MnFish1
10K Club member
frankly - I don't think people are paying big dollars for xxxxx tang are doing it for the name - they are buying it because they are unique. And many of them are - and many of them (IMHO ) - are not that attractive
Designer names for fish now?
- Thread starter Dbichler
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Gems were $250 pre covid, perhaps they will return to that price. They seem common.
Agree that majority of Koi's are ugly. I don't know who is buying these fish.
Agree that majority of Koi's are ugly. I don't know who is buying these fish.
It was around when they got so common that Petco's had them fairly often.
$341 including shipping in 2020
NYAquatic Gem Tangs, $341 delivered using MLK15 Promo Code
That's right We actually have gems tangs available. $379 with free shipping and Live Arrival guarantee. Using promo code MLK15, drops price to $341 DELIVERED, LIVE ARRIVAL GUARANTEE https://www.nyaquatic.com/gem-tang-3-4-zebrasoma-gemmatum/ While supplies last
www.reef2reef.com
I have never used this vender.
areefer01
2500 Club Member
It is called a side hustle. Emphasis on the italic and bold part.
Then again collectors will collect. No one is forcing the day to day hobbyist to pay the price or buy the item in question.
MnFish1
10K Club member
I would suggest that the vast majority of people here do not trust this vendor - however - we have a very good one here.It was around when they got so common that Petco's had them fairly often.
$341 including shipping in 2020
NYAquatic Gem Tangs, $341 delivered using MLK15 Promo Code
That's right We actually have gems tangs available. $379 with free shipping and Live Arrival guarantee. Using promo code MLK15, drops price to $341 DELIVERED, LIVE ARRIVAL GUARANTEE https://www.nyaquatic.com/gem-tang-3-4-zebrasoma-gemmatum/ While supplies last
I have never used this vender.
MoshJosh
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In my view I get why designer clowns are expensive. . . someone had to put in work to breed out specific patterns and traits right?
I can also see why a unique wild caught variant of a fish is expensive. . . it's rare and supply is low. That said I don't know how rare is rare. Do 1 in 1000 scopas have this pattern or 1 in 1,000,000?
I imagine as more people breed designer clowns the price will go down and I imagine as there are fewer wild caught oddities outs there the price will go up.
I do wonder how many of these are actually being sold though ("designer" tangs). I have only ever seen them advertised, never seen one in person or in someones tank on R2R but maybe I haven't been looking?
I can also see why a unique wild caught variant of a fish is expensive. . . it's rare and supply is low. That said I don't know how rare is rare. Do 1 in 1000 scopas have this pattern or 1 in 1,000,000?
I imagine as more people breed designer clowns the price will go down and I imagine as there are fewer wild caught oddities outs there the price will go up.
I do wonder how many of these are actually being sold though ("designer" tangs). I have only ever seen them advertised, never seen one in person or in someones tank on R2R but maybe I haven't been looking?
TheOldSalt
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I used to work on a clownfish farm. My job included culling out all of the defective fish.
Now the defective fish have spiffy names and huge price tags.
It bugs me.
Now the defective fish have spiffy names and huge price tags.
It bugs me.
Daniel@R2R
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The outrage is surprising to me. This hobby isn't a need at any level (so this isn't like pharmaceutical companies jacking up prices of life-saving/sustaining meds because people will have to find a way to pay), and these fish are at the extreme high end of price ranges in this hobby (you can still buy a regular scopas tang for a reasonable price). If people who want the unique patterned specimens are willing to pay these prices for them (whether I think think they're ugly or not) why wouldn't vendors sell them at the prices that they are fetching?
MnFish1
10K Club member
The pharmaceutical companies invest millions of dollars going through years of research to provide new treatments. There is a reason - why the US produces the newest pharmaceutical breakthroughs in the world - which they then sell (for stupid reasons) - to other countries at lower prices than here. However - You know what - when your wife child, mother gets cancer - and the only drug costs 50K/year - hopefully your insurance will not say 'sorry' - because there are plenty of examples of that as well. Most people can't afford new drug prices - IMHO - its not Pharma companies causing the issues - it's the insurance companies.
areefer01
2500 Club Member
There are many, many, problems with medical, insurance, and pharmaceutical ranging from cost, to waste, to addiction, and more. I don't disagree. However I was only acknowledging their point about pharmaceutical and designer drug and/or price hike due to single source of a drug.
I did not mean to take it down the rabbit hole.
kevgib67
10K Club member
I thought the same thing when I first saw the white tang and the one with blotchy color around the fins. These fish looked near death to me. Not only would I not pay more, I wouldn’t buy one in the first place.In particular, I think that the "koi" scopas trend has gotten out of hand. When I got in the hobby only a few years ago, they were tough to find, and always ranged at around 600$, basically like gem tangs. Usually the specimens offered were pretty nice, with some whites and blues as well. They're super easy to find now, most sites that sell any unique fish have loads of them. One site in particular gets in a few dozen every couple of weeks. Most of these look pretty bad to me, mainly brown with patches of yellow here and there. I prefer the regular scopas, these ones look almost diseased to me, even though they're technically healthy. And still, despite the massive availability and the somewhat low quality fish, these are now all over 2000$! A bunch of them are even higher, too. Here's a "tri-color koi" scopas that's for sale right now at 6000$! I count two real colors, a few discolored patches, and one ugly fish!
Compare that to a "normal" scopas tang. Can you guess which one I'd rather have? The "normal", by the way, costs 50$. If you want to buy a "koi" tang, go for it, but that's perhaps not the soundest decision the way I see it.
When it comes to the gem tangs, the "designer" ones I see are either normal specimens with slightly variable spots, or seriously sick with HLLE. Given that they cost only 200$ on a wholesaler's list, they're overpriced already. They aren't actually very rare in the wild, they just live alone and closer to the rock than other tangs, making them hard to catch. "Hard to catch" shouldn't make a fish $800. I'd imagine that engineer gobies and blennies aren't a walk in the park to get in a net, but they cost 40$. And clown tangs, giant, elusive, solitary, fast, and colorful fish as they are, cost less than $100.
Long story short? Most "rare" Zebrasoma tangs are overpriced for no particular reason. Gems aren't that uncommon, and koi scopas tangs look like moldy bread. Vendors raise prices beyond where they should be, and we just accept that these fish are "rare" or "exclusive" without looking into it. Basically, buy a regular scopas tang, take good care of it, and you'll have a fish that outshines any "koi" tang.
MnFish1
10K Club member
Yet - you were wrong IMHO - so I'm going to mention it - if you didn't want to go down the rabbit hole - in the designer fish thread - you didn't have to post it here. Note this is not a critique/criticism of the post just saying - if you don't want a response - perhaps ??? don't post? It's a discussion forum. Granted - as you said - your post was off topic
kevgib67
10K Club member
?, I was agreeing with a point that anemone fanatic made. Not sure what you mean with all do respect
MnFish1
10K Club member
AGREED - with all due respect - I was referring to the post that said 'I'm not going down that rabbit hole' - I'm not sure if it was you - or if the system quoted you - instead of someone else
The quote was meant for @areefer01
kevgib67
10K Club member
I don’t know where that response came from but it wasn’t from me. The only thing I posted on this thread was agreeing with anemone fanatic about the look of the white tangs. That is why I was confused about your response. All’s good, though I still don’t know about the part that you addressed.AGREED - with all due respect - I was referring to the post that said 'I'm not going down that rabbit hole' - I'm not sure if it was you - or if the system quoted you - instead of someone else
areefer01
2500 Club Member
My original post was acknowledging the thought on Pharmaceuticals. You replied. I replied that it is more or less a rabbit hole because the complexity of it which is outside the scope of the thread.
Do you want me to PM you before I post for approval?
