The ones we know from this list and from conventions and collecting
trips are The Type 1 Native Fish Hobbyists. They are the wackos
(affectionately) who will make & buy all kinds of contraptions for
collecting fishes, own-in-least two academic texts on natives, and
will swim, slog, slither and wallow through any kind of water-filled
hole to get that coveted creature.
The Type 2 Native Fish Hobbyist is a different species altogether.
They are direct descendants (and arguably ancestors) of the standard
pet shop-TFH reading-money spending-fish obessed-discus, angelfish,
killifish, cichlid, guppy, betta enthusiasts, who are rather
intimidated by the prospect of venturing out into any _unfiltered_
water to catch fish for their aquariums. I'm sure there is a whole
discussion that could happen about why this would be considered
distasteful by most aquarists. Anyway, these native keepers have
developed an interest in natives, but they want to to _buy_ them, and
will often spend large sums of money to do so.
I agree that the Type 1 group is likely to be a very limited pool
that will not grow beyond certain personality and cultural limits.
The Type 2 group, however, is potentially as large as the fish hobby
as a whole. I'm guessing that its growth is controlled by fashion,
prejudice, knowledge and extreme limits on the availability for sale
of native species. All of those factors can change over time. So, I
think the natives hobby has a large potential for growth with The
Type 2 Native Fish Hobbyist.
-- Mark, Type 1 Native Fish Hobbyist Ohio USA <))>< /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa-in-aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request-in-aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request-in-aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org