Its true that Betta Macrostoma are a protected species by the Brunei govt. and their location is in Borneo along the border of Miri Sarawak. Getting your plane ticket there and tracking into the jungle for several days won't guarantee you anything and to think that you can get 2 pairs to pay off your plane ticket is really wishful thinking. U know I ain't blowing my horn or anything just b'cos we have this species available for sale at the moment... but if I were a hobbyist I would rather pay the price and buy it. Trekking into the thick forests of Borneo ain't exactly an easy task. Getting there is already something, finding the right location of the habitat is another and actually catching the fish is also another stroy. Man! have you guys gone netting and collecting??? The time spent.. the dirty clothes, the long car ride.. the long walk and to try and scoop every square inch just to get the fishes you are looking for. Imagine you'd get a Croaking Gourami and u just wonder if you are a trader like us how'd the hell they sell these things at RM0.50 cents..... all the hard labour and all for chump change.
Say if you do get heaps and heaps of B.Macrostoma.... and u decide to sell it cheap... then do u think its worth the effort and if you sell at the market price what makes you think that there'll be buyers here to pay the price. You can keep a few pairs out of joy and try to breed them just for you own achievements but that doesn't necessary mean you'd have a ready market to sell them. Even so if the prices were brought down to RM1 per fish does it mean that there would be heaps of hobbyist who would just jump on the chance to get it... Really how many people know how to appreciate it? Appreciation for rare fish is really a subjective matter. Its like being a wine connousieur (er spelling) and you'd pay good money for vintage and quality wine but for those who are not into it they'll think that the person is really out of his freaking mind.... so just sit down and ponder if you really think the trip to go to the lush forests of Borneo to actually collect B.Macrostoma for commercialisation is really worth the effort.
P/S I am not shooting anyone down ........ just hope you guys can rationalise between the pros and the cons here.
