybe a club to provide other options.

Dave K

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