QUIZ:What Are The 10 Most Numerous Marine Fish In The Trade?

[John_Brandt]

THE ANSWERS:

1) Green chromis (Chromis viridis)
2) Yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
3) Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
4) Blue damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea)
5) 3-stripe damselfish (Dascyllus aruanus)
6) Domino (3-spot) damselfish (Dascyllus trimaculatus)
7) Yellowtail damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)
8> 4-stripe damselfish (Dascyllus melanurus)
9) Cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus)
10) Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)


The Big Surprise......nobody guessed Cleaner wrasse!

The Big Winner......dizzy (Mitch Gibbs) from the Industry Forum! Mitch had 8 correct answers, but none correctly ranked.

Number of participants: 16

Fish with the most guesses: Yellow tang - 15 guesses

Fish with the least guesses: 4-stripe damselfish - 1 guess

Eight different people guessed one fish in the correct ranking.

Four different people guessed Yellow tang in the correct ranking.

 

[coralite1]

That really sucks. I thought Cleaner wrasses might be on there but thought for sure that their sales would have dropped in time due to the difficulty in keeping them. For what year is your data John?

 

[AFH]

I too taught of cleaner wrasses. I did see one in Petco recently. But I taught no one would buy them because of the difficulty keeping them.

The Domino I did think of but in recent years I have only seen 1. Years back I would see tons of them.

The Mandarinfish would have never enter my mind.

 

[Anonymous]

Great info to know! By the way, the shark eating the dog gif is absolutely hilarious!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[John_Brandt]

That really sucks. I thought Cleaner wrasses might be on there but thought for sure that their sales would have dropped in time due to the difficulty in keeping them. For what year is your data John?

Coralite,

My results are an averaged complex composite over 7 years, from an enormous international database. Cleaner wrasse numbers have decreased, as have many fish, but they remain right there in the Top 10.

 

[tld]

John, I'm curious as to which 7 years... '95-2002, '80-'87?

Thanks!
Teresa

 

[John_Brandt]

John, I'm curious as to which 7 years... '95-2002, '80-'87?

Thanks!
Teresa

Teresa,

'95-2002 is 8 years. It was '95-2001. Data since 2001 is still incomplete. It is interesting to know that 65% more of the #1 fish entered the trade than the #2 fish. The trade has an incredible appetite for Green chromis.

 

[kparton]

I wonder if fishes like the Cleaner Wrasse and Mandarin are so high because of the fact that they are hard to keep, not in spite of it. Often people will have a fish they've always wanted (especially Mandarins) and although the first one dies, they might go out and buy another one just to see if it was the individual. I'm purely speculating, but I bet this is a pretty common thing to do, that means that given their high mortality rate, there could be a lot of repeat buyers bumping up the numbers.

 

[John_Brandt]

All,

Many of you have commented on the surprise of just which fish made the Top 10. Casual trips to the LFS set our expectations and give us concepts of proportion. But what most hobbyists cannot fathom is the huge numbers of fish that die somewhere between the reef and the retail store.

Green chromis are the prime example of this tragedy.

 

[klingsa]

As for the question about keeping cleaner wrasses, I've had excellent success with mine. I've had it for several months, and he eats like a hog. My fish love him and often chase him to get him to clean them. I am no longer worried about external parasites, which as you know, is a HUGE relief! I do not say this to make people rush out and buy them, since they do play such a key role in nature, but I just wanted to throw that out there.

I think KParton has a good point...I work at the LFS, and that has certainly been my experience. Although, the same could be said about most other fish! Once people decide to buy one, they keep buying and assume it was our fault that the fish got sick, and not, say, their water conditions.

Thanks for the info, John. It certainly fits with my experience. I'm surprised that algae blennies aren't on there, though. I sell a LOT of those!

Sara

 

[John_Brandt]

I wonder if fishes like the Cleaner Wrasse and Mandarin are so high because of the fact that they are hard to keep, not in spite of it. Often people will have a fish they've always wanted (especially Mandarins) and although the first one dies, they might go out and buy another one just to see if it was the individual. I'm purely speculating, but I bet this is a pretty common thing to do, that means that given their high mortality rate, there could be a lot of repeat buyers bumping up the numbers.

This is only partly true, kparton. The primary reasons why they are ranked highly are these:

1) Popular with hobbyists.
2) Plentiful on reefs; with a relatively high fecundity.
3) Easy to catch.

Here are a bunch of Mandarinfish awaiting export at a Philippine facility.