He's such a good guy too. He's working hard to make fish more available for the aquarists of Hawaii. He cares a lot about the hobby, and he cares even more about the fish in the wild. He's trying to reduce the strain on wild populations-- make it easier for people to keep lots of beautiful fish, without having to put such a strain on wild populations. He told me how during their season, out of a thousand cardinals taken from the wild, only a third will make it safely to fish stores, and then everyone knows how high fish mortality is even at the best LFs-- and hardly anyone is making a good effort to breed them.
It makes me feel like I should be breeding too-- to give back to the hobby. When I said that, he assured me, "You're just a kid. It's great to start somewhere and I'm glad you're taking this to heart. You're the kind of person I'm doing this for. If you keep with the hobby, know it's your responsibility to give back. Don't be just a collector."
It made me think about the consequences of the actions of people who get really involved in the hobby, have the materials available to them, but don't do anything with the fish-- don't even make an attempt to breed them. Maybe they can make that one fish's life healthy, but doesn't every living thing have the ultimate desire to breed? A lot of us are so individual oriented-- but you have to remember that the species is way more important than any one fish-- especially in the wild. Anyone have any idea how much strain is on the Clown Loaches because we take so many and don't breed? Not to mention they're ALSO an eating fish where they come from. Besides them, a lot of the rare fish we collect, we should be figuring out how to breed.
Especially L-# cats. Thinking as I have since my visit, a lot of the plecs could probably be bred, as we've had success with locaridae cats in the past. Instead I think a lot of people just buy 1 or, 2 fish, and don't even try. If everyone does that, what will it mean for the wild species? Even worse, the way the hobby is, we find something rare and we exploit it-- badly.
I think someone at the fish club said it to me to, "If you buy the rare fish, it's your responsibility to give back-- we're one family on this island, and ultimately we're one world together."
Sorry guys, I just felt like saying what I've been thinking. I hope this doesn't offend anyone either.
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Looks like my version of heaven! 
? You are a breath of fresh air! I wish more people thought as you do...thanks for sharing, and hang on to that dream!
