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chefsreef

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im slowly stocking my 125 gallon tank and as i do so i see the same fish from diffrent parts of the world and at diffrent prices. does it matter were the fish come from. is one region better then the other. how can i find out which region is better then the other???
 
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Yup! It matters. That doesn't mean that you can't get a healthy fish that are on the cheaper side that are from areas that aren't as sought after but your chances are usually better when fish come the areas that are more sought after.

You can get a Hippo tang from the Philipines vs. Australia. Can you tell the difference? I doubt anyone can until we see the price.

If a fish is not commonly found in 1 area vs. another and it was found in an area where they are rare then the price will be higher.

If a fish from Australia has more color vs. a fish from the Indian Ocean than the price will be higher for the Australian variant. BUT... there is a possibility that if the fish from the Indian Ocean was RARA eventho it wasn't as colorful then that could drive the price up as well.

It used to be common practice in certain regions of the world that cyanide was used to stun fish so they could be caught and it did lots of damage to fish and eventually kills fish and for that reason, fish caught in those regions became cheaper. It isn't supposed to be done anymore but there are still a lot of people talking about it.

some factors that drive cost:
1) a fish that is very hard to find anywhere in the ocean
2) possibly a very common fish but it is found at depths so deep that is rare that anyone goes down that far to find one
3)somewhat unpopular and when one hits the scene it is considered rare because no one else has it (becuase no one wants it)... =)
4)a newly discovered species and/or morph.... could be rare to find or could just be that it's new to being available for sale
5)a fish that may or may not be that rare BUT it is in protected waters and the only specimens that can be caught are specimens that swim out of the protected areas

Typically fish that are coming out of eastern Asia are cheaper unless it is rare OR is coming out of Japan.

I'm sure others will add to what drives the price.
 

tosiek

Senior Member
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To add to it, different regions carry different fish of the same type. When it comes to pairing types of species so they don't rip each other apart it can sometimes be helpful to mix regions. Lets say you have two of the same fish, lets say two leopard wrasses for example, that are known to fight from the same area, introducing a leopard from another region with a different color pattern can give you a much better chance of them not fighting over territory.

Also, pricing is also due to fishing regulations in the areas being caught. Some areas are more lenient. Others like Australia, aside from just having new and rarer fish not seen on the marker, are also heavily regulated. That adds to costs.
 

E.intheC

Advanced Reefer
Location
Suffolk County
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I think it's worth it generally to pay more for a fish from the more desirable locations. Fish from the Philippines or Indonesia, in general, are less desirable than Australia, Hawaii, the Red Sea, Marshall Islands, etc. that's not to say that fish from the first two locations will be ugly and DOA, but cyanide use is reported to be prevalent and fish collection practices aren't as developed.

Tough thing is, I've heard the LFS often times don't know about or are mislead regarding livestock origins.
 

Awibrandy

Old School Reefer
Location
Far Rockaway
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Awilda, does that mean they have to come from a good neighborhood?
Join the right schools?
And are articulate and caring members of their community?

Absolutely!LOL

Just to be clear; Only thing I care about is that the fish be healthy, eating, and alert.:) I am not one to be impressed by the "all my fish & corals come from Australia".;) I've had Aussie animals that were worse then the Indo ones.:irked:
 

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