getting a little hot in here????
No I do not keep rare fish because I do not have the $ or even the ability for that matter, but I do aspire to do more challenging things. I would never love my gold fish less for having rare fish, but I would love to have a "rare fish". My definition of rare being very dificult to keep and of a pure bloodline. I have kept fish and amphibians since I was 3. A large part of the fun is doing the research and learning how to best care for a fish that you have never owned. As you learn more about fishkeeping you may have to reasult to keeping exotic fish to have a challenge.
I could not imaging the feeling I would have if I had found two extremely rare or endangered fish in captivity and had breed them, helping ensure the sruvival(at least in captivity) of the species.
I would imagine keeping dificult fish the same reason I chouse to put 2000 and 100+ hrs into my 67 mustang last summer rather than a down payment on a new, easier, more comfortable new care. It takes much more to keep my car. Yes, a 2003 stang is a great car and I would very much enjoy it, I will always like my classic better because
A. after 35 years pepole say "wow, thats a 67 mustang" and they know how much I must love cars to find one, restore it, and to keep it running.
B. after all the work and time I have put into it we are closer and it has more personality
my car is in need of a new paint job, and in my opinion a 2003 stingray looks much better, but for cars ( and fish ) worth is not always in beauty but sometimes the investment you have in it. It would not take near as much time no have the new car, but I enjoy spending time, effort, and enegry on my car.
Personaly a very healthy and happy rare fish will mean more than a tank full than a bunch of happy neons that were easy to get and keep. I would never put the effort into a fish that was not worth it, but the more time I spend and the harder I work the more i will enjoy my fish. Everything I would have learned, and al the time I spent as a fish keeper would be put into keeping a dificult fish. To me that is the worth of a fish.
Many years from now I will hopefully will have a marine tank with some very exotic species and a tank with some very old goldfish. After having the exotics for years I will be just as proud of both. It is my knowledge of how much I have given them and how much they have given in return.
