| As for me I would enjoy them even if they were common magoi taken out of a local river or stream. Since I was a very young child I had a fascination with all manner of fish. I lived in Michigan, but we would spend the summers helping our grandparents in Kentucky and learning how to work on a farm first hand. My hobby began by taking blue gill from a local lake and keeping them in cattle watering troughs at my grand father's farm. By the time I was 6 my grandfather got tired of me using all this troughs for my fish, and he cut the top out of a 55 gallon steel drum and buried it in the ground so I could keep some goldfish in it. Although I would only get to see them for about 3-months out of the year, I remember they lived for several years and got fairly large. I've been a hobbyist of some sort for over 50 years. Now I own a fish store and I've kept everything from guppies to groupers. Even after 21-years in business I find dealing with the people orientated issues, much more tiresome than dealing with aquatic life husbandry issues. The nishikigoi never gripe or complain and they have a way making me feel like they appreciate all I do for them. They grow and they reproduce, both of which give me great pleasure. Like the rest of you I also enjoy learning about the history of nishikigoi development and I am humbled by the accomplishments of the great masters. While I really enjoy upgrading the quality of my collection, I also have a strong fondness for some of my old friends that survived my learning years. For me this was just something I was born to do.
Mitch |