I was scrolling through the new posts this morning as usual, and found myself uncharacteristically reading a couple of the "what should I keep?" and "can I keep this fish and that fish together?" threads...and suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds, the angels sang...and I had an epiphany!
Fish rentals! And possibly fish leasing!
As I read about the trials and tribulations of all those poor hobbyists who want great big fish in their tiny little tanks, the common factor that they all shared was obvious. All these people seem to think in terms of the fish that they bring home from the store at a length of a couple of inches. Most of them seem to be aware of the sizes these fish can eventually achieve, but it's almost like an abstract concept for them; they hear phrases like "can achieve a length of 3 - 4 feet"...and they look at their tank which is, coincidentally, 3 or 4 feet in length...and they somehow come to the conclusion that it will magically work out for them. By the time the fish reaches that majestic size, they will have a 5000-gallon basement pool, or a 15-foot tank built into the wall, or a 10-acre heated outdoor pond, or some other vast enclosure, depending upon what their mom and their after-school-activity schedule allows.
Another common problem arises when these aquarists simply must have the meanest, most aggressive, toothiest, gnarliest fish on the planet...in their little tanks...kept with a community of others, 'cuz solitary fish are too boring!
A few of them may pay some lip-service to the idea of selling or otherwise re-homing the fish when they grow too large or too unruly...but even those folks seem to think they will have many years before the problems arises, when in actuality the time will be measured in months or even weeks. Hell, I just read a thread where they poster wanted to know about keeping a specific fish...which he hadn't purchased yet, thank goodness...and he was already planning on getting rid of it! Dang...that's a forward thinker for sure!
This idea would also be perfect for all those "...for life?" aquarists. You know the ones..."What's the absolute minimum smallest size of tank in which I can keep a Marlin...for life?" With this plan, you no longer need to worry about the lifespan of the fish...just the attention-span of the fishkeeper! Lost interest? No sweat! I'm there the next day to discreetly remove that dusty old Oscar that you are now bored with, and replace it with the latest Shiny New Thing.
So, yeah...fish rentals! You want a Midas cichlid for your 20-gallon desk-top tank? Or an Arowana in your 75-gallon? How about a school of Piranha or maybe a RTC...or both!...in your 100-gallon? No problem! You set up the tank...and I bring to your home and install the fish of your choice, at a size that is suitable for your aquarium. You will pay a small weekly fee for as long as the set-up seems to work; when the fish gets too big or too aggressive or too boring or too dead, I'll come pick it up and replace it with the next new species that you simply must have. You can have an Arowana this month...a RTC for a couple weeks after that...and then move into maybe a nice Wolffish or Bichir or...well, whatever you want! The sky's the limit!
Of course, like any contract, there would need to be some fine print. The aquarist would pay on a weekly basis for the fish...and would cover the costs of transportation to and from...and of course there will be an up-front security deposit which is sufficient to cover the entire value of the fish in question. Then we just add on the taxes, a small handling/processing surcharge, a minimal mark-up and a small hourly charge to cover set-up.
That's it! No hidden costs or extra charges! You have the fish of your dreams, in your own tank at home, with no worries about what to do with it when it outgrows its welcome!
The perfect aquarium.
I'd probably add on further services as time passed, such as on-site rock-boiling, but I'll likely start small with just the rental business. Gotta come up with a catchy logo and motto.
Maybe "Fish for now; not forever!" or "Fish today...gone tomorrow!" or...?
I'll be looking for investors and start-up capital, so...stay tuned...
Hopefully the mods will let me know if I should have posted this in the Marketplace section...
Fish rentals! And possibly fish leasing!
As I read about the trials and tribulations of all those poor hobbyists who want great big fish in their tiny little tanks, the common factor that they all shared was obvious. All these people seem to think in terms of the fish that they bring home from the store at a length of a couple of inches. Most of them seem to be aware of the sizes these fish can eventually achieve, but it's almost like an abstract concept for them; they hear phrases like "can achieve a length of 3 - 4 feet"...and they look at their tank which is, coincidentally, 3 or 4 feet in length...and they somehow come to the conclusion that it will magically work out for them. By the time the fish reaches that majestic size, they will have a 5000-gallon basement pool, or a 15-foot tank built into the wall, or a 10-acre heated outdoor pond, or some other vast enclosure, depending upon what their mom and their after-school-activity schedule allows.
Another common problem arises when these aquarists simply must have the meanest, most aggressive, toothiest, gnarliest fish on the planet...in their little tanks...kept with a community of others, 'cuz solitary fish are too boring!
A few of them may pay some lip-service to the idea of selling or otherwise re-homing the fish when they grow too large or too unruly...but even those folks seem to think they will have many years before the problems arises, when in actuality the time will be measured in months or even weeks. Hell, I just read a thread where they poster wanted to know about keeping a specific fish...which he hadn't purchased yet, thank goodness...and he was already planning on getting rid of it! Dang...that's a forward thinker for sure!
This idea would also be perfect for all those "...for life?" aquarists. You know the ones..."What's the absolute minimum smallest size of tank in which I can keep a Marlin...for life?" With this plan, you no longer need to worry about the lifespan of the fish...just the attention-span of the fishkeeper! Lost interest? No sweat! I'm there the next day to discreetly remove that dusty old Oscar that you are now bored with, and replace it with the latest Shiny New Thing.
So, yeah...fish rentals! You want a Midas cichlid for your 20-gallon desk-top tank? Or an Arowana in your 75-gallon? How about a school of Piranha or maybe a RTC...or both!...in your 100-gallon? No problem! You set up the tank...and I bring to your home and install the fish of your choice, at a size that is suitable for your aquarium. You will pay a small weekly fee for as long as the set-up seems to work; when the fish gets too big or too aggressive or too boring or too dead, I'll come pick it up and replace it with the next new species that you simply must have. You can have an Arowana this month...a RTC for a couple weeks after that...and then move into maybe a nice Wolffish or Bichir or...well, whatever you want! The sky's the limit!
Of course, like any contract, there would need to be some fine print. The aquarist would pay on a weekly basis for the fish...and would cover the costs of transportation to and from...and of course there will be an up-front security deposit which is sufficient to cover the entire value of the fish in question. Then we just add on the taxes, a small handling/processing surcharge, a minimal mark-up and a small hourly charge to cover set-up.
That's it! No hidden costs or extra charges! You have the fish of your dreams, in your own tank at home, with no worries about what to do with it when it outgrows its welcome!
The perfect aquarium.
I'd probably add on further services as time passed, such as on-site rock-boiling, but I'll likely start small with just the rental business. Gotta come up with a catchy logo and motto.
Maybe "Fish for now; not forever!" or "Fish today...gone tomorrow!" or...?
I'll be looking for investors and start-up capital, so...stay tuned...
Hopefully the mods will let me know if I should have posted this in the Marketplace section...
