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Review of “Tropical Fish Addict” By Ross Socolof

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Post subject: Review of “Tropical Fish Addict” By Ross Socolof
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:41 pm
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Review of “Tropical Fish Addict” By Ross Socolof
Review written by Leon Davis

The book “Tropical Fish Addict” by Ross Socolof is about the man Ross Socolof and his role in the tropical fish industry throughout the 20th century.
Socolof captures all the ups and downs of the tropical fish business in “Tropical Fish Addict”.
Socolof lives by “never worked a day in my life” and “made my hobby into my career”.
The tale begins with Socolof's origins in Brooklyn, eking out a pennies breeding fish in concrete vats with his cousin as a kid, and ends with Socolof running the most successful tropical fish empire in the world.
“Tropical Fish Addict” reminds me of a book I know called “A Funny Thing Happened on my way Through the Travel Industry” by my grandfather, Henry Davis.
One of the reasons these two books, “Tropical Fish Addict” and “A funny Thing Happened on my way Through the Travel Industry” are similar is that Socolof and Davis outline the scope of the tropical fish and travel industries throughout the 20th century.
“Tropical Fish Addict” and “A Funny thing Happened” are chock full of fascinating personal stories that the author's themselves lived.
You'll read about individual friends and enemies of Davis and Socolof, as well as different things that impacted the fish and travel industries as a whole.
In “Tropical Fish Addict” and “A Funny Thing Happened”, Davis and Socolof recount stories of the people who revolutionized the travel and fish trades through intelligence, luck, and sheer grit.
Socolof and Davis trace the history of the travel and fish industries, from the beginnings of the two industries to where they are today, and their own impacts on the industries, which, I might add, are not so insignificant themselves.
One technological advancement revolutionized both the travel industry and the tropical fish industry: the jet plane. Jet planes allow tropical fish and tourists to reach destinations cheaper, faster and farther away.
For Socolof, Jet planes allow global tropical fish trading partnerships in Singapore, Taiwan, and China, and other destinations that were once too far to import fish from.
Fish never seen in America now are imported from Asia, where you can buy exciting new breeds at good prices.
Socolof and Davis' business success lie in their ability to forge friendships and ultimately, business relationships with intelligent and trustworthy people.
A lot of what you read about in these books is about relationships, you read about positive stories of people and also of malicious backstabbers who become lifelong enemies of Socolof and Davis.
Socolof and Davis' business acumen are both forged from years of risky decisions.
Finally, Socolof learns the expertise of “what not to do” with fish.
In Socolof's book, “Tropical Fish Addict” you learn the darker side of how beautiful fish are imported from foreign lands.
A vignette is found in Socolof's book, written from the perspective of an African farmer who lives by lake Malawi.
This African farmer meets a white Tropical fish dealer who is looking for profit.
The farmer can make three years worth of farming pay by catching one rare blue fish and selling it to the white man.
The farmer dives deeper into the depths and eventually perishes trying to capture this fish.
We should all be more aware of the bloody history of food, products, and pets.
The tale of how you or I can now buy beautiful African Cichlids, or even Cardinal tetras, is found in Socolof's book.
“Tropical Fish Addict” is not only about pretty fish, but about personalities in the tropical fish industry, some famous, others unknown, but all memorable.
In “Tropical Fish Addict” Socolof tells firsthand of murder, bloody revolution in south America, arrest and imprisonment, and cutthroat saboteurs.
Become engrossed by tales of Socolof traveling to remote corners of the world to collect fish never seen before by Westerners.
Learn how it became possible for people to have fish native to streams thousands of miles away in their living rooms.
Fall in love with a fish breeder who has to contend with sixteen foot anaconda, 10,000 tortoise, alligators, and crooked double dealings. Socolof is a great storyteller, and if you are enthusiastic about tropical fish, this is a must read.

Thanks for selling me this book Ned! I was thinking of giving it back to you guys so others could read it!

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Ned
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