Cleaner Skunk Shrimp Cost.. wow

[VirginiaReefer]

i just wanted to be nostalgic of the days.. only a few years ago when i could get a cleaner skunk shrimp for only 25 dollars at a LFS. now its 55$ or above everywhere i look near me in virginia. i feel like im just going to maintain what i have and replace with cheaper fish as some die eventually. i know everything is more expensive but this hobby was already expensive haha. thanks for reading my venting rant. i hope you all are enjoying your tanks as i do.

 

[TX_REEF]

I agree, I'm generally seeing skunk cleaners at $50 at LFS. I was able to buy one recently for $39.99. Inflation is a thing unfortunately... that being said, I still think it's worth it because they are my favorite cleanup crew member.

 

[Schulks]

I know what you mean the price has rocketed. I had a skunk cleaner shrimp for 3 years and just lost him :(

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Yeah of all the thing in the hobby this is the one that sticks with me the most. In my head they should cost $20-$30. They only seem to live a few years, $40+ for one is a tough pill to swallow.

 

[Llyod276]

Yup. It's only gonna get worse. Because we will pay for it, regardless...

 

[ObedMarsh]

Yeah, I’m considering going with just banded coral shrimp. I love skunks, but man shelling out just shy of $100 for a pair is just too much for how relatively short-lived they are in comparison to fish.

 

[Tahoe61]

It shocked me as well. Picked up a tiny Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp from Petco for $18.00 about 2 months ago. It's finally getting big enough to make the occasional appearance.

 

[Arkayology]

My local Petco has them for $29.99. They are very healthy.

 

[kevgib67]

i just wanted to be nostalgic of the days.. only a few years ago when i could get a cleaner skunk shrimp for only 25 dollars at a LFS. now its 55$ or above everywhere i look near me in virginia. i feel like im just going to maintain what i have and replace with cheaper fish as some die eventually. i know everything is more expensive but this hobby was already expensive haha. thanks for reading my venting rant. i hope you all are enjoying your tanks as i do.

Ya I needed to replace two and went to my lfs, they always have them, and there were none. I asked the owner and she said her supplier jacked the price up so high she refused to order any. I really need them to make my tank complete again so she ordered me two. I paid just under a hundred dollars for two puny ones but I love them.

 

[BryanM]

Mine were $50 each, and one molted near a powerhead and then proceeded to feed himself to the tank.

 

[Science/G]

These are wild caught animals from the Indo Pacific. There are no significant aquaculture programs established for the species. Natural resources are finite! There are more things at play here than your local aquarium store trying to gouge you to cover their insurance or electric bill. Just Sayn

 

[mtnhoo]

I agree, I'm generally seeing skunk cleaners at $50 at LFS. I was able to buy one recently for $39.99. Inflation is a thing unfortunately... that being said, I still think it's worth it because they are my favorite cleanup crew member.

it has been a couple months and honestly i think it was in error but I got cleaner shrimp at petco for 29.99 each. I bought 3..they were marked 43.99 in front of the tanks but 29.99 when i got up front. so i let my wife pay for the first one and i went back and got 2 more...I was at the store in wytheville va...it could have been that store didnt do price increases as required. but ill take it lol

 

[stE26wy14]

I agree, I'm generally seeing skunk cleaners at $50 at LFS. I was able to buy one recently for $39.99. Inflation is a thing unfortunately... that being said, I still think it's worth it because they are my favorite cleanup crew member.

Inflation….. gotta hate it
But one question, with more people and stores entering daily, and people buying, breeding, selling. With a bigger populous of mainstream/saughtafter coral, fish, inverts as before, why have they gotten more expensive, instead of maybe cheaper, same price, or a few dollars more expensive?
Sounds like because one company changed their prices one day, everybody tried to compete, and every day, new prices, bigger, just to compete with the last business

 

[JayM]

I think I paid $20-$25 each about a year ago. Not sure how much my go-to LFS is charging, but I noticed the Petco near me has them for $30.

 

[TX_REEF]

it has been a couple months and honestly i think it was in error but I got cleaner shrimp at petco for 29.99 each. I bought 3..they were marked 43.99 in front of the tanks but 29.99 when i got up front. so i let my wife pay for the first one and i went back and got 2 more...I was at the store in wytheville va...it could have been that store didnt do price increases as required. but ill take it lol

honestly you can find good deals at petco. I almost always buy my salt there, cheapest way to get instant ocean i've ever seen. The only thing I'd never buy there are corals or anemones.

 

[areefer01]

These are wild caught animals from the Indo Pacific. There are no significant aquaculture programs established for the species. Natural resources are finite! There are more things at play here than your local aquarium store trying to gouge you to cover their insurance or electric bill. Just Sayn

How about those Berghia Nudibranch...

On a more serious note I know hobbyist like the cleaner shrimp which is great but if you are looking for utility pick up a captive bred Neon Blue goby from Biota. Problem solved and cheaper.

 

[TX_REEF]

oh, another shoutout here for ReefCleaners, an affordable way to get some skunk cleaner shrimp is to add them to your cleanup crew order:

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/skunk-cleaner-shrimp

 

[Gtinnel]

honestly you can find good deals at petco. I almost always buy my salt there, cheapest way to get instant ocean i've ever seen. The only thing I'd never buy there are corals or anemones.

It’s been my experience that how good the saltwater fish section of a Petco is depends on how much the person in charge of it cares. There was a petco not too far from me that had a great selection of everything including corals. It’s the only petco I have seen that sold acropora. It had been ran by a local hobbyist. Now sadly it’s under someone else’s management and has gone down hill drastically.

 

[TX_REEF]

It’s been my experience that how good the saltwater fish section of a Petco is depends on how much the person in charge of it cares. There was a petco not too far from me that had a great selection of everything including corals. It’s the only petco I have seen that sold acropora. It had been ran by a local hobbyist. Now sadly it’s under someone else’s management and has gone down hill drastically.

good point.

my gripe with petco corals and nems is they keep them all under the same garbage LEDs that don't even do the fish justice let alone support coral/nem health whatsoever.

 

[Goaway]

My skunks were 45 last year. I know they're expensive, but they're fun to have.