Would you pay over $6000 for a fish?

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hey all...

By now, I am fairly certain some of you have seen the recent advertisement for a $6,249.99 fish for sale. This advertisement got me to thinking and caused me to ask myself a couple of questions. Well, more than a couple but these are the two key questions;

1.) Would I pay over $6,000 for one fish?
The answer to the first question is a resounding, "No freekin' way!" Even if I were in a position where money was no object I do not think I could convince myself that any reef fish is worth over $6,000. Furthermore, if I were able to fool myself into dropping that kind on coin for a fish it wouldn't be for the one that is in the ad. Now don't get me wrong as I understand beauty is in the eye of the beholder (just ask my wife!) but, to me, this fish does not fall into the category of beautiful. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even fall in the category of semi-beautiful. To me, it is mildly beautiful.

This brings me to my second question;
2.) Who would pay over $6000 for one fish?
I really do not know anyone that would buy this fish and am truly curious as to if there is/are any out there that would pay $6,249.99 for one fish and what the motivation would be?

And, finally, a bonus question;
3.) If you had roughly $6,000 to spend on fish or coral what would you buy?

Happy reefing!

For all of those wondering... here is the fish!

These come up from time to time. De Jong Marine carries them. Yes I would buy this $7000-$10,000. Depends where you buy

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

6k for a fish no way

6k for a coral, yes.

That's the spirit.

 

[EmdeReef]

for some reason I don’t like gem tangs, don’t think I’d give $600 for one let alone 6k.

I was tempted by the clarion angels on DD, thankfully they were sold out fast

 

[Scotty Buttons]

If I was super rich, I'd buy that fish and release it back into the ocean.

 

[crusso1993]

Seems that way. I guess not many people have 6000 bucks to spend on a fish, surprise lol.

Now isn't that a big shocker! Lol

 

[crusso1993]

People will pay what their egos tell them to do. I'm sure you all have heard of the guy in Japan that paid 3.1 million dollars (insert voice of Dr. Evil) for a dead bluefin tuna that weighed 612 lbs. He could have gone to Whole Foods and paid retail for 612 lbs for under 20,000. So why did he pay 3.1 million? Pride.

Spot on!

 

[crusso1993]

To me I think happiness is the main thing to consider, If I saw a fish that always put a smile on my face the price isn't what I'm thinking about.

People are always surprised when they found out I've spent several hundred on a little brown catfish I see once a month in my tanks (if I'm lucky) when I could easily buy 30 much prettier and active ones for the same price. To that I say It makes me happy, thats all that matters to me.

Price is something I consider but its pretty low on my priority list. I could have a ton of money if I stopped pouring it into all my hobbies but then its just a number sitting in my account. If that made me happy I'd do that but I'm happiest when I'm working with animals and while the amount of joy and purpose I find within keeping, photographing and protecting them is worthless to everyone else, its priceless to me.

Boom!

 

[crusso1993]

If I was super rich, I'd buy that fish and release it back into the ocean.

Well intentioned for sure!

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Spot on!

Very true, but being the business man he is. The attention he got, worked out to advertising, many more millions could not pay for the advertising for his restaurants he owns, if it weren't for spending 3 mill+.. That's why he could afford it. And it's a business right off. That money spent could of gone to his government.

 

[Jesterrace]

Definitely not, even if I had the resources of Jeff Bezos I wouldn't do it. Part of it to me is that I could simply never get my money's worth out of that kind of investment. Even worse was the $8200 Clownfish that one of the sites had posted recently. There are plenty of very unique and exotic fish in the $250-$600 range that I could see if money were no object. To put this in perspective you can buy a PAIR of Black Tip Reef Sharks for $6600. Now that is an investment I could get behind if money were no object.

 

[mort]

Has it sold though? you can ask what you want but you need someone "gullible", I mean eager, enough to actually buy it. I've seen fish listed at exorbitant prices many times before only for the prices to be severely slashed in order to sell them.

We had some peppermint angels available in Europe a few years ago and they were offered at 18k each or two for 30k, think the price dropped to 11k each before they disappeared from the list, so could have perhaps dropped even further. That's for a holy grail species and not some slightly, perhaps temporary, aberrant, easily available species.

 

[crusso1993]

Has it sold though? you can ask what you want but you need someone "gullible", I mean eager, enough to actually buy it. I've seen fish listed at exorbitant prices many times before only for the prices to be severely slashed in order to sell them.

We had some peppermint angels available in Europe a few years ago and they were offered at 18k each or two for 30k, think the price dropped to 11k each before they disappeared from the list, so could have perhaps dropped even further. That's for a holy grail species and not some slightly, perhaps temporary, aberrant, easily available species.

I do not know if it sold yet but it was just listed a couple of days ago. I agree with you about finding the right gullible, (oops I did it too) I mean eager, enough to buy it. As the old adage goes, "It's only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it."

BTW - there is another member, that is friendly enough, who hails from Yorkshire. Perhaps you and @ph123uk are neighbors!

 

[crusso1993]

These come up from time to time. De Jong Marine carries them. Yes I would buy this $7000-$10,000. Depends where you buy

@Jomama - I've always found these to be beautiful and graceful. I was unaware that they occasionally come up for sale. The only time I've ever seen them has been at public aquariums in tanks that were dedicated only to them.

 

[BigKid4788]

There are fish out there that I might consider paying several thousand for.

Not that one in the first post, though, no way.

I got one of these. Great fish!

 

[crusso1993]

I got one of these. Great fish!

@BigKid4788 - Sweet, post a pic or two of that beauty!

 

[mort]

These come up from time to time. De Jong Marine carries them. Yes I would buy this $7000-$10,000. Depends where you buy

It could well of changed in the years since I last went to de Jong but they used to be public aquaria fish only. I believe some, if not all of these were from captive bred animals and they were offered to other institutes rather than private sale. It might not be the case today however.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

@Jomama - I've always found these to be beautiful and graceful. I was unaware that they occasionally come up for sale. The only time I've ever seen them has been at public aquariums in tanks that were dedicated only to them.

I only buy wholesale when I do, and our account with De Jong Marine shows in list of fishes.

 

[madweazl]

If it were something I wanted and I had the means to drop $6k on a fish, I wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[FishyDP]

If I could afford it and knew they bred well in captivity, then sure may try to breed them. But in this case no! I don't even think this tangs colors are anything to write home about

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Here's another one, pipe fish I believe. Retail $3800-$5000. Again depends on which LFS it's sold.