[jfrancho]

Let me put this "hobbyist" statement into perspective. I used to be a an aquarium hobbyist. I had four six foot display tanks (125-150 gal), two more four foot tanks (70 gal.) upstairs, as well as the few odd smaller tanks. In the basement I had over 2000 gals. of spawning, nursery, and growout tanks in my fishroom. I had a RO/DI unit capable of providing 300 gal./day of completely deionized water for use with my discus fish and the few marine tanks I maintained. I had more water analysis tools than the local water authority. I have not only bred discus successfully, but over 125 other species of Cichlids. Add in the few Anabantoids, Characins, Livebearers, Killis, and oddball catfish (Ancistris hoplygenys and various Corydoras sp.) that I've bred, and that number approaches 150. I've even had spawnings of some marine fish, specifically some blue devils and percula clowns, but wasn't able to get them past the larval stage. I've kept and propagated several species of coral, both soft and the calciferous "true" corals. Many of these fish that I raised were sold in quantities to satisfy the demands of the wholesale pet industry. I have written articles for club newsletters as well as popular aquarium magazines. I have met many people through my "expertise" in this area, and even been given fish by a famous fish collector.

All of this is way beyond the typical guy with a few tanks. I made a profit that offset all of the cost of all this equipment. But, I still consider it a hobby. Later, I worked in a importer/wholesaler of tropical fish. We had 1500 sq. ft. fishroom with hundreds of tanks. Fish came in, were conditioned for sale, sold, and distributed to pet shops all over the state. This was not a hobby. I visited a goldfish farm and a couple of tropical fish farms, and these were operations that made the wholesaler look like small potatoes. That was not a hobby.

Now, as for the quality of product, I would say all three had similar overall quality, although in my biased opinion, mine were the best. But I could only produce four or five species worth of sustainable stock. The fish farms had a larger variety, even then, they were specialists. Each farm and location had its strong species groups. The wholesaler on the other hand was able to consistently deliver hundreds of species for every type of customer on a consistent business.

I realize this is in no way related to photography, but the point is, despite using some sophisticated equipment to rear delicate livestock, my setup was still a hobbyist setup. Home printing can only provide a few products, whereas the pro lab can provide everything.