AngelMaster":12alvazd said:
The question itself smells awfully suspicious of someone just trying to get a rise out of the crowd. I will bite no further.
Personally, I don't think this is the case. It's a valid concern. The fact is most new hobbyists will choose the cheaper fish over the more expensive captive bred alternative because 1) they don't know the difference or 2) they just don't care about being conscientious. So logically, bringing down the cost of captive bred fish will go a ways in making it a more attractive option to more people and consequently help alleviate our hobby's pressure on the natural reefs.
However, the problem is breeding fish is obviously more labor and resource intensive then capturing them from the ocean. Thus, the simple economics of it is they have to be more expensive. In order to lower the costs of captive bred fish, I would imagine breeders would have to sell much high quantities. But to sell much high quantities, they're going to have to initially bring down the price. So there's the catch 22.
Either the breeders take a big financial hit (risking their operational viability) by selling their products at a much reduced profit margin hoping it'll generate enough volume to make up for the loss
or .....
We (the educated hobbyists) help others realize that it's worth supporting/buying captive bred fish which will increase their sales volume and bring down their prices over time.
I think the latter is more reasonable, viable, and less risky. That's why I encourage everyone to buy captive bred when possible, even if c.b. fish cost more. If nothing else, you get a tamer fish and do mother nature a service at the same time.
my two cents
