Is it REALLY the right time?

[Swim_Shady]

My wife and I have recently been entertaining the idea of setting up our first reef.

While we had initially settled on the Red Sea Reefer 425XL, a custom builder in my area can easily beat the price and allow me put the savings into other equipment.

Where my concern begins is supply chain. In Canada, we appear to have less options for supply of reef fish than, say, the US. Since the pandemic and the influx of new hobbyists, stock (predominantly CUC and fish) are sold out in both local and online sources. As well, the shortages are driving prices way up.

A Coral Beauty that, this time last year, was selling for $39 Cdn is now selling for $120 Cdn. I also heard, from another reefer that a Canadian store had 44 Yellow Tangs last month and they were sold to 1 person. Then there are ads like this one that are a cause for concern. $449.99 Seriously?!?

I hate the thought of investing the time and monetary resources to build a great system only to find that we cannot get the fish we want to populate our tank. To repeatedly pay air freight to bring in 1 or 2 fish at a time from remote sources just simply doesn't make sense.

This all has us wondering, is it really the right time to dive into this wonderful hobby or are we better off sticking to freshwater where the supply doesn't seem to have been hit quite as hard?

What do you experienced reefers see happening in the hobby? Do you think the choked off supply will last?

I appreciate your feedback.

 

[Rubberfrog]

One does not simply walk into Mordor. And it is never the right time to start a tank. Livestock prices are high right now, true. Luckily, you don't have to buy all your fish today, this week, this month, or even this year. Clowns are still cheap. Get started with those for a month and go slow on stocking.

 

[homer1475]

YT prices have increased dramatically since the Hawaiian collection ban. Only thing available is old stock, and tank bred which are also in short supply. Hence the price of a YT.

It's never a good time to start a tank, but with covid, and recent collection bans, I fear prices are only going to go up. Take the indo ban from a couple years ago, prices still haven't rebounded anywhere near pre ban prices.

 

[artieg1]

Oh, I say never a bad time. You may just have to adjust your beginner budget around the market. I would urge you to go very slowly and deliberately, particularly with respect to fish. Prices go up and down, you are in for the long haul. Wait until you see the right fish, at the right price, at the right time for your tank. Just buying fish (especially expensive fish) and plopping them in rarely works out in the long run. There are LOTS of SW fish that are not expensive. Pay no attention to current prices on yellow tangs, boutique corals, etc. You can find lots of fish under $40. And if you have local reefers nearby, people sell fish they no longer want for 1/3 of LFS prices, or give them away.

Long story short: you can blow a lot of money on the "perfect tank" and all your expensive dream fish, and have it all wipe from a parasite. Or go slow, and deliberate, and spend money on a reasonable budget and schedule.

 

[reefinatl]

Prices are stupid high on a lot of things because of Hawaii and covid but hey a couple clowns, an azure damsel, and a yellow wrasse will make a very nice eye catching start to your tank for a grand total of $100.

Prices on all these ugly brown, I mean dragon soul golden, torches is sky high, but I bet your local club has guys fragging their nameless green torches at $25 a head. Sure it'd be cool to drop $200 on the mushrooms of the day, but there's plenty of guys that would gladly give some nice blue or red disco shrooms. Heck I get ricordeas for $8ea still but they ain't too fancy. AOI and other zoas can be $$$ but dragon eyes, watermelons and eagle eyes aren't less attractive because they are now common.