RE: NANFA-L-- OT: Sales of Males

Hoover, Jan J ERDC-EL-MS (Jan.J.Hoover-in-erdc.usace.army.mil)
Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:57:21 -0600

Bob Muller wrote:
>>> when I was a boy many fish (those with un-colorful females) were
only sold as pairs...back then each aquarium shop ordered directly from
Florida fish farms...They would always get-in-a minimum of 25 -30 fish of
each kind. Now
at least here in Metro Detroit there are local fish wholesalers and the shops
often only pickup 6 or 7 of a species for their tanks. My local shop picks
only males of checker barbs, black ruby barbs...I believe that most people
that have aquariums look-in-the fish as
decorations and buy them by color. It seems to be a small number that are
interested in the fish and learning anything about them.<<<

When I worked in an aquarium shop in the early 1970s, guppies were sold in
pairs or trios, and most customers expressed some level of interest in
breeding them. I know that younger hobbyists are still fascinated by fish
they can breed and by the appearance of the young relative to that of the
parents.

I just assumed that most people who bought guppies wanted to keep them in
something like a natural group even if they didn't want to bother raising the
baby fish.

So what happens to all these uncolorful females ?

- Jan Hoover
Vicksburg, MS
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