Let's Talk About Captive-Bred Fish Prices

[Daniel@R2R]

I've been thinking about something, and I thought I'd post it here and get some feedback from the community on it. I've heard some people say that captive-bred fish are just going to be perpetually expensive. I'm thinking about yellow tangs, which we used to be able to pick up for $40 (or less) at the LFS, but they now retail for at least $200-$300. Other CB fish are even more expensive than that!

Photo by Frags2Fishes

However, I got to thinking about this, and I got a bit hopeful...because the trend is not always toward expense. For example, designer clownfish have been notoriously (dare I say OBNOXIOUSLY) expensive in the past, but today you can pick up a lot of those same designer clownfish at a lot cheaper prices than you could before. My LFS has a whole slew of them right now for $39.99 each. (And yes, I do know that specific "ultra cool" designs still go for a lot, but I'm talking about general trends.) And before anyone calls me out on clown breeding being easy and that breeding these happens in hobbyist homes (and so the market floods...), I'd like to point out that mandarin dragonets are another example of a CB fish that isn't super expensive despite their breeding being beyond most of our hobbyist capabilities.

Photo by Biota

So...what do you think? Are captive-bred fish going to be perpetually expensive, or can I hope to buy the ones that are currently expensive at cheaper prices in the future? I'll tell ya, my dream fish is a yurple tang...I know, I know...for some of you those are an abomination, but I love 'em, and I hope maybe someday they'll be within my budget range. ...a guy can dream...

Photo by Quality Marine.

 

[NanoSteam]

I think as facilities find more efficient ways of breeding these prices will start to come down. I'm starting to see Biota CB Yellow Tangs in places like Petco even so I'm hopeful as they become more readily available the price will lower. Of course the overhead to breed a fish is different then what it costs to catch while specimens so it'll never be as cheap.

 

[TheNative192]

I know they just successfully bred a gem tang in captivity but I do think prices will continue to steadily rise. The reality is it is very hard to breed a lot of the fish we have in captivity so when the supply becomes limited or smaller from wild caught fish naturally the demand and cost rises for captive bred options. It seems like many companies try to breed new species as well rather than existing species so we have less competition which does allow for a company to set their price. That being said I think it is still a good thing overall as depending on how easy it is to replicate the process may become simpler and more affordable with time.

 

[KrisReef]

"Captive bred" sounds like sites my browser filters? (Happy Valentines joke right there.)

I have noticed that Yellows are getting cheaper, perhaps in response to more breeding success or the opening of Hawaii fishing again?

I hate paying the premium for Maricultured fishes but in theory they are better suited to our home tanks because they have been produced in captivity and hopefully have less risk of diseases as a result.

With the current trends of breeding success and great mariculture practices I think they will eventually be cheaper than wild caught, because wild caught will not be able to compete on many levels, especially health for those fishes that can be grown in a tank.

THe price of everything will continue to rise until the last penny of profit can be achieved.

 

[Doctor Derp]

Look at the difference in price between a captive bred Royal Gramma and a Cuban Basslet. Biota is an absolute cancer to this hobby.

 

[oxo]

a CB fish will be expensive because:

1) it is expensive to breed, or an economical setup has not been designed
— [1.5] the setup that had success with the species is costly and inefficient, but isn’t made simplified because workshopping the variables is costly
(ie: huge vat setups, accidental/surprise breedings of species like cleaner wrasse)

2) there are few of that fish in circulation, or only one breeder who can set the price

3) the broodstock is already prohibitively expensive or difficult to obtain, especially if the fish are slower to reproduce

in the freshwater hobby, when new fish are imported and taken interest in, usually 2 or 3 (if not all 3) are true, until enough are in circulation and more importantly enough different people, usually hobbyists, are breeding them, for them to become cheap.

we’ve seen this pattern in clownfish, who went from being considered impossible to breed to something anyone with some extra 10g tanks lying around can do to make a little local money. new varieties start as expensive and then cheapen as more people breed them desiring that unique phenotype.

the issue with the state of marine aquaculture is that, besides for clownfish, there is extremely little hobbyist breeding. and very few willing to attempt. when only a handful of big names are breeding fish in huge vat setups it is going to remain expensive. I love Biota’s work, but if they have big costly systems that still produce fish they can reliably sell, well, there’s just not a lot of pressure to find simpler methods that would bring costs down. especially when the cost of their fish is also paying for aquaculture efforts for other species.

IMO there was a golden period of hobbyist aquaculture and larval rearing from like 2015-2019 with MACNA and MBI. one of those is gone, and the other has been delegated to a walled garden (Facebook) and is barely active. CORAL magazine hasn’t even updated their captive breeding list in years.

interest in marine aquaculture isn’t super great, even though hobbyists in the past have demonstrated pelagic larval rearing and demersal breeding in very simple setups is doable. if we want freshwater fish - prices, we’re gonna need freshwater fish - quantities of breeders

 

[Doctor Derp]

Almost exclusively every single outfit to come into existence in the last ten years to breed marine fishes has been driven overwhelmingly by greed. Nobody is in it for the science anymore.

 

[TheNative192]

Look at the difference in price between a captive bred Royal Gramma and a Cuban Basslet. Biota is an absolute cancer to this hobby.

That statement makes no sense and is just not thought out at all. Even if they charged a 1,000 per fish it would still be a positive as others are either not doing it or unable to do it. By coming up with ways to captive bred fish never done before it is a blessing. If it was so easy then hundreds of companies would be doing it. It’s not and when you consider the time and food and research it makes sense it is expensive.

The point is Biota captive breading fish does not preclude you from buying a wild caught fish. Therefore they can not harm the hobby as the only impact they have is providing another option….

Also when you consider that some wild caught fish are caught in ways that are not healthy for the fish and die in our tanks sometimes it’s better to pay for the premium knowing you won’t have fish die or have to buy multiple.

 

[areefer01]

Really can't have a conversation with the opening statement and image used has the wrong price for a captive bred, raised, yellow tang. You can get them in the US direct for 185 USD.

I am nit picking, I know but still.

 

[JoJosReef]

That statement makes no sense and is just not thought out at all. Even if they charged a 1,000 per fish it would still be a positive as others are either not doing it or unable to do it. By coming up with ways to captive bred fish never done before it is a blessing. If it was so easy then hundreds of companies would be doing it. It’s not and when you consider the time and food and research it makes sense it is expensive.

The point is Biota captive breading fish does not preclude you from buying a wild caught fish. Therefore they can not harm the hobby as the only impact they have is providing another option….

Hear, hear!

 

[areefer01]

Look at the difference in price between a captive bred Royal Gramma and a Cuban Basslet. Biota is an absolute cancer to this hobby.

Ignorance is bliss.

Not the same fish - you know this.

Prior to De Jong Marinelife's work with the Cuban Basslet it was demanding north of $4,500.00 USD and rare in the US market. Today it is $650 USD.

Next.

 

[TheNative192]

Really can't have a conversation with the opening statement and image used has the wrong price for a captive bred, raised, yellow tang. You can get them in the US direct for 185 USD.

I am nit picking, I know but still.

Also go to Petco ask them to add a captive bred small yellow tang and keep it in the bag for you to pick up. It’s $150. No shipping cost. Only negative is you got to pick it up when it arrives. Or go to a LFS. I just got a captive bred Biota yellow tang for $150 in a tank, one of the smaller ones but it is perfect for me.

Another store has a Hawaii yellow tang for $800! I mean it’s expensive due to the restrictions.

 

[Doctor Derp]

Ignorance is bliss.

Not the same fish - you know this.

Prior to De Jong Marinelife's work with the Cuban Basslet it was demanding north of $4,500.00 USD and rare in the US market. Today it is $650 USD.

Next.

Literally the exact same amount of effort to raise both fish. These people are the worst kind of people. The greedy kind.

NEXT

 

[areefer01]

Literally the exact same amount of effort to raise both fish. These people are the worst kind of people. The greedy kind.

Enlighten us, please.

NEXT

No need for caps, next.

 

[mrpizzaface]

I've been thinking about something, and I thought I'd post it here and get some feedback from the community on it. I've heard some people say that captive-bred fish are just going to be perpetually expensive. I'm thinking about yellow tangs, which we used to be able to pick up for $40 (or less) at the LFS, but they now retail for at least $200-$300. Other CB fish are even more expensive than that!

Photo by Frags2Fishes

However, I got to thinking about this, and I got a bit hopeful...because the trend is not always toward expense. For example, designer clownfish have been notoriously (dare I say OBNOXIOUSLY) expensive in the past, but today you can pick up a lot of those same designer clownfish at a lot cheaper prices than you could before. My LFS has a whole slew of them right now for $39.99 each. (And yes, I do know that specific "ultra cool" designs still go for a lot, but I'm talking about general trends.) And before anyone calls me out on clown breeding being easy and that breeding these happens in hobbyist homes (and so the market floods...), I'd like to point out that mandarin dragonets are another example of a CB fish that isn't super expensive despite their breeding being beyond most of our hobbyist capabilities.

Photo by Biota

So...what do you think? Are captive-bred fish going to be perpetually expensive, or can I hope to buy the ones that are currently expensive at cheaper prices in the future? I'll tell ya, my dream fish is a yurple tang...I know, I know...for some of you those are an abomination, but I love 'em, and I hope maybe someday they'll be within my budget range. ...a guy can dream...

Photo by Quality Marine.

yellow tangs are $185 from Biota. this is not too expensive in my mind. look at how expensive cars are now. look at the cost of groceries. I know you are trying to generate aquarium related content, but the cost of aqua cultured fish are among the least of our economic woes.

 

[JumboShrimp]

As I see it, only 2 things will bring down the prices:

(1) Competition among breeders... which likely does not yet exist;

(2) Altruism... which likely will never exist.

 

[PhishEDELIC]

I’ve just come back into this hobby after I’ve been out of the saltwater game spending the last 18 years dabbling in freshwater plants and tropical freshwater. The last time I managed a fish store was in 2006. I use to buy 100 yellow tangs from Hawaii and blow them out at $24.99 each. So just think of my surprise when I saw today’s prices!

You will see the prices come down. Remember the first flat screen TVs. Only a handful of companies made them and they were thousands of dollars. Same principle happening here.

As more companies enter in the captive breeding game the market will flood with everyone looking to make the big bucks. And only then will the race for lower prices and out competing the competition beginning.

 

[TheNative192]

I’ve just come back into this hobby after I’ve been out of the saltwater game spending the last 18 years dabbling in freshwater plants and tropical freshwater. The last time I managed a fish store was in 2006. I use to buy 100 yellow tangs from Hawaii and blow them out at $24.99 each. So just think of my surprise when I saw today’s prices!

You will see the prices come down. Remember the first flat screen TVs. Only a handful of companies made them and they were thousands of dollars. Same principle happening here.

As more companies enter in the captive breeding game the market will flood with everyone looking to make the big bucks. And only then will the race for lower prices and out competing the competition beginning.

Yeah unfortunately with a lot of the bans for harvesting fish from Hawaii prices have started to skyrocket. I know there is a thread of where they discuss news on whether or not it will reopen. I hope so but I doubt it.

 

[slingfox]

Ver inaccurate pricing in the original post. Biota Yellow Tang prices has steadily crept down in the last three years despite rampant overall economic inflation! The inflation adjusted price has come down materially.

 

[Doctor Derp]

I’ve just come back into this hobby after I’ve been out of the saltwater game spending the last 18 years dabbling in freshwater plants and tropical freshwater. The last time I managed a fish store was in 2006. I use to buy 100 yellow tangs from Hawaii and blow them out at $24.99 each. So just think of my surprise when I saw today’s prices!

You will see the prices come down. Remember the first flat screen TVs. Only a handful of companies made them and they were thousands of dollars. Same principle happening here.

As more companies enter in the captive breeding game the market will flood with everyone looking to make the big bucks. And only then will the race for lower prices and out competing the competition beginning.

Flat screen TVs are cheaper now because they are subsidized with advertising and analytics dollars. All of the apps and nonsense that come on a modern smart tv are gathering *massive* amounts of data on your viewing habits. That data is worth big money.