Reef Discussion

Savage Henry · Jul 30, 2017

Obviously I'm referring to our hobby.

Thought I'd invite comments on the current sale on MASA of a Clarion Angelfish, a Japanese Pygmy Angelfish and a Hybrid Ebili/Lemonpeel Angel.

I'm not promoting the add, especially as it would only be relevant to a small number of people, and those people would probably have become aware of the add before this post.

Would you pay so much for fish? (I would)
What verification would you want to make sure it is what it is?
Wouldn't you want to buy a young one so you don't sendup with an old beast?

I'm not in a position to buy any of these cause my tank is full and I still have the damned Coral Beauty (which I aint getting rid of) and my tank is too small to accommodate any more than one angelfish and I could be moving etc etc etc.

Anyway, I hope someone off here manages to buy any of the said fish and posts a photo of them.

Cheers,
Glenn

RobbieMVFC · Jul 31, 2017

Hey mate,
All due respect to anyone that has one of these fish. I think they are beautiful however My favorite fish are the emperor & Regal angelfish and the Clown trigger.
The reason for the price of these fish is that more effort is required to catch them.
So the way I see it just because of the high price tag dose not translate into the prettiest fish. I still think blotched anthias are ugly (sorry to anyone that has them) and they come with a high price tag.

I haven't spent more that $100 on a fish , I am sure a lot of people don't agree with me.
beauty is within the eye of the beholder.

Wrangy · Jul 31, 2017

Great thread! @Sam Parker @slin1977 @daveH @somethingfishy76 @OSCAR85 @Andrew B @Buddy let's get some input from everyone :)

When I started out the thought of spending more than $150 was unbelievable on fish, I did spend $350 on my maxima at that time though so inverts are in a different category.
For a long time my biggest spend was ~$200 on my bellus and that took me a few hours of deliberation to decide on. Of recent times as my taste has matured into what I feel will be a long time love that won't change, my spend limits and restrictions have changed drastically! I know what I really love, the difficulties involved in sourcing them and their scarcity too. This had lead to me purchasing two rare wrasse with large price tags, much larger than anything previously spent and the average cost of my fish being above $200, which is why I have so few in such a long time because they're hard to come by and I don't have a great deal of spare income to spend so I do it infrequently. That's where the tank sits now and clams I don't really bat an eyelid at prices, $500 plus isn't surprising and I would spend that for the right specimen if it came up!

In terms of the most I'd spend, ~$1500 for a chaetodon tinkeri, $2k+ for apolemichthys arcuatus or obscene amounts for anything liopropoma sp., lipogramma klayi or gramma dejongi at the right time would be considered :) some of these fish would cost more than listed price as I would set up stand alone systems purely for them :)

In terms of sourcing and actually buying these fish, never from another hobbyist unless I know them as a good friend, such as the tags above :) but all my fish to date have come from @Deerpark Aquarium and I trust them 200% with any and all fish! I don't source fish anywhere else and would rather wait extra months and months that get from somewhere else :) a lot of my stocking wouldn't be possible without them either :)

Just my 2c lol

Wrangy · Jul 31, 2017

@brendan88 you guys should chime in as well haha

Sam Parker · Jul 31, 2017

Money comes in, money goes out. Sums it up basically :P

Wrangy · Jul 31, 2017

Sam Parker said:
Money comes in, money goes out. Sums it up basically :p

Sometimes I forget which one is meant to be more than the other :P

Mattres · Jul 31, 2017

I think like a lot of things it just comes down to personal preference and passions. If i was really into any of those fish id certainly start thinking about how much i was willing to pay but similar to @RobbieMVFC my personal preference would be a simpler more common alternative. But its all relative as my personal preference was to spend big on a glass box as that was important to me.
But saying that, if you don't look at the receipt... did that $1000 fish really cost $1000? :p

Andrew B · Jul 31, 2017

I think i am in a different boat to a lot of you... i cant justify spending so much, even if it is such a rare fish. I also feel that buying from people is risky and would rather wait for the LFS to get it in, unless its coming from someone i trust. Think the most expensive fish i have at the moment is my powder blue, would also be close to the most expensive ever...

OSCAR85 · Jul 31, 2017

I'm cheap lol. No I'm more in it for the coral than the fish tbh. i know its basic but i do love the traditional clowns (not Picasso) and a yellow tang. I would like a Jawfish, Blue Dot (Opistognathus rosenblatti) or a nice blue yellow fork tail blenny. Love Gobies for their personalty.
In terms of spending on coral, its more of a journey. I like small pieces and watching them grow up. I would pay a fair bit for a red plating monti or any red sps.

Buddy · Aug 1, 2017

I have downsized so I am pretty much spending $0 on new stock. Just money on food and salt.
I have just put a deposit down on getting a house built so the tank won't be getting much spent on it for a while!!
Most I have spent was $200 on a Purple Tang.

Buddy · Aug 1, 2017

Andrew B said:
I think i am in a different boat to a lot of you... i cant justify spending so much, even if it is such a rare fish. I also feel that buying from people is risky and would rather wait for the LFS to get it in, unless its coming from someone i trust. Think the most expensive fish i have at the moment is my powder blue, would also be close to the most expensive ever...

And I gave you a bloody good deal on that Powder Blue too :P

somethingfishy76 · Aug 1, 2017

Absolutely agree on the buying from strangers thing... I too will only buy a exy fish from a good mate rather, or from one of two stores I know I can trust near my place. My current collection are all tangs pretty much (Purple,Yellow,Desjardini,Gold Rim,Male Lipstick), I had tried wrasses but never really loved them as much as I thought I would. Mostly due to the fact that at the time I had a coris wrasse and none of my frags where glued down, and anything on the ground was just asking to be flipped. So that ended my wrasse journey. I focus on Coral really, the fish I keep being all tangs apart from two Talbots damsels, Mandarin and Redline shrimp... They are just there because its a fish tank and not a coral tank. But in saying that, I love my selection of tangs. I too would never have paid anything over $50 for a fish when I first started. Now I'm up too $150 - $250...But I was staring at that Acanthurus Achilles the other day... $550!!! Still a hard pill to swallow that one...

Clams, I'd do $250 but only a super nice light blue one might sway me higher. As far as corals go, a $100 piece used to be too much but lately because I feel I'm able to look after it well, I'd consider a $100 sps or big LPS.

I guess lately my confidence in keeping corals healthy and happy has led me to up my spending... Plus doing extra OT an work helps a lot.

I don't spend huge on equipment, but that is mainly because in recent times some manufacturers have released products that the average guy can afford. In doing so they sold a lot of it, this in turn drives improvements and reliability. The prices for some top of the line stuff are incredible. So now I make sure I have a spare of everything and I still come in far under what some guys pay for one bit of kit. Nothing wrong with top of the line... I juts focus my money on the pretty corals and fish ensuring redundancy on my equipment. So yes, as soon as those Asian friends of mine copies Litre meters... I'm in!!!

Savage Henry · Aug 1, 2017

somethingfishy76 said:
Absolutely agree on the buying from strangers thing... I too will only buy a exy fish from a good mate rather, or from one of two stores I know I can trust near my place. My current collection are all tangs pretty much (Purple,Yellow,Desjardini,Gold Rim,Male Lipstick), I had tried wrasses but never really loved them as much as I thought I would. Mostly due to the fact that at the time I had a coris wrasse and none of my frags where glued down, and anything on the ground was just asking to be flipped. So that ended my wrasse journey. I focus on Coral really, the fish I keep being all tangs apart from two Talbots damsels, Mandarin and Redline shrimp... They are just there because its a fish tank and not a coral tank. But in saying that, I love my selection of tangs. I too would never have paid anything over $50 for a fish when I first started. Now I'm up too $150 - $250...But I was staring at that Acanthurus Achilles the other day... $550!!! Still a hard pill to swallow that one...

Clams, I'd do $250 but only a super nice light blue one might sway me higher. As far as corals go, a $100 piece used to be too much but lately because I feel I'm able to look after it well, I'd consider a $100 sps or big LPS.

I guess lately my confidence in keeping corals healthy and happy has led me to up my spending... Plus doing extra OT an work helps a lot.

I don't spend huge on equipment, but that is mainly because in recent times some manufacturers have released products that the average guy can afford. In doing so they sold a lot of it, this in turn drives improvements and reliability. The prices for some top of the line stuff are incredible. So now I make sure I have a spare of everything and I still come in far under what some guys pay for one bit of kit. Nothing wrong with top of the line... I juts focus my money on the pretty corals and fish ensuring redundancy on my equipment. So yes, as soon as those Asian friends of mine copies Litre meters... I'm in!!!

Pity you seem to have had less than great experience with the more robust wrasse. I would consider if I were you the small beneficial wrasses, like my Melanurus, which might save your sps from pests in the long run.

somethingfishy76 · Aug 1, 2017

Savage Henry said:
Pity you seem to have had less than great experience with the more robust wrasse. I would consider if I were you the small beneficial wrasses, like my Melanurus, which might save your sps from pests in the long run.

You know to be honest I know very little about wrasses. That's very interesting.... I might just look into that. Thank you.

Savage Henry · Aug 1, 2017

OSCAR85 said:
I'm cheap lol. No I'm more in it for the coral than the fish tbh. i know its basic but i do love the traditional clowns (not Picasso) and a yellow tang. I would like a Jawfish, Blue Dot (Opistognathus rosenblatti) or a nice blue yellow fork tail blenny. Love Gobies for their personalty.
In terms of spending on coral, its more of a journey. I like small pieces and watching them grow up. I would pay a fair bit for a red plating monti or any red sps.

I'm pretty much with you Oscar. I really can't ask for more than my Yellow Tang. It is pure perfection in my eyes. Having one of the rarer fish would be attractive to me cause they are also beautiful and you don't see them everyday in the shops.

My other fish are dear to me cause I have had them for a few years now so have bonded with them regardless of their negative aspects (Coral Beauty).

If I had my time again and knew I was able to step up a stable tank to keep the expensive fish, I probably would keep the minimum number of fish, but keep really expensive ones. I think it's a bit like when we start out with corals, we buy the cheaper ones and then later sell them to buy the ones we gain a liking for. For me fish are different cause the longer I own one for the more I want to keep it no matter what it's shortcomings are (corals I can more easily move on).

somethingfishy76 · Aug 1, 2017

Savage Henry said:
Pity you seem to have had less than great experience with the more robust wrasse. I would consider if I were you the small beneficial wrasses, like my Melanurus, which might save your sps from pests in the long run.

I also have a Tube worm.... :banghead

Ben Daley · Aug 2, 2017

Don't think I'd spend that much - my line in the sand is around $500 for a fish.
The most I've paid for a single item so far is a $450 scoly. It's one of my favs, but so is a $30 blasto :)
IMO If you get equal or better enjoyment (value) for what you pay, it's a good deal.

somethingfishy76 · Aug 2, 2017

Ben Daley said:
Don't think I'd spend that much - my line in the sand is around $500 for a fish.
The most I've paid for a single item so far is a $450 scoly. It's one of my favs, but so is a $30 blasto :)
IMO If you get equal or better enjoyment (value) for what you pay, it's a good deal.

Well said mate!

ReeferRob · Aug 6, 2017

Now, you have to realize that I deal in wholesale, it would be a COLD DAY IN HELL before I paid more than $100 for a fish. Clarions from BA that are aquacultured would set you back about $5000USD here, I'd have to check the list, but that number seems to be what I saw on a US site for them. They're beautiful, but not my cup of tea. I have a dozen or so Purples that cruise the runs, I'd make you cry if you knew what I paid for them $27 landed. A Titan trigger that came in with a busted fin, nobody wanted poor Maggie, now she's my pet, a $150 retail pet. I've had Ear Spot angels, $900 retail. Griffith's and Bandits seem to be the rage here in The States at the moment, can't see the hype for a bland fish that costs just north of $1000USD. The bottom line is, if it's something you want you either shell out the cash or not.

@somethingfishy76 Melanurus wrasses are great fish, but they need soft sand to bury in if they're to feel at ease. I have trays of sand for them to bury in in the runs since I run them bare bottom. The most enraging wrasses are damn Dragon wrasses, if you think a Coris is a bastard for flipping stones that's all dragons do all damn day and adults can turn over a pretty damn big piece of rock.

I'm a goby/blenny/anything oddball kinda guy, my wife is too. When I place and order for myself which is monthly I order a box of gobies and blennies, my suppliers rarely disappoint me. Here's a favorite of mine and M's a Fusigobius sp. from Sri Lanka, HEAPS of personality. M calls him Derpy McDerpface. I have some really oddball gobies and blennies from Vanuatu that weren't cheap, but I like them.

As for corals, Aussie stuff is expensive, but worth it. Not many cooties come in other than dinos. Y'all need to keep them to yourselves. I regularly drop $100 on nice colonies. When a shipment comes in, I shop the boxes for my goodies, then they rest is offered up for sale. In fact, I just got 12 Aussie Elegance corals in that are going to the runs for fragging.