I've become rather tired of the low number of species offered through pet stores. I see so many interesting species in books, but the local stores very seldom try something beyond the "bread and butter" species. With the discovery that certain fish stores in other cities offer different species than what I see here, I've made several treks to places like Milwaukee. Usually I'll bring a couple of fellow hobbiests along and we make a long day or an interesting weekend of it.

A few years ago, I worked with a collector/dealer who imports wild-caught species from S. America and from West Africa. Not only are the species wild-caught, the species list is a true representation of what one catches in the wild (i.e., not just cichlids). For someone with my interests, this is an opportunity I had to take.

So for a couple of years I had an importers license -- and I got some fantastic species. But the paperwork and hassle was a bit much, and I let the license lapse. Instead, I now look for dealers within the US who do the importing. Yes, they pass on to me the cost then some, but doing it this way is a lot more hassle-free.

From time to time I get emails asking if I can get them something. I'm a hobbyist, not a business. So please be kind and don't ask me to get you something as if I were a business. When I get spawns, I'm quite willing to mail what I raise up.

Now that I'm traveling around the country giving talks, I keep a look out for interesting stores. Often I'll come home from a trip with a new species or two.

There is an art to obtaining rarer species. Sure, if you're willing to pay good money, that helps. But just finding the species -- that's one of the pleasures of this hobby. I guess I see myself somewhat as a collector of rarer fish species. Sometimes that means that my non-fish friends and family visit my fishroom, they see some less colorful fishes. They can't fully appreciate the rareness of each find. But that's OK. I'm the one who works with them almost everyday, so the thrill of the collection is for me.