Does anyone else hate these fish prices these days

[William Chiavetta]

Maybe forgo college and start selling corals?

this idea is golden

 

[PharmrJohn]

WHAT!? I wish they were still that cheap

Yep. That's what it was in the past. You should have seen how much corals were. Just as cheap.

 

[george9]

I hate the price of everything these days

 

[William Chiavetta]

I hate the price of everything these days

EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE

 

[NanoNana]

Yes, that's kind of my point -- the upward trend in some local prices (even most local prices) can't be used to make an analogy with another supposed trend (since the market forces are very different in the case of hay and marine life), and some price trends are contingent on factors that vary drastically over time (such as regional weather).


Except that's not actually how demand works in this situation. Look up 'Veblen Goods'.

The point is, prices are up on EVERYTHING. Ridiculously so.

 

[William Chiavetta]

The point is, prices are up on EVERYTHING. Ridiculously so.

not even worth it to drive to work with these gas prices lol

 

[TardWrangler]

and then you got these pro aquaculture guys saying the price needs to go 4 times higher!! It’s outrageous!!

 

[Max23]

Honestly the fish prices aren't bad just the tank and stand prices are honestly

 

[Spare time]

Honestly the fish prices aren't bad just the tank and stand prices are honestly

I also think that the fact that the hobby has an absurd amount of luxury options with very few budget-friendly options and even middle of the road options is to blame.

 

[VintageReefer]

I also think that the fact that the hobby has an absurd amount of luxury options with very few budget-friendly options and even middle of the road options is to blame.

Years ago we had lots of selection for bio cubes and nano cubes, they still make them but now with LED hoods that are good enough for beginner coral, and they can be upgraded down the line with led bars or the hood can be removed and you can use any light you want

Just checked,
biocube 32g with led hood is 400$
Jbj nano cube 24g is $315

Jbj nano cube 28 is $500 but comes with 89w of 14k led and they claim it’s equal in par to the old 150w halide it replaced, and comes with a free skimmer

these are decent prices for someone new to get started with

 

[george9]

I love reefing too much

Years ago we had lots of selection for bio cubes and nano cubes, they still make them but now with LED hoods that are good enough for beginner coral, and they can be upgraded down the line with led bars or the hood can be removed and you can use any light you want

Just checked,
biocube 32g with led hood is 400$
Jbj nano cube 24g is $315

Jbj nano cube 28 is $500 but comes with 89w of 14k led and they claim it’s equal in par to the old 150w halide it replaced, and comes with a free skimmer

these are decent prices for someone new to get started with

Agreed. The 32g biocube is basically a perfect starter kit and you can routinely find deals that include the stand as well

 

[NicolasFSS]

This has never been an inexpensive hobby. However, prices have definitely outpaced inflation. I do remember paying $19.99 for medium to large sized yellow tangs back in the day. Corals too are super expensive vs 10 yrs ago. Not only have prices gone up, frag sizes have shrunk. What some might consider mini colonies now were good sized frags back in the day. And I don't recall paying per polyp all that often.

On a positive note, higher prices ensure that there is money being invested in captive propagation, etc. Given the regulatory environment, we will continue to see restrictions on wild caught livestock. From a sustainability and hardiness standpoint, not necessarily a bad thing. The downside is it is probably driving some folks out of the hobby.

I wanted to say just that. While it definitely sucks to pay so much for fish and corals, what it does is create financial incentives to invest in farming and on the long run this should replace caught livestock entirely. If large scale fish farms become feasible for many species, it might even be possible some day to restock wild populations with farmed fish and therefore ensuring their long term survival.

 

[Justdrew]

How much were they when they were the "cheap fish"

They were $20 when I last bought one.

 

[VintageReefer]

Not super cheap but I remember seeing yellow tangs 3-4” regularly for 60$

 

[Outlaw Corals]

My dad, when he had a reef tank 20ish years ago, would always tell me, " I remember when yellow tangs were the cheap fish to buy."

He was spot on, i remember when they were $30 and everyone had them

 

[Malum Argenteum]

The point is, prices are up on EVERYTHING. Ridiculously so.

And my point is that as a matter of economic fact, they're not. Cherry picking examples or historic time frames doesn't change that.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/hig...s-expensive-federal-reserve-cars-2023-12?op=1

Also, auto gas prices are down currently and almost unbelievably are predicted not to rise over the summer:

Why Gas Prices Will Probably Keep Falling This Summer

Drivers in three states are already paying under $3 a gallon, with more likely to follow.

money.com

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

And my point is that as a matter of economic fact, they're not. Cherry picking examples or historic time frames doesn't change that.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/hig...s-expensive-federal-reserve-cars-2023-12?op=1

Also, auto gas prices are down currently and almost unbelievably are predicted not to rise over the summer:

Why Gas Prices Will Probably Keep Falling This Summer

Drivers in three states are already paying under $3 a gallon, with more likely to follow.

money.com

Just curious if you actually read the articles you are using as a comparison. Only thing really down is durable goods. Not only that the graph is not the current price compared to historical, but the change in price year over year. So in 2022 they skyrocketed at huge increases and have only just shown a decline this year with all other categories still rising in prices. And the fuel cost article calls for $3.70 gas through the summer. This isn’t low prices, just possibly lower than last year.

 

[lbacha]

Reefing and saltwater aquariums in general have always been a hobby that individuals with expendable income were the main drivers. Even 30 years ago (when I started) you could supplement the cost by DIYing and selling items but typically you needed a good income to be a eeefer.

Fast forward to Covid, reefing became a pyramid scheme. I say this because lots of people joined the hobby spending more money than they could afford with the mindset that they would sell coral to fund their habit. With the surge of new reefers during Covid this worked and as long as there were new reefers to sell your corals to the pyramid scheme would keep going and the price of these corals and fish because of demand would keep going up.

let’s look at today, the covid surge is over and all these people that could only afford the hobby because they could sell coral at crazy prices can’t sell anymore because less people are joining the hobby. This is resulting in the price of coral dropping which means a quick turnaround to recoupe your money isn’t there. This mean people that might have joined the reefing pyramid scheme no longer see it as an affordable path and there will be less and less new reefers.

What this all means is the price of coral will go down, less new tanks will be setup and as a result demand for fish will drop resulting in lower prices. I got my last biota yellow tang for $120 and it was a nice sized specimen. While this isn’t cheap it is a lot cheaper than they were a couple years ago.

 

[lbacha]

I do want to say that Yellow tangs are a bad example of how the cost of reefing has gone up. Their price can’t be compared to other fish since what you are buying now are all aquacultured since the supply of wild caught were cut off. Yellow tangs were always in stock and cheap since they actually had one of the shortest trips to get to the LFS (especially if you were on the west coast). The pricy fish back in the day were fish from the Red Sea and Australia since they had a much longer trip to make it to your LFS.

The good thing now a days is you have a ton more cheap options in equipment vs 20-30 years ago. It is much easier today to setup a tank on a budget. 20-30 years ago the livestock may have been cheaper but the hardgoods were limited and expensive.

 

[NanoNana]

And my point is that as a matter of economic fact, they're not. Cherry picking examples or historic time frames doesn't change that.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/hig...s-expensive-federal-reserve-cars-2023-12?op=1

Also, auto gas prices are down currently and almost unbelievably are predicted not to rise over the summer:

Why Gas Prices Will Probably Keep Falling This Summer

Drivers in three states are already paying under $3 a gallon, with more likely to follow.

money.com

With all due respect, several decades ago when I was in school I learned a couple of basic things. I learned to read and I learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide. I rely on those skills at the grocery store, the gas station, when paying my feed bill, buying corals etc.
Being rather proficient at those basic things I am capable of noting how much an item was vs how much it currently is, subtracting what it was from what it is and acquiring an accurate answer. I do not need business insider to do my math for me.

Three decades ago while working on my doctorate in research and during the subsequent 25 years of utilizing it, I also learned how easily statistics and analysis can be skewed to favor a desired outcome. Because of that I will continue to use simple math and deductive reasoning to determine my personal economic position.