Tangible Products

   In my first presentation, I stated I would have to do my own original research, like surveys and the like. I already did a survey and analyzed the results, but my previous statement implied I'm doing more than that. My next original research focus is the fish themselves.
   Many people in my survey say fish are not bright, and that deters them from caring much about them. Since I have 3 fish in their own tanks, which makes it easier to isolate the subjects, I'll attempt to train them using Pavlovian and chaining methods. So far, the three fish (a convict cichlid, a green sunfish hybrid, and a featherfin catfish) recognize me as their caretaker, at least when I wear glasses , and come to the front of the tank for food. To build on this, I will attempt to get my fish to recognize specific objects, shapes, sounds, and colors. I don't know what kind of "tricks" I can teach them, but I'll try that when I've proved my fishes' learning capacity.
  Also, I mentioned I want to breed endangered and little-known fish and record my findings. I have a spare tank of 10 gallons that would be suitable for housing a few small fish for breeding. Here's some species I've come up with, and their pros and cons.

Black Kuhli Loach

+ Small
+ Loaches are seldom bred
+ Common
+ Inexpensive
+ Hardy
+ Interesting shape
- Nocturnal
- Snake-like shape may repulse some people
- Probably require soft, acid water to breed (I don't have that)

Golden Shiner?

+ Very inexpensive
+ Active
+ Very easy to obtain
+ Usually considered "just bait"
- Not completely sure of species
- Highly disease-prone when not acclimated (at least where I get them from)
- If actually golden shiners, may grow a bit large for the space I have

Upside-down Catfish

+ Interesting habits
+ Rarely bred
+ Pretty common
+ Small
- Rather expensive
- Nocturnal and somewhat shy at first

Bumblebee goby

+ Tiny
+ Interesting behavior
+ Bright colors
- Sporadic availability
- Brackish water
- Finicky eaters

Dwarf Pufferfish

+ Tiny
+ Interesting behavior
+ Bright colors
- Sporadic availability
- Finicky eaters
+- Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, so becoming rare in the face of increasing demand

   I intend to create a separate website when research is all done, to invite people to come and publish findings.