Finding Nemo/Finding Dory - Good for the industry/industry failing newbies?

[BackToTheReef]

I have been thinking about this for a while now. About what draws us to a hobby. Whether it was Robert Redford and Brad Pitt showing the world how to fly fish, seeing a bird dog go on point the first time and hear the thunder of wings explode in front of you, or the Tour de France peaking an interest in cycling. Small events bring us to new things and brings new people to our hobbies.

The movie undoubtedly brought money and interest into the aquarium industry that might well have driven some of the innovation we are benefiting from now (I'd love to see some sales data) but I am wondering if as an industry/hobby we didn't fail the newbies.

I worked at a LFS when Finding Nemo came out and we set up a lot of "movie tanks" and kind of rolled our eyes in general when "those" customers came in. Some of these customers were not going to last but I wonder if our blase attitude towards them turned potential passionate aquarists into short term tank owners who set them up and tore them down quickly.

Could we do better as a hobby/industry at embracing these types of moments and enthusiasts? Is wanting a tank with a perc, a blue hippo, etc. any different than some of the types of tanks we set up? Does it matter if Finding Nemo or Finding Dory was the entry point for a person?

Maybe it's just my old age kicking in. And maybe I'm not doing a great job of saying what I am trying to say.

Out of curiosity was this the entry point for anyone?

 

[BigRed78]

I’m sure it creates a lot of short term hobbiests. Most of the fish from that movie get rather large and any decent fish store shouldn’t sell them to people with an entry level size tank. My occilarous clownfish were a bunch of jerks and I had to move them to another tank. I’m sure there’s many parents who’s kids love finding Nemo and set up a saltwater tank. I’m sure there’s more than a few of them that don’t do their research and wind up getting frustrated very quickly.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I've heard #revhtree mention nemo being part of the reason he joined the hobby. So just from that I think we've all benefitted big time.
Here's some honesty for you, when I started my tank 10yrs ago I went to petco with my kid and said I'll take that tank, that Clownfish, and that dory. Thankfully the worker told me to go home and do some research (which I'm still doing!) .
Really it's a slippery slope. That movie brought alot of us here but I'm sure it also brought alot of people to petco and I doubt they all got the awesome employee I ran into

 

[BackToTheReef]

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I've heard #revhtree mention nemo being part of the reason he joined the hobby. So just from that I think we've all benefitted big time.
Here's some honesty for you, when I started my tank 10yrs ago I went to petco with my kid and said I'll take that tank, that Clownfish, and that dory. Thankfully the worker told me to go home and do some research (which I'm still doing!) .
Really it's a slippery slope. That movie brought alot of us here but I'm sure it also brought alot of people to petco and I doubt they all got the awesome employee I ran into

Careful, my first "real job" was at a Petco (and Petco was not the LFS I worked at! it was however where I met the mother of my child! I guess some good things come from Petco, granted I'm divorced now and my kid hates me!!! )

I'm using way too many emojis in this!

 

[Cstar_BC]

My first memory of wanting an tank was going to the aquarium as a young kid and realizing that I could have something similar at home

 

[ifwisheswerefishes]

I started my tank in 1989 wanting a tank full of Condi anemones with an under gravel filter and lava rocks!! It would be years before I got my clownfish. But I’m sure it was before the movie came out. I do remember my friends not taking much interest in my hobby though until they saw the movie and they realized I had a Nemo. At that point many would be asking a lot of questions about how to keep saltwater fish, so yes I think Nemo had a huge impact on the Saltwater tank hobby.

I think it is an interesting coincidence that Finding Nemo came out in 2003 and marine fish aquaculture was starting to gain strength about 20 years ago. Could it be the increase in the demand for a Nemo in family households contributed to scientists focusing on and getting the funding for aquaculturing the Ocellaris clownfish of all species in the ocean gain popularity in aquaculture??? And look how that has helped the industry and our increased desires to respect the oceans reefs and inhabitants. So, if this interesting coincidence contributed to where we are now in aquaculture, I am even more grateful for The movie Nemo and all the wild caught
clownfish that ended up in aquarium stores that were the catalyst that got us where we are today in Marine fish keeping!

 

[BackToTheReef]

I started my tank in 1989 wanting a tank full of Condi anemones with an under gravel filter and lava rocks!! It would be years before I got my clownfish. But I’m sure it was before the movie came out. I do remember my friends not taking much interest in my hobby though until they saw the movie and they realized I had a Nemo. At that point many would be asking a lot of questions about how to keep saltwater fish, so yes I think Nemo had a huge impact on the Saltwater tank hobby.

I think it is an interesting coincidence that Finding Nemo came out in 2003 and marine fish aquaculture was starting to gain strength about 20 years ago. Could it be the increase in the demand for a Nemo in family households contributed to scientists focusing on and getting the funding for aquaculturing the Ocellaris clownfish of all species in the ocean gain popularity in aquaculture??? And look how that has helped the industry and our increased desires to respect the oceans reefs and inhabitants. So, if this interesting coincidence contributed to where we are now in aquaculture, I am even more grateful for The movie Nemo and all the wild caught
clownfish that ended up in aquarium stores that were the catalyst that got us where we are today in Marine fish keeping!

I think this was what I was getting at. Whether it started the move towards more aquaculture/sustainability or just helped us get there faster it was a good thing. Granted hindsight is always 20/20. I wonder if any of the equipment manufacturer's or sponsors of R2R that were around at that point would have any data trends that could show potential impact. Granted sales rise and fall on a number of factors but it would be interesting to see some trend lines!

I do think it's at least an interesting conversation to have and to spin forward. What might the next thing to drive interest and revenue in the hobby? And what might that revenue drive innovation wise?

Are we living it now with 'rona or once is it gone will sales flatten? (Like potentially tech companies whose sales went through the roof to supply us all working and learning from home. Now we have that stuff and won't need to buy it in as big of quantities. Was that one time push enough to drive our hobby forward again?)

Do youtube channels like BRS, Tidal Gardens, etc. take the place of that one large "event?" Catching a BRS recommendation on youtube while poking around for some solar and EV info helped bring me back.

Did Planet Earth or any of those series affect anyone to get into the hobby?

Sorry I am getting long winded and off track...

 

[E_reefer]

 

[E_reefer]

Not gonna lie- made me think about getting a yellow tang, blue tang, a moorish idol, and a porcupine puffer in my first 55 gal tank!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Not gonna lie- made me think about getting a yellow tang, blue tang, a moorish idol, and a porcupine puffer in my first 55 gal tank!

Yes!

 

[BackToTheReef]

Well that would be a full tank!

 

[NashobaTek]

Back in the late 70's I got bored with the usual freshwater fish and wanted a challenge, so I got a 60 cube, under gravel filters and started my journey into saltwater fish. My dream fish was the pinnatus batfish back then, and I never got one, I did get orbics and was successful with them. 30+ years and now I have my dream fish!

 

[Funston07]

I grew up not far from the shed aquarium in Chicago. Used to go there all the time growing up and was always fascinated with everything they had there.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Interesting topic... and a little upsetting to contemplate. This is a phenomenon that is not unique to just “fish.” The movies around 101 Dalmatians destroyed that dog breed. ...sad.

The profit factor... you said it in your original post. Something like “blasé attitude day towards customers.” I get it. I’m a corporate accountant Greed... just make the sale. However, I don’t think you can blame a movie for someone becoming a “short term aquarists.” They are the same people that caused the destruction of the Dalmatian breed. You can’t blame the people... They saw a movie, they got interested... they walked away. How many stayed? How many real aquarists, Reefers... Got a good deal on used equipment? That money brought innovation... ...and a lot fish and corals died. There are always trade offs.

Ive had a lot of hobbies in my life. I came back to this one because it means something to me... isn’t that all that matters?

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

I sometimes wonder if Finding Nemo did a disservice to new reefers. When you walk into your LFS and tell them you want to start a tank and the fish you want most are a pair of clowns, do you get written off immediately as "one of those Nemo people"? Because you have no hope of ever becoming serious? Here's a freshwater setup and a bag of salt.

For the record, I only finally saw Finding Nemo about a month ago. I named my clowns Amy and Rory from Doctor Who!

 

[BackToTheReef]

Interesting topic... and a little upsetting to contemplate. This is a phenomenon that is not unique to just “fish.” The movies around 101 Dalmatians destroyed that dog breed. ...sad.

The profit factor... you said it in your original post. Something like “blasé attitude day towards customers.” I get it. I’m a corporate accountant Greed... just make the sale. However, I don’t think you can blame a movie for someone becoming a “short term aquarists.” They are the same people that caused the destruction of the Dalmatian breed. You can’t blame the people... They saw a movie, they got interested... they walked away. How many stayed? How many real aquarists, Reefers... Got a good deal on used equipment? That money brought innovation... ...and a lot fish and corals died. There are always trade offs.

Ive had a lot of hobbies in my life. I came back to this one because it means something to me... isn’t that all that matters?

As a dog guy I was thinking about West Minster and the bigger shows. Having a fair number of breeder friends we always hoped a dog from our "group" wouldn't win because of this same affect but also unscrupulous folks breeding as many as they could as fast as they could to make a buck.

But like you said, how many stuck it out? I know of at least one GSP that turned into a heck of hunter/trialer because his owner got interested after a televised show win.

I sometimes wonder if Finding Nemo did a disservice to new reefers. When you walk into your LFS and tell them you want to start a tank and the fish you want most are a pair of clowns, do you get written off immediately as "one of those Nemo people"? Because you have no hope of ever becoming serious? Here's a freshwater setup and a bag of salt.

For the record, I only finally saw Finding Nemo about a month ago. I named my clowns Amy and Rory from Doctor Who!

I think that happened a lot. More than maybe I would like to admit.

A fair amount of this thread is introspective for me. Looking back, what could I have done better. Now looking forward as I get back into the hobby what can I do better to avoid that same trap.

If new blood in the hobby means captive bred angels become the new norm (aaaand the price comes down) then I am all in!

Now if only the supply chains would catch up so we don't have to compete with each other for supplies!

 

[Casket_Case]

It could... I think most of the passionate reefers are attracted just by pure interest in nature or the Ocean.

I really don’t like Disney though, they did these movies and tried to bring awareness to saving our oceans but at the same time they’re wanting to dredge over 1000 feet of thriving reef in Miami to make room for a cruise ship.

Sign the petition in favor of saving the reef here:

https://**************/p/save-the-c...llow-disney-cruises-to-destroy-our-urban-reef

 

[fish farmer]

This is the guy who inspired me to play with fish

Jacques Cousteau - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This was my "Finding Nemo".

 

[Fish man]

This tells you how old I am but when I was a kid like 7 or 8 years old there was a prominent Oceanographer named Jacques Cousteau. There were several TV specials featuring him and his two sons doing underwater research all around the world. I think it may have been sponsored by National Geographic. I loved watching them dive, especially on reefs. I started snorkeling before I was 10. That later led to me getting my parents to talk the local scuba instructor into letting me start classes early so I could get my scuba certification when I turned 16. That's what got me started. Been hooked since then. I've owned both fresh or marine aquariums most of my life.

 

[ZoWhat]

Ocellaris Clownfish pricing

Prior to the 2003 Movie = $5 a fish

After = $30 to $100 for different species