What would you say is the rarest fish in the hobby?

[Rmckoy]

Peppermint angels ..
$30000 for a fish that can fit in the palm of your hand .

something says it it were me , it should stay in the ocean .
Same as buying a rainbow splice frag .
If either of them were to die.
that would be similar to lending your brand new Ferrari to Young drivers for training use .

 

[tharbin]

Well... I haven't seen many tanks with Frilled Sharks in them.

 

[landlubber]

I often wonder how anyone can drop 30000 on a fish. Or 4000 on a torch. I would have a heart attack before even getting it then I would need 6 months off work before I would leave the house... Mabey its just me but that fish really doesn't look like its worth 30000. Ive kept nicer looking freshwater angels.

in the case of fish its the rarity, complications of collection and demand.
you or i may never be intrigued by such an expensive fish but rest assured there is somebody out there that is cash flush and considers it a point of pride to have something nobody else does.
a large bounce mushroom (the size of your palm) was listed for $7000 usd when i was at macna in 2017, by the end of the show it was gone.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

Well... I haven't seen many tanks with Frilled Sharks in them.

I love your signature XD "Patience my a**, I'm going to nuke that algae." thats how I feel sometimes XD

 

[Timfish]

A blue Mauritius Dwarf Angel (They're actually available, occasionally)

Blue Mauritius Dwarf Angel Fish

Buy Blue Mauritius Dwarf Angel Fish on Rock N Critters for £15,000.00

www.rockncritters.co.uk

 

[WirelessMike]

Been on the look out. Haven’t seen one yet. ‍

 

[LPS Bum]

Clarion Angels are awfully though to come by these days. Man do I want one.

 

[Potatohead]

Tiger Angelfish was considered pretty darn rare for a while, but I think they are slightly more common now. I know Jake Adams has (or had) one.

 

[Miami Reef]

What would you say is the rarest fish in the hobby that isnt a peppermint angel?

A peppermint angel

 

[Dcal]

How about the Abe's angelfish? Never actually seen one even in a public aquarium.

Search the name hedgedrew on this forum, he's the only guy I've ever seen with any Peps, and I think he had four.

he has 3 abei currently and prob a dozen personatus

 

[Dcal]

Peppermint angels ..
$30000 for a fish that can fit in the palm of your hand .

something says it it were me , it should stay in the ocean .
Same as buying a rainbow splice frag .
If either of them were to die.
that would be similar to lending your brand new Ferrari to Young drivers for training use .

To me its like art and the guy in this video says it perfectly

IMO its a great representation of how far science and technology have come to just discover that fish let alone collect it alive and keep it alive for 10+ years.

 

[Tamberav]

My LFS gets in odd things... pics for reference...

nine lined goby they had at one point..

They had some of those mini dart fish before..

They currently have one of these right now... which apparently isn't even officially named yet... Amikami goby

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Sultans (Oman) clownfish, not sure if it still carries the high price of your life or not, but it did years ago.

 

[reefrider777]

Search the name hedgedrew on this forum, he's the only guy I've ever seen with any Peps, and I think he had four.

Unfortunately his peppermint angels are in his freezer now.

 

[VanDalsenReef]

Blue whales probably rank up near the top. Probably haven't ever seen anyone with a giant squid tank either...

Fish?

 

[o2manyfish]

You have to be more specific as to what is rare to you - Is it high priced, or just not seen in the hobby regularly but attainable by a non-billionaire hobbyist?

High Price is going to be the fish in the original OP post, Abei Angel, Personatus.

Rarest - Is it the Rabbi tang I have? A sailfin tang with a whole thru the middle of the fish...I mean it doesn't get much rarer than a one of kind fish.

Personatus were pretty rare till Karen Brittain successfully bred them and then we ended up with them in local hobbyists tanks. Abei was never seen, and then ended in a local hobbyist tank. I saw an albino Imperator Angel once, didn't draw the price tag of an Abei - But never even heard of another one again.

The Dejongi Gramma used to be a rare fish, then fish started coming out of Cuba and they were successfully bred in captivity.

Dr Seuss Soapfish - Not my cup of tea, but not something seen everyday.

A rare fish in my book is the Colini Angel - A couple hundred dollar fish, maybe 100+ fish a year come into the hobby. And none of them last in captivity... So finding one that's been in a tank 6+ months is a real rarity.

My personal choice for a rare fish.... The Resplendens Angel. It used to be in the hobby till the late 80's. It comes from only one island atoll, Ascension Island. An Island that the military took over and has kicked the public out for any and all purposes. So this once lovely lil fish for the hobby is now in the upper echelance of rare fish in the hobby.


Dave B

 

[X-37B]

Blue whales probably rank up near the top. Probably haven't ever seen anyone with a giant squid tank either...

A whale is not a fish, lol.

 

[Karen00]

I often wonder how anyone can drop 30000 on a fish. Or 4000 on a torch. I would have a heart attack before even getting it then I would need 6 months off work before I would leave the house... Mabey its just me but that fish really doesn't look like its worth 30000. Ive kept nicer looking freshwater angels.

I wonder if DOA policies are non-existent with these or it has to be picked up, no shipping allowed.

 

[o2manyfish]

I wonder if DOA policies are non-existent with these or it has to be picked up, no shipping allowed.

The most recent pair of $40k angels sold were hand delivered to the customer.

I know of another high priced angel where the customer was forced to come pick it up in person - No shipping. So he took a ride in his private jet and picked up the angel. I think he also ended up picking some other fish and corals, so it was a good sales technique on the part of the fish store.

Dave B

 

[Karen00]

The most recent pair of $40k angels sold were hand delivered to the customer.

I know of another high priced angel where the customer was forced to come pick it up in person - No shipping. So he took a ride in his private jet and picked up the angel. I think he also ended up picking some other fish and corals, so it was a good sales technique on the part of the fish store.

Dave B

I love the part... "took a ride in his private jet". I would love to have this lifestyle for a week. Those fish probably had a better flight on that plane than I ever had. Talk about traveling first class! I can just imagine those fish in their baggies (probably accompanied by one of the employees) looking out the window going... "Man this is a sweet trip. Better than the one we took to the store". LOL I bet the purchasers have to sign a sorts of waivers, etc.