| I think the "which hobby" question does come into play, but it is a necessary evil that the two (WG and Koi Kichi) slop over onto each other, and I do use the word "slop" rather than overlap intentionally.
Porta-Potty water features are here to stay, and have absolutely nothing to do with the Koi Culture so many of us enjoy. Tateshita Koi living (and soon dying) in them is a reality, but in its own perverse way it supports our Koicentric hobby as well. If it wasn't for the WG crowd spending money on those poor tateshita the breeders would lose a sizable outlet for their bottom end fish, and the feed bill for our prized tategoi would be that much tougher to pay. That would drive the price of the good ones nowhere but up, and nice ones are pretty pricey as it is.
The Koi Culture also props up the Porta Potty marketplace, because the breeders are constantly producing better quality at ALL levels, which improves the fish that are affordable to the typical WG'er. They may kill 'em quick, but the "dead pet replacement market" having a higher turnover rate than their pumps does help the financial bottom line...
"Live and let Die" may not be the goal of the Koi Culture, but we aren't Koi Evangelists either, nor can we be... Obviously we succeed in making a few converts along the way, but that only happens if the WG'er falls in love with his fish and begins to appreciate them as more than a mere decoration but rather a work of living art.
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Larry Iles
Oklahoma
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