FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I just wanted to know what other fish rather than Arowana and Kois are expencive?
Freshwater Fish,Saltwater & Marine Fish,Brackish and Pond Fish.


Robby

---

I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Depends on your definition of expencive.

Freashwater-
Angels, Bettas, and Rams can get up to $10 or more.
Zebra Plecos, I believe are the most expencive, since they are in high demand and Im pretty sure are still illegal to import, they run for about $250 online or more.

Saltwater-
Everything except for hermit crabs and snails, in my opinion is expencive.

Brackish-
Depending on your area, velvet gobys and ropefish can be in the $10+ range

I can't think of any pond fish that would be really expencive, unless you decide to fill it with Pirahanas or something


Hope I've been of help.

Inky

Expensive fishes? Take your pick.

Here in the UK, Zebra Otocinclus, Otocinclus cocama, are still hideously expensive in relation to body size (£30 per fish - weep) and look likely to remains so until breeders turn them out in numbers.

One fish that looks set to remain expensive is Synodontis granulosus, a Mochokid catfish that happens to be sky high desirable, and commands a huge price tag because of this and its rarity in the wild. Expect to pay £250 per fish in the UK for this species!

Among the marines, one that IMMEDIATELY comes to mind is the Candystripe Angelfish, Paracentropyge boylei. This fish is expensive not only because it's fairly rare, but just getting one to the dealer's involves a host of problems. Because it lives at depths of 300 feet or more, just getting a diver down there to find one is a serious and risky undertaking. Then, the diver has to find a specimen (in dim light). Then, having found the specimen, he has to catch it (and it's a past master at slipping into inaccessible coral crevices, as any Centropyge dwarf angel owner will testify if the need has arisen to remove one from a reef aquarium when it's suddenly developed a taste for the corals without warning!). Then, having caught it and bagged, it, it's time to head for the surface. Which, because the ambient pressure at 300 feet down is 11 atmospheres, involves a LOT of decompression pauses on the way up, to ensure that both diver and fish don't come down with the bends. Even then, both diver and fish will likely spend a fair amount of time at the surface in a decompression chamber to make sure that both are safely decompressed under medical supervision. Last thing you want is an expensive fish or the diver dying from the bends. Once this is complete, you're looking at a 7,000 mile air journey under closely monitored conditions for the fish to get it to market in the UK. Which all explains why juveniles cost as much here as a second hand BMW. No, I'm not kidding. A 1" specimen commands a £4,000 price tag.

Species that are new to the hobby will also command spectacular prices until breeders start producing them in numbers. You can bet that the new 'super dwarf' Apistogramma Cichlids I mentioned in another thread will be hideously expensive until Cichlid breeders start producing them - and they'll be sky high desirable simply because they ARE 'super dwarf' Cichlids that only reach 1" in length! Likewise, new L-number Plecs or C-number Corys will be expensive until they're bred. In some cases it'll take over a decade for the prices to reach more acceptable levels.

Next on the list will be ANY fish that resides in CITES Schedule I. Which brings us to the Asian Arowana or Dragon Fish. Now I personally can't see the fascination for these (unless you're an oddball specialist) but Chinese fishkeepers regard them as symbols of good fortune, and will pay silly money to own them. By 'silly money' I mean anything up to £30,000 for an adult. Of course, the mountains of bureaucracy surrounding these fishes because they're a CITES I species hikes the price enormously, as does the requirement under international law that only captive bred (and microchipped) fishes are legal in the market. However, if you're capable of investing in the setup for them, and acquire some juveniles, you're guaranteed a nice income if you can breed them - Chinese fishkeepers will wave cheques in your face for the offspring and pay for your next holiday in the Seychelles.

Mind you, the problem with CITES I species is that they have a habit of ending up as 'pose trophies' for the super rich. The sad part being that quite a few of the assorted plutocrats with billions sloshing around in offshore bank accounts only have eyes for these things because they're out of the reach of everyone but the super rich, and thus allows said persons to continue swaggering before the world as though they belong to some divinely ordained exalted order in much the same way as spending a quarter of a million on a Maybach in the driveway does. [/End cynic mode].

But I have to say, in the case of many of the CITES I fishes, why would you bother? Take Neoceratodus forsteri, the Australian Lungfish. This is a fish that has VERY specialised requirements, reaches 6 feet in length, and thus is best left to a public aquarium (or better still, its native waters). Even if the Australian government can be convinced to let you have one, the mountain of bureaucracy you will have to plough through in order to obtain one will hike the ultimate purchase cost well into the stratosphere, and then you'll have the fun of financing an aquarium big ebough for it. Now there are some dedicated oddball keepers who would, given the chance, give this fish a good home, and look after it properly, but I think I can count the number of such persons that I know of on the fingers of one hand. And none of them have the money for such a project.

One exception to the above rule I can think of is the Lake Eacham Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia eachamensis. This fish, formerly thought extinct in the wild, has somehow managed to survive Man's chequered record with respect to the environment, and aquarists have been instrumental in keeping this fish alive. But then it's small, attractive, and not that difficult to keep in an aquarium. Furthermore, a competent aquarist who has experience with other Rainbow Fishes can breed it. Doing so is a worthwhile project, and allows you to pat yourself on the back for doing your bit for biodiversity into the bargain. However, not many UK aquarists will relish paying £200 per fish to begin the project ...

So, as I said above, take your pick.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

A Wild altum Angel fish can cost up to $120AU for one a size of a 20c coin.

Larger ones about 15cm tall can start at $500AU and they get bigger.

Melanotaenia eachamensis eh? oooooOOOOOOOOooooo! Havent got one of those yet Wonder if I can track one down

Yeah, Cali mentioned some of the fish I was going to. Aussie Lungfishes are awesome. Actually, there is a specific farm in Australia tha is the only farm allowed to export these Lungfish. So of course they make the price pretty darn high.

Zebra Plecs are not the only expensive plec. Blue-Eyed Panaque is a plec that can catch a price in the hundreds. I'm thinking approximately $300 or more, but I don't know if this is recent or correct. Actually, the Blue-Eyed Panaque has a longer-running reason for it's rarity. Though Zebra Plecs were only recently banned, it is said that Blue-Eyed Panaque have been living in an area controlled by a drug cartel for quite a while now. So basically no one gets in to catch these rare fish. The alternative theory for their rarity is pollution wiped out their native rivers, which isn't a very positive idea.

Many of the stingrays pack a hefty sum. Most of them will set you back over $250, and the rarest ones will take you back at least $1000. I don't know what the state of the Pearl Stingray is recently; if I am not mistaken, it is one of the fish affected by the same ban on export that affects Zebra Plecs. And this fish was already priced $600-$1000 (depending on specimen and seller) beforehand; I haven't seen one in a while, but I bet the price is even higher now.

The Tigrinus Catfish, Merodontotus tigrinus is another fish that can pack a punch to your wallet. Though it is available at least at $125, such prices are reserved for small babies, perhaps only 3-4" in length at most. As they get bigger (and subsequently develop their stripes), the price just goes up from there. There is someone trying to breed these in captivity; I wish him luck.

Moray Eels include a number of expensive species. Though the $100 or so for a Zebra Moray might seem like a lot, people will pay many times more for Dwarf Golden Morays AKA Banana Morays and Hawaiian Dragon Morays, both highly sought after marine species. The Dwarf Golden Moray is one of the smallest species of Morays and is not a piscivore, thus making it a very good candidate for small marine aquaria. The Hawaiian Dragon just looks awesome.

Who can forget the Rhinopias? This genus of Scorpionfish includes some of the rarest (and most attractive) species of the Scorpionfish. R. frondosa, the most commonly sighted species, has its prices starting from a "measly" $200. The "Holy Grail" of Scorpaenids, R. aphanes, will take four digits out of your account no problem. This fish has cost at least $2000 if I am not mistaken, but $8000 is not out of the question for this species.

Osternarchus tamandua is a white species of Knifefish with very small eyes. People are selling this fish for approximately $300, give or take. A rare fish with not much known about it.

Basically, in terms of prices and rare species of fish, the sky's the limit.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

zebra plecs are expensive around £70 each - unless your my friend who brought 4 from his LFS for £30 total becasue the guy working was from cold water section and he throught they were Queen Arabesc Plecos.

Silly boy - bet he got one hell of a shouting at.

Wild altums aren't expendsive here, my lfs has medium sized ones for £4.50 each - they are lovely if only i had a tank for them - that gives me idea no she'd kill me

discus go for £150 for good ones.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Thanks for the info guys.
Just been to a lfs and there he was selling a six banded barb..large one for 60.00Us$ THat i think is a lot for that fish.
Robby

---

I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

while the silver arowana isn't overall expensive, other types are. some ranging 3000 + usd

i would guess for fw, oddballs would be more expensive, as they are found in mass numbers.

gars/lungs/rays etcc... are more expensive fishes. as they are often not avalible to the public, supply and demand.

Hi, here Australia(W.A)it seems that we have it pretty good when I saw the prices of Otto's and Angelfish in the UK and USA. I paid $26(ozzie)for a African Butterfly Fish and $28.00 for a Black Ghost Knife Fish.

That's getting up in price range, for me anyway. Worthy every cent tho, luv em

---

Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Large piranhas are very expensive 18" black piranhas and pirayas easily go for $5,000. Large Datnoids also are atleast 500$ when you can get them.